I grew up with the luxury of an AMAZING frozen custard stand within a mile of my house. In my younger years, I was all about the crazy flavors– brownie this and triple chocolate that, caramel twists and marshmallowy swirls and all that jazz. I always gave my mom and grandma a little side-eye when we’d be out for a girls afternoon treat and they’d get super pumped when the flavor of the day was butter pecan. Uh, guys? You know it’s just nuts in practically-vanilla custard, right?
Fast forward many years to the now-wiser adult that I am, and I can totally understand their infatuation with the simple goodness of butter pecan. Creamy, nutty, sweet-but-not-saccharine. Yes please.
As soon as I sniffed my sample of Blend Bee’s Pecan Assam, I was immediately transported back to those custard days of my youth. It’s everything I’d hope it would be with pecan so upfront in the title. It brews up strong and nutty without a hint of bitterness in the smooth Assam. With a little sweetener and coconut milk as a latte, the buttery undertones really shine for that spot-on butter pecan flavor goodness.
And bonus! It’s chock-full of good-for-you herbs like milk thistle and dandelion root. What! Count me a huge fan. With this one to keep me warm in the winter and a smooth cone of butter pecan custard to keep me cool in the summer, I’ve got all my buttery-delicious craving bases covered. Mmm.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
Filled with roots & seeds designed to help cleanse your body and soul. This butter pecan infused Black Assam Tea will be the perfect go to tea after a night of fun, or anytime you want a pick me up.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Fresh Baked Sugar Cookies Tea #SimpsonandVail
I have never done a tea swap, until now. I am so glad I found out about the world of tea swapping. It is so awesome! I just got a bunch of tea while clearing out my own cabinet a little bit. How can you go wrong with free tea?
The first I decided to try was my tea swap buddy’s favorite, and it is called Almond Sugar Cookie. It is a black tea blend by Simpson and Vail. I have never had a tea from Simpson and Vail before and was excited to try it out. I love cookies and I love almond! I was hoping for genuine flavor here and boy did I get that, and more.
This tea smells exactly like fresh baked sugar cookies. Seriously it does! And it does it without tasting artificial. I steeped this blend with near-boiling water for about 5 minutes. The black tea was smooth and mellow, not astringent or bitter. The smooth, malty flavor of the black tea accented the cookie flavor very well. The almond here was not overpowering and it was not overly sweet, artificial, or cherry-like. We have all had that almond flavored tea that tastes like cherries because of how sweet the almond flavoring the company used was. I don’t like teas like that. Rest assured, Simpson and Vail really hit the nail on the head here. I am absolutely in love!
I really cant say enough about this tea. It was so realistic to fresh baked sugar cookies speckled with crunchy almonds. I will definitely be ordering from this company and am excited to try out their other teas. I was perusing their website a bit and saw that their prices are very reasonable, too. I would recommend you check them out.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Heavenly! That’s the best word to describe this black tea blend. You’ll think you’re in a bakery when you open the bag and the aroma of nutty goodness wafts out. The brewed tea is divine – with no calories!
Ingredients: Black teas, almonds, flavoring and safflower blossoms. Contains Tree Nuts.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 3 minutes.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
A Dessert Tea from Tea Source. . .Pistachio Shortbread Style!
Wow. Just wow.
This is another one of the teas I received during my first ever tea-swap. I absolutely love pistachio and I know I have said this in my reviews before. I also really like anything nutty and dessert teas. So, pistachio shortbread was kind of a no brainer choice for me. I can honestly say that this is one of my all-time favorites, hands down, no questions asked. It is definitely my favorite pistachio flavored teas. After my second sip I searched out this company, Tea Source, and tried to see if I could buy more (it is available on their website!!!).
Pistachio Shortbread is a flavored black tea blend. It contains black tea, pistachios, flavor, rose petals, marzipan drops, and almonds. What an amazing list of ingredients, right? Rose petals are often paired with pistachio which I find very interesting, but it is most likely because the floral flavor of the rose really compliments the creamy and nutty flavor of pistachios and even almonds. The addition of marzipan drops is what I think brings this tea to the next level.
The smell of the steeped liquid is definitely marzipan. I can smell the sweet almond and just a slight hint of rose, but mostly just sweet almond and black tea. The first flavor that registered for me was marzipan/sweet almond and the black tea. The almond and marzipan was not overpowering or artificial, though. It was lightly sweet and nutty and reminds me of almond cookies. I can tell that this is where “shortbread” comes in and I do detect a hint of vanilla, which really goes well with sweet almond and rose. The rose follows very quickly. Its not in-your-face with the floral it is just a very small hint. The aftertaste is totally pistachio nut. You can really taste the pistachio upon the finish and it definitely seals the deal for me.
This blend really was done so well. I cant say enough good things about it! If you like biscottis, pistachio ice cream, shortbread, or marzipan you will definitely be into this blend. And if you are unsure whether you like those things or not, you should still try this blend and I guarantee you will be won over. That’s how good it is!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Source
Description
This black tea blend is smooth, rich, sweet, and silky, with notes of pistachio coming through.
Contains: black tea, pistachios, flavor, rose petals, Marzipan drops, almonds.
CONTAINS NUTS
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Roasted Chesnut Rooibos from Simpson & Vail. . . .
If tea were the dating world, rooibos tea would be the Nice Guy. You know: the fellow in the Friend Zone.
The Bad Guy (black tea) rides a motorcycle, neglects your feelings, keeps you up all night, and has cryptic moods.
The Nice Guy (rooibos) is friends with your mom, can balance a budget, and understands the nuances of nutrition and sleep.
You don’t take the Nice Guy seriously, but he’s important. He will be your evening companion when you need one. You can call upon him at any time. He is sweet and smooth, and one day you realize, maybe you SHOULD take him seriously. He could be a major player in your life!
My first thought when trying Roasted Chestnut Rooibos was “this is like a brown tweed jacket.” It’s sturdy and solid. There’s a classic reliability to it. The nutty and earthy flavors contribute to this impression. There’s also a slight sweetness here, a creaminess. I’m not sure if it’s the innate gentle red rooibos or this blend, but this is a yummy mix.
A mix for evening before bed.
Or any time, really. Rooibos will be there, waiting for you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Usher in the holiday season with this joyous brew. If you like chestnuts roasted on an open fire you’ll love this caffeine free tisane! The dry leaf has the aroma of nutty, heavenly goodness and the brewed cup explodes with this flavor followed by a light buttery taste. So curl up by a fire with this delicious cup while you read your favorite book and listen to holiday songs. We dare you to try not to sing “that” song!
Ingredients: Red Rooibos, orange blossoms and flavoring.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.
Caffeine free. Certified Kosher
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sacrd SynchroniciTEA from Cup of Love. . . .
Sacred SynchroniciTEA from Cup of Love is a lovely blend of black tea and green tea for the base with added flower petals and vanilla. The black tea is actually flavored with the vanilla, specifically, and according to their website.
I sometimes have a hard time with floral flavored teas because I find that they ‘get stale’ quicker or ‘tend to turn bitter’ easier than others. With Sacred SynchroniciTEA from Cup of Love that is NOT the case. This flavored black and green blend is done nicely. It’s fresh, flavorful, floral, and creamy. It’s a tad sweet, too! The vanilla really takes it to the next level!
I also find that it can be difficult to accomplish an even flavor profile when blending black tea and green tea. Cup of Love – was once again – able to do this successfully! I could taste both the black tea and the green tea, evenly. Neither was over powering the other. It made for a solid, blended base. When you taste the floral and vanilla flavors they work in harmony with the base – and again are not too overpowering. I really like the flavor and appreciate the quality of Sacred SynchroniciTEA from Cup of Love.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Green Tea Blend
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
Description
A unique and original flavor blended from the Sacred SynchroniciTEA of mixing the floral majesty of a rich, China Jasmine Green Tea and the decadent, lusciousness of an English Vanilla Black Tea.
A one of a kind taste with floral, nutty notes.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
