Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
So I’m really enjoying this Pettaiagala Extra Long Leaf OP we got in from Sri Lanka, and I know the pumpkin chai blends go over better in the fall, but I couldn’t help thinking that this would make an awesome pumpkin chai. So we blended it with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, black peppercorns and organic pumpkin and other flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first saw the announcement for this Sri Lankan Pumpkin Chai from 52Teas I double checked my calendar. Yep, it’s March. (Well, it was at the time of this tea’s announcement!) Pumpkin Chai isn’t exactly a tea that you expect to find in March. In September, sure. Maybe even as early as August. OK. From August through January, but when February arrives, we’ve pretty much had it up to here with pumpkin. By that point, we’ve had pumpkin pies, pancakes, cookies, soup, cupcakes and tea. By February, it’s time to break out the Valentines and extinguish the jack-o-lantern.
So I entered into this tea experience with a certain amount of “meh.”
But I’m really enjoying this chai. It’s heavy on the nutmeg and I’m liking that. (Nutmeg is one of my favorite spices.) Usually when nutmeg is promised as one of the ingredients in a chai, I taste hints of the nutmeg but this is a well pronounced flavor.
I’m also getting a strong dose of cinnamon. The cardamom is a background note. The ginger and pepper hit the palate at about mid-sip. They aren’t overly aggressive, but they do offer a pleasant spicy zing to the cup. I find myself missing clove here – I think a little clove might help round out the flavors just a little bit better.
Last year (at a more appropriate pumpkin time – September 22) 52Teas offered a Pumpkin Chai that I reviewed in October and I seem to recall that having a nicely defined pumpkin-y flavor to it, but I’m not tasting as much pumpkin with this blend as with the previous chai. The pumpkin does emerge somewhat as the tea cools a little.
But the lack of clove and pumpkin-y flavor might hide the nutmeg and really, for me, this chai is about the NUTMEG! I could smell it when I opened the pouch. Before I smelled the cinnamon or ginger or cardamom or pepper, I smelled nutmeg. And as I hinted at before, this made me a very happy sipper, indeed.
And because this is the one of the best celebrations of nutmeg in a tea that I’ve had in quite some time, I will let the fact that it’s mid-April and I’m sipping on a pumpkin chai slide. Just this once.
Maple Apple Cider Herbal from Stash
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Stash
Tea Description:
This herbal tea combines the sweetness of maple with the tartness of apple for a lively, delicious cup. Fruity hibiscus and rooibos have been blended with sweet cinnamon, maple, apple and caramel flavors for this tasty tea cider. A touch of sugar brings out the flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This had a fancier box than other Stash teas I’ve seen so I’m wondering if, based on the flavour, this was a seasonal/Christmas blend? Upon opening up the box, the wrapper itself has a different design too. There’s definitely something different about this blend!
There’s really no smell to the dry teabag; if I concentrate maybe a little apple. It’s very weak though; I hoped the tea itself has more flavour. Steeped up, I could smell the cider part of the tea quite strongly, but no maple. I really hope I pick the maple up in the taste; it’s what intrigued me about this tea in the first place! It made this something a little bit different. And as a Canadian, I can never really resist anything maple anyway.
Sipping on it now though; and there definitely is more flavour than what the dry leaf led me to believe. It really does taste like apple cider; good apple cider too! Just the right balance of sweet, tart, and spice. And speaking of that spice, there’s obviously cinnamon but the nutmeg in here is a really nice touch too. Nutmeg has really grown on me, I never used to be a fan but now when a tea includes it I get so excited! That’s the first wave of flavour but then it eases a little into the maple; it’s a little raw and unrefined tasting with a sappy quality. I like it! It makes the cup sweet and layered, and I like that this one doesn’t feel completely put together, with the ’T’s crossed and ’I’s dotted. Sometimes a little reliable inconsistency makes a tea good. If that makes any sense at all.
There are also a few other interesting notes here; I’m picking woody-cedar like notes too! Maybe it’s a trick of the mind because of the raw, sappy maple or maybe part of it is from the rooibos – but it’s very enjoyable regardless. Actually, now that I think of it the more I’m sure it’s from the rooibos. I love how natural and earthy this tea tastes though; for once the wood like quality is contributing something that enhances the tea flavourings!
There’s surprisingly a lot going on with this tea bag. Colour me quite impressed!
Kolkata Street Chai Tea from Teabox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
This particular blend has been created using rich Assam tea and exotic Indian spices, including saffron, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger to make an extraordinary cup of chai. The flavor is virile and aroma heady. Savor a cup of this tea inspired by the city of joy – Kolkata.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The photo shows a few saffron threads in the Kolkata Street Chai Tea from Teabox, but I didn’t see that many when I measured out the tea into the basket of my Kati tumbler. In fact, I only saw one tiny piece of what might have been a saffron thread when I measured out my heaping bamboo scoop. There could have been more in there, I could have missed a small piece or two, but the picture shows numerous long threads of saffron. In reality, what I have is a fraction of a fraction of one thread.
I do realize that saffron is one of the most expensive spices out there (if not the most expensive) and to add it so liberally to a tea blend would be very costly. Given that they’re selling this blend for just under $10 for 100 grams of the tea, I can see why they need to be thrifty with the saffron threads, but don’t mislead the customers by showing a photograph with many saffron threads when the blend contains less than a fraction of that.
All that aside, this is a very tasty chai. The CTC Assam is very rich and malty. It’s somewhat astringent, but not overly so. It’s not bitter although I do get some bitterness from the saffron. I steeped the tea in near boiling water as per the suggested parameters on the website, and steeped it for only 3 minutes rather than the suggested 4 minutes. The black tea is full flavored and satisfying. It’s a good base for the spices.
I like the combination of spices here. Yes, I can taste the saffron (even a small amount IS effective). As I mentioned before, I get a slight bitter note from the saffron as well as a hint of honey like flavor from it. The honey-esque notes are a wonderful complement to the warm notes of cardamom and ginger, and I love the nutty flavor of the nutmeg in this.
I’m usually quite happy when I find a chai with nutmeg in the blend and of the many different chai blends that I’ve tasted over the years, I must say that this one has the most obvious nutmeg flavor to it! Quite a delight to taste!
I really enjoyed this tea despite my misgivings about the misleading photograph. The chai blend is very flavorful and I do recommend it. But I also would recommend to Teabox that they represent their tea more truthfully in the photograph. If someone buys this based on what they’re seeing in the photograph, they’re going to be disappointed when they open the package to find significantly less saffron than the photo suggests.
Eggnog Yunan Black Tea from 52Teas
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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic Royal Golden Yunnan infused with organic eggnog flavors, cinnamon chips, marigold petals and a touch of nutmeg. This long, tippy-leafed Yunan steeps a smooth cup with rich aroma and superb taste. The hints of creamy eggnog and spices just makes it an extra special treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After reading the various tasting notes on Steepster about this tea, I decided to let it cool a bit before I started to formulate my opinion about it.
The aroma of the tea wafting out of my teacup made the waiting difficult because it smells so good. I can smell notes of creamy eggnog with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. The fragrance of the cinnamon is especially praise-worthy in my opinion.
Cinnamon can sometimes come off as a very aggressive scent (and don’t get me wrong, I love the strong smell of cinnamon!) but here it’s so pleasantly delicate, reminiscent of what I might smell when I prepare snickerdoodle blondies. (Seriously, try that recipe, you’ll be glad you did.)
This is a really tasty tea. I like the Yunnan base. It’s a strong, robust tea and it has a really pleasing flavor. It’s an earthy, slightly peppery, rich tasting tea: a really good Yunnan – one that I’d be happy to drink as a pure tea.
Some would think that it’s wrong to flavor a tea like this, but I’m not one of them. I don’t agree that the only teas that should be flavored are the ones that aren’t good enough to be consumed as a pure tea. I think that if you start with better ingredients (including a better base tea), you’re going to have a better product. This is true of whatever you’re making, whether you’re making a soup or a batch of cookies or a cup of tea. You need quality ingredients to produce a quality product.
And I’m very happy with the quality of this Yunnan.
The flavoring is not quite as strong as I expected it to be. The eggnog flavor is definitely there but this isn’t as creamy as I would have expected it to be. I guess if I’m to offer a criticism about the tea, that would be it: it lacks a little in the creaminess department. When one pours a glass of eggnog, they are anticipating a very creamy drink. This just isn’t as creamy as the “Eggnog” part of the name of this tea would imply.
At the same time, I find it hard to actually complain about this because I think that if this were creamier or more eggnog-y, it would interfere with my enjoyment of the Yunnan tea and I really like the Yunnan!
The notes of spice are really nicely done here: accent notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Nothing overpowering. The spices are but a hint of flavor, just as it would be if you were to drink eggnog. The eggnog recipes that I know of don’t include cinnamon usually – usually nutmeg but not cinnamon – but I like that hint of cinnamon and I really like the way it plays with the natural spice notes of the Yunnan.
Overall, I enjoyed this tea. I found that adding a small amount of half & half (about half a teaspoon!) to the cup amplified the creaminess factor significantly without otherwise altering the flavor. I still got that really lovely Yunnan flavor, wonderfully warm hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and more eggnog flavor with the dash of dairy, so I highly recommend this addition to this tea!
Celebration Medley Rooibos Blend from Sloane Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tea Information:
Sweet spice and delightful seasonal aromas! Meet the perfect tea to get you through the cold months. Warm baking spices of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg blend seamlessly with citrus and the natural sweetness of apple and rose petals. This is a unique blend destined to become one of your favourites.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I loved how apple-y this smelled when I opened the pouch. And as it steeped, I was treated to more apple notes – it smelled a bit like apple cider! YUM!
The apple notes are well-defined as are the spices. The cinnamon and clove add warmth and I’m getting a hint of “spicy-hot” cinnamon, like someone added a red-hot candy or two to my cup and let it dissolve. It’s not overly ‘hot’ but there’s just a hint of that candy-like cinnamon-clove-y hot-sweet flavor.
The nutmeg adds earthy and nutty flavors that meld nicely with the rooibos. The orange is more of a background note, but it adds a tangy, bright taste that is rather pleasant. The orange note also plays with the red-hot flavor of the cinnamon and clove.
I don’t taste a strong rose note, but every once in a while I get this lovely floral note. It seems to weave its way in and out, not always making itself obvious or apparent, but this blend wouldn’t be the same without that gentle whisper of rose.
To steep, I used my Kati Tumbler and added 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of tisane to the basket and 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F. I steeped it for 10 minutes.
I enjoyed this and would be happy to drink it again! It’s a little spicy-hot, it’s sweet, it’s fruity, and it’s got enough going on with it to keep the palate interested. It’s a fun and tasty blend!