Caramel Vanilla Assam

Mmmmmmm. This is lovely. Not cloyingly artificial, and not wimpy and untealike. Assams are my favorite and I’d hoped that the maltiness would go well with the caramel/vanilla, and they really do. This tea beats the pants off some of the other vanillas I’ve tried. I quite like it.

I was very excited to try this. :) For one, Premium Taiwanese Assam is currently my favorite tea, and I also love caramel. So this combo almost seemed to good to be true! :)

At the beginning of the sip, I can really taste the Taiwanese Assam, but just when I’d normally get the raisin note at the end, it turns into CARAMEL~ instead. It’s a very buttery, creamy caramel that’s very guilt inducing, haha! I don’t really taste vanilla, but I suspect it’s what’s contributing to the creamy taste and texture.

This is probably my new favorite flavored tea. It’s just so yummy without being sickeningly sweet. If I could only have one between this and regular Premium Taiwanese Assam though, I’d choose the latter. But this does make a very tasty alternative for when that sweet tooth kicks in.

Although the dry leaf smells very strongly of caramel, flavor-wise I’m really just getting Premium Taiwanese Assam. There’s some sweetness and the tiniest hint of caramel, but as hard as I try I can’t detect any vanilla. I’m a big fan of PTA, and a cup of it is never unwelcome. But there’s just enough extra going on here to make me feel like I’m missing out on some awesome burst of flavor that I can’t quite reach. In the future I’ll stick with the unflavored version, but I certainly won’t have trouble finishing the rest of my stash.

The husband and I really enjoyed our sample of this tea this afternoon. Very nice! Highly recommended :)

Got a sample of this in my latest Butiki order!

I was very diligent about taking the tea ball infuser out of the water early, because I know that Assam can become astringent very quickly.

I can smell an earthy, woodsy, nutty scent mingling with the caramel and vanilla.

Sipping… It’s very smooth, with just the right bite of bitter from the Assam base. This is the first caramel tea I’ve tried that actually tastes like caramel. I think the Assam base works really well with the caramel, and the vanilla rounds the whole thing out quite nicely.

This is delicious, Stacy! Thanks so much for the sample.

I am bumping up the rating of this tea to 100 because it is just so freakin good! It gets better everytime I have it. It is now my favourite tea. I only have one cup worth left! I should have made an order on black Friday but I felt guilty spending more money on tea when I have so many Christmas presents to buy! I guess I’ll have to rely on my foxy roxy’s banana walnut treat and pumpkin crème brulee until I feel like I can afford another order :(

A reliable favorite – delicious creamy caramel undertones in every sip. Looks like it’s time to reorder!

Um… Yum! Thanks for sharing this one MIssB!

The black base is very present, but what I was wanting this morning… complete with caramel and vanilla goodness. Gonna have to put this one on my shopping list for whenever I order from Butiki.

Second steep was more black and less of the flavors, but still very drinkable.

T&C Box 8/18

The smell of this fascinates me. Dry it’s more like a custard than caramel (so creamy!), but brewed it’s a true caramel smell with a bit of a floral edge to it. I used about 1 1/2 tsp to 8 oz., so in theory this is underleafed, but it’s pretty dark and fragrant so I’m not sure it needs any more than that.

I think this tea makes me absolutely sure that I don’t like Assam. I hoped that because the other ingredients sounded so good and it was rated so highly this would cure me of my fear of them, but it’s actually just confusing me further. The tea base is too malty for me, and while the vanilla and caramel notes are definitely there, they’re being overshadowed by the Assam. There’s also a strange note that’s throwing the blend off for me. Maybe the lotus? It’s too earthy to be a sweet tea but too sweet to be an earthy tea.

In other news, I caved. I did another tea order. At least it’s mostly samples! But I was aiming for no more until after my birthday. Oops.

Yum…a new favourite Assam tea, creamy caramel with vanilla. Add some sugar and it is a sweet delight. I have a new breakfast tea…I think I might drink it for lunch too!