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Dry: Ceylon leaves blended with orange-y bits and darker pieces- presumably cinnamon nibs and pumpkin flakes. Smells like cinnamon candy out of the bag almost, very sweet with a warm spiciness.

Steeped: Pretty darker red-brown clear liquor. The brewed tea smells heavily of sweet cinnamon with a nice black base.

Taste: I have had this one several times now and have held off on reviewing it until today because I can’t really get the pumpkin notes to come out more than a tiny bit. I love pumpkin teas, but this one has been challenging so far. I have adjusted the steep time and overleafed to no avail. It is still a good tea, just not very pumpkin-y to my palate. This morning I am primarily tasting cinnamon and Ceylon with a hint of nutmeg and a teeny, tiny squash note. I don’t really get the sugar crust and creaminess that I associate with Creme Brulee either, even after a dash of whole milk is added. That said, I still like it, but more as a cinnamon-spice Ceylon tea. I will try it with maple syrup next time and see how it goes. Happy Tuesday, ya’ll!

I am on a Butiki kick right now. I’ve tried most of what I ordered recently, but I have been withholding reviews on some of them until I feel like I get the tea right. I’ve discovered (thanks Steepster!) that some of the blends really need to have ingredients shaken or stirred (tea martini anyone?) in the bag to get the true flavor to come through once steeped. I am guessing bits just settle in shipping or something. Just thought I’d toss that out there in case it helps anyone like it did for me. Now on to a review of Caramel Vanilla Assam.

Dry: Long luscious dark and twisted Assam leaves with flower petal bits. Smells very rich, almost buttery, with clear caramel notes wafting from the infuser. This has a very strong dry fragrance and I was worried the brewed tea would taste artificial.

Steeped: I shouldn’t have worried. This brews into a red-brown clear liquor and the brewed aroma is heavenly. Vanilla beans meet oozing caramel with a rich black base. It smells exactly like its namesake.

Taste: This tea can easily be a morning staple for me. With an almost thick mouthfeel, this tea delivers creamy vanilla and rich caramel blended with that famous Premium Taiwanese Assam base. I have struggled to find something vanilla that I truly loved and something caramel that I was a fan of (particularly after my bazillion attempts with David’s Salted Caramel), but I can safely say that this one is both amazing and delicious and will be a re-order for sure. I am having a very good tea week so far!

Dry: Dark army green twisty tea leaves blended with lotus stamens and nut pieces. Smells lovely! The savory aroma of the dry leaf underlies a sweet cream and roasted pistachio fragrance.

Steeped: Clear golden liquor. The scent is primarily creamy and rich and is making my mouth water before I even take a sip.

Taste: This tea is flavorful without the base being overwhelmed by other notes. The mellow Mao Jian is lovely and it blends well with roasted pistachios and that decadent creaminess that is in each sip. I am having it straight with nothing added and my husband and I are both loving it. I am super picky about flavored greens, but this one tastes natural and delicious. Yum!

Dry: Long twisty leaves and buds that are a high percentage golden-orange. This tea is so large that it came in a bigger bag than my others and is a bit challenging to measure, but the quality is there. Also, the dry leaf smells fantastic- rich, sweet, and malty with a touch of spice. Like roasting sweet potatoes blended with a touch of cedarwood.

Steeped: Golden brown clear liquor. The first time I brewed this I didn’t review it because I think I underleafed with the size of the leaves. If your liquor looks too watery or if this tastes pale (for lack of a better description), try again before deciding if you like it. This time I was more careful and the liquor looked more like what I would expect from Verdant. Smells rich and and woodsy with that lingering roasted sweet potato fragrance.

Taste: This is a lovely straight black and is lighter and more complex than some of Verdant’s others. It is not meant to be slurped down in a rush or it can’t really be appreciated. Velvety on the tongue, there are still strong roasted sweet potato notes initially with hints of rich spices that mellow out in subsequent steeps. There is the vaguest hint of cocao and perhaps a touch of honey as well. Savory and sweet, no wonder this makes a nice base for other blends. I still think my very favorite is Laoshan Black, but Zhu Rong and Yu Lu Yan Cha both make me happy, too. :)

Dry: A beautiful tea blend by Verdant. This would not look amiss sitting out in a decorative bowl with its long and luscious tea leaves, orange peel bits, coriander, vanilla bean pieces, and other lovely ingredients. It smells spicy, sweet, and citrusy- very potent from the bag. My husband could smell it several feet away when I was preparing the infuser.

Steeped: Clear golden brown liquor. The fragrance wafting from the teacup is nothing short of potent between the spices, citrus, and a nice tea base as well. If you like flavored teas with only a tiny touch of non-tea flavors, then this is not for you. The name for this tea perfectly describes the lovely aroma around my kitchen right now. :)

Taste: This tea has a nice AM kick! Sparkling orange meets cinnamon and coriander zest. I swear there is even a tiny touch of cayenne to the flavor, though that might be the Zhu Rong peeking out between the layers of actual spices and vanilla. After the initial wake-up sip, it mellows out and the creamy vanilla and sweet potato-y flavors appear blended in with the other notes. This is complex and lovely (as I’ve come to expect from Verdant) and has an almost bakery quality. I feel certain it would make an interesting iced tea as well once it warms up outside. I am enjoying this experience quite a bit!

Dry: Short black tea leaves. Unremarkable look, but smells very strongly of stone fruits (most notably cherries) in the dry leaf.

Steeped: Medium brown clear liquor. The rich fruit fragrance lingers around the tea pot and tea cup and is more lovely with the added scent of the brewed leaf.

Taste: This is a nice fruity dessert or afternoon tea. It is fresh and sweet with dominant cherry and apricot notes. I am not tasting any plum and I can’t barely taste the black tea either. I’d not be able to identify what kind of tea went into this if my life depended on it other than noting that it is very mild-mannered. That said, the steeped result is still quite pleasant and I bet it would be brilliant iced. I am enjoying my sample, but I don’t think this would be a reorder. When I am looking for a stone fruit-based tea, I almost always reach for Harney’s Paris.

Dry: Long and luscious twisty black leaves. Some of them have a touch of rust to mahogany at the tip of the twist. They smell subtly sweet, dark, and malty. It is unassuming in fragrance, keeping its true flavorful nature hidden within the twists and turns of the lovely leaf until brewed.

Steeped: Clear dark brown liquor. As the leaves unfurl, it is apparent from the lovely aroma of rich honey and malt wafting from the teapot that something something special is happening. Good morning, indeed!

Taste: Oh, this tea. Rich, dark, honeyed malt with a lingering sweetness that reminds me of oozing caramel. Each sip is a new experience of warm, smooth, sweet flavor profiles. Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black, how can you be so lovely? I used to have just one true love in a straight black tea when I found Laoshan Black, but now there is a tea love triangle in my life. This one is just as amazing in an entirely different flavor profile and I love it!

“What a curious plan!”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Dry: This is one of the prettiest teas I have in the cupboard right now. 10/10 on presentation. Huge pieces of chamomile with entire intact flowers along with cacao nibs, marigold petals, spearmint, and large lovely twisty tea leaves. I’ve never tried Wuyi Big Red Robe before this, but Laoshan Black is my favorite straight black tea. The dry leaf smells mainly of spearmint, so I was slightly concerned that the mint took over in the bag initially.

Steeped: I rinsed the leaves before steeping per the instructions and the tea itself is a light gold clear liquor. The steeped fragrance is different than I expected- a rich and interesting blend of my favorite tea with playful hints of mintiness, chocolate, and spices like cinnamon.

Taste: This tea is perfectly named! The first sip tastes like a smooth spearmint blend. Along the tongue, the tea changes into something else with hints of cacao and chamomile, rich and smooth. In the aftertaste, I still taste cinnamon and a hint of something else more savory- maybe another spice or notes from the base teas. It is a very interesting and enjoyable brew. Additionally, it holds up to multiple steeps and each one yields something a little bit different- more chocolate here, more chamomile there, more spices, etc. In the summer, I imagine it would be quite tasty iced. Overall, I am very glad I tried it and have sincerely enjoyed the experience. This is my first blend from Verdant and I look forward to trying others in the future.

Dry: This is a very pretty dry leaf with different colored flower petals (I can see cornflower for sure). It smells rich and creamy, with a nutty vanilla fragrance.

Steeped: Medium clear red-brown liquor. Still has that soft and sweet vanilla-nut blended fragrance, except now I also smell Darjeeling muscatel with a buttery background. I can see how this is called Irish Cream because the smell reminds me in a subtle way of Bailey’s.

Taste: This one is nommy and I am enjoying it, but I am not really getting cheesecake or Irish cream on the palate at all. Instead I believe the base is the main feature, which is an excellent Darjeeling as it turns out. Sweet with a hint of sour and astringency, this reminds me dead on of a good quality Darjeeling with the muscatel background. There is also that same nut aroma/flavor and buttery notes, which from the description, sounds more like the base tea than the flavored one, too. I will say that at the end of each sip there is a nice dose of cream to enjoy that is clearly not the stand-alone base. I drank this one straight and I am not sure I would enjoy it as much with sugar as I think the sweetness could somewhat obscure the dessert nuances. Glad I was able to try this- what an interesting blend!

I can’t believe I drank all of this (today is a sipdown) without ever actually reviewing it. I am the worst Steepster person ever considering how much I like this tea.

Now that we’ve established that, on to an actual review. :)

Dry: Tiny leaf pieces and CTC balls in a blend of Ceylon, Assam, and Scottish magic. That’s not an ingredient? I am pretty sure it is. The dry tea smells like a pleasantly strong breakfast blend.

Steeped: Dark brown clear liquor. Some of the dry bits are so small that they fit through the teeny holes in the infuser, so there is a dark swirl at the bottom of the teacup. Smells robust.

Taste: My favorite strong straight black morning tea. It is just perfect. I’ve tried a number of breakfast teas, but I always come back to this one. Smooth, rich, full-bodied. I normally drink it with milk and it does great with honey and other additives as well, but today I am drinking it straight and it is wonderful, with just the tiniest hint of astringency at the end of each sip. I could (and sometimes do) drink it every morning.

Must. Order. More!