Wild Monkey Marsala

Even after reading that the person who sent me this tea, thanks AZZ, didn’t like it I gave it a shot anyway. As a sidenote I end up going to Olive Gardens about once a year and 90% of the time I order Chicken Marsala. Since I no longer drink alcohol this is the best indicator I have as what to expect, I drank whites when I did still drink alcohol.
There’s cinnamon to be sure, it reminds me of baked apples loaded with it. Not tasting alot of vino yet, but saw other notes mention it comes later. It’s malty and maybe a touch smokey. Fair amount of body to this drink. For me the only drawback is astringency, which I will have to put a disclaimer in my profile about me being an astringent weenie. Other than that it ain’t bad, though not a potential ‘buyer’ for me.
That’s what this is all about right, finding what fits your taste with samples from tea friends and courteous tea companies so you can buy lots of the ones you love. Tasting notes are great and helpful, but we’re all still different and we have thousands of choices before us.

Love Red Leaf Tea but this one is just not my cuppa.

This tea has a very strong scent of cinnamon and that musty marsala scent (but the cinnamon has clearly beaten the tea and the marsala into submission). My opinion is that this blend takes the worst aspects of cinnamon, wine, and black tea and brings them out. If you are such a cinnamon fanatic that you would suck on cinnamon bark, you might like this tea. It’s a bit too much for me.

I was a little unsure about this one after reading some mixed reviews in the tasting notes, but I’m happy to say that it’s pretty good. There is a nice balance between Marsala wine and cinnamon flavor, and the black tea doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It’s a tasty blend.

Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for making this tasting note possible!

Should have looked this up on Steepster before I brewed this as my morning, erm afternoon tea. I thought it was just a black tea along the lines of golden monkey and the company was just being clever with the name (later I realized this is Red Leaf and while they certainly do clever, it’s cleverly flavored blends) as this came in a little baggie compliments of Tunes&Tea thank you! It didn’t smell flavored in dry leaf form, maybe just a touch savory but when I added the hot water I was surprised to find a very fruity aroma rising out of the cup, oh dear, wine tea, in the morning, ahem afternoon. Oh well, I’ll grab a cookie and go with it.

First sip, oh hey this is spicy, hmmm is that cinnamon in my wine, err tea? Mulled wine tea. I like it! I’ve had several wine inspired teas (mostly from Teavana), though never a wine infused tea and never with a black tea base. I don’t mind the musty note others speak of and I think my wine loving aunt would really like this, I got her and her wife a cast-iron pot last year and some aforementioned wine inspired tea, but I think this and a “bottle” of vintage tea works would be good to send along.

The only thing I find weird and I mean really really weird is that when I bite in my Christmas cookie (husband’s grandmother’s recipe, nice and thick and soft and normally oh so delicious) it tasted like a chicken biscuit. Oh dear, is this my subconscious at work (chicken Marsala) or are the tea and cookie really playing off each other this way? Several more bites of Christmas chicken cookie confirm, they really are. I think I’m going to make some pasta for lunch. Thank you Tunes&Tea fr the wild monkey morning, erm afternoon (okay so the toddler and I slept in and then stayed in bed for a long time)!

I was a little scared when I first smelled this one. It reminded me of a tea I tried a while back that I found to be way too sweet and way too cinnamony…like cinnamon red hots! Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE cinnamon red hots – I just didn’t care for it in my tea!

BUT…

When I sipped this I was relieved to find out that it was pretty good! It’s not something I would pick out for myself if I were to see it on a shelf in a store based on the smell…but lucky for me I enjoy trying new things!

Piping hot this tasted like a chai with candy-sweet cinnamon instead of an Indian Cinnamon Spice or powder type cinnamon taste if you know what I mean.

After a few moments at room temperature the Wine flavors come out more…an interesting addition.

The aftertaste is a stronger black tea paired with a more natural tasting cinnamon.

This is complex and fun! It has a lot of character!

With all the red leaf teas I’ve tried, the flavour is INTENSE! (which, for the record, I rather like! :)) It smells strongly of fortified wine, such as a port or a sherry, which is odd considering marsala is a white wine… the cinnamon isn’t as prominent as I feared it would be… it’s actually very well balanced. I find that’s very difficult to achieve given the distinctiveness of the flavour. It lends a sweetness to the tea that is unexpected. Perhaps it is the cinnamon that makes it more sherry-like. The black tea base is perhaps what gives it a red wine characteristic from the tannins. All of the aforementioned qualities make this a lovely after supper sipper.

I’ve always thought that I could find something to like with any tea. This blend made me question that thinking. I could taste the cinnamon and the marsala along with the black tea but the musty twist doesn’t bring it together. To me, the musty ruined them all. I’m not sure I’ll even give this one a second chance.