Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealicious Tea Company
Tea Description:
Our French Canadian Maple Black Tea is a classic blend of Ceylon and maple flavor resulting in a premium taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea had me with the very first sip. It is SO incredibly yummy.
The maple flavoring is perfect – it is sweet and a strong flavor but, I can also taste the black tea. It is a Ceylon black tea, so it is fairly mellow. With the addition of the maple flavoring what might otherwise be considered a medium-bodied tea becomes a rich, full-bodied tea.
That being said, this isn’t what I’d call an energizing type of tea. Instead, it is a cozy, comforting cup… a very pleasant tasting tea, it isn’t overly invigorating so it isn’t exactly the kind of tea you’d want to drink on the mornings when you need to get up and go.
Instead, I’d recommend this tea for the days you want to linger and curl up with a deliciously cozy cup of tea. Perfect for weekend mornings when you can take your time and savor this delicious maple flavor: It has that classic maple flavor that reminds me of maple sugar candy! There are complex nutty tones (chestnuts!) and a gentle warm spice note in the distance. YUM!
This is sweet without additions, but if you want something sweeter – a little bit of turbinado sugar will turn this into a delicious dessert-y treat in no time. This tea would also make a fantastic latte – just brew it a little stronger by adding a little extra leaf, and then add steamed, frothed milk to the brewed cup: it’s a creamy and indulgent way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Of course, if you want to amplify the maple flavor, you can also sweeten it with a drizzle of maple syrup.
As for me, I love this straight up – nothing added. It has an enjoyable sweetness to it that makes my sweet tooth happy without me needing to add calories to the cup. While this would be tasty as an iced tea, I prefer it hot, because the flavors have a very autumnal taste to them, and hot tea really plays to that cozy autumn-ness of the tea.
This is my first tea that I’ve sampled from this company, and I’m thrilled with it. I can definitely see a Tealicious Tea Company order in my future!
On The Fifth Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent to Me …
This is another tea I was fairly certain would make it into one of the coveted spots of the 12 Days of Christmas sampler. This one has been a huge hit, it has even been reblended a couple of times and it manages to sell out quickly. (In other words, if this is a tea you want to try, I recommend getting to 52Teas NOW and buy one of the revived in-stock pouches, because, they will not last long.
For the 5th Day of Christmas, 52Teas chose this tea …
PANCAKE BREAKFAST FLAVORED BLACK TEA
This tea has been a big hit on Steepster. And for good reason. It’s not only incredibly good … it actually tastes like pancakes that have been topped with butter and maple syrup. It is pleasantly sweet (but not too much), buttery, maple-y, and there is a bread-y, cake-y kind of taste in there that gives it the pancake-like taste.
This is one of those teas that is best served warm, and it is a rich, satisfying tea so I think it’s fitting that it was chosen for a Sunday tea. It’s one of those teas that you want to reach for after sleeping in a bit.
If you’d like to read my review of this tea from earlier this year, click here. I really don’t know what else I can say about this tea that I haven’t already said, except that this is one that you need to taste to believe. It’s remarkable.
Maple Cheesecake Ti Kwan Yin from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Here’s another extremely limited edition bonus blend. We have enough for exactly 24 1.5oz. pouches of this incredible blend, and when it’s gone, it’s GONE.
We started with a competition grade Ti Kwan Yin oolong for this blend and infused it with the flavors of sweet maple and tangy cheesecake. This is not going to last long, so get yours before it sells out.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A few months ago, Frank from 52Teas posed a question in the Steepster Forum, asking for ideas/suggestions for flavors for a few very limited edition teas (or V.I.T. = Very Important Tea). One of the suggestions I made for the Ti Kwan Yin was Maple Cheesecake … and viola! Here it is!
And I have to tell you that this tastes even better than I imagined it would back when I suggested the flavor. The Ti Kwan Yin is sweet, creamy and possesses toasty notes that compliment the maple flavors perfectly. And I think what I like about this particular blend best is that the competition grade Ti Kwan Yin is not outplayed by these other flavors. It stands out, strong and proud, as it should.
The maple flavor is sweet and offers a certain warmth to the cup, giving it a very autumnal kind of taste. The “cheesecake” flavor at first seems a bit absent, but, as I near the end of my first cup, I find that it comes through very well, with a lip-smacking tangy flavor that is distinctly cheesecake-y. And … what was that? Yes, I did just taste a hint of buttery pastry-like flavor. YUM!
Yes, 52Teas is my favorite tea company, and yes, I say this often: this is one of 52Teas’ best blends yet! But, this really is one of their better blends to come out recently. Sadly, this is a V.I.T. blend which means it was also very limited and has sold out, and will most likely never be blended again.
But, if you were one of the lucky few that managed to get your hands on one of the few pouches of this blend, I recommend infusing your leaves at least twice. The second infusion is even better than the first – the cheesecake flavors really seem to POP. This tea is plenty sweet on its own, but if you want to bring out the flavors a little more, try adding a tiny pinch of sugar. Or … better yet … try a drop or two of real maple syrup.
Absolutely delicious!
Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
After creating our Pumpkin Cheesecake blend last week, I was bitten by the pumpkin bug, and reminded of the delicious pumpkin pancakes my wife likes to make. As popular as our pancake breakfast tea is, I thought this could be just as popular–a Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast tea.
Here is the essence of pumpkin pancakes, drizzled in warm maple syrup and topped with a touch of fresh creamy butter. (To our vegan friends, I assure you this is still 100% Vegan, and we only use natural flavors–something of a miracle, if you ask me, but a delicious miracle.)
Taster’s Review:
As I sit here typing, this tea is in my mug which is placed right in front of me… and the aroma wafting out of the mug is irresistible. It smells so good that my taste buds seem to be focusing all their powers to make my hands stop typing and start sipping.
And … YUM! Yes, of course, yum. This is 52Teas we’re talking about. Frank is the “Willy Wonka of Teas.” I am sure that he’s working on some fantastic blend that is a 3 course meal all in itself.
But in the meantime, I’m blown away by this Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast tea. It really delivers what it promises: the flavors of pumpkin, pancake, butter and maple syrup are all there. Yummy! Plus, of course, I can taste the flavor of rich black tea.
The black tea base that Frank uses is a blend of Nilgiri and Assam teas, and it provides a very solid backdrop for the unusual blends that Frank dreams up. However, I have noticed that with some of the blends – more so than with others – it comes across as slightly bitter. And that is the case with this tea, so I recommend caution when brewing it, start out with just 2 minutes (or 2 minutes 15 seconds) and adjust according to your own taste. I brewed this cup at 2 1/2 minutes, and I think it could benefit with a little less time. It is still very flavorful, and I’m not getting much bitterness here, but, I can sense that if I steeped it even 15 seconds longer I would have a bitter cup.
As it is, though, it is rich and flavorful without being too bitter. Next time, though, I think I shall brew it for just 2 minutes.
I enjoyed my cup straight up and found that it is pleasantly sweet on its own. I then tried it with a little sprinkling of turbinado sugar and found that this brought out some of the maple-y tones a bit more which was nice. I think next time I try it, I shall try a drizzle of pure maple syrup and see how delightful that turns out!
At the time of this writing, this blend is sold out. I hope Frank does decide to reblend it for those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to try it, because this would make the PERFECT tea to serve with breakfast on Thanksgiving morning!
(Red) Maple Spice Tea from Shanti Tea
Tea Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
No Description on the website YET…brand new offering!
Tasters Review:
(Red) Maple Spice Tea is another new Maple offering from Shanti. This one is pretty good. It pairs a nice sweet Rooibos with some even spices and the Maple flavors are mixed in underneath. It has just enough of all of the flavors without going overboard!
I do like this Maple and More Offering from Shanti Tea but they have some REALLY GOOD Maple offerings right now – some I like more than others – but all of them – I DO LIKE – overall!
