Milk & Cookies

Quick Note – busy day here – thank you Amanda for sharing this with me! Also this was the tea that started a great trade with Amanda!
This was good. I could live without it and won’t have dreams about it BUT it was a very very nice start to my busy morning!
I would say if this were for sale still I WOULD buy it.
Its not an OMGTEA but it is a really reliable tea with great flavors that are true to its name!

First, allow me to apologise for the power-spam! Because we were travelling to England for Christmas, I did not drink these teas on the actually appointed days, but some days in advance. I could have posted some of them before leaving, but for the sake keeping things easy (for me), I opted not to split them up in the middle like that. Also, that would have involved a certain risk of me having accidentally posted the wrong tea way too early and spoiled everybody unintentionally.

What a very Christmas-y flavour! (In Denmark, Santa’s favourite food is rice porridge with cinnamon-sugar and a lump of butter on top. Is milk and cookies his steady diet in America, or is that just a delivery rounds snack? Do inform, please.) It’s now nearly ten days since I actually had this, and am just now typing up my notes in preparation for posting, so you’ll have to excuse me if it’s a bit list-ish and dull to read.

The dry leaf struck me as mostly cocoa-y, but vaguely cookie-y, but there was a funny side note of something weirdly wood-y. After steeping, I got more cookie from it, but I couldn’t find the milk. I wondered if this would actually have benefitted from having been served with a little milk in, but it was too late then, as I had already got rid of the last milk in the fridge in preparation for travelling.

This next bit is a bit dodgy. I took my notes in some sort of weird impromptu wannabe shorthand, and erm… if I want to use shorthand, I should try to develop it a bit more systematically. I am however deciphering to the best of my abilities. (Utilising some of my more acceptable handwriting would help a lot too!)

Anyway, if I’m understeanding myself correctly here, I found the flavour to be quite cookie-like and faintly chocolate-y as well as somewhat nutty, which ties in nicely with it being a cookie. However, if I tried to get too deep into the flavour and really pick it apart, everything I found seemed like something one might naturally encounter in a good quality black, especially a Chinese one. This makes it seem rather more like an enhanced black rather than an actually flavoured one.

This impression wanes somewhat as the cup cools a bit more, because this is where the milk is finally coming out to play. It feels a bit like drinking a milk oolong, only instead of oolong it’s a black. Quite weird, really.

I liked this tea and found it rather enjoyable, although I didn’t really feel like it was getting the whole milk and cookies flavouring all the way across. The idea was certainly there, but I didn’t find it to be obvious, really.

I’m not putting a numerical rating on this one, because I didn’t jot down a scale area when I actually had it, and I’m not sure trying to deduce one based only on partly illegible notes and a vague memory is really a very good idea.

Here’s another improperly stored sample from last year’s 12 Teas of Christmas that I didn’t quite get to. I should never have opened the parcels unless I intended to make a cup that day, since the little envelopes weren’t resealable. Oh well, too late for “should have done”s!

The aroma is interesting, though it doesn’t put me in mind of cookies. I actually get a bit of spicy chocolatey something. I’m having trouble pinning it down. Keeping in mind that the old 52Teas black tea base gets way bitter, I steeped it just about 3 minutes. Steeped aroma is very accurate to the dry leaf – something spicy (nutmeg?) and a strange cocoa. Not necessarily appealing cocoa, but it’s there. I’m more of a milk chocolate girl, sadly. Also, I HATE milk, so I’m hoping the milk part of milk and cookies doesn’t really happen. I almost never add anything to me tea as I feel that a good tea (flavoured or otherwise) shouldn’t require any help, so it’ll be interesting to see how this fares on it’s own two feet.

The initial flavour is mostly black tea, something sweet in the background (identified as brown sugar after reading the description!) and something off to the side that isn’t quite materializing. I just had pineapple for a snack so that may be amplifying the sweetness, but the brown sugar seems SO distinct to me now. I think that is probably the aroma I am mixing up with the cocoa too. The black tea is a bit too present for my liking, I wish the rest of the cookie would materialize.

I’m loving the brown sugar, though. Not getting anything in terms of cocoa, and nothing that makes me think of cookies or milk, but as a brown sugar flavoured black tea, this is solidly okay. As I sip, I am getting more hints of that black base bitterness. Perhaps a bit less leaf might have been in order. I am pretty certain this is the “old” black tea base that I wasn’t fond of, I don’t think I’m had any encounters with the new one, though I hear it’s a lot smoother.

This is one of those teas that works better hot for me, so rather than continue to type I think I shall enjoy the remainder of this as quickly as I can. This is a decent offering, though not true to it’s title. Of course, as always, this sample has been kicking around for a year so degradation of quality could always be a factor.

EDIT to add: It gets much more bitter the further I get in the cup. I gave in and added a few granules of raw sugar to make it palatable to the bottom. I wish the base weren’t overtaking everything with it’s bitterness. I had a hard enough time finding the flavours without that horning in! : )

Second tea of the morning. I made stuffed french toast and turkey bacon for breakfast this morning and am trying to get through a couple of tea samples before we venture out to run some errands. The fiancee is very excited about this one, of course. I think this is a tea that would appeal to all men – there is something about chocolate chip cookies that seems to call to men, right? The tea smells chocolatey and you can instantly detect the strong black tea base that seems to be apparent in all of 52 Teas’ blends. This isn’t something that I mind in the least since I love a hearty black tea. Without anything added the tea tastes a little dull, but once milk and sweetener is added it becomes a liquid chocolate chip cookie. Probably not one that I would reach for everyday, but the flavor is certainly true to its name. Now my fiancee on the other hand is raving about this tea and swears he could drink it every day. Ha, men! Thanks Ninavampi!

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves with pieces of cacao nibs.
-Dry leaves smell chocolatey and of black tea. Tea liquor aroma is just like a warm chocolate chip cookie.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange brown color.
-Chocolatey cookie flavor with a sweet brown sugar finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Warm cookie flavor.

52teas 12 Days of Christmas Sampler 2011 – Day 12

A month after Christmas and I’m finally getting around to finishing off this sampler. I haven’t even logged into Steepster for two weeks! I kind of cheated on tea a bit of late. The fiancé and I bought a really nice espresso maker, so my morning tea has been subsumed by coffee. I’m sorry tea! But I’m back now!

Anyway, on to the much anticipated Milk & Cookies! (I say “much anticipated” because I saw it on their site a couple weeks back and deduced that this must be the 12th day of Christmas tea). The pouches have already sold out, so this is my one and only chance to try it.

I’d say it’s mildly disappointing without additions. It tastes like a tannic chocolate black tea. But with some added milk and sugar, BAM! I’m drinking milk and cookies! Now it could be entirely my imagination, but I think I’m detecting some notes of butter and dough. Yum! I like this tea a lot, and I’m really glad I got to try it.

This has been one excellent tea adventure! Thanks, Frank, for creating such a wonderful and fun sampler!!

First, and most importantly, Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope that celebrations were joyful and full of love!

Second, I have been a bit absent due to all of the craziness of the holidays, but things are returning to more normal and manageable pace. I haven{t been able to drink each of the Twelve Days of Christmas on the correct days, but I have been opening them on the right days. : )

This was the last of the series. I was really excited to find out what it was going to be! I opened the little packet right before we started opening Christmas gifts with my family. I was really happy when I smelled chocolate. I couldn’t place the scent as a whole, but the chocolate was jumping up and down and waving its hands at me. I was happy when I finally peeked and saw it was milk and cookies!

I steeped it and ended up with a pleasant brown liquor that smelled just like Chocolate Chip Cookies (the scent reminded me of the smell that hits you when you open a package of Chips Ahoy!). Unsweetened it tasted pretty generic. Just black tea that was vaguely chocolaty. I added brown sugar and the result was much more like what I was expecting. Sweet chocolate showing up first and cake/cookie hanging out as an aftertaste.

This is the first time that I felt that the tea base in 52teas got in the way of the flavoring. It was a bit astringent for cookie. It didn’t stop me from enjoying two cups of it (the second even more sweetened and even more cookie like! : ) )

I really liked this tea. Didn’t quite make it in to the “league of my favorite teas” but it was just what I wanted for Christmas present opening and family sharing and celebrating.

Once again, Merry Christmas to all! Thanks for sharing your thoughts through tea with all of us! It is a gift I cherish every day! : )

This is the 12th day of Christmas Tea … I hope that Frank will update the tea information here on Steepster… in the meantime, here is my review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/12/25/on-the-twelfth-day-of-christmas-52teas-sent-to-me/

I am just now getting to try this last (the surprise) tea in 52teas Christmas sampler.

Part of that was because I was a little worried from the smell. I’m the pickiest person ever about cookies (texture is a big thing for me – they have to be chewy and soft) and the smell of this dry was exactly like storebought Chips Ahoy! cookies. Which immediately reminded me of their dry crumbly nature and why I don’t like them. So it sat in the little red box, the last lonely package, until today.

I steeped 2 heaping tsp. (more or less the whole sample) at the below parameters in my Breville, in 500 ml. water. Milk and brown sugar were added after an initial tasting of the plain tea.

The steeped smell of the leaves still has a Chips Ahoy note, but the smell of the black tea has smoothed it out a bit, so it’s not reminding me of the hard dry cookie. The smells very chocolatey, like the chocolate in the Cashew turtle blend, which I really liked.

The first sip of the plain tea was strongly reminiscent of that chocolate Cashew turtle flavor – only then this STRONG note of bitterness overtook everything else and dominated the swallow. I’m glad I went with other reviewers and steeped it for a minute less than I usually would! I didn’t get any cookie or milk notes before additives were used.

Once milk and brown sugar were added a buttery, bakey note becomes more evident in with the chocolate. Ah, fresh cookies! No more storebought stuff! I’m not really getting any milk essence (besides that which I added, anyway) but strangely there seem to be hints of caramel (which, again, I’m probably imagining because of that Cashew turtle similarity).

Even though I’m very late to the party, I get the Christmasy feel of it – leaving milk and cookies for Santa was something I loved doing on Christmas eve as a kid. This wasn’t my favorite 52teas blend, but it is very fun for the nostalgia factor!

thanks again momo for sending this one! A nice surprise and I LOVE it. It actually tastes like I thought it would. It has a nice sweet milky flavor with a bit of cookie flavor as well. I wish there was more of a cookie flavor, but the milk flavor is spot on. I have no idea how that happens! I thought the milk flavor would be underrepresented, but it is balanced with the cookie. The black tea is perfect for this blend. There is a bit of tanginess to it, but maybe the “milk” is going a bit sour. haha.

This is another one of the teas that got spilled inside the 12 days of x-mas sampler box and I think it mixed with a few other because it smells a bit like the Rainbow Sherbet right now. So I’m not sure if I should rate this tea at all.

Taste-wise I didn’t find it anything special, as it mostly just tasted like plain tea with a hint of chocolate and sweetness, though it did go nicely with some of the ginger cookies I made yesterday. I’ve got enough left to play around with the parameters so I’ll see if I can’t find a way to coax more flavour out of it.

Hmm. I wonder if this is a bit too old now… there’s really not much flavour beyond “flavoured black tea”. As in, it’s kind of malty in a flavoured sort of way. And I can tell it’s a black tea. Not particularly bad or good… but I certainly am not getting anything remotely like milk OR cookies here. Ah well. I have a bit more to try again, but I’ll withhold a rating here as I suspect age is a factor. Sigh!

Thanks for sharing some of this with me, momo!

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 500ml at 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chocolate
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, bakey-black tea
Flavor: sweet black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: translucent dark red-brown

not getting the cookie or chocolate or milk

Post-Steep Additives: german rock sugar, chocolate coming out, a little bakey for cookie, no milk

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/06/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-milk-and.html

I just got back from an expedition to TeaGschwendner and my feet are dead and so I can update this right now…especially because my tea drinking right now consists of the Tazo available in the hotel…meh.

I opened and drank this on Christmas Eve because I knew I wouldn’t have a chance on Christmas. I tried to guess what it was before I looked at the label, and I got a hint of the chocolate but mostly just black tea.

It is very much like a Chips Ahoy cookie, and I didn’t sweeten it although I probably should have. It seems like that’s just what it needs to make it all out milk and cookies. But that’s what the rest of it is for.

Yesterday afternoon, I thought a cup of black tea might perk me up so I steeped up some Milk & Cookies, knowing I thoroughly enjoy this one every time I have it. I ended up dozing off in the evening so didn’t get to resteep it. I must still be catching up on my sleep.

Backlogging from Christmas: What a lovely and apropos finale to an amazing 12 teas of Christmas!!! This black tea is interesting to say the least. It’s sweet, and creamy but also has an almost floral-y element to it. I used a shorter steep time (thanks for the tip, Uniquity!) and I think I finally got a hang of it. It was a lovely christmas treat!!!

Moral of the story: 12 teas of christmas made the holiday season festive and bright!

Since I had the David’s Teas 24 Days of Tea, I decided to drink my 52Teas 12 teas of Christmas during the traditional 12 days of Christmas. And I started a day late. Oops. Yesterday was rough, with having to be at work at 7 a.m. And then after I got home, I didn’t want to have a caffeinated tea to get in the way of sleep later. So I decided to hold off until today.

Ninavampi said it best, without additions, Milk and Cookies tastes like a vaguely chocolately generic black tea, slightly harsh. I want to like it, I want it to be out of this world and cookie-like, but I dislike sweetened tea. In any form. With any amount of sugar. So I just can’t go there. My mental block is too strong. But to get the best out of many of their teas, you have to have milk and/or sugar. So after my brief crush on them, here I am. It smells delicious though. At least I have that.

So, I started this week off with a pitcher of Milk & Cookies iced and unsweetened. I prefer iced tea over hot tea in general because I hate waiting for hot tea to cool enough to drink. And, in particular, the teas from 52 Teas are almost always better iced in my opinion. The flavors are just better and the black tea astringency becomes an asset rather than a distraction. I don’t normally like or drink plain black tea because of the bitterness and astringency. In fact, the ones from 52 Teas are nearly the only ones that I’ve really liked.

Like every tea I’ve had from 52 Teas, I’m amazed at the flavor of this one. It tastes like creamy chocolate chip cookies. There is chocolate and and a baked taste. The slight astringency helps lend a baking soda aspect. There is even a creamy milk component. Most flavors are more prevalent in the forefront, the creamy note is more prevalent in the aftertaste. The smell of the tea leaves is also really delicious and mouth watering. I’m really enjoying this iced.

This is a tea that doesn’t stand well alone. With sugar, there’s a perfect cookie smell and a pretty accurate (although very much simplified) taste, but without it, it’s just a too-bitter chocolate tea. I could see this being a nice little Christmas surprise, but if you missed it, I’m sure you can find something better.