I never got into the whole candy apple thing. I can recall eating one in my life with a friend at Canada’s Wonderland. I blame braces. Candy apples are like the number one item on the “do not eat” list for those with braces. That and mostly I enjoyed chocolate covered or caramel apples. However, when I saw this Candy Apple tea by Tickled Tea (made with Fair Trade Chinese green tea, apple pieces, cinnamon bark, rose hips, beet root, and artificial flavoring), I was intrigued.
I brewed this both hot and iced. Both were steeped for approximately 3 minutes in 185F water.
Hot, this tea does have a sweet apple flavor. The chinese green tea is more roasty than vegetal and provides the base layer of flavor. To me this is a little weird because it gives it more of a Fall/Winter vibe than a light Spring/Summer vibe that you’d expect with a candy apple tea. Once you get past that though you get a whole lot of baked apple flavor with a nice sweetness. Between the base tea, the cinnamon, and the baked good vibe, I would say this is more baked apple than candy apple, at least when it comes to the hot tea.
Iced this is a lot lighter than the hot tea but unfortunately a lot more vegetal. There is a candy apply flavor but it tastes a bit like a candy apple that was dropped in the grass. Not really what I was hoping for if I am being honest.
So I definitely prefer this hot over iced and though it was enjoyable, it’s more baked apple than candy apple. Not bad but not what the name promises either.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tickled Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for green teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lime Mojito from Tickled Tea. . .
I find that like many others, my green and white teas tend to be favored in the warmer months while my black teas are my go-to in the harsh Canadian winters. And yet here I am in the winter sipping on Lime Mojito, a sencha tea by Tickled Tea flavored with lime, lemon verbana, lemongrass, apples, stevia extract, and natural and artificial lime flavor.
Since this is inspired by a cold cocktail, I iced part of my sample while brewing the rest of the sample as a hot tea. I steeped both for 3 minutes in 185F water.
Starting with the hot tea, the first thing I notice is it has a nice lime flavor, albeit a subtle lime flavor. Right next to the lime flavor is the apple, which builds the more you drink. Simultaneously, the lime gives way to a more generic citrus vibe. The base tea and the stevia are non-distinctive, something I am happy about but others might wish they made more of a contribution. All in all, it is an alright tea but maybe more generically apple-citrus than lime mojito, at least brewed as a hot tea.
One thing that transfers from the hot tea to the cold is the softness of the tea. Hopefully people know what I am talking about because I don’t know how to describe it other than saying the mouthfeel is quite soft. Coupled with the soft mouthfeel is that gentle citrus flavor, almost more lemon than lime this time, and it is very smooth, almost creamy. The apple flavor is also noticeable through the iced tea.
Once again, it is an okay tea but certainly not what I would call a Lime Mojito. The cocktail has five ingredients – lime, mint, sugar, soda water, and rum. This tea has the citrus and it is sweet so I could even give it the sugar but this needs a stronger lime flavor and the mint and rum are lacking altogether. It was fun to try though!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tickled Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Carnival Candy Crackle from Tickled Tea. . . .
I discovered Tickled Tea in the summertime which meant I got to take advantage of their limited edition summertime blends. Among those was Carnival Candy Crackle, a rooibos with candy pearls AND crackling candy that had my inner child adding it to the cart before I could stop it (her? me?).
I discovered Tickled Tea in the summertime which meant I got to take advantage of their limited edition summertime blends. Among those was Carnival Candy Crackle, a rooibos with candy pearls AND crackling candy that had my inner child adding it to the cart before I could stop it (her? me?).
Due to the initial let down, I let this sample float around my tea stash as I reached for other teas to drink. It was not until a friend mentioned that she enjoyed this as a cold brew that I decided to use up the last of my sample and give this tea another taste.
After cold steeping overnight, this tea is finally ready to drink. As I sip on this cold tea, I can confidently say this is an improvement from the hot tea. The rooibos is much more subdued which allows for the sugary sweet flavor you’d expect from carnival candy crackle to take over. There is still a bit of a fruity/berry note but candy is definitely better captured in the cold brew than the hot tea.
With that said, though this is an improvement, this tea is still just a sugary water drink and thus, as an adult, not something I need to revisit. It was fun to try and the crackle candy in the leaf makes for a bit of a fun auditory experience when you brew this but that is where the fun ends.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tickled Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chai Five from Tickled Tea. . .
This is not a tea I would pick for myself. In fact, it is not a tea I picked for myself. I am not one for chais, though I will admit when done right, they can be awesome but that is hard to accomplish when each person likes a different balance of spices and “right” to me may not be the same as “right” to another. That is why I left this out of my cart when grabbing samples of the many Tickled Tea offerings. Nonetheless, this appeared in my package and today, as the chilly autumn air set in, seemed like the perfect day to give it a try, latte-style.
Chai Five, as per the product description, is a spicy blend of black chai tea, including 5 traditional masala chai spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and peppercorns. It smells strongly of cardamom so I was definitely surprised when I got more clove flavor. That and a cinnamon sweetness. This is also one of the few times in a tea that I actually tasted the peppercorn, which is a nice kick. For those that love cardamom, don’t fret as there is still some of it to be found in the taste, though not as much as you would anticipate given the smell. Ginger lovers may be disappointed as I am finding my mug at least is lacking.
Nonetheless, this is actually a pretty lovely take on chai. Spicy and sweet and complimented beautifully by the creaminess of the milk. Like I said before, I am not a lover of chais, but on a cold day like today , a chai latte can be a nice bit of warming comfort in a mug and this certainly fit that bill.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tickled Tea
Description
A spicy blend of black chai tea, including 5 traditional masala chai spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and peppercorns.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!