Caramelized Pear

I was thrilled to receive a tea swap package from the lovely teaplz recently and this was in it.

Oh, Steepsterites.

Pear tea is not something I’ve had a lot of good luck with. It’s my favorite fruit [thinking about the validity of that statement and deciding it’s definitely true], and therefore it’s not something that I’m going to be satisfied with if I have to reach for in a tea. [Kind of like the elusive pumpkin, I suppose.] I don’t want it to be light and floaty, though light and floaty pear done well is better than artificial or this ain’t pear. I want it to be in my face and smack me around a bit.

Oh, Steepsterites.

The fact that this combines with my favorite dessert flavor [thinking about the validity of that statement and deciding it’s definitely true] means that this tea could easily be my Icarus. It could soar up high on the warm air currents and then tumble silently before crashing fatally into the sea.

Fortunately, this tea is like Icarus’ happy ending. It’s the Icarus Remix. Pears have a relatively short season where they’re really good [or at least it seems that way because I can’t get enough of them when they’re around] and this tea is going to become like crack for me, especially when pears aren’t in season. I’m already calling it, everyone. When I get really effing weird on Steepster [weirder – that is] and start spitting nonsense, it’s going to be because I’m either out of Ryokucha or this tea. Look forward to it.

Take a second to travel to Imaginationland for a second with me here. Think about a nice, ripe, juicy pear. You know, where they’re in that state of limbo between firm and mushy and when you bite into it you have to have a towel on hand [if you care about that kind of thing] because you inevitably end up making a mess. Now, cut that pear up into little half inch cubes and stick them in a bowl. You still with me? Okay, now there’s a saucepan on the stove to your left. It’s got some caramel sauce bubbling in it – deep orange-brown, bubbling, thick, and satiny. Give it a good stir, cut off the heat, and let it cool for a minute. Excellent. Take the caramel, and pour that all over the pear bits. The whole thing. Don’t hold back. Stir everything around gently, do not smush the pear.

Now, take out a spoon. Put the spoon in your mouth. Remove your belt and wrap it around your head. Take off your shoes and go outside. There will be a bag of trash in your trashcan. Take that out, and…

I’m kidding, I’m kidding.

Okay, take the spoon. Dip into the mixture and…I think you can take it from there.

That is what this tea tasted like to me. It was rich, and the caramel and the pear were both just so very much present. Between the mouthfeel and the taste and just the absolute giddiness I got from the fact that they nailed the pear so hard it won’t see straight until the weekend. Just…AH.

The two tastes didn’t combine often. When they did, it was maybe just a smidge weird, but the majority of the time it tasted like a piece of pear coated in decadent caramel, and Zeus help me, it’s going to take an insane amount of willpower to keep this sample from disappearing before I order it.

As it cooled, the caramel started to melt away a bit and the pear came to the forefront. The only thing that could keep me from being disappointed at this is the fact that I love pear to the point that it raises eyebrows, but the fact that the tea did this for me is something that I think y’all should be aware of. [This was also true of the second steep – more pear than anything else. I let it sit for seven minutes on the second infusion, but I’ll try steeping it a little longer next time. The more mileage I can get out of this the better, I think.] Oh, and the rooibos didn’t come into the picture at all.

Anyhow, win. Just…win. It was such a win that everything else could have lost that day and I wouldn’t have cared much. The ONLY reason that this tea isn’t going to get a flat out 100 from me is unfortunately because of something that also makes it so awesome. It is sweet and rich and a full on dessert tea. I can’t drink this every day, though I wish I could. If I did, I’d get sick of it, which would make my tea self cry, and this is not a tea I want to have to take out of rotation.

Anyhow.

ABSO-EFFING-LUTELY DELICIOUS. Thanks, teaplz!

My new stressful-yet-awesome job plus the arrival of dreaded finals have kept me off of Steepster for a while. But today, something happened that both revived my faith in humankind and provided me with a delicious bubble of happiness in my stomach – my long-awaited package from Takgoti arrived! If you didn’t already know, Takgoti pwns at life. If you don’t believe me, look at how she packaged this tea and look at what she included in the box besides wonderful tea. http://www.flickr.com/photos/47736372@N04/4555495137/ Yes, that is some kind of wedding invitation-esque stationary with the list of teas, steeping instructions, and personal comments. She also included a note bearing good wishes to me and apologies for not sending the package out sooner. No worries, Takgoti! I should be the one apologizing! Your packaging puts mine to shame!

Within the awesome package were little individual awesome packages full of awesome tea. It was like a Babushka doll of awesomeness, if you will (and I will). She made sure that the tea reached me in absolutely perfect condition. http://www.flickr.com/photos/47736372@N04/4556121460/ I normally just put tea in plastic baggies (if I don’t have any empty tins laying around) and send them off, hoping for the best. Takgoti used freaking Gladware.

Finally, on to the tea – the lovely, lovely tea. http://www.flickr.com/photos/47736372@N04/4555488735/ The dry rooibos smelled like cherries, pears, honey, and maybe a little bit of candied almonds. After steeping, it smelled like nothing more than pure caramelized pear goodness. Those of you who know me know that I’m not fond of rooibos. I’ve had only a few blends that can cover up the tobacco yuckiness adequately enough for my own tastes. Let me tell you guys, this is the best rooibos I’ve ever had. It is one of the best teas/tisanes I’ve ever had. Period.

I have searched far and wide for a good pear-flavored tea. Adagio’s White Pear left me (almost literally) vomiting and weeping with disappointment at the same time. My search is over now. This tastes so much like those Juicy Pear Jelly Belly beans. Which, if you didn’t know, taste exactly like pears. There is caramel in here, too, which is another favorite flavor of mine. This was so worth the wait.

Thank you Takgoti! I think I can die happy now.

Thanks to Doulton for this sample! I have read many positive reviews for this tea.
Perfect for the afternon, this is a light tasting rooibos pear flavored tea…The pear is natural tasting even though the blend had apples and no pear?

Art of Tea sells a Green Tea- Pear blend. Personally, this would have been my preference. I could get the delightful pear flavor, no rooibos, AND green tea….

Oh man. Oh, oh man. Been looking forward to this tea after having read through everyone else’s tasting notes. Picked it up in Select last week. My first from Art of Tea.

Let me keep it simple: if you like pear, you’ll love this tea.

Now, I happen to be a big fan of pears so that works just fine for me. As far as the other elements, I’m thinking about the caramel in particular, I didn’t get much of that. Really, just pear. In fact, when I sought a particular flavor out that I thought might be coming through I was just hit with…more pear. Mind you, this is not a bad thing. In fact, this is easily one of the better rooiboses I’ve had in a while, if not my favorite. It’s a lot of fruit, without being too much fruit, if that makes sense.

If you’re looking for a nice fruit blend and have had enough of the citrus, apple et. al, definitely give this one a shot! Great after dinner tea.

This is the best flavored rooibos I’ve tasted. This and Ocean of Wisdom. Except OoW is way more grown-up and sophisticated than this. They fit different niches.

ANYWAY, that Strawberry Chocolate let me down earlier today, and I wanted to end the evening on a somewhat better note. With a bit of trepidation, I decided to do this one by Art of Tea. The lovely Jon gave me this as part of my Christmas present, but I hadn’t tried it. The rooibos blend is very pretty, with the marigold blossoms and the bits of apples, offset by the red rooibos. It smells ridiculously of pear. Not even joking. I feel that pear is such a hard thing to nail. It’s one of my favorite fruits, but fake pear tastes are pretty gross. Luckily enough, this smells fresh and juicy and even a bit candied.

So I steeped it up for a bit longer than required, and the smell emanating from the infusion was pure pear. Almost like the aroma equivalent of Jelly Belly’s Juicy Pear flavor (which is amazing if you’re a pear freak). I took the first sip, a bit afraid of what I was going to encounter… and okay, all doubts have pretty much vanished.

This is a caramelized pear tea, and it tastes like a caramelized pear tea. If you’re not a fan of rooibos, the rooibos taste is barely noticeable. At all. I can’t even really detect it. What I am getting is succulent, wonderful pear all the way through. It’s in the top note, the end note, the everything note. The caramel comes through only extremely slightly in the end taste, and in the scent, but it’s definitely not the star. And there’s a wonderful sweetness. A fresh fruit sweetness that lingers on your tongue after every sip.

Needless to say, I’m pretty damned impressed with this one by Art of Tea. It’s very light and compulsively drinkable. I could see sticking this in the fridge and coming out with a delicious sort of iced tea. Now this is what I call a dessert tea!

I am having the most marvelously fabulous tea day, ever!

Well, what can I say about this tea that hasn’t been said already, more powerfully? More eloquently? especially by those more knowledgeable than I? I won’t begin to compose my own accolades to this tea … please allow me, just this once, to refer you to all those scrumptious tealogs on this particular tea and let that suffice for now.

A lovely way to end a wonderful tea day.

Hooray for my Art of Tea order coming in!

What I really want to try is the Mandarin Silk oolong (the aroma coming out of the tin is seriously to die for), but my Zojirushi was set to 208 and I’d just had two cups of tea this morning, so I thought I’m probably caffeinated enough as it is, and should probably wait a little bit. Might as well have some of this, right?

I’d wanted to try this since ages ago, when teaplz and Takgoti were ranting and raving about it…but then I ordered this Coco-Loco rooibos from SerendipiTea (it seemed so promising! Many kinds of chocolate! Mmmm!) and…well, scared myself away from rooibos. It had a faint taste of…er…bile. Seriously. :( And given that being nauseous/throwing up/being around people who are throwing up/encountering the odor of any puddles left behind by people who have thrown up/etc. may rank at the top of my very short OMG Can’t Handle It list, my response was a pretty visceral ‘no way, nope, no thanks, never in a million years, thanks for playing, peace out’.

This actually smells pretty good, so I am wary but tentatively hopeful. The scent of it is quite fruity, and actually reminds me of The Cracker Barrel for no immediately-recognizable reason. It’s something to do with the spiced-and-stewed-sweet-fruit thing, I suppose, that makes me think ‘southern country kitchen’.

It’s still VERY hot, but…first impressions are…pretty good, actually. I think I can locate the flavor of the rooibos that sent me running for the hills, but it’s different here, more nutty-woody than woody-sour, and the nice thing is that I don’t have to find it if I don’t want to. I can concentrate as I exhale and get it, but if I don’t care for it…why would I do that?

As the cup is cooling, that woody aspect is a little bit ‘rounder’ in flavor, if that makes any sense — more expansive but also softer, and pretty well tied to the pear flavor, which is strong and delicious. I keep finding myself holding the tea for a moment in my mouth, so I suppose my fear that the cup would lose its ability to cover the rooibos up as it cooled must have been needless!

I really like this. I’m not sure that I would want it every night, but I really have been remiss in seeking out caffeine-free alternatives to tea for the evening, and this one is pretty tasty. The flavor is almost totally stewed/baked pear, but after you swallow you get a tangible, almost tactile sweetness on your tongue that is definitely caramel, though it’s a very gentle sweetness, not cloying or sticky or astringent at all.

Man, I’m so relieved. I was totally not prepared for this to be bile in a can all over again! I think I can totally find a place for this in my cupboard on the reg.

I’m bumping the rating of this one up a bit because apparently I find this decently tasty when made in a big ole cup. Very pear-ish in a canned-but-not-as-sweet way. I only get hints of caramel but it adds a different sweetness to it that is nice. I get a bit of the sweetness from the rooibos but none of the wood. It doesn’t hold a candle to last night’s Coconut Custard from Teas Etc but, in the big cup, I’m finding it very drinkable.
^4.7g/12oz

Yay.
Oh yay.

I ordered this on a whim after reading the other glowing reviews. I like pears, and I LOVE caramel. Rooibos – not so much. I’m not into the wood flavor.

Opening this bag, I actually swore out loud in joy – it SMELLED SO GOOD. So totally pear like. So yummy. When I walked it by a co-worker this morning, she said it smelled like pear skin and honey.

Brewing, it’s a beautiful brown-red. And then the flavor was amazing. When I first tried it, I wasn’t as excited as I was once I added a tiny bit of sweetner. I do like my teas sweeter. And for me, adding the half pack of splenda made it sing. The pear jumped out, and the caramel was extra creamy then.

I like this tea. I like this tea a LOT. Yum!

Ho-Lee Buckets!
Remember how I said I was looking for a dessert tea that could trick my sweet tooth into thinking I had dessert? I think I have found it. And I think it may be TOO good.

I am FULL. Seriously, this tea has made me feel FULL. It is PACKED with flavor. Supersaturated I would say. It’s like, a smack upside the head of flavor and it is HEAVY. Woah. I don’t know how they did it. (Witchcraft is looking more and more likely!) It’s actually too much for me, I had to add milk to tone it down a bit. Clearly this will require some tweaking of steep time, amount, etc. Glad I have the whole rest of the packet to mess with.

The taste is fascinating. It reminds me of dried pear more than of fresh, but I suppose cooked pear would work too. I definitely get the pear and a caramel taste so strong it’s almost metallic. There’s a hint of honey there too, I think this might be what Honey Pear wishes it was.

Right now this is the forerunner for ordering more of, since it was EXTREMELY effective at silencing my sweet tooth. But I’m gonna have to see if I can get it to a not quite so overwhelming level, because DAYUM.