19 Tasting Notes
This is day 2 from the 24 days of teas Christmas calendar. I wasn’t really impressed with this one. The dry leaf smells like a box of low quality dark chocolate raspberry truffles. The kind you get at the drugstore. The chocolate smells artificial. The taste: If I didn’t know this was called chocolate rocket I wouldn’t have known there was chocolate in here, I would have thought this was straight up raspberry tea with something weird lingering in the background, flavorless stale carob? Think I’ll pass on this one.
This was behind door one of the 24 days of teas. The dry leaf smells primarily of coconut and it steeps the color of rum. The butteriness comes out as it is steeping and smells like its namesake. My husband says it smells and tastes like Malibu without the alcohol. He wishes the flavor were stronger. I agree. Very tasty tea but not enough to warrant a full tin.
This used to be called Winter Mint. The dry leaf smells like after eights. Yum! You can see chock full of white chips and apple bits which I though was strange. The first sip was underwhelming, I was expecting a chocolate mint explosion but each sip thereafter proved to be a pleasant tea experience. The flavor is well balanced, chocolate and mint do not overpower each other. They are well blended due in part to the vanilla and the apple gives it another layer of complexity. The vanilla lends a smooth creaminess which tames the chocolate and mint notes. A demure chocolate mint tea.
I managed to nab Caramel Apple Oolong for Halloween. I’m glad I did because by the time I blinked, it was sold out! The aroma of this tea smells exactly like caramel apple lollipops (a melange of jolly rancher apple sour hard candy and caramel so sticky it pulls out your fillings). This is a nostalgic smell for me because it reminds me of my childhood. Caramel apple lollipops were my favorite candy especially around Halloween. I would dig through my trick or treat bag and pick them out leaving the copious amounts of sweet tarts, chocolate, starbursts and peanut butter cups behind.
Apple dominates the flavor and aroma of this tea, you can see huge fuji apple chunks in the dry leaf. The brew is a gorgeous amber color similar to aged whisky. The smell is divine, the sour apple candy smell dissipates and you get crisp and tart green apples and apple blossoms. I get hint of floral which I thought was interesting. There is an undertone of something sugary sweet but it is not recognizable as caramel. To my surprise, I don’t get the creamy caramel as I expect with most caramel flavored teas. I first get hit with apple. After the apple leaves my taste buds, I get carmelized brown sugar like the crackling top of a creme brûlée.
I am obsessed with Caramel Apple Oolong and I will be very sad when I get to the bottom of the bag. Caramel Apple Oolong makes for an amazing dessert tea. The subtle sweetness is perfect, no need for additives.
oh man…that sounds amazing. I’m crossing my fingers that this will be in their 12 teas of Christmas.
Me too! I was ready to run the risk of customs fees for this one but I got in too late and missed out!
It must have sold out extremely quickly because I got the e-mail about it, went to the site, and it was sold out. :(
How do I put this delicately? The smell and taste of this tea is terrible. I can smell this tea wet and dry from across the house. Potent and artificial. The aroma reminds me of peaches and a cross between model glue and turpentine. I had to plug my a nose to take a sip. After the third sip, I couldn’t stomach it anymore so I dumped it in sink. That’s $3.99 down the drain!
I am determined to make Brioche work for me since I had such high hopes for this tea. My last review of Brioche was less than stellar. I didn’t get the French pastry flavor everyone was raving about. I only got the taste of Lipton. A lightbulb in my head went off, “What if I mix Brioche and Choco*Late together?”. I mix Equal part Brioche and equal part Choco*Late like a mad scientist. The aroma of the dry leaf was bitter all around, bitter chocolate and bitter black tea. This could be disaster, I thought.
Brewed I got the most decadent smell. This is it! The French pastry smell. Not only did the aroma conjure images of croissants but a chocolate croissant! I can pick up ever so slight notes from the nuttiness of almond, buttery flakiness of pastry underneath a dominant bittersweet chocolate note. And the flavor, the notes seamlessly blend together into a chocolate croissant. This is chocolate croissant in a cup I tell ya! The aftertaste does have a bitter astringency, although it is tolerable. I found that adding sweetner and a drop of milk takes the bitterness away. I find the creaminess of the milk lifts the buttery notes of the pastry more and brings out the cinnamon, the sweetner enhances the flavor of chocolate. I’m quite proud of my ingenuity. I created a masterpiece. Ingredients: black tea, sliced almonds, cinnamon, safflower blossoms, cacao husk, vanilla, rooibos.
I have been in a bad mood all week. I’ve been chained to my computer bogged down by an excessive load of school work. This law paper I am writing is pure torture; a looming deadline never helps. Naturally, I run to the tea cupboard for respite from stress and chaos. I reach for Salted Caramel because I know this tea never fails to turn my frown upside down. The smell of the dry leaf is divine: ooey gooey sweet salty and chewy fleur de sel caramels with a boozy undertone. A salty caramel liqour. The aroma of the brew is molten caramel without the inebriation from the dry leaf. This is one of those teas that taste just like it smells. It smell and taste reminds me of a Heath Bar. First sip you get the creamy feel and taste of caramel, you can taste a bit of malt from the black tea. The aftertaste is interesting and unique. Once the tea hits the back of your throat, you can taste a miniscule sprinkle of sea salt. Very unique this tea. I would be surprised if this tea doesn’t bring a smile to anyone’s face.
