Market Spice

This smells just like orange creamsicles. It also happens to taste like them too. Score! Very interesting that I can’t taste the tea much.Mostly I taste the orange and the cream.

I looked in my Indian Tea tin and it’s low. Oh noes! I decided I should try it iced. It’s excellent iced. I brewed 12 perfect teaspoons in a pot with 32 ounces of water. I then filled my pitcher with ice. Pour brew over ice and voila!

Cinnamon, cardamom and clove are all present in the iced version. Since they are balanced rather well no one flavor takes center stage here. I’m not sure what they use as a base tea. It’s strong enough to show up but maintains a secondary presence to the spices.

I tend to think of those spices to be used in the cooler months, but this is rather good as an iced tea. It’s refreshing in a different way than mint or lemon. I’ll have to try this again some time soon when it’s warmer outside.

Best part of waking up are spices in your cup! Yum Yum.

I really like the balance of this blend. The tea is a pleasant addition to the cinnamon, clove and cardamom. I can’t say that any one flavor is more evident than the others.

An excellent cup to wake up to.

This tea smells much like it tastes.

Pear is the dominant flavor here. I like the cinnamon and clove together. I’m not sure what star anise tastes like but I think it may contribute to the sweetness. Although I notice they have stevia in here.

I like it. I wonder if will be good iced as well. Time will tell.

Missy was sleeping, so I had to steep this pot all by myself!

This is easily my favorite tea, roughly ever. It has such an amazing smell, the cinnamon fills the room. Plus the orange taste just makes it perfect. I see so many versions of this Cinnamon-Orange tea labelled as a ‘Christmas’ tea. It doesn’t taste Christmas-y though, it’s definitely a year round flavor.

At the recommendation of Teresa Souza, I ordered a batch of Söderblandning from the Tea Center of Stockholm because of my love of Cinnamon-Orange flavor. I’m not sure if it will be a replacement to MarketSpice, more likely a close cousin companion.

It’s left me with a bunch of silly inter-cultural exchange questions though. Let’s just say that my curiousity about the domestic and international shipping customs of Sweden is a little bit of a surprise. Though I have to say their customer service is a clear winner… had an answer to my email within something like 30 minutes.

So yes. Cinnamon-Orange good. MarketSpice good. Impatience bad. This is all true.

I often refer to Stash’s Orange Spice tea as my ‘first love’ when it comes to tea. Tea has always been good, but the pairing of the cinnamon and orange with black tea was the first tea that I ever really wanted. Like deep-seeded cravings kind of want. I moved on to the more bitter bergamot flavor of an Earl Grey later on in life, and it has always felt more of a staple than the Orange Spice. Orange Spice isn’t something you drink every day… it’s a treat. It’s special.

Years go by, and here I am getting all excited about loose tea. A coworker mentions something about MarketSpice, and I kind of dismiss it… because I think I knew what she was talking about, and it wasn’t what I was looking for.

I had no idea what she was talking about, and it was exactly what I was looking for. I apologized to her later.

The MarketSpice tea is similar to the Orange Spice tea in it’s flavor combination, but completely different in it’s execution. It’s like everything I love about Orange Spice, but notched up to 11.

The MarketSpice has very powerful flavoring of cinnamon (cassia), and it’s wonderful. The strength of the cinnamon is worth calling out specifically. The potency is such that when I first start drinking a new pot of this tea, my tongue goes a little tingly from the stimulation.

The orange is a much more solid flavor in this tea than most others (sorry, Stash!). It’s so far been consistently sweet as well, without a trace of that rind-y flavor that I’ve had in other teas. Another gold star for MarketSpice.

I’m also very impressed with pricing from MarketSpice the company. Most of their black teas run just above $1/oz, which is very reasonable. It’s an easy store to make a staple.

I absolutely love this tea, and will always have it handy. However, there are a few warnings that I would give others regarding this tea.

1) It is very sweet. Cinnamon and Orange both lend themselves to a dessert-level of sweetness, and the sheer power of these flavors in this blend lead to a very sweet tea.

2) With all that sweetness and flavor, the black tea really doesn’t have much room to shine. It’s there, somewhere, but man is it subtle. For people that prefer their black tea a little more prevalent, I wouldn’t be able to honestly recommend this tea.

But I recommend it to everyone else. I even recommended it to myself for a second steeping in a second pot tonight. Nom nom nom.

This is the only other green tea in my cupboard, for the time being. I enjoy the sweetness that the spearmint brings to the bite of the peppermint. This particular blend has done really well at keeping the actual tea in the flavor profile as well. High marks for that.

This is a particularly cozy tea for me. Great for days when you’ve been out in the cold all day. The base tea still shines through the rum flavor.
I’d keep it around just to try on people who are new to tea. The taste isn’t too complex. It’s a great tea to relax with.
Forever more this is pirate tea. It reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Pirates of the Caribbean.

This is another favorite tea of mine.
It’s not nearly as creamy as the Red Rocks, but it does have a stronger vanilla flavor. The hint of chamomile is a pleasant surprise. It blends very nicely with the vanilla and rooibos.
For me this tea is quite a bit sweeter than most of the vanilla rooibos I’ve tried. This may be an important consideration for others.
Some thing else to ruminate on is price. This particular vanilla rooibos is one of the cheaper teas. Red Rocks is considerably higher priced. I have found that it is just a good steeped 4 or 5 times as the first. Red Rocks falls a bit shorter on that. I get 3 good steepings with it.

Again more of that lovely cinnamon, with an interesting orange note. A nice tea to snuggle up with on a cold day.

Second tea of the morning……

I am on the fence with this one. It does remind me of Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice, but with more of an orange note. It is sweet without any addition of sweetener, and the cinnamon is a little lighter than the Harney version. The orange is nice.

I am a little unsettled by this tea, though. The dry leaf looks as if it is covered in oil. I am pretty sure it is the flavoring oil, but in all my flavored tea drinking, I have only experienced one flavor that made the tea look oily and this is it. There is even a residue in the bottom of the bag…..and I transferred it into a heavier zip pouch when I opened it, so this is not even the original packaging. It had to be transferred into something because it came in clear cellophane without any means of resealing. So, we are not talking about just a little glisten of oilyness…it is drenched. The look of all that oil kind of makes me lose interest, and even turns my stomach a little. I will probably dump out most of this pot, just because the look of the leaf is so yucky (for lack of a better descriptor!) I experienced something similar with the green version. Tastes good, but the dry leaf looks ick. I did send an email asking of this was normal for this flavor, and they did say it was. (I do have to commend the quickness of the response, though. It was lightening fast!)

I am not sad I tried this. I always would have wondered. If it did not look so oily, I am sure it would be a winner for me. I do like the more prominent orange flavor.

Usual teapot method. No additions.

This tea is intense.

I should let you know that I enjoy spicy food to a degree that is likely unhealthy. My enjoyment of this tea hits the same pleasure centers as tastebud-abusing Thai and Indian food.

The name of this tea begins with “Spicy”, and the description says “Our spiciest chai”. They do not kid. The Tellicherry pepper is apparent, intense, and SPICY.

If you make it past the rich peppery bite (as your tastebuds admit defeat), the ginger and clove become more apparent, with just a hint of cardamom lingering in the background.

This tea will wake you up with a start, clear your sinuses, and probably sterilize the back of your throat. It will also accompany you to work tomorrow, because your fiance won’t ever drink it again.

And by you, I mean me.

I enjoy chais for the variety of flavors presented to me in each sip.
This brews up a rich dark brown color, darker than most I’ve tried recently.
The aroma while brewing speaks to me of clove and cardamom.
With my first sip, I’m overwhelmed by pepper. I did notice clove and cardamom after the tea had cooled some though.

Iced tea of the day……

It is iced tea weather! I made this up today, and man is it tasty. It was pretty close to 8 tsp, brewed strong in my 24 oz teapot, and then transferred to my Fiestaware Disc Pitcher (about 60 oz) that was half full of ice. No additions. Perfection. I am so glad that iced tea seems to be a little more forgiving than hot for me. It will give me a chance to use up some of the tea in my cupboard that is not in the list of favorites. This one, however, is so much better iced than hot. Earl Grey iced is wonderful. I wonder if Capt. Picard knows this………

Tea of the morning…… (this refers to the loose leaf version)

Along with a little “Return to Cranford” from BBC’s Masterpiece Theater. I ordered this because I am always curious about Earl Grey varieties. This one leans a bit on the floral side of bergamot rather than the citrus side. It is pleasant enough, but nothing remarkable. Still, very drinkable. It is not likely to make the rebuy list, but I will enjoy it while I have it. I have 4 ounces to decide for certain, though.

One note on ordering from Market Spice…they did get an item wrong in my order. We shall see how responsive they are to email contact about order issues. I am not beyond calling them if need be, but hopefully, it can all be handled by email. I did think it a little weird that loose leaf items are shipped in clear, sealed cellophane bags while their single tea bags are sealed in opaque cellophane. Also, the Market Spice and Green Market Spice teas look very greasy to the eye. The Earl Grey looks like any other single leaf variety.

Usual teapot method.

Edit to add: They got back to me the first business day after I emailed about the mistake and are sending a replacement. Very fast response!

Tea of yesterday afternoon……

Since I am such a huge fan of Harney’s Cinnamon Spice, and JacquelineM’s review mentioned that the Market Spice Cinnamon Orange teas were very similar with the orange being more prominent than in the Harney, I had to try this. I love flavored teas in this range, especially because they are sweet without needing sweetening. I am definitely not disappointed. The cinnamon is not quite as strong as in the Harney, and the orange definitely has a front seat in the taste profile. I was wondering if the two were interchangeable, and they definitely are not. For those that are fans of orange more than cinnamon, this is the choice for you. I get mild red hots in a cup with a twist of orange in this.

EDIT TO ADD: One thing that might be a deal breaker on this….the leaves look kind of greasy. I do think it is probably a result of the flavoring oils. They recommend storing the tea in a glass jar once it has been opened (really, the packaging is marginal in clear, non-resealable cellophane…it must be transferred into something else.) I guess it will take further sampling to be sure if it is a keeper.

Teapot method, 180 water, 3 minutes. No additions.

Tea of the late afternoon……

Another tea from my Foodzie Box from LiberTEAs. This is very good. It is the perfect blend of hot cider and tea tastes. It is what I had hoped Cinnamon Apple from Harney & Son’s would be. I know it is just a matter of time before I put in an order at Market Spice, and am defintely considering this one!

Usual teapot method.

I HATE BANANAS!

That is why I have refrained from trying this one until today.

I’m afraid…VERY Afraid.

I really want to like bananas but can’t. It’s the only fruit I don’t like. The ONLY and I mean ONLY thing I can eat with Bananas in…is Banana Bread.

BOTTOMS UP!

I can taste the banana but it’s not nearly as strong as I thought it would be and I am VERY VERY VERY Grateful. The Pineapple helped disguise it a little…as did the green rooibos.

Considering my level of hatred for Bananas this wasn’t bad. Thanks to the other ingredients.

Interesting that others have said they got more cinnamon and less ginger…I guess all the ginger hid in the leaves that I got. I, however, am not getting much cinnamon, so it’s basically a ginger tea. Now, I like ginger tea, but since it’s called Pumpkin Pie, I sort of expect the cinnamon.

As a ginger tea, it’s quite pleasant.

THIS IS YUMMY!

I recommend allowing this tea to cool slightly before drinking (I waited about 10 minutes after pouring), because it takes a little while for the flavors to really pop. I taste the chocolate, raspberry and mint, and they are all really well-integrated. Not too minty, not too much raspberry, and while there can never be too much chocolate, here, it is pretty evenly matched with the levels of strength of the mint and raspberry.

A wonderful tea to enjoy during the holiday … or any time!

Sending the rest of this to Azzrian see previous reviews :)

I’ve been sitting on this one for a while…ok…no, not literally…but you know what I mean!

The aroma of the spices are the freshest of the fresh! I LOVE the Vanilla and Orange notes helping to calm the spices and smooth them out. All ingredients are present and accounted for but none are overdone or too overwhelming. I like that. I agree with Liberteas saying the nutmeg really helps battle the rooibos so it’s doesn’t give into the regular rooibos stereotype! It’s more than just a flavored rooibos! This is very good!

Sending the rest o DaisyChubb

SPICY is RIGHT! I’m now ready to give this a rating. I had forgotten to revisit and rate after my last experience. This is INTENSE. Spicy and really peppery. It lives up to it’s name. See previous notes. Overall – a nice spicy chai tea that lives up to it’s name.