Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Every once in a while we get a suggestion from a customer that’s just so full of awesome that I have to kind of put aside some of my other plans and work up a suggested blend. This is one of those weeks. Our friend Sweet Canadian on Steepster recently started a thread about how cool it would be to have a Candy Corn flavored tea. Well, Sweet Canadian, I agree, and I think it’s important that we make it available NOW so our friends up north can get this tea in time for Halloween. So, this week’s tea combines our amazing premium black teas with real candy corns and organic flavors. I had to work at it a bit, but found just the right mix of marshmallow, caramel and honey flavors, and it tastes JUST LIKE candy corn. I made a bit extra of this blend because I know there is already some interest for it on Steepster and I thought some of you might want to give some out to select trick-or-treaters or steep it up for your Halloween parties, but don’t drag your feet. This one is going to go fast. Get yours today.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read the thread in Steepster about a Candy Corn flavored tea, I knew that it was a job for Frank. I mean, this guy can make soda pop flavored teas that even have that effervescent, bubbly sort of taste and feel to them and he can make tea taste like pancakes and maple syrup. So, I knew that if anyone out there could make a tea taste like Candy Corn, Frank from 52Teas could do it.
And a week or two after the thread began, this Candy Corn Flavored Black Tea was introduced by … you guessed it, 52Teas (Well, it probably wasn’t that difficult for you to guess it, right? Since the name and the producer of the tea are in the title of this post.) I was excited to try this tea. I love Candy Corn! It’s not something that I buy anymore, because if I bought it, then I would need to eat it. And I don’t really need to be eating candy corn. But, I’m very happy to be drinking it!
When I opened the pouch, I smelled the tea. Mmm! It smells sweet; it sort of reminds me the smell that I remember fondly from my childhood, that smell of the candy that was in my trick or treat bag after haunting the neighboring houses on Halloween. It isn’t a specific candy corn smell, it smells like candy. Then again, what does candy corn smell like? It smells … like sugary candy, right? Then I noticed some candy corns in the pouch! I was tempted to eat one but I decided to leave it for the tea.
YUM! This is really tasty. The first sip or two were a little “muddied” because I sipped it while it was still quite hot, and I’ve found that flavored teas need just a few moments of cooling time to get the flavors to sort of settle in. Once the tea had cooled to a sip-able temperature, the flavors really popped.
Yes, this tastes like candy corn, people! The only thing that’s missing is that sort of waxy, chewy texture that one experiences when you bite into a candy corn. This tastes like someone melted a bunch of candy corn and put it into my tea.
And the black tea is there too. I would say that the flavor of the black tea and the candy flavor is about evenly balanced. With every sip, I taste candy corn and I taste black tea … and I’m loving every sip!
Boo-Berry Cotton Candy from 52 Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Gunpowder and Hyson Green Teas
Where to Buy: 52 Teas
Tea Description:
Just in time for Halloween! We’ve blended Young Hyson and Gunpowder green teas, freeze-dried blueberries and organic flavors to create the most amazing blueberry cotton candy flavored green tea EVER. I will NOT be able to reblend this one right now, as this used up the last of my green teas for the moment, so don’t miss out!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Anyone who knows me knows that I love 52 Teas cotton candy blend, I also love blueberry tea, so this was a no brainer when it came out! I snatched up my bag in a heart beat and I am so glad that I did. As I write this review I see that there is one more bag to be claimed and I’m strongly considering grabbing it!
When I first scooped out my tea to put in my strainer I noticed the HUGE plump numerous blueberries in the blend! I literally said out loud “Holy Blueberries!” I shook up the bag a little to make sure that the blueberries had not all somehow miraculously risen to the top of my bag defeating gravity, but alas, that was not the case. This bag is stuffed fully of luscious blueberries through and through!
So I steep…. the cup is a deep chocolate color, very unexpected with two kinds of green tea however the sweet blueberries have done their job painting the brew.
I do feel that this tea needs a little more time for the flavors to develop and mingle with each other. I do detect the cotton candy flavor I am familiar with in the 52 Teas Cotton Candy blend and of course the blueberries which I am familiar with from 52 Teas Blueberry Zabaglione blend. Yet as Frank, master blender of 52 Teas does create a new tea each and every week, sometimes some of the blends do need a little maturing time. This is one of those yet I can absolutely taste the prospect in this one and I know it is going to be a good one! So the question remains, do I grab up that last bag or do I let someone else grab it, showing my generous side? I know once these flavors have fully developed I am going to be kicking myself, but I think I am going to let someone else get in on the fun here and restrain myself from another order. It is getting close to the holidays after all … but just wait for it … I am sure in a couple of weeks I when this tea is all gone I will be saying BOO-HISS!
Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
So, what goes into a tea named after the terrifying tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman? Pumpkin, of course. (The story goes that the horseman had the head of a pumpkin.) Add to this a select blend of herbs and spices, chai mix, cinnamon and ginger pieces. The taste of Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai, it goes without saying, is to die for!
Taster’s Review:
What better tea to drink on Halloween than a tea called Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai? If this doesn’t get the taste buds excited for tonight, nothing will!
The dry leaf is visually appealing, with not only lots of large pieces of spices tossed amongst the black tea leaves, but also orange, purple and green candy sprinkles for a touch of whimsy. There aren’t a lot of sprinkles (the photo above shows more sprinkles than I could see in my package), so they don’t add a whole lot of sweetening to the chai, and as always, I do recommend sweetening the chai as it enhances the spices. (I used turbinado sugar for my cup)
I tried this two ways: first, I tried it with just the sugar added to get a taste for the blend before I lattefy (Yes, it’s a word, I just made it up, ok?) with some steamed milk. The pumpkin flavor is well-defined. Very often with pumpkin flavored teas, the pumpkin can often be somewhat obscured by the spices, and since this IS a chai, I expected that to be the case with this blend. But it is certainly NOT the case!
Yes, the chai spices are strong, but the pumpkin is equally as strong and shines through the warm, peppery flavor of the masala spice. The peppery flavor of ginger and black pepper comes through strongest, but, I can also taste the cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom … as well as the flavor of the black tea.
One look at the ingredient list and you’d think that this chai has a lot going on, but, all the ingredients work together quite well. To be honest, when I saw that hibiscus and rooibos were both in this blend, I had to go and check my package, because I really don’t taste them, and I can’t really see any evidence of their presence in the dry leaf.
After finishing one cup with just the sugar to enhance the spices, I then moved on to what I’ve been looking forward to since receiving this tea – a Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai Latte! I mean, this time of year, every time I walk past a coffee shop I see signs announcing their fall flavors and it makes me WANT to try them; but, since coffee leaves me with some ill after effects, I must avoid these alluring advertisements. I love that Culinary Teas makes it possible for my own version of a fall flavored coffee-house special without the coffee.
And … YUM! All the flavors I mentioned before remain intact with the addition of the steamed milk, but instead of a “spiced pumpkin” sort of flavor, this is a bit like pumpkin pie filling topped with whipped cream that’s been added to my chai. This is absolutely delicious!
No tricks, this tea is definitely a TREAT!