Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride

Wowie kazowie! Don’t let the lack of color keep you from trying this. It’s translucent at first; darkens to pale blonde when you leave the cup in the bag. But close your eyes, think of friendly hedgehogs and moonbeams, click your heels together three times, and …there it is! CS has the sugar cookie taste and scent down cold.

A winner on lots of levels. No-cal, guilt-free, no-caffeine, and a Cheapster Steepster at that. And readily available in our little armpit-of-the-Midwest retail outlets.What more could I ask?

Too lazy to get up and do anything about it this cup, but I think this would be wonderful with a little milk or half-and-half.

This smells SO much like cookie dough, but sadly the taste is not living up to the scent.

It’s not bad though, to me it just tastes like it needs one more thing, a savory note perhaps, to round it all out. It just ends on this super sweet note and I feel like if it could be something else that tastes more cookie-ish, it would really make the tea. The orange peel is a little too strong for me also, but I also just left the tea bag in as I sipped.

I might try using 12 oz of water in a bigger mug next time with two bags and see how that turns out. Regardless of that sweetness and the strong orange, I really do like this.

I decided to have this one tonight because I had some sugar cookies to go along with it! I haven’t reviewed this one yet either, though I’ve steeped this many a time. It’s one of my favorite CS teas. Really, this tea should probably be called ‘butter cookie’. It has a delicious buttery flavor, as well as a buttery lemon yellow color to the steep. I’m surprised they aren’t drowning this one in ridiculous amounts of stevia like they have with their unbearable pumpkin blend if they are calling it ‘sugar cookie’. I’m not exactly sure how this is so sweet if they don’t put much or any stevia in it. But it’s good! The name is surely accurate!

Hum, I haven’t figured this out.

The smell is strong and spot-on.

The taste is lacking. Maybe it’s that I’m used to the punch of loose-leaf now, but it was just kind of weak. Last night I put 2 teabags in my 16oz mug with a bit of milk and agave, and it was weak. Today, I put 4 teabags in the same mug, with milk and agave as well, and it’s strong, but not sugar-cookie strong. It’s not sweet enough. Maybe I didn’t add enough agave for the 4 teabags.

If I can figure out how to make this perfect, though, it’ll be delicious.

I am giving this tea another try because… well, I talked to one of my friends and she said that she enjoyed this tea. Even though we have different tastes, I don’t think that I gave this one a fair shot. I was really excited to find this tea at the store as well as a limited edition Sleepytime tea box. I’m usually not one to buy Celestial Seasonings, but Sleepytime has a soft spot in my heart.

Well, back to this tea. I’ve noticed that this tea has a bit of a strange scent. Maybe it’s the citrus… but it just smells funky. Underneath all of that is the sugar cookie. It really does smell like raw sugar cookie dough. YUM. I’d love a nice plate of warm sugar cookies at this moment.

Sipping… first comes the citrus and then comes the raw dough. This coats your tongue with a buttery, doughy flavor. The finish is crusty sugar & something weird.. it’s cooling, tangy.. almost like a peppermint. Not the most pleasant thing. The more I drink it, the more I notice it. I’m surprised to see how quickly this tea went from being a hit to more of a dud.

This is actually the second time I’ve had this tea. It smells so wonderful straight out of the box, honestly like sugar cookie dough. Then steeping, it’s like an actual sugar cookie. The taste, though, is a little lacking compared to the smell. It’s a good solid tea, I can taste the sugar cookie, the orange peel just a bit. It’s tasty, just not as yummy as the smell leads you to believe. Nothing to throw it out over though. This is a great evening tea!

I can’t remember enjoying this in recent times. It’s possible I haven’t had it. Maybe I didn’t want to buy the whole box. At any rate, I enjoyed this recently from a fresh box my grandmother stashed from the last holiday.

We enjoyed several cups of this tea together while I was on vacay.

The taste is light but pronounced – and it’s cookie dough to the full extreme! I enjoyed it because of the lack of caffeine (as did Oma). While it’s brewing, the aroma is just like freshly baked cookies. This is so delish, I wish it was available year round! Oma hooked me up with the rest of a box, so I’ll dole it out when I want a special no-caff treat.

I had to actually buy this from a place in the States because this particual CS tea never showed up in my local stores. They were selling all the other holidays teas but not this one, oddly enough.

The smell…oh my god, the smell! The teabags smell like cookie batter that just had a bunch of fresh citrus zest grated into it – it made me want to eat the teabag instead of steep it! Then, when the water was added, it got even better, turning into the smell of just-baked sugar cookies, fresh out of the oven.

The flavour starts off tasting lightly citrusy and I got worried that that was going to be all there was to it, but then the sweet, sugar cookie goodness kicked in. I can literally taste the buttery, crumbly texture that you get when you take a bite of a cookie. This could easily become an addiction!

I like some other Celestial Seasonings teas, so don’t get me wrong, I’m not a tea snob.

Although this is far from terrible I really was hoping for something more? I love the smell of this, it’s definitely got a sugar-y vanilla aroma that is quite authentic. As for the flavor though, I found it to be kind of weak, like a watered down barley water with lemon & vanilla essence. I did like it a little bit better after I added soymilk but I’m not a huge fan of it.

Greetings Steepsterites. We meet again.
2012 sure has been a crazy one, huh? The last review I posted was Halloween weekend of 2011. And here it is almost Christmas 2012.

So, where do I start…
I moved from Nebraska to Arizona, got married, have a child on the way, a crazy puppydog, a beautiful place to live in a picturesque town… but one thing is missing.
Tea.
So I’ve confessed my love affair of tea to my husband and I’m back! I can’t wait to build my tea arsenal back up and start reviewing again. (If you check my cupboard I currently only own a few boxed teas I picked up from the local grocery store..sadface.) But, Harney just had free shipping last weekend so I ordered a couple of my favorites, Paris and Hot Cinnamon Spice, and threw in a sample of their new Soho blend which I’m excited to try. I mostly ordered Hot Cinnamon Spice to get my hubby hooked, because that’s the tea that hooked me.

Here’s one I picked up the other day. Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride from Celestial Seasonings.
The teabags smell of sugar cookies, orange zest and I think I’m smelling a hint of raisins.
Once dropped into boiling water I’m instantly brought back to my childhood days of slaving over a hot easy bake oven. This smells like easy bake oven treats! A sweet childhood smell. It makes me smile. I want this in a candle. Besides sugar cookie I’m also picking up on a nice faint caramel scent.
First sip…rather disappointing, based on how great it smells. I can see how someone only tasted hot water. This seems to be more of a scented tea. Not a strong base note going on. Nothing much for the light notes of sugar cookie and orange to cling to. The smell is much better than the taste. The body is lacking. Adding sugar and honey helps, it’s definetely a tea I’d only drink dressed up in sweeteners and/or cream. I could see Davids tea or 52 teas pulling this dessert tea off more satisfyingly.

All in all not horrible but not very memorable, not something I would miss very much once the holiday season is over and it’s no longer on the shelves. I don’t regret buying it but I won’t buy more once I finish the box. Much better dessert teas out there!

Glad to be back!!
Love, Mrs. Bain:)

PS – A picture of our happy little family: http://i46.tinypic.com/2iw8tvs.jpg :)

I’ve made this tea before and haven’t really been able to get into it. But I keep trying. Why? Because while it is steeping it just smells SO good! Like delicious sugar cookies with a hint of citrus. Also, I think that a lot of times that this tea ended up “weird” was due me doing other stuff and just forgetting that I made tea. The first time I think that I made the tea too weak. Then the next time I let it steep for too long. Another time I forgot about it for a few hours and let it get all cold. Total tea fail.

However… Last night I steeped this in a 16oz ceramic mug using two tea bags and boiling water for about 5-6 minutes. And you know what? It was delicious! The husband walked by and was like, “wow, what tea is that?! Smells like cookies!” I actually think that I need to try and grab another
box (or two) while I can still find it!

But still, while reading the tea ingredients on the box, one question remains: what exactly is “natural sugar cookie flavor”? Is there a sugar cookie tree out there somewhere that I don’t know about?!

I want to rave about this tea, but sadly, I cannot.

First off, the smell when you open the box really will bring to mind sugar cookies. And during brewing you will start craving sugar cookies.

After the first sip, I wasn’t sure what to think. And after the finishing the first cup I still wasn’t sure what to think.

I ended up making a second & I used a pinch of brown sugar to sweeten it. Nope. Didn’t do it for me. I get the smell of sugar cookies, but not much in the taste of the tea. It’s just plain to me. Nothing special.

This may be my favorite from the CS holiday lineup. I think that the taste is very close to what they were going for and I like that this tea seems to be very forgiving. I love to pop it in a big mug with water and go about my evening while keeping the bag in the entire time. For a caffeine free, mess free option I’m pretty pleased with this tea.

Another one from my trade with Tea Sipper!

This tea smells amazing, just coming out of the bag. It steeps to a very light blonde and you can hardly tell that it is tea but for the smell but the taste…! Truly tastes like a sugar cookie both in the taste and the after taste. This is really good. It’s January now but I may have to see if there is still some in the stores or on Amazon.

I had a box of neglected Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride sitting in my cupboard so I thought I’d give it some love today. How shall I describe the smell? Dry and brewed it smells exactly like the inside of a donut. Just a plain donut not even a sugar glazed one. When I took a sip I had to do a double take because I tasted nothing but hot water. I thought I forgot to put a bag in but I did.

Now I remember why I don’t reach for this tea more often. Instead of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride, they should call it Donut Dough. I am debating whether I should chuck this in the bin. If I gave it to someone, they would probably hate me.

The aroma was great, it does smell like sugar cookies. Good flavour, but not strong enough. Maybe it would better as rooibos tea.

I’m seriously obsessed with this tea, and have cravings for it all the time. When I first got it I just didn’t know how to make it right. This is before I was really that into tea. Then a month or two ago I decided to try making it again. This time in my 24 ounce cast iron. I used 6 teabags, and 1 teaspoon of german rock sugar. I can’t remember how long I let it steep for? Probably about 10 minutes? I was hooked. It was soooo perfectly delicious. But I only had that one box. So I decided to save it for the next time I had a huge sweet craving late at night, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to buy any more in store for a while. I tried to put this tea to the back of my mind and just be patient…

Then a couple days ago I decided to make it again. 4 teabags in a 16 ounce tumbler. Steeped 15 minutes with a little under a teaspoon of german rock sugar. And that is when I became absolutely addicted to this tea. I have cravings for it constantly, but I only have 5 bags left in the box so I’m freaking out. Friday I ordered 6 boxes online, and I’m guessing it should be here within the next few days! I seriously cannot wait! I’m gonna let myself have some of this today because I know more should be arriving soon. :)

This tea makes me so happy; if they ever discontinue it I don’t know what I will do! Actually I’ve already decided that I will have to try to recreate it because I just can’t live without it.

OH and when my tea arrives in the mail I’m going to make my oatmeal with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so incredibly excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is definitely my top fave tea of all time right now. And it comes in a freaking tea bag!

I’m just really curious what the ‘natural sugar cookie flavor’ is in this. And can I get it in its raw form? Stock up for the end times????

Sorry all my posts today are kinda long and freaky because I’m seriously half asleep……. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Additives: none
Water: 1 flavia cup full of hot spigot water
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Smell: sugar cookie or shortbread cookie, vanilla
Flavor: citrus, sugary
Body: Light
Aftertaste: butter, shortbread
Liquor: golden honey, semi translucent

Gift from janefan, I have a feeling the air got to it a bit as the smell was weak and everyone else seems to have been hit by a string smell. However, the taste and aftertaste were truly a sugar cookie, very delicious! I am so glad I got to try this tea. My coworkers seem to love it too.

Post-Steep Additives: none

When you open the box, put your nose right in there and breathe in deep. You’ll have that sugar cookie smell with you for about ten minutes after you’ve walked into another room while letting the tea steep. I put brown sugar in my cup, which turned out to make it too sweet. Hits the tongue nicely and doesn’t leave a peculiar aftertaste, like some other kinds of sweet tea.

Don’t be put off by the “Sleigh Ride” part of the tea’s name. There’s no actual taste of a sleigh involved.

I’m really tempted to eat actual sugar cookies with this. Anyone do that yet and lived to tell the tale?

This one is good, though somewhat weak. I think I need to double up on the number of tea bags I used. I am surprised the color of the liquor is so light, given that it has roasted barley in it. The smell is like sugar cookies, though much gentler than the smell from the tea bag itself. It also tastes sweet, though that may just be the aftereffects of the bunch of homemade marshmallows that I had. The vanilla sugar flavor of the marshmallows highlights the vanilla sweetness of the tea. Interesting. Even though it has that slightly sweet flavor, I can still really taste the barley—it gives it a warmth and depth of flavor that I really quite like. This makes two of the Celestial Seasonings teas I may have to stock up on before the holiday season is over. Next up to try is the Gingerbread Spice Tea. Can it possibly compare to Candy Cane Lane and Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride? I don’t know. Part of me hopes not, because I’m running out of room in my tea cabinet (okay, I ran out of room a while ago. You know what I mean.)