Vanilla Comoro

Not sure if it’s the season or the turn in the weather (wicked windy chill, clouds like anvils)—but whatever caused it, I am craving sugar and pastry in copious quantities. I’m even burning vanilla and warm sugar candles hoping to imbibe some through the lungs.

So, in a somewhat disciplined effort (well, at least until tomorrow) to avoid noshing myself into a carb coma, I chose this for dessert. Talk about creamy sugar cookie goodness—a little half and half, and this is nothing but perfection.

No, I don’t know why I’ve been hoarding my last two cuppas’ worth of this delectable, pastry-like decaf. As good as dessert. This could well make the Hall of Decaf Fame.

There’s just something about January (in this case, the fact that they’re remodeling at work and we’ve been stuffed into temporary quarters with absolutely no natural light and bulbs the strength of a flickering match) that makes me crave sugar in any configuration, in obscenely large quantities.

Thus, I’m rummaging through my stash for the sweetest, stickiest flavored goodies I can find. This is tops in that category, and the decaf feature is definitely a bonus. Now if I could just stick to the tea and leave the dessert & candy alone…

Been a while since I’ve sampled this one. Decided to reacquaint myself with whatever it is that has you Comoro junkies absolutely mesmerized. Duh! It’s that candy-sweet vanilla that smells like a Brach’s Milk-Maid caramel and makes you think you’re getting away with murder close to bedtime :)

I did toodle about and leave my cup to steep a little too long this evening, so the black base went a little bitter on me. Splash of half and half took care of that right quick. Tasty, tasty, tasty!

All this needed was a little love. (Milk.) Much better than my first experience.

So, I brought back the second batch of tea samples. Knowing what I do know about loose leaf, I should have brewed two teaspoons at once, but I’m just using a little bit less water to make up for it. Because I have a french press now, I just dumped in the packet Ashley gave me all at once.

I’ve been a little depressed this afternoon and I am hoping some tea therapy will do the trick. I have a big kettle of hot water and several types of tea at my disposal. All I’ll have to do is watch my water temperature and wash my french press in between tea types. I’m starting with this one for tonight.

I am really having fun watching the leaves steep through my press. The golden bits swirled around the water with the leaves when it was steeping. The steeped tea smells so good. I just ran out to make my roommate smell the tea and her eyes glazed over with envy. It smells just like vanilla cake! The liquid is deeper than the last time I made it, even though I only steeped it five minutes. But the french press got the liquid super clear. No tea particles in this cup.

The taste is smooth and almost silky on my tongue. I can taste the vanilla better and it blends really nicely with the black tea base. I think it has to be a gentle base because it has no bite to it at all. I am drinking this plain like normal, but I bet a little bit of sugar would bring out the sweetness more. Right now, it is more teasing at a dessert drink. I am really glad this is a decaf tea because when I order a tin of this (and there will be an order eventually) I’m going to have my mom try some. She can only drink decaf.

This is my last sachet of this tea, which I found while reorganizing my tea shelf at home. I have a pile of decaf and herbal teas here at home that I never get around to drinking, so I am going to attempt to do so in the evenings so I can reduce that stash as well.

This is a nice vanilla, and something about the decaffination process makes this tea impossible to oversteep it seems like. It does tend toward weakness, to my taste, so I do feel a need to steep it for a while. But it’s definitely pleasant, anyway.

Hi Steepster! I miss you. Being incredibly busy and lots of travel isn’t really conducive to sitting down with a cup of tea. I’m back home at my parent’s house and I decided I wanted a cup of tea tonight. I brought some sachets of this with me, and it seemed appropriate. There’s no kettle in this house, and I’m not about to use the microwave, so boiling water in a pan it was. No clue how long I steeped it for, but it came out nicely anyway. I do love having the Harney sachets for traveling since they seem almost fool-proof under any conditions.

Mm, I needed a nice decaf tea tonight to relax, so I busted out a sachet of Vanilla Comoro. I actually sweetened it a bit with some vanilla-infused sugar as well, so it’s extra vanilla-y, heh. Very yum.

At home after being out in the cold rain, looking at possibly a couple of inches of snow tonight, still recovering from a cold, I wanted a pot of comforting tea this morning. This really is a nice vanilla tea. I like the rich, almost caramel notes complementing the vanilla, though for some reason (I use slightly too much water? it’s in a sachet?) it seems a little bit weak. Still an enjoyable pot of tea this morning.

I recently ordered a pound of this, (since it’s not available in loose leaf in a smaller size,) should be arriving today or tomorrow! Tonight I managed to find some Vanilla Comoro in my now overflowing tea stash (that needs a good organizing,) from quite a while ago so I figured what the heck, maybe it’s still good. So I steeped up a cup and it’s still quite lovely! I forgot how amazing the aroma is. Almost better than the taste. Mmm. Cuppa comfort.

Pairs lovely with the lemon cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing I made tonight.
Check ’em out – http://www.flickr.com/photos/58601875@N08/?saved=1 #foodporn
I am having a BALL with my new camera. :)

My big Harney order arrived. I should be more excited..
I could bury my head in this bag all day. Ahhhh. Smells so amazing.

Whoops why am I still awake.

After trying 52 Teas’s blends I have to downgrade this.. Frank if you made a vanilla/caramely caffeine free tea I know it’d top Vanilla Comoro for SURE.

I want to find an amazing caffeine free vanilla caramel dessert tea that would knock my socks off. I would stock up in bulk and drink it every day.

Unfortunately, so far, the taste of this tea does not live up to the smell.
You smell the open tin, and it knocks you back, it’s like fresh baked cookies.

But so far, each time I’ve actually brewed and tasted it, the tea itself seems mostly smooth with much less flavor than expected. Adding sugar/milk does make a difference, but without those, this tea has actually not tasted as strongly (vanilla) as I hoped, so I’m lowering it from my initial impressions.

Backlogging – last night I had two cups of this. It was my second time steeping this tea.
For me, what works best is using two tea bags and steeping 4 minutes.
It was so much better than last time where I rated it a very low 27.
I am raising my rating now because I did enjoy it quite more with two bags.
I am however not raising it much because I had to use two bags.
Maybe it is me, I admit when I have a flavored tea I want a punch in the face flavor. Otherwise I prefer a pure tea.
Regardless my rating is going up.

Oh Vanilla Comoro, how I’ve missed you!!

When the courier dropped off a box of fresh H&S’s yesterday afternoon I was tempted to tear into it then and there .. Yet I somehow managed to contain myself because I wanted to set the scene for our re-introduction .. I decided to wait until evening, after the children were in bed, so I could snuggle up in my favourite chair by the fire (it’s a really cold, wet Autumn down here in South Island New Zealand), with a good book (Emma Donoghue’s ‘Room’), and a large pot of Rich Creamy Vanilla Goodness = Mmmmm

I fell in love with this tea about a year ago and the quality just never disappoints .. I get two full-flavoured 13oz steepings out of each sachet .. And it’s sweet & creamy, though never artificial tasting, even without the addition of milk & sugar .. I don’t think it’s possible to make it too strong or over-steep – it never goes bitter or too astringent .. Plus it’s a Decaf, which depending on circumstances can be a huge bonus!

Simply put, ♥ Vanilla Comoro ♥ is one of my all-time favourite teas ..

I actually consider this a kind of ‘gate-way’ tea .. That is, the tagalong tins make the perfect gift for anyone who ‘drinks regular black’ .. Trust me, they will love it and you’ll have the pleasure of knowing you’ve created a designer tea appreciating/craving monster :P

I love things that serve more than one purpose. Vanilla Comoro is one of these things. It’s perfect when I want a satisfying cup of tea after dinner. But, as I discovered today, it’s also perfect on a Sunday morning when I’ve slept in and have already roused myself with a little Chatsford pot of China black and am still craving more tea but don’t want to be bouncing off the walls in another hour. How about … a pot of Vanilla Comoro? Yes, that’s the ticket!

Thank you again, Jacqueline, for introducing me to the loose-leaf version of this tea. And thank you, Harney and Sons, for getting a pound of it to me in two days!

Epilogue: I am about to brew another pot of Vanilla Comoro as I sit down with my crocheting and enjoy a quiet Sunday evening.

This has become my nightly after-dinner tea! The prospect of running out was so horrifying that I had to order a one-pound bag yesterday. I can sleep better a) drinking this toothsome decaf tea and b) knowing that more is on its way! :)

I’m increasing the rating of this tea since my first try. I’ve tried this tea with boiling water and water at around 195-200 degrees. I’m liking the boiled version better. No matter how long I steep it, though, I do get a very drying sensation in my mouth from the black tea (From 3 minutes to 3 & 1/2 to 4). I don’t sense any kind of creamy texture or taste. I wish I did! How is everyone else getting this rich creaminess?
The vanilla tastes like it’s of good quality and adds a nice sweetness, but it’s the tea base that confuses me. It’s almost thin with a kind of coppery tinge. I really don’t know if I should buy a tin of this (even though I don’t love it) because I love that it’s decaffeinated — black tea at night! [ Any suggestions for awesome flavored desserty decaf teas are welcome! ]