Sparkley tea? Hell yeah!
Smell of dry leaves is a strong hit of vanilla. I bought this tea before work and my coworkers smelled it and loved it for the vanilla. Also a subtle spice smell. Looks very fun with gold balls and sugar crystals.
Steeped… I tried 3 times to get it to sparkle! First time was at work, in my travel tea glass. No sparkle. I even screwed on the cap and shook it (a little dangerous) and I didn’t see anything on the glass walls of the tea glass. Boooo!
Next attempt I used my DAVIDsTea steeper. I didn’t see any sparkle while in the steeper and none when I poured it into my cup.
Third time, I saw a link off DAVIDsTea’s twitter showing video of their tea sparkling and I was like “WTH” – the sparkle is at the top of the cup, not the sides. So I tried again today – steeping just with a tea cup and a metal tea strainer. I cheated a bit, bobbling the strainer around a few times – but as the steep went on, the more sparkle happened, stopping a few minutes after the 5 minute steeped finish and I was drinking it.
It’s a fine glitter sparkle in dark amber tea, it’s like flying in an amber star field.
Taste, warm cinnamon mixed with a bit of sweetness. I’d say a perfect level of sweetness to notice and find it pleasant, but not freaking out on the calories of this tea sweet. Hit of vanilla taste and of course, balanced with black tea. I think I can taste the cloves, but it’s very muted. I don’t detect the orange peel, but I find since I like to cook, orange peel doesn’t come off strong compared to lemon. It could also be the luck of the scoop of dried tea not having much orange. This is also me reviewing the taste using a metal tea strainer that doesn’t have as much movement compared to a Steeper device.
So, will I buy this again? Maybe. I’d say if you want a nice black tea on shelf, but not the standard black tea it would be a great addition to have. I’d show this tea to guests, especially the kind who just drink black teas like Earl Greys and Pekoes. Thus, I might buy another 30-50 grams. A staple black tea? Ehhh, my staple is Adagio Tea’s “Black Dragon Pearls”.
I think baking with this tea might be interesting though……. mmmmmmm!
