Butter Brandy Cake

I cannot believe I am the first one to review this … especially since I make it a rule to wait a minimum of three weeks before I try the 52Teas blends. (more of a guideline than a rule, but, I will say that the monthly subscription program does make this easier to accomplish)

Yum! This is good. Very different … but good.

The flavors of a buttery-brandied-cake meld together with the rich black tea base. The cake seems to come out more toward the finish, and the aftertaste is sweet, but there is a twinge of brandy in there too. Sweet and yummy. This is a tea that is really so different from anything I’ve tried that I need to spend a little more time with it.

After discovering how much tastier the Simpson & Vail teas are if they are steeped at a lower temp, I tried that with this tea. Often the 52tea flavors get lost by the bitter taste of the tea so I did this one for 2.5 @ 180. This is ok. I’m a little disappointed though. I was hoping for some buttery cake. I’m getting only brandy. And I do like brandy. So this is ok, but I was craving some buttery cake. Not that of Pineapple upside down cake, that’s straight cake, I wanted something with a good black base. I guess I’ll keep looking.

First of all, let me say that I love the smell of the dry leaves – they’re like butterscotch but the brandy has a distinct scent all of its own. The tea brews up smooth and sweet and I can taste the brandy in the flavour – the lack of which was the main beef I had with the Brandied Apricot Honeybush by the way. There’s a rich, cakey note that makes this blend very decadent and dessert-like.

This is complex. As it sits on my taste buds different flavors come out. I’m kind of tempted to add some real brandy. Hhhmm…..