Foggy Coconut blend was inspired by a coffee shop London Fog. First you need to know what a London Fog is, if you don’t know already! There may be variations but usually a London Fog is made with Earl Grey tea, lots of milk, and some vanilla and sugar, sometimes brown sugar.
The creator of this blend was ordering her London Fog with coconut milk instead of cow’s milk and loved the creamy coconut flavor. Hence, Foggy Coconut came into being.
When I served this tea, the reaction was instant. “Wow! I smell coconut!” And yes, that is the first you notice about this tea. Fortunately, we were all coconut lovers drinking it!
I love that you can still TASTE THE TEA, as a lot of flavored teas major on the flavors so much that the tea itself gets lost. This blend uses Assam and Yunnan tea that can stand up to plenty of flavors without going into hiding.
As for the bergamot, (which haters love to call blergamot) it is very refined. It comes through almost as a fruitiness rather than as edgy harsh citrus. I think the vanilla softens it wonderfully.
I drank this with no additions, but if you wanted to make a London Fog with it you could. You don’t need to, though, as all the flavors we look for in London Fog are right here. It is creamy and sweet, and the coconut lends it the full body usually provided by milk – dairy or otherwise – in a London Fog.
This was a delightful afternoon tea, and I will definitely be serving it again.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lavender Cream/Tea Sparrow. . . .
When it comes to lattes, there are two different types of tea that tend to work best: Chai and Earl Greys (London Fogs, anyone?!). I have found that any variation of these kinds of tea tend to take to the latte method beautifully, whether that be plain or flavored versions or even just heavily spiced teas inspired by Chai. I usually reach for the spiced teas/chai blends but today I went for something different: Lavender Cream by Tea Sparrow.
Lavender Cream is an Earl Grey black tea made with lavender petals, vanilla pieces, lavender extract, and vanilla extract. The ingredients leave me torn since I love vanilla in teas and I really don’t love lavender and it is that lavender that has had me putting off trying this tea for months.
The tea smells delightful, both dry and after steeping thanks to the bergamot. Unfortunately that lovely scent does not translate to the taste of the tea which I am not loving. It is creamy but then a soapy taste takes over. I blame the lavender for that one. There is also an underlying astringency that Earl Grey teas often have, though here it is tampered by the milk.
Many people love this type of tea and for those people, this may be a nice blend to try. However, for me, the lavender was a deal breaker. It is always nice to try something new but I am happy with the one latte.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Sparrow
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Capri/Harney & Sons
Oddly…it’s been a while since I have sipped on a new-to-me tea from Harney & Sons so when I received this little gem from fellow SororiTea Sister ‘Super Starling’ I was pretty jazzed!
Upon opening the package I could easily see it was a black tea with bits of lemon peel mixed in. While reading the company’s website description I learned the rest of the flavor profile – while taking my first sip…fig and vanilla! Oh! Fig! Yay! Not enough flavored teas featured fig in my opinion. At this point I’m even more excited to try it.
The post-infusion liquor smells like a nifty breakfast croissant of sorts. Very delicious – to the nose…but what about the taste? It surely follows suit! The black tea base was of medium strength. Not overly strong. The lemon, fig, and vanilla flavors all mesh together to create their own SUPER FLAVOR!
I’m REALLY enjoying this…I mean REALLY REALLY enjoying this flavored black tea. I can’t want to take another sip…and then brew another cup! YUM!
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Description
A wonderful naturally flavored black tea, Capri combines dried figs and tart lemon reminiscent of the Isola di Capri in Italy, with a hint of vanilla.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vicky’s Sponge Cake/Bird & Blend Tea Co. . . .
According to Bird & Blend, Queen Victoria started the trend of adding a snack to mid-afternoon tea. WHAT A HUMANITARIAN. BLESS THAT WOMAN.
Apparently Vicky really liked sponge cake, so Bird & Blend re-created its vibe with this black blend featuring coconut, vanilla, & raspberry.
I don’t really eat sponge cake (I don’t think? DO I?), but I like whatever’s happening here, which is a lot like having a berry-flavored cupcake with cream cheese/vanilla icing. I’m definitely getting “berry”, “creamy,” and “confection” here. A soothing Ceylon tea serves as the blanket upon which these airy, sweet flavors rest. It’s basically holding the door open and saying “after YOU, ladies.”
I’m sipping this tea at the end of a hilariously rough day (spreadsheets were in play), and it’s making me feel so much better. It’s SO calming. It’s like when a parent or pal pets your hair.
“There there,” the tea whispers. “Enjoy this. You deserve the finest.”
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bird & Blend Tea Co.
Description
There is nothing better than a cuppa and cake (except perhaps a cake flavoured cuppa!) and did you know it was our good old queenie Victoria who invented the Vicky Sponge? Guess the name gives it away a bit! She loved taking afternoon tea with her home girls but decided they needed some extra nourishment to last until dinner. Cake it is then! We like your thinking QV!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
San Francisco Blend/Coffee Tree and Tea Leaves Co. . . .
Thankfully, for the past holidays, I was gifted more tea to enjoy! I actually smelled the San Francisco Blend in my gift box before ever opening it. This has a strong, pleasant, aroma which has cinnamon notes to it. Though it is strong, it is not a negative aroma. I will admit, however, that I actually had to store the San Francisco Blend outside of my standard tea storage because I actually started smelling this blend on my other teas.
Despite the strong aroma of the tea in both dry form and while it is being brewed, it does not have a strong cinnamon taste! If you’ve had Adagio Tea’s Fiery Cinnamon Spice, this blend is lighter in cinnamon flavor than Adagio’s blend. I can drink it without any sweeteners or creams. If you wanted to, you could add some milk or almond milt to make a really nice mock-chai.
The independent tea shop is based in Chicago, Illinois, and I would recommend The San Francisco Blend if you are a fan of black teas with cinnamon. This is a great blend for your cup!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Coffee Tree and Tea Leaves Co
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
