Smoky Sweet Potato Pie

I am bumping this one up from 80 to 100 because I have really been enjoying this over the past couple of weeks since I have rediscovered it, despite its age.

The roast sweet potato is present, even with slight caramel shadings to add the perfect level of sweetness. The smoky note is barely there, just enough to add oomph.

My last few cups of this have been perfect—both at home and travelling out in the world.

Well done, A Quarter to Tea.

And it’s a sipdown!

conceptually i like this, executed, i’m neither in love nor dislike this..it’s just kinda bland. Another one from variaTEA, that i’m super happy she shared. Love getting to try new teas and figure out what works or what doesn’t.

Smoky is right but not too overbearing, It’s an interesting contrast to the sweet potato floating in the cup. I’m a little sad I am not getting more marshmallow since I had a few in the filter. Actually, I was expecting more of everything – more smoke, more sweet potato, etc. It’s a nice balanced cup but nothing to write home about.

This is interesting…not sure if its interesting enough to warrent getting a full ounce or two…but like a few others teas i’ve tried so far from this company, I might want to keep some samples around. Huh…this is the 1st time I’ve done a tea review on my kindle and it won’t let me move the
rating bar. Oh well, will see if I can move it later on my computer.

Sipdown (115)!

This is my last sample from A Quarter to Tea and turns out I saved the best for last! This is definitely my favourite blend from A Quarter to Tea to date; it’s already back on my wish list. Someone please reassure me and tell me it’s not a seasonal one?

I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve never had Sweet Potato Pie. It’s just not really something we do in Canada the same way it’s done in the US. I’ve always wanted to try it though ’cause I freaking LOVE sweet potatoes. And sweet potato tea? So good.

Basically, this blend has the best and most natural sweet potato flavour I’ve experienced in any tea. Ever. But not only that, the slightly savory/umami aspect of the sweet potato is in my opinion perfectly counter balanced with a lovely array of confectionery type notes: brown sugar, cinnamon, caramel, marshmallow! The amount of spice, as well, as really well done for me as someone who doesn’t like spice at all. I tasted warming cinnamon, a little clove, and definitely a tiny touch of anise in the finish. Not really much peppercorn though, despite definitely seeing it in the leaf.

As well, the idea of a mostly Keemun base works for me here. I’m not a huge fan of Keemun in reality, but the jammy and fruity sweetness works well here and I definitely can say I tasted the natural smokey notes of the keemun too in a way which works for the ‘grilled sweet potato’ flavour that Lauren was going for. What I didn’t taste, actually, was the Lapsang Souchong (or really any of the other base teas used in the blend). I don’t know whether the absence bothered me because I still got some smoke notes but I find it interesting I didn’t detect it when Marzipan definitely pointed out that was the flavour that killed the blend for her. So yeah; not overly smoky but that’s more an observation than a criticism.

I do have one criticism though; the finish here is awfully sweet – and I don’t mind sweetness but with how long lasting that finish is (and with fairly strong anise flavour) I just found it on the whole to be a touch cloying. Not enough to ruin the cup for me though. It was still phenomenal overall, though I definitely seem to be in the minority in thinking so based on the couple reviews I’ve seen (from Marz and I think TeaTiff).

EDIT: And it turns out this is limited edition…

Ugh, sweet cinnamon……. That’s all I get. I wish I would have looked at an ingredient list. Was there one to look at? The concept of this one sounded fun. Oh well, can’t love them all.

This is totally on me. I should have known not to buy a tea with the word “smoky” in the name. The sweet potato got me though, and I ordered it. To be fair it’s not very smoky but I still taste it and it just isn’t my thing. The rest of this is going in Stephanie’s box. Someone else will be able to appreciate this more.