Continuing on the theme of Spooky Season. . . Pumpkin Gingerbread seemed to be a good fit. Of course pumpkins are a huge part of spooky season but there is also a horror franchise about a Gingerbread that comes to life so when I saw this tea in my stash, it was just meant to be.
If you aren’t familiar with 52Teas, I highly recommend you check them out. Readers of this blog know that the current owner of 52Teas is one of the co-founders of the SororiTea Sisters and to be honest- a personal friend of mine. But, even if that wasn’t the case, I would still highly recommend 52Teas.
52Teas blends up new teas each and every week- providing an amazing array of new high quality tea blends to check out. The only issue is that if you fall in love with one of these blends, you need to get yourself to the site and quickly pick up a few more because once these teas sell out, they typically are not reblended.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Black Tea is a black and honeybush tea blend with pumpkin, ginger root, cinnamon and a variety of other spices and natural flavors. The aroma of the blend reminds me very much of a chai tea. Since the weather is becoming very fall like, I thought this tea would be best enjoyed hot so I brewed up water at 212F, allowed the tea to brew for right around 3 minutes and allowed the cuppa to cool for about 5 minutes.
First sip in and you are greeted with all of the fall flavors- pumpkin, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, clove. . .simply delicious. The ginger is the flavor I am picking up the most but the flavoring doesn’t come off as overpowering. I’m not the biggest fan of ginger but I easily drank down a few cuppas of this blend and finished off the package with ease. I do wish that the pumpkin shone through a bit more but I did love the gingerbread with a dash of pumpkin vibes I was getting and the black tea finish to end each sip was lovely. This is one of those teas that would be amazing as a latte enjoyed during my morning commutes.
This tea was the perfect companion to my spooky viewing of As Above So Below- one of my favorite spooky movies to enjoy to get the Spooky Season officially underway.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
Our handcrafted teas are vegan, Gluten-free & Allergen-friendly because you deserve tea you can sip with confidence.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Wild Monsoon/teakruthi
In one year you probably couldn’t taste all of the different types of tea. I would be highly impressed and maybe a little worried if you did.
The differences that one can find from one plant is astounding.
Even the region of Ceylon, which is generally known for its black teas, has a variety of different types. Take a Ceylon green, a Japanese green, and a Chinese green and you will get many different flavor profiles! It’s amazing!
So far in all of the Teakruthi samples I’ve tried I have discovered most to have astringency but this one doesn’t have a bit. There is a bit on the second, though I am also using a smaller steeping vestibule.
A unique mix of woodsy and earthy notes. Some nutty notes here and there. Wet forest floor in the wet leaf aroma after steeping but the most amazing smell as soon as the water touched the leaves. (There needs to be a term for this)
Instantly my nostrils were filled with wet warm jungle. Like I wasn’t standing in my kitchen anymore. What an amazing feeling that was.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: teakruthi
Description
We harvested our Wild Monsoon tea from the Southern province of Sri Lanka in the Ruhuna tea district. This tea grows in an area nourished by high humidity and monsoon season, and surrounded by diverse wildlife. The forests of Ruhuna are home to elephants, leopards, bears, wild boar, deer, giant flamingos, and of course, the finest teas. The area is teeming with life; it is never dull. Dark gold in colour, this tea is mild, malty, and fine, and delivers to your pallet a lively flavour that tastes like adventure.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
East Frisian/Harney and Sons
I purchased this tea to use as an enrichment lesson for some young ladies to whom I am teaching elementary German. Tea and cookies make for a fun lesson! And who knew that if East Frisia was a country instead of a region, they would have the highest per capita consumption of black tea in the world?
I wanted to be as authentic as possible and did a test run today. Their “Teetied” is different from any other.
First, a large piece of rock sugar (Kluntje) is put into a porcelain or china cup. Then the rich tea is poured over it and the rock sugar should crackle. After the tea is poured, a small ladle of cream is added to the tea gently, pouring along the side of the cup so that the cream makes a cloud (Wolkje) in the tea. You must never stir!
It is considered polite to drink at least three cups of tea, although more than that is fine. When you finished, you place a spoon (the one you definitely did NOT use to stir your tea!) in your cup or you can turn your cup over on the saucer.
The tea is usually a strong Assam blended with a bit of Darjeeling and some Ceylon. This one is very dark, earthy, and bready. It is a tad brisk but less so than I expected.
The cloud in the tea fascinated me and really made this Teetied a mindfulness session as I watched the cloud roll and change shape after each sip. The cream coats your lips and takes the edge off the strong tea, then the tea dominates, and at the last you get a small sip or two that is incredibly sweet. The rock sugar should be large enough to last through all three cups of tea and each cup that you drink should be finished completely so that the subsequent cup doesn’t look muddy when you add the cream.
I think this lesson will be a success, and I can hardly wait to try it again with some cookies or pastries!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Description
Fortify yourself with East Frisian, our popular full-bodied black tea blend of Darjeeling, Ceylon and Assam. It’s named for East Frisia, Germany’s cold, wet, and dreary North Sea coast – the ideal spot to drink hot tea, and the East Frisians do! They consume more black tea than anyone else in the world. They do drink it with cream and crystalized sugar.
(Credit- Harney & Sons)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Bourbon Vanilla Black Tea/Paromi Full Leaf Tea
After not sleeping so great the last few nights, I made time in my work day for tea time. I know that doesn’t seem to out of character for someone that adores tea like I do, but after starting a new job about a month and some change ago- I’ve been more focused on onboarding than enjoying my daily cuppas.
But not today. Today I knew would be the perfect day to enjoy a cuppa from Paromi Full Leaf Tea along with my new snack of pumpkin spice graham crackers.
Paromi Full Leaf Tea has been a company that I have wanted to try for some time but due to my overstocked tea stash, I always left those teas on my wish list. So when Paromi Full Leaf Tea reached out for a review of their teas, I was delighted and couldn’t wait for the teas to arrive.
Today I brewed up a lovely cuppa of their Organic Bourbon Vanilla Black Tea (single sachet) and I couldn’t be more pleased! This tea has a lovely soft brisk black tea base with a beautiful layer of sweetness that more reminds me of a red rooibos than vanilla. The description of this tea notes a buttery aroma and that is a spot on description. Not only do you pick up on those buttery notes in the aroma of the steeped cuppa but the tea itself has this buttery feel that leaves you wanting more. The touch of the caramel like notes just provides a wonderful dessert overtone. I am already imagining this tea as a latte tomorrow morning for my traveling companion when I take the kiddos to school.
Do want to point out that as the tea cools, the briskness of the Assam tea does pick up- I would recommend enjoying this tea while the tea is on the hotter side.
All in all, a perfect simple but very enjoyable cuppa to enjoy to break up the day or to give you the oomph you need to get you through the afternoon. I spied a Pumpkin Spice tea on their site. I think its time to make an order!
Thank you Paromi Full Leaf Tea for the lovely tea to check out!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Paromi Full Leaf Tea
Description
Vanilla tea? The beauty of vanilla is that it builds up the flavors around it; nature’s equivalent of that friend who gives you lots of well-deserved compliments. We blend bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar with our full-bodied Assam black tea and a delicate note of caramel to bring out this brew’s intensely smooth, decadent side. Even before your first sip, its buttery aroma will have you saying “vanilaaah.”
Organic Bourbon Vanilla Black Tea is the perfect balance of full-bodied black tea and mouthwatering vanilla from Madagascar.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bai MuDan/Teavivre – Ashmanra
Someone told me once that white tea just tasted like a cup of hot water to them. I probably would have agreed early on in my tea journey. When your tastebuds are accustomed to strong root beer and sweet, fizzy, highly flavored soda it takes a while to train your palate to find subtle flavors, at least it did for me. Perhaps the real foodies “get it” right from the start.
I haven’t had unflavored white tea in a while and decided that today would be a good day to take a cup of Bai MuDan outside and enjoy its simplicity while sitting in the sunshine, a rare treat in late winter. Though very windy, it is warm and the sun is welcome after many days of rain.
The packet called for two grams of leaf for twelve ounces of water, which I thought seemed to far too little at first. I used my new Upton Digital Tea Scale since large leaf white tea can be tricky to judge. Teavivre recommends five to eight minutes, and I steeped for about five because I was ready for my break!
First, this is a beautiful golden cup of tea. The color is rich and deep and it actually LOOKS full bodied in the cup. The flavor did not let me down. No one could mistake this for a “cup of hot water!” The flavor lingers for quite a while, too.
I see a lot of white tea described accurately as tasting like sunshine on hay, mainly Shou Mei, but this Bai MuDan tastes like golden stalks with a hint of spring in the air, with the scent of distant flowers laid over, and maybe even a little soft, sweet vegetable like snow pea or sugar snap peas.
I think this is going to be my go-to quiet time cup for a while.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
Teavivre’s White Peony Bai MuDan tea is farmed and produced on Mt. Taimu, using material from Dabaihao tea trees. While this is a slightly oxidized white tea, it is produced with the same minimal processing as Silver Needle white tea, with the main difference between the two being that silver needle uses only buds, while bai mudan includes opened leaves as well.