Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
This blend combines black teas with pumpkin and spice flavor to create a deep amber cup that is velvety smooth and aromatic. Its light, delicious taste is reminiscent of pumpkin custard. This tea, enjoyed year round, just adds another sensory delight to the mystique of the pumpkin!
Ingredients: black teas, pumpkin flavor and marigold petals.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE SORORITEA SISTERS!
The hot cup of tea that sits before me now smells yummy. It smells the way my kitchen smells on Thanksgiving morning – freshly baked pumpkin pie! Delish!
This is a very tasty pumpkin spice tea. While it doesn’t have that pie/pastry flavor to it, it does have a delicious, savory pumpkin flavor with a hint of spice. It tastes very much like the baked pumpkin pie filling sans the pastry. And unless gramma is baking the pie (she made the most incredible crusts, but I digress), the baked custard is the best part of the pie anyway.
The black tea base is a brisk black tea. It is mild as far as black teas go, but, it works with this blend. It is pleasant and provides a delicious background for the pumpkin and spice flavors.
I could taste the spice notes right away, particularly the cinnamon. It isn’t a spicy cinnamon taste, it is more like a sweet hint of spice which enhances the natural sweetness as well as the savory notes of the fruit (or vegetable?)
It took a few sips for the pumpkin flavor to really develop. At first, I was left wondering: where is the pumpkin? But, by the time I was finished with my third or fourth sip, the pumpkin came through nicely. Now that I’m nearly finished with my second cup, I am questioning my memory! Did I really not taste the pumpkin? I mean, it’s RIGHT THERE! That is to say, it is a strong, prominent flavor. Rich and sweet. Delicious.
I prefer this tea hot, but that could be because it’s chilly outside and a good, hot cup of Pumpkin Spice tea is quite a comfort on a day like this. It really doesn’t require any sweetening, but if you like a sweeter cup, it wouldn’t hurt to add a drizzle of honey (or perhaps maple syrup!) or maybe try a little bit of brown sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar might add an interesting dimension to the pumpkin. Hmm… now I’m thinking I need to brew another pot of this tea!
Chai Spice Only from Chai-Wallah’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Chai (Spice Melangé)
Where to Buy: Chai-Wallah’s
Product Description:
Create your favorite chai drinks by buying your own loose tea(s) and mix with our Spice Only (instructions on rear of packet), or use the spice for a caffeine free cup of chai, make a concentrate for iced chai or add some kick to hot chocolate. Be sure to check out our recipe section for other uses.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve used this Spice Only blend on several occasions and in several different ways. It is one of the more versatile products in my tea cupboard! The spices taste fresh and robust, and can help add that chai kick to just about anything!
The first time I used it, I was making a spiced peach jam. My husband brought home a big box of peaches at the end of the season, and I knew that there was no way we’d be able to eat them all before they went bad. I mean, we love peaches in this house, but, it was a lot of peaches! So, I made a concentrated batch of tisane using hot water and this Chai Spice Only blend, allowing it to steep for about 10 minutes before straining and adding it to a pan filled with peeled and chopped peaches and a drizzle of honey. I heated this over medium-high heat for about an hour, stirring frequently, and the peaches softened and broke down, creating a delicious, perfectly spiced peach jam that made a perfect topping on my pork roast (it also was delicious on scones!)
Then, I decided to try it as a tisane. Just hot water and this spice, infused for about eight minutes, and a drizzle of honey. Delicious! Spicy! Prefer your chai a little creamier? Simmer some milk and this Spice Only blend on the stovetop for ten minutes. This would also work great using apple juice!
But, if you just want a delicious black tea based chai – you can use these spices with your favorite Assam or Nilgiri (or whatever black tea you prefer). You can use as little or as much as you’d like to customize your chai experience. Like your chai to be zesty? Add some more of the Spice Only blend. Do you just want a hint of spice? Just add a small amount of the spice.
This Chai Spice Only blend from Chai-Wallah’s is not only tasty, but it gives you something that a typical chai blend doesn’t: versatility!
Caramel Spice from David’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Product Description:
Have you heard about the new tea in town? She’s a looker alright: dark, robust, and seductive, with a heart of gold. And you didn’t hear it from us, but she’s even better with a little booze. She’s a luscious black tea, with deep caramel flavour from dried golden mulberries and spicy warmth from orange peel and cinnamon. Take her apple picking. Bring her to Thanksgiving dinner. Sit with her by the fire. You’re going to want her by your side all fall.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened the pouch, I was a little surprised by what I saw. The dried golden mulberries look a bit like tiny honeycombs. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at! So, I hurried to the David’s Tea website to read more about this tea. Yep… those are mulberries alright. Big, whole, dried golden mulberries, blended with black tea leaves, bits of orange peel, and chips of cinnamon. It looks very festive, and it smells oh-so-good!
The black tea base is pleasantly strong but not too aggressive. It is brisk and flavorful, and provides a good, solid backdrop of flavor so that the fruit, caramel and especially the cinnamon can present themselves.
The cinnamon is warm but not too spicy. While it is the dominate flavor of the cup, because of the other flavors here, this doesn’t taste like a cinnamon tea. In other words, its not all about the cinnamon with this tea; instead it works harmoniously to accent the other flavors while offering a pleasant strength all its own.
The fruit flavor is lighter than the cinnamon flavor. I can taste the orange peel – it tastes citrus-y orange but not in an orange juice kind of way. If you’ve ever made a holiday cider using orange peels and spices, you know the kind of flavor I’m talking about. This, mingling with a hint of mulberry is quite nice and deliciously different.
The caramel is also quite light, but it does develop as I sip. The first few sips, I could barely taste the caramel, but, now, as I’m nearly finished with the cup, the caramel is there. Not a lot of caramel… but just enough to really round out the flavors of this cup without being cloy.
Some recommendations go along with this tea: first, be sure to give the package a good, upside-down shake before you open it and begin measuring. This will help redistribute the flavors. Second, use just a little more leaf than you’re used to. If you usually use 1 teaspoon for 1 cup of tea, use 1 1/2 of this tea. Finally, I recommend adding just a little bit of sugar or other natural sweetener to. My first couple of sips without sweetener really didn’t offer much flavor, but I noticed after a little bit of sugar, the flavors really came to life. I wouldn’t add milk to this because it might overwhelm the balance.
Try these recommendations and prepare yourself for a different approach to the usual orange spice holiday blend!
Pumpkin Pie Tea from MarketSpice
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: MarketSpice
Product Description:
A holiday favorite, this tea combines Chinese Hunan black tea, Pumpkin Pie flavoring, Cinnamon and Ginger.
Taster’s Review:
Autumn is coming! Autumn is coming!
As I write this, it is one of the warmest, muggiest days of the summer, but, as I sip this tea, my thoughts turn to autumn. The cool, crisp air and the colors… I want autumn to be here now!
This tea delivers autumn in a teacup. It has a lightly spiced tone with its hints of cinnamon and ginger. While these two spices can sometimes be strong and overwhelming, here they provide only a warm, gentle kick.
The black tea is a strong Chinese Hunan tea. It is a deliciously bright tea with an astringent finish. It is bold enough to get one going in the morning and provides a solid, robust background for the other flavors of the blend.
The pumpkin flavor seemed a bit lost when I started sipping on this tea, however, as the tea cooled slightly, the pumpkin flavors started to come into focus. It doesn’t present itself as an overly pumpkin-y taste, but I like the way the pumpkin seems to smoothly glide throughout the sip, offering hints of flavor here and there.
Overall, a very pleasant pumpkin tea. This is one that you’ll be proud to serve your guests during the upcoming holiday season!
(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!
