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!
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!