There was a while there during my tea journey that I was terrified of cardamom. Sometimes it has this overwhelming flavor that can get really old, really fast. When I saw this vanilla latte tea, which was previously named Cardamom Vanilla Creme, I was a little intimidated by the cardamom. I wasn’t sure how it was going to pan out, but i’m definitely glad that I gave it a chance.
The main component here is definitely the vanilla. It smells fluffy and creamy and tastes even more so. The second component is a mixture of the cardamom and black tea. The black tea is strong but smooth. If you’ve never tried cardamom before, the best way to describe it is an herbal-y/citrus-y spice. Its not “hot” or “spicy” per se. To me it is more so herbal/grassy tasting, but it can sometimes make cinnamon and nutmeg taste spicy and it can be overwhelming depending on what it is mixed with. In the case of Vanilla Latte Tea, however, it is spot on!
There is something about vanilla and cardamom together that truly makes me wonder why there aren’t more teas that utilize this brilliant combination. The vanilla is sweet and creamy, and the cardamom is herbal with a slight hint of citrus. It doesn’t need anything else and I love how the blender let the vanilla and cardamom shine on top of the black tea and honeybush. This blend is truly dreamy and is highly recommended by yours truly.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea/Honeybush
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Vanilla tea lattes are the comfort food of tea lovers. It’s one of our personal favorites, so we’ve created a tea that is a delightful balance of sweet and spice, perfect for latte time. The base is a fresh black Ceylon tea paired with our favorite nutty honeybush tea, and topped with the lightest touch of creamy, dreamy vanilla extract.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Banana Pancakes from 52Teas. . . . .
Whenever I hear the phrase “banana pancakes” I always think of Jack Johnson’s song- “we’ll make banana pancakes pretend like its the weekend…” My parents used to like him when I was little and I remember sitting in the car listening to his music, I remember it as very relaxing! Now that I think of it, it would have accompanied this cuppa very well! Anyways, the fact that I just love banana is a new thing for me. Before this year I never would have really picked up anything banana, except maybe a chocolate banana smoothie. Lately I’ve been really loving banana teas, though.
So when I saw that 52 Teas’ new blend was Banana Pancakes, I was really excited.
Opening up my sample bag the smell of maple was very present as well a hint of banana. Naturally, this tea was already right up my ally- another flavor that I get excited over is maple. I steeped this properly, you have to follow the steeping instructions on 52 Teas’ packaging with their teas, I feel like the black tea is very bold and strong from 52 Teas and if you overstep it’s going to be bitter. Since I steeped this properly, it was dang good. Smooth, sweet, and very pancake-y. The maple and banana mingled really nicely and definitely reminded me of banana pancakes.
I have tried two teas that were dubbed the name “banana pancakes”. Both were delicious, but I really enjoyed this one just a tad more. I would love to continue trying banana teas! So, if you like banana stay tuned….and give this blend a try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Teaa
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!
Ooh Peppermint! – Harlow Tea Co.
When I received the Oo’ Peppermint Tea from Harlow Tea Co I first thought, “Oh man, this is going to be another one of those teas that extremely overpowered.” For any kind of peppermint tea the creator of said tea uses the oil from the peppermint plant and you can easily overpower any creation with just a tad over the amount of oil that was intended. But Harlow Tea didn’t depend on oil but instead the peppermint plant itself! Which, in fact, makes for a delightful flavor.
But this tea is not just peppermint leaf, its base is actually oolong tea (which gives meaning to the “Oo” in Oo’ Peppermint) with the accompanying flavors of tulsi leaf, almond, and vanilla bean. And I believe that this tea is blended to perfection for its splendid flavor is smooth and comforting. And that means a lot coming from a tea drinker such as myself for I usually try to stay away from vanilla. Paired with the almond makes the two most powerful flavors, the vanilla and the peppermint leaf, agree with each other to a point where you can have a cup that is too strong or too sweet.
Now on to the details about this tea. Harlow Tea Co. is an Etsy run shop and their prices are pretty fair indeed. For this particular cup it is $4 for 1 oz, $6.49 for 2 oz, and $10 for 3 oz. They also offer samples of all of their teas for a mere 50 cents. So if you are curious I would take advantage of their fair pricing.
All in all this will be a tea that I will keep stocked in my pantry. It will be a perfect tea to accompany me in illness or in health. I can’t wait to try more teas from this company for they have already won me over. And just as a side note, to all of you that are aware of/love Twinings Buttermint I would say to try this on for size.
See you for the next cuppa!
Kara
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co
Description
Do you love peppermint, well I hope so! This tea gives a kick of peppermint that lingers long after that last sip is taken! Oolong has long, pun intended, been known as an all around pleasing tea for those who may find green tea too bitter and black tea too strong. Love both, then oolong is a perfect combination of the two!
Oo’ Peppermint offers hints of almond and is balanced with pieces of vanilla bean. You may even see some vanilla bean seeds in your tea!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai from 52Teas. . .
I’ve had this before and enjoyed it well enough but wasn’t blown away. Today I decided to try something different in the manner of prep by making this stovetop style. My hope was this would bring out the flavors.
I will say this may have clogged my filter so I might have lost some tea but what I did get is quite lovely. The backnote is all spice, like actual spice with a large dose of clove and a gingery kick.
Until the spice hits your throat, however, it’s all sweet vanilla marshmallow flavor and silky white chocolate creaminess. This blend didn’t have as many chocolate chips as my last did so in this case it makes sense it is not overly chocolate in flavor. Nonetheless, for a tea called CHOCOLATE Marshmallow Spicier Chai, I do think that component should play a bigger role.
Nonetheless, the stovetop method is definitely the way to go with this tea. It’s richer, creamier, and a heck of a lot spicier. Yum!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below to see what blends are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Caramel Torte from A Quarter To Tea. . .
My daughter is one of THOSE people who goes crazy over pumpkin-everything in the fall. When I saw this sample, I knew we had to taste it together, so I packed it up for the trip out of town to her place.
The dry leaf smells wonderful, with a creamy vanilla and spice scent that is very promising. The white tea leaves are large and there are chunks of all kinds of goodies in this blend. We followed the recommended steeping instructions to a T.
The steeped tea has a wonderfully comforting aroma, different from the leaves. The dry leaf smelled primarily of vanilla and caramel to me, but the clove is intensified by steeping and the aroma of clove tingles in your nose as you take your first sips. It isn’t strong enough to over-tingle the tongue or detract from the creamy caramel and vanilla flavors.
My daughter said she was pleased to find that she tasted PUMPKIN, and not just pumpkin spices as is so often the case. Maybe that is because of the sweet potato bits in the blend.
This was a limited edition blend that is presently sold out, so why review it? Because it may give readers a good idea of the skill of the tea blenders at A Quarter To Tea and some insight into the quality of their ingredients.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Ginger and pumpkin with a slight pastry and note cool into a dreamy caramel creme.
Abundant caramel when slightly cooled.