Caramel Sundae Escape

Full review on March 3rd on http://sororiteasisters.com/ here are the snippits:

I have not had many Talbott’s Teas – honestly I don’t know if I have had any. This was a great introduction to the brand as I do enjoy this tea.

Caramel Sundae Escape from Talbott’s Tea is a mellow, caramel tea that has absolutely no astringency or bitterness. It is sweet but not overly so. The chocolate notes are slight, if you are really wanting chocolate decadence this may not be the exact tea for you but the chocolate notes are present. This is by far more a caramel tea, and after all it is named Caramel Sundae Escape. However it is part of the Chocolate Lover’s collection so some may be a little disappointed it is not more chocolatey!

Regardless, this is a really delicious cup! I was surprised at just how many bits were in the blend, plenty of caramel chunks for sure!

Yesterday I came home to a fantastic swap package from Rabs full of exciting teas to try! It was hard to decide which one to dig into first, but since it was evening and my sweet tooth is always ready for a dessert tea, I picked this one to drink as we watched a film.

Deeeee-licious! This one took me on another jaunt down memory lane, because it tastes so similar to the Phoenix Dessert Blend at Alice’s Tea Cup in NYC! I know, I know, I have a crazy elephant memory (i.e. I never forget ANYTHING), but we went there in July of 2007 for my birthday, and had this tea with the most amazing pumpkin scones in the WORLD after a day of tromping around the Met. We loved the tea so much that we brought a few ounces home with us to enjoy in my other gift that year from my husband, my beloved shiny red Chantal teapot which I have used every day for the past 3 years!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Chantal-Ceramic-Ginger-Porcelain-Infuser/dp/B000QU270U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1274796049&sr=8-1

So, yes, this tea is great. Sweet. True luscious caramel. Good tea. I don’t really taste the chocolate, but rather taste richness. I don’t get ice cream sundae, I get Alice’s Tea cup, cool on a hot summer day, fairy wings and Cheshire cats, Art, Scones, Happiness!!!

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act 1 scene 2

“As merry as the day is long.”
Much Ado About Nothing Act II, scene 1

This tea is a comedy: Much Ado About Nothing. This was the play that I had my light bulb moment with Shakespeare in that his works are meant to be seen as plays and not just read in school. It was during Benedick’s humorous soliloquy in the garden where I found myself cracking up and realized that I was understanding the play. I was having such a great time unlike when Shakespeare was forced upon me in high school English classes.

Thus far I’ve avoided teas with any sort of chocolate in them. I really don’t care for chocolate just like I thought that I didn’t care for Shakespeare until I saw a live play. Apparently I’m fine with cocoa in tea! It’s so different than having a piece of chocolate. And these flavors are so wonderfully playful. The vanilla starts to get a bit pushy, but the caramel and cocoa seem to be doing a fine job of saying “hey nonny nonny” to both the tea and vanilla. It’s like the enjoyment of watching Beatrice and Benedick quibble and fight while all the time knowing that they’re perfect for each other. But this tea is much smoother than any of the relationships in this play. Ultimately this is a delightful dessert tea that I must always keep on hand. TG

I managed to score a Talbott’s gift set via SimplyJenW, so I’m happy to be able to try this tea finally. I love their Chocolate Almond Allure a lot, so this one sounded promising. It seems similar except for the vanilla flavoring instead of almonds. My tin also had some apple pieces in it, despite there not being anything about apples in the ingredients list.

The steeped tea smells like a caramelly black tea with some chocolatey cacao-nibby notes to it. It smells more like an unflavored black with those notes than a flavored tea, and the notes seem to mesh very well together. Flavor is nicely caramel with some dark cacao notes. This tea isn’t really super chocolatey to me, but there are cocoa notes if that makes sense. I don’t get distinct vanilla, but I feel like it’s in there helping the caramel be really creamy… kind of like when I make caramels and add vanilla extract, it doesn’t make the caramels taste vanilla-y. The black tea base is robust and a bit toasty as well, but suuuuper smooth. Overall a very tasty cup. Not quite as good as Chocolate Almond Allure, but pretty delicious nonetheless.

This is a tasty tea, no doubt, but I needed to use a LOT of dry tea for a decent cup and I don’t know how cost-effective it is.

There are dried apples in the tea: I tasted and tasted. It’s not caramel. It’s not caramel-covered apples; it is apple. But the tea does not taste much like apple, in any event.
It’s a nice tea—don’t get my wrong—but at the price, I don’t think it is worth it. I’ve had much better caramel teas and much better chocolate teas.

I’m also starting to realize that I don’t much care for teas named after desserts.

thanks again for sending this one a while back, TeaEqualsBliss! I waited a while to write a steeping note for this one. I wanted to try it again because the first cup was underwhelming. I guess I expect more flavor for the price! I steeped for 15 minutes at boiling, and I’m not sure there is any caramel or chocolate flavor here. The malty black tea is decent enough, but like I said, underwhelming. But this is why tea swaps are so great: you get to try teas without having to buy whole ounces of it! :D (Also, this may or may not have absorbed the flavor of Adagio’s White Cucumber: they are both in baggies and this one was next to it! I’ll have to move it later today…I was planning on reorganizing anyway!)

I feel like my taste buds are finally functioning properly again. And that makes me very happy, because now I can really taste the caramel and chocolate of this tea. And it tastes fantastic!

The tea is the strongest flavor, but the caramel and chocolate are not shy. It is smooth, rich and creamy. YUMMY!!!

ETA: I forgot to thank TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea. Thanks!!!

Another one that has been on my list for a LONG TIME and I am NOT disappointed! This is FAB! The Caramel is TOP NOTCH! Incredibly sweet and smooth – sugary! The Vanilla is slight but also helps with the creaminess. The Chocolate is nummy! This is REALLY REALLY GOOD and I am so tempted to give it a higher score but I will go with this one right now…nomnomnom

Second tea of the afternoon……

What can I say? I had to try this one today, too. I don’t like it quite as well as the Chocolate Almond Allure, but it is still pretty good. Notes of dark chocolate and caramel. The thing I do like about Talbott’s tea base: It is rich and deep tasting. It has made the chocolate notes in the two I have tried so far seem very much like the dark chocolate variety. Since the base is so flavorful, the added flavors can be light and make a very relaxing tea. They definitely are not overdone, or underdone. Just right.

Usual mug method.

Caramel and cocoa…. this tea is yummy! Not my favorite dessert tea but definitely one I will enjoy again.

I overwhelmed this with milk and brown sugar, sadly. Gonna try it again without.

Where’s the caramel?

It really is a wonderful tea, but not what I expected. I don’t really taste any caramel or cocoa or salt, but it’s such a fine, slightly smokey, black tea, I don’t mind at all. There some very subtle hints that do mellow it out and maybe a touch of vanilla that leaves a slightly sweet aftertaste that makes it wonderfully smooth . If your looking for a Tea Forte type dessert tea with cocoa, this isn’t it, but I must say I am loving it anyway. It smells like a wonderfully, mellow, smokey black tea. I usually like black teas with milk, but I like this plain. I like the small tins. No extra wasted empty space in them and they stack nice.

I’m a sucker for tea with a fun twist. I love caramel and cacao but cacao overpowered the caramel that I wanted to savor so badly. (Can you tell I’m crazy about desserts). However, a good tea; like it best with vanilla Silk Soymilk.