Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Black Tea

Tea #10 from the traveling tea box.

I didn’t really care for this one and it seems I feel that way about a lot of the 52 teas blends. I want to like them, they sound so good, but they fall a little short of my high expectations. I seem to feel this way about a lot of flavored teas lately, perhaps I’m becoming a tea snob.

Dry the leaves smell like oats and I can’t really smell the maple or brown sugar. Once steeped I thought it really was lacking in maple flavor, mostly I tasted the oats and black base. The black base has an astringency I don’t care for and I’m really not a fan of the black base for this blend. There is a subtle sweetness at the end of each sip, possibly from the brown sugar, but I really expected this to be much sweeter.

Oh Frank, you are a wiz with teas. This tea is so tasty. The maple, brown sugar, and oatmeal are all well represented. I did however add just a pinch of sugar to this cup to bring out the sweetness. I just felt it needed to be a nip sweeter. I really enjoyed this tea – thanks LiberTEAS!

1 tablespoon for 375 ml

The brewed tea has a nice balance of black tea, maple and oatmeal aromas. There is a smooth baked goods quality to the smell that I attribute to oats. Hint of chocolatey-ness in the aroma that may be the result of me letting this sit too closely to chocolate-themed tea.

Flavour is extremely mild. There is only a hint of the smoothness from the aroma near the end of the sip. Almost metallic flavour in the middle of the sip which hints to some other flavours that may have been lost in the transit of this tea. Slight astringency (almost sharp bitterness) near the end of the sip from the black tea. Only the slightest hint of sweetness. Hint of roasted taste near the end of the sip.

Rating: 34

Thanks Kittenna for letting me try this!

Tea #5 from Travelling Tea Box C

I wanted to like this one more. The dry leaf smells really tasty, and the idea just sounds like something I should love.

I only really tasted the oats and black base. The oatmeal flavor was true and definitely had kind of a simultated heartiness that stuck. I didn’t get much in the way of either maple or brown sugar. There’s a sweet note at the tail of each sip, but it’s immediately followed by some astringency that I really wasn’t expecting and didn’t care for. I also think the base was too strong for something that needed to be more subtle.

I tried adding maple syrup as a way to sweeten and add mapley goodness, but it only added sweetness and made the base a little metallic almost.

The bowl of actual maple and brown sugar I made after drinking this tasted better.

okay this dry leaf smells really good!
and the brewed cup smells nice enough. not thrilling but really nice enough. but the taste is just kinda, idk, flat. i get the maple in there. but it’s kinda dry. i probably should have added a little agave.
but oh geez 52teas i keep wanting to click with your teas, and it just doesn’t happen. at least not yet.
BUT i have hope! cuz i have another cup or two of this left. i’ll add agave next time for sure. and i’ll keep trying!! i really will!
thanks for the tasty taste CHAroma! i love maple oatmeal too. well, also i like ALL oatmeal!

I received this one in a swap a while back and have waited for the right day to sit down and enjoy it. I added some agave and creamer to make it a little bit thicker tasting like oatmeal is. The flavors are wonderful and blend nicely to create a bowl of sweet maple oatmeal :]

I’m so excited to try this tea!! I suggested a flavor combination to Frank recently (maple pecan granola), and this is pretty close to that! Plus, I love maple and brown sugar oatmeal. It’s my favorite kind of oatmeal, and almost the only kind I eat.

I do have to say though, I’m not sure the picture on the package is adequate for this blend. It looks kind of…unappetizing. But this is uncharacteristic for 52teas. Usually Frank’s pictures are mouthwatering and make me go over my allotted tea budget. But clearly, the picture made little difference in my decision to buy it.

Anyway, the dry leaves smell really good! It’s hard to describe why, but I’ll try. It smells very similar to the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie blend, but minus the raisin. So, what’s left? This wonderful oatmeal, black tea, sugary sweet fragrance.

The funny thing is the brewed tea has a completely different aroma! It still smells amazing, but so different. I think the black tea itself is more pronounced now and masks that overwhelming sweetness. I can still make out faint traces of oat, but it’s softer now. As for the maple? I didn’t forget. I just can’t find much of it in the aroma. Hopefully, it will be there in the taste.

Mmmmm, the taste is wonderful! There’s none of that tannic bitterness common to black teas sans additions. I’m not sure how much it matches the description, but it tastes wonderful regardless! It’s not nearly as sweet as the aroma makes it out to be.

I added a tiny bit of unsweetened almond milk and a little brown sugar too. It’s still very good. I think I like it about the same with or without additions. Unfortunately, I’m still missing that maple syrup aspect. I wish that were significantly stronger. But like I said, it’s a delicious tea nonetheless! So, if you happen to not like maple and brown sugar oatmeal, give this blend a try anyway! You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 500ml at 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Sweet maple, smokey tea
Steeped Tea Smell: maple, toasty black tea
Flavor: sweet black tea, hints of maple, end of sip is a bit oaty, slightly gritty mouthfeel
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: translucent dark brown-orange

The maple seems to mask or overpower the brown sugar, perhaps if I add some sugar? Overall a nice sweet (without additives) black wake up tea.

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-maple-and.html

This tastes just like oatmeal with brown sugar and maple to me, which is a food I really like. I prepared it first hot and thought it tasted like a slightly flavored astringent black tea. Then I prepared it as a pitcher of iced tea. I did not add any sweeteners or other additives. As iced tea it is creamy and sweet with a slight and pleasing astringency. The brown sugar is more prevalent to me than the maple flavoring. The oat flavoring is present in the aftertaste, which is sweet and lingers. I have really enjoyed my first cup of this iced.

So I got this tea yesterday. And I think I’ve had it three times and am having the fourth cup now.

This tea has a wonderful fullness to it, that I just love. A lot of teas seem to brush your tongue and then be gone the second you swallow. This tea stays with you and keeps you happy while you enjoy the whole cup. That’s not to say that the flavor is overwhelming or too strong, it is in fact the opposite. But rather it is an extremely fulfilling cup.

I love the warmth and presence this tea has!