Not So Vanilla Flavored Black Tea from Tippy’s Tea

by liberteas

NotSoVanillaTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Tippy’s Tea

Tea Description:

Decadent dark chocolate and vanilla. Extremely smooth, malty and chocolatey. Hand chopped Madagascar vanilla beans add a sweet and creamy vanilla flavour.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Mmmmmmm!  This is really good.  REALLY really good.

I’ve tried more than one or two different vanilla flavored black teas, and I’ve enjoyed most that I’ve enjoyed.  I can’t think of any vanilla flavored tea that I didn’t at least like.  Maybe not love, but I think that I liked most of them.

This one – though – this is one of those that stands out as an EXCELLENT vanilla flavored black tea.  What makes this one so different?

Well, I think it has a lot to do with the tea base.  It’s a Golden Monkey.  The combination of the natural chocolate-y notes of the Golden Monkey along with the sweet, creamy notes of the Madagascar vanilla bean works very well together.

The Golden Monkey is rich and slightly creamy tasting.  The aforementioned chocolate notes are bittersweet and this is a really pleasing contrast to the vanilla notes from the vanilla bean.

Another thing that makes this one different is that this doesn’t appear to be a flavored tea.  That is to say, it’s not been flavored with flavoring oils.  It’s been infused with the flavors naturally using vanilla beans rather than oils.  And this gives it a light, natural vanilla flavor rather than a synthetic one.  It’s kind of like the difference between a vanilla bean ice cream and a vanilla ice cream.  They taste similar, but there is a distinct difference that can be tasted.

That said, because this hasn’t been flavored with oils, the vanilla here is somewhat more subdued than you’d find in a vanilla tea that’s been flavored with oils.  If you’re looking for a really STRONG vanilla flavor, then you might want to try a different tea.  If you’re looking for a really GOOD vanilla flavor – you’ve found your tea!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea

So Long, and Thanks for All the Licorice Black Chai Blend from Butiki Teas

by liberteas

licorice

Chai Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Butiki Teas

Chai Description:

One of our customers, Sasha, challenged us to create a unique licorice masala chai custom blend. We ended up loving her blend so much, that we decided to offer it on our website. The name of this tea is a reference to one of the owner’s favorite authors, Douglas Adams. This soothing tea features licorice; however, the spice notes are also present and linger long after the sip and meld with the licorice notes. With each sip, the licorice and spice notes seem to become stronger yet they are not overly aggressive. While this tea is fantastic plain, this blend shines with a little rice milk and sugar. For a short interview with the brains behind this tea, click HERE.

Learn more about this chai here.

Taster’s Review:

I love licorice, so when I heard about this licorice-y masala chai, I got very excited.  And this tea – So Long, And Thanks For All The Licorice Black Chai Blend from Butiki Teas – is worth all the hype, because it’s AHH-mazing!

First of all, I absolutely love the name because I love Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Then, I open up the pouch and I see big, whole pieces of star anise (one of my favorite tea spices!) and I can smell all the amazing spices and most of all I can smell the licorice!  This is very licorice-y!  This tea takes licorice to a whole other level.  If you aren’t a fan of black licorice, this tea is not for you.  But, if you love licorice, you’re probably going to love this chai like I do.

The base is Butiki Teas’ Organic Guranse, and it provides a nice, earthy richness to the cup.  And while the licorice is very strong in this tea, I like that I do taste the other spices in the chai.  I taste the cinnamon, a hint of clove and cardamom, and a slight nutty tone from the nutmeg.  It’s truly a wonderful and unique chai – unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before … but am really glad to be tasting it now, because I LOVE licorice!

This is easily one of the best (if not the best) licorice-y teas that I’ve ever tried.  In fact, I can’t think of one at the moment that even compares.  This is truly a treat for this licorice lover.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea, Chai