Last year for my birthday I was gifted an A Quarter to Tea monthly subscription for 8 months. When the gift ended, I wasn’t ready to give up my monthly box of delicious so I continued on the subscription myself. In March, I received what I like to call my “Anniversary Box” as I had come to a full year of A Quarter to Tea tastiness being brought monthly to my door.
This box has some great options including Green Velvet Cake, a flavored green tea; Pistachio and Cream Cookie, a flavored white tea; and Whisky Chocolate Truffle and Hot Cross Buns, which are both flavored black teas.
Green Velvet Cake: This is the tea I was most excited to try given my love of cake and all things dessert. First thing I noticed was that the dry leaf and the steeped tea capture the scent of cream cheese frosting perfectly.That frosting comes through in taste too, albeit not as strongly as the smell would suggest. Peeking over the edge of that sweet icing flavor, is just a touch of the kukicha base – slightly grassy yet fresh. Personally I could do without the vegetal input of the base tea and with a touch more actual cake notes. The frosting is nice but it isn’t called “Green Velvet Cake Frosting”.
Pistachio and Cream Cookie: This blend combines white tea, sprinkles, pistachios, rose petals, and natural flavors. Though the “cream cookie” calls to me, pistachio is a flavor I am indifferent to and rose just isn’t appealing. When I had this before, it had a creamy note to it, though today it has less cream. Instead of that cream, this has almost a touch of spice and definitely more rose. There is also more pistachio flavor which comes through clearly and helps sell “baked good”. When I think about it, I can see this as a cookie with a hint of brown sugar, a hint of spice, and the distinct pistachio nuttiness. The rose is what takes me out of that cookie mindset so my preference would be to eliminate that ingredient altogether. However, that is more due to personal preferences than a reflection on the rose’s contribution to the tea.
Whisky Chocolate Truffle: This was the one I was least excited about trying. As cute as the shamrock sprinkles are, whisky just isn’t my favorite and chocolate can be hit or miss, especially when cacao nibs and shells are used like they are in this tea. Other ingredients include marshmallow root, semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, and natural flavors. As I drink this, I know it is not for me. It has a chocolate undertone but one that is more dark and bitter than milky and sweet, which is my preference. There is also a definite alcohol vibe here that again isn’t really to my tastes. Something about this tea overall comes off very dried fruit/raisin/prune to me and though I can see this being nice for others, I am just not part of the demographic this was blended for.
Hot Cross Buns: Comprised of black tea, lemongrass, calendula, raisins, and natural flavors, the steeped tea smells lemony and sweet with a touch of raisins. It is certainly selling the baked good scent with lemon glaze. Now I should say I have never actually had a Hot Cross Bun but if they taste anything like the first sip of this tea, I would devour mountains of them because this. is. good. The yunnan base has a strong bread flavor and the lemongrass tastes like a sweet glaze drizzled on top. The raisin pops up every now and again as an explosion of juicy sweetness, just as a raisin in a bun would explode when you bit into it. Honestly, this tea just captures fresh baked goods perfectly…warm, spicy, sweet, doughy and delicious!
As far as the teas in this box go, Hot Cross Buns is by far my favorite, followed by Green Velvet Cake and Pistachio and Cream Cookie. Whisky Chocolate Truffle was a miss for me but I can appreciate that there is quite the variety here to appeal to all tastes. What worked for me might not work for others and vice versa. That is what makes subscription boxes like this so fun!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Subscription Box
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
The gift that keeps on giving!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
