Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake from Simpson & Vail

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Simpson & Vail

Product Description:

A new addition to our flavored tea line and already a huge hit with all of us here! This slightly sweet, scrumptious blend has a lightly toasted flavor with the delicious taste of apples and cinnamon. Sipping this tea reminds me of the Sunday morning breakfast treats of my childhood. Now that I’m all grown up I could have those treats every day of the week; however, I think I’ll stick to this tea blend instead. It’s full of the sinful tastes of childhood but, with no calories, it suits my adult metabolism!

Ingredients: Black teas, organic cinnamon chips, apple pieces, orange blossoms and flavoring.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This tea is incredibly fragrant.  I had started a pot to brew in my Breville One-Touch and then went off to take my shower.  By the time I emerged from the bathroom, the aroma of apples and cinnamon had permeated the house!  It smelled like I had just baked a coffeecake!

And it tastes as incredible as it smells.  As one who flavored and blended teas in a former life, I can tell you that apple flavor is one of the toughest flavors to nail in a tea, it is – for whatever reason – very difficult to get just right.  But Simpson & Vail have done just that with this blend.  The apple comes through very well, and it tastes like the real thing.

The cinnamon is also expertly blended here as well.  Cinnamon is one of those spices that can easily overwhelm a blend; however, here, it is done so well that it comes through as a gentle, warm accent to the apple without taking over.

And I can even taste a bit of pastry in this cup!  There is a buttery, cake-y kind of taste in the background.  This really is like a coffeecake in a teacup, and it’s so yummy!

But (and I know I’ve said this before) a tea isn’t a tea without the tea, and thankfully the black tea is not overpowered by the strong flavors of apple and cinnamon.  I can’t say that it is the strongest flavor of this cup, because it isn’t; however, it is there and what I’m enjoying here is how well it integrates with the other flavors to create a very unified kind of flavor.  This isn’t one of those teas where I taste apple AND cinnamon AND tea AND cake… but, instead it is a tea where I taste notes of apple, cinnamon, tea and cake.  That is to say, the distinctions between each flavor is not as apparent as I sip this as it often is in some other flavored tea blends.  This is a very synergistic cup, where each of the flavors seamlessly comes together to create a very harmonious, unified flavor that represents each of the elements deliciously.

A very tasty way to start one’s day!