Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Tea Description:
A black tea blend with a generous portion of creamy Japanese sweet potatoes. The buttery sweet aroma will remind you of a cozy holiday gathering.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I waited for Sweet Potato Pie from Lupicia Teas to come back out with much anticipation. They only release it around the holidays. I absolutely love sweet potatoes and eat them on a regular basis, not just around the holiday season.
I have to say I did not care for the aroma of this tea in dry form, not at all. There is an aroma of alcohol to it that was very off putting to me, and it smelled as though it would be intensely strong. However, upon brewing the tea the aroma of sweet potatoes came to life! I instantly though to myself “this is more like it!” I was excited for my first sip.
The flavor of this tea is amazing! It is spot on for a sweet potato casserole! Buttery, creamy, and even a little starchy. The black base is nicely robust but I get no astringency. The after taste lingers a while as well.
This tea is sweet in the way that a sweet potato is but not in a sugary way. I do get hints at a brown sugar note but its not too sweet either. The flavor that lingers on the palate is one of buttery sweet potato with just a slight touch of marshmallow and brown sugar. And then, out of nowhere, right before the aftertaste, right after the swallow, I get a dash of salty flavor! What a surprise! I love salt! It creates this sort of twang on the tongue and a tiny bit of tartness that quickly disappears.
I can also pick up a subtle maltiness, and a slight taste of caramel in the flavor as well.
I have only had one other Sweet Potato Pie tea previously, it was pretty good, but I was so desiring a sweet potato tea that I probably would have liked anything I could get my hands on. In comparison, this one outshines the other by far!
Sweet Potato Pie Honeybush from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Here is the tea I wanted to create for Thanksgiving, and was then going to include in the 12 Teas of Christmas Sampler. It took me some time to perfect it, but I hope that while it might not be as seasonal as releasing it for Thanksgiving, you will all still find it delicious. Here then, is our Caffeine-free African Honeybush blended with real dried sweet potato bits, cinnamon and natural flavors. ENJOY!
Taster’s Review:
Even though 52Teas is one of my favorite tea companies (definitely in the top three!) I was kind of uncertain about whether or not I would order and try this tisane.
I love sweet potato, but, my experience with sweet potato pie is limited. I have tried fewer than a handful of sweet potato pie flavored teas, and only one sweet potato pie. Unfortunately, though, that one sweet potato pie was horrible. I mean… it was just plain inedible.
But that’s the fault with the baker who decided that the niche he was going to fill was the need for sugar-free/unsweetened sweet potato pies, and I am sorry to say that while the idea may be good … and in someone else’s hands with someone else’s recipe, an unsweetened sweet potato pie might be really tasty. But, in the hands of this particular baker – not so much.
But I’m getting side-tracked. This horrible sweet potato pie incident has nothing to do with 52Teas so I decided I’d give this tisane a chance.
And I’m glad I did. This is really tasty! The aroma is well-spiced, heavy on the cinnamon and ginger. But it tastes neither too cinnamon-y nor too ginger-y. Rather, the spices are more of an accompaniment to the stronger flavor of the sweet potato. In fact, this tastes a bit like the mashed sweet potatoes that I make for Thanksgiving.
I can also taste a hint of buttery pastry to this and that is what really makes this tea for me. Even though it is a faint taste, it is so yummy and it keeps me sipping the tea just so that I can experience the flavor of the buttery crust.
This is yet another delicious tisane from 52Teas. I am very satisfied with it and glad I tried it. I do recommend adding just a little sweetener to this to bring out some of the flavors. I used a tiny drizzle of agave nectar and it tasted good, but I think next time, I’ll try a little bit of brown sugar … I think it will be even better!
If the sweet potato pie that I mentioned at the start of this review tasted anything like this, it would have been a winner!
