52Teas’ the 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 12

by MrsPremise

Day 12!

Wow!  It’s finally here, Christmas morning!  And the final tea of the 12 Teas of Christmas is Gingerbread Brûlée Black tea.  It is a perfect choice for the grand finale: after all, what is more showy and celebratory than creme brûlée?

This black tea features fragrant and delicious pieces of candied ginger accompanied by festive gingerbread spices.  The dry leaf smells like putting your nose in a tin of gingerbread cookies, dark, spicy, a little peppery, and plenty sweet.

Brewed, this tea is robust and flavorful, don’t let the dessert theme lull you into thinking this is a mild blend.  The black tea base has plenty oomph to wake you up no matter how early your family is opening Christmas presents.

I personally love kick-your-tastebuds strong chai flavors, but this tea made me realize that there is more than one way to have a tasty ginger tea.  I really appreciate the caramelized black tea tones and I’m glad the ginger isn’t so hot that it drowns out the other flavors.

The molasses tones from the gingerbread are a perfect match for the crispy, burnt sugar flavors of the brûlée.  There is just a perfect hint of heat from the candied ginger root, and the comforting warmth of other cookie spices.  If you can’t bake a tray of gingerbread cookies, brew a pot of this tea instead and make your kitchen smell like the holidays.

Merry Chistmas!

 

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:

This is a tea that I had planned out way back when I was still in the planning stages of taking over 52Teas – but kept putting off again and again. Why? I don’t know. But I sure am glad I finally blended this because WOW! It’s ah-ma-ZING!

I started out with a blend of black teas (Yunnan, Assam & Ceylon) and added ginger & candied ginger, a bit of cinnamon & cloves, some freshly shaved nutmeg as well as some creme brulee essence to complete the tea. 

The cuppa starts out with strong gingerbread notes with mere hints of the creamy brulee. The ginger is definitely present in at the start, so there’s no mistaking that this is, indeed, a GINGERBREAD brulee. As I continue to sip, the custard-y notes of the creme brulee start to emerge and the flavors seem to come together and become more smooth with each sip. By the end of the cup, I find a very lovely balance of both creme brulee (and I even some of that bittersweet burnt sugar in there!) and gingerbread. 

And of course, this is organic, VEGAN, gluten-free & allergen free!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

MrsPremise

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels. When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends. Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

This post was posted in 52Teas, Black Tea

A Day Late But Day 16 of the Plum Deluxe Tea Lover’s Advent Calendar. . . SPOILERS!

by CuppaGeek

I had a kiddo’s birthday party weekend over the last weekend and found myself a bit behind in my reviewing of the Plum Deluxe Tea Lover’s Advent Calendar.  We are a bit over halfway thru and I will say, I’m happy I was able to experience this calendar, but there have been a 50/50 toss up on the hits and misses.  Day 16, I’m happy to report, was a hit!

Gingerbread Chai Tea was Day 16 and I’m  not a huge black tea drinker nor am I a big chai drinker but lately I’ve found myself drawn to all things gingerbread, so needless to say, I was excited to check out this blend.  For the steeping set up, I brewed up this blend with freshly prepped boiling water and allowed to steep for 5 minutes and then cooled for a few more.

First sip in and I have to say this tea was such a delight.  I wish the gingerbread flavors were a bit stronger, but there is a delicious mix of spices and tea for sure.  Definitely a wonderful blend to thrown in some frothed milk (which I did) and enjoy as a latte.  If you aren’t a fan of spiced tea, this tea doesn’t have that smack you in the face ginger or cardamom notes that one can normally see, more a gentle touch of spiced goodness that warms the heart during these colder last few days of 2018. This is one of those teas where you wrap your hands around the mug and it feels like the tea is hugging you back.

Subtle spiced chai goodness with ginger and orange flavors leading the charge with the honeybush providing this lush vanilla background.  All in all, a delicious tea to enjoy for the holidays!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black/Honeybush
Where to Buy:  Plum Deluxe
Description

This tea blend is part of the advent calendar but is available in the store. Click below.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

CuppaGeek

I am a late 30s something mom who loves her family, will be getting married to a wonderful guy and has 4 kids (2 mine-2 his). We have a beautiful life together and I wouldn't change a thing. Tea is a passion that quickly turned into an obsession, very similar to my love for polka dots, the horror genre, and anything that is geeky and fun. I drink all kinds of tea and will try a tea twice to make sure I didn't bumble the first infusion. Besides SororiTea Sisters, I'm also the blogger and genius (I use that word very loosely) behind CuppaGeek, where I review tea, books, and the horror genre.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Honeybush, Plum Deluxe

Gingerbread Man from BRUU Tea. . . .

by Mary

 

Continuing with my apparent disregard for the non-holiday season (remember when I sipped on a Chanukah-themed tea in March?), I grabbed this sample out of my stash for our nightly tea lattes the other day. Skeptical as I was, as I usually am with red rooibos, both my fiancé (fellow nighttime tea lover) and I couldn’t get enough of this one.

All the goodness of red rooibos with none of the medicinal ick, this one is like a woodsy-orange, with hints of custard and pink peppercorn spice. Rather than a creamsicle-esque orange, this one is a bit more reminiscent of a holiday orange, dotted with cloves, smothered in warm custard cream. Mmm. Am I making anyone else as hungry as I’m making myself right now? No? Moving on.

Would I necessarily harken these flavors to a gingerbread man? Probably not. Would I sip this one nightly, regardless of name or closest holiday (I’m pretty sure this one isn’t meant to be sipped on the 4th of July, but I say it matters not)? Yes and yes.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Rooibos
Where to Buy:  BRUU Tea
Description

This tea was part of a monthly tea subscription box.  Click below for more info.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Mary

Hi there! I'm Mary, a 27-year-old mental health professional living with my fiancé and our quirky kitten in the Midwest! I've loved tea for as long as I can remember-- in fact, I have vivid memory of being four or five in a tea shop and being mesmerized by all the tea flavors and proclaiming that I "was going to be kind of adult who drank tea, not coffee." A stint living (and tea-drinking my way through) London and twenty-some years later, I'm still channeling that sassy four-year-old and loving my tea habit. When I'm not sipping a cuppa, you'll find me reading, doing yoga, traveling, exploring my own city, planning our wedding and experimenting with different healthful and healing foods in my kitchen.

This post was posted in BRUU, Rooibos

Gingerbread Rooibos from Market Spice. . . .

by Sophia

I was a little nervous about this one. Like I’ve said before, I don’t usually like ginger. So I definitely approached this blend with trepidation. I wasn’t sure if it would be too spicy, like ginger sometimes is. I also don’t usually like rooibos, it sometimes has too much of a woodsy taste, too earthy. My hopes for this tea was more of a gingerbread cookie with icing.

My wish was granted! Once steeped, this blend smells like I am baking gingerbread cookies and mixing vanilla icing in my kitchen! I was so happy because the rooibos is basically undetectable. Its super smooth and sweet with a hint of cookie. The ginger is less spicy and more sweet, like the kind of ginger you taste in gingerbread cookies. I did add agave which definitely cut the spiciness and added some sweetness, but this blend definitely was reminiscent of cookies regardless.

I finished my cup in less than 5 minutes that’s how delicious this was. It was smooth and reminded me of those little gingerbread man cookies covered in vanilla icing. I actually love this blend so much that I wish it was caffeinated so that I could have it in the mornings. If it had caffeine I think it would be one of my favorites, especially in the fall/winter. I would really recommend trying this even if you don’t generally like rooibos because it definitely wasn’t a typical rooibos tea. Very yummy! This was the first blend I tried from Market Spice, but I will definitely be trying more in the future!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy:  Market Spice
Description

This tea doesn’t appear to be available now but click below for rooibos blends that are.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sophia

Hi, my name is Sophia. I am a first time mother to a beautiful little girl who will be 1 in July 2017. I spend my days at home with her and when I get a minute to myself, I usually spend that time making, drinking, or researching tea! My love for loose leaf tea is relatively new. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my mother (a tea addict herself) brought me to DAVIDsTEA. I enjoyed a cup of their Coconut Cream Pie Oolong and was instantly hooked! Since then, my addiction has grown to fill entire cabinets, and shows no sign of stopping. I am the creator of the Facebook group CommuniTEA where we have one big tea discussion. It is a great group for those new to the tea-world. I feel strongly about spreading the joy of loose leaf tea. I like making instructional videos and helping those that are new to the art of tea-making so that they, too, can share in the happiness that tea brings. I am excited to see where this hobby takes me and I will continue to spread the joy!

This post was posted in Market Spice, Rooibos