- Unbleached
- Minimalistic (don’t use much material)
- Biodegradable (well, it’s just a thin piece of paper, and tea leaves are compostable)
- Chemical-free
- Glue-free
- Gluten-free
- Without extra packaging like staples, strings, or tags
It’s a very clever design and I really appreciate the effort they put into making eco-friendly tea so accessible.
So anyway. I steeped this tea for four minutes. I enjoyed the steeping process as well as the tasting process, because this tea gives off a wonderful aroma as it brews. It’s actually so good that you might end up worrying that the tea won’t live up to its fragrance when you actually taste it. It smells like an excellent dessert, which of course it should since it’s dessert-flavored, and creates the impression that you’re baking something custardy in your kitchen.
After steeping, it’s become a nice medium-dark color; it’s reddish/orange/brown, and the smell has strong notes of vanilla and cream. The first sip definitely has more black tea flavor than you’d expect from the fragrance. There’s lots of pudding flavor too, especially in the aftertaste. A bit sweet on its own (without sugar), and it’s very, very buttery.
With milk, it tastes like a custardy dessert in liquid form– it doesn’t taste eggy, though (which is probably a good thing, because who would want to drink eggy tea? Although eggnog chai is definitely a thing I drink sometimes, but it tastes more of spices than of egg fortunately).
Four minutes is just the right steeping time. If you wanted it more dessert-like, you could add sugar to boost the sweetness. But I’m having it for breakfast, not dessert, so I’m not doing that because it seems plenty sweet enough the way it is. Milk goes very well with this (and adds a slightly sweet dimension while also boosting the creaminess). Especially whole milk. I don’t vouch for creamless milk though. Anyway, the creaminess plays into the pudding illusion, so that’s another positive.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Republic of Tea
Description
This decadent dessert tea has the homemade flavors of vanilla sponge cake drizzled with rich caramel sauce. The full-bodied base of premium black tea lends itself well to a splash of milk, making it a perfect afternoon tea to partner with puddings, scones and shortbread.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea by Harney and Sons
I steeped this tea in approximately eight ounces of 212-degree water, using one tea bag, for about three and a half minutes.
These are really cute pyramid tea sachets! (I know pyramid sachets have gotten much more popular recently partly because everybody is recognizing how cute they are, but it still strikes me every time!) I don’t usually buy these, but you have to admit they’re super convenient. There’s no measuring, no latching and unlatching a tea-ball or pouring through a strainer after steeping, no wishing the mesh was smaller so the tea particles wouldn’t get out, no wondering why all of my tea steeping baskets are in the dirty dishes and how I’ll ever get the cooked-on milk out of the mesh of the one that I made chai with that one time.
The Harney website says that there are three types of cinnamon in this tea; I wonder which ones they are. Google says there are four main types of cinnamon in the world today that are used commercially: Ceylon, Cassia, Saigon, and Korintje, so I guess this tea has most of those. It certainly smells very strongly of cinnamon, and there are chunks of cinnamon bark visible with the tea leaves in each sachet before brewing. There’s plenty of quality tea leaves in the bag. Much more intact than in most teabags.
The tea liquid, once steeped, is amber-like but a bit darker. The smell is like those red-hot candies that my grandma used to keep in a candy dish at her house–I used to always wish she’d let me have one when I was little (I didn’t get one very often though, in my recollection at least, but in retrospect that might only be “not very often” in comparison to the number of times I asked, which if you know anything about little kids and how many times they can ask for something per minute, means you should probably take that with a grain of salt). The tea is kind of opaque, probably from the cinnamon granules–which tells me that there’s probably powdered cinnamon in the mix as well as the chunks that I saw.. It’s a teeny bit viscous, too.
First sip: sweet and spicy. The spice isn’t as up-front as expected-more “hovering,” which is nice because it means that the tea flavor even comes through a little. It’s a tad astringent, but not bitter at all.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Description
Our most popular flavored tea worldwide, Hot Cinnamon Spice is an assertive blend of black teas, three types of cinnamon, orange peel, and sweet cloves. There’s no sugar added. Try our great value, a bag of 50 tea sachets. Each tea sachet brews a 12 oz cup.
Ingredients:
Black tea, orange peel, three types of cinnamon, cloves.
Contains Natural & Artificial flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spiced Mulled Wine by Simpson and Vail. . . .
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Looking for a winter concoction without the alcohol? Then, this brew is for you! The blend produces a reddish cup with a sweet fragrant aroma and taste. The tannic taste is reminiscent of red wine and it is perfectly complemented by the light spice taste and the earthy undertones.
Ingredients: black teas, orange peel, beet root, spiced mulled wine flavoring and malva blossoms.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Golden Monkey from Tea N Joy. . . .
Tea ‘N Joy’s website claims that this is a super-high-quality tea, and I tend to totally agree with that assessment. In fact, I’m tempted to place an order right now just so I can continue enjoying a premium-quality cup of this tea on a regular basis. <3
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea N Joy
Description
Golden Monkey Tea is hand-processed each spring with a careful plucking of only one leaf and one bud. It is among the finest Chinese Black Teas available today. A rich, full-bodied Tea. The name comes from its unique appearance: the leaves resemble monkey claws. Sweet and very ‘nosy’ with the aromas of: savory roasted apples, cocoa and spice notes that linger as you sip. Rich, coating texture and very smooth, soft mouth-feel. Delicate, almost indistinguishable astringency.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cream Flavored Black by Adagio Teas
The first sip tastes of vanilla/cream flavor. It isn’t the same as having actual cream in your tea but it is very nice, kind of floral and sweet. The black tea base is great too; it’s quite solid, not bitter, but somewhat astringent and very flavorful. It’s good for mornings or afternoons, I’d say, but afternoons especially, in my opinion. Also it would probably be great for adding your own flavors (for example, some would consider this sacrilege, but I personally sometimes add a few drops of Ghirardelli chocolate syrup to my tea in place of sugar).
It turns out to be lovely with milk, as well; it makes the milk taste extra-creamy but still has a bit of vanilla-like flavor, or maybe that’s the tea base’s floral notes I’m catching now? Either way, it’s very pleasant, satisfying and comforting, and a flavor that I’m sure I’ll savor on many afternoons to come. <3
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Which comes first, the cream or the tea? If you’re not sure, don’t worry… neither are the English. However, its unanimously agreed that, whether you prefer your tea first, or cream first, this dairy-free cream flavored Ceylon black tea is a treat for your teacup! Sweet, inviting and warm, with a delicate creamy consistency and aroma of fresh black tea. Pleasantly brisk and very refreshing. Teatime calls…
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!