Victorian Vanilla

Tea #51 from HHTTB2

Aaaand the last tea with rose petals (that I’ll be trying) in the box.

After some Google-fu on this tea, I’m guessing BrewTEAlly Sweet picked this up at the Farmers’ Market, as that seems to be the presence that Our Sweet Earth has. I’ve intended to get more involved with buying from our local Farmer’s Market. But it’s kind of a zoo, and my anxiety doesn’t really fare well in that environment. I don’t feel too guilty, though, as the grocery store we visit often sells local produce too. Anyway. Not really sure about the tea. Either way I’m excited to try it.

This tea has a very strong, smooth vanilla flavor. The rose adds a sweet, very slight floral. And something fruity and a little juicy? Not sure where that came from, but maybe some contamination from the box? It’s actually pretty tasty in here, though. So I’m not complaining.

Not my favorite vanilla tea, but still quite good.

Tea #9 from Traveling Tea Box C

This tea was added to the box by BrewTEAlly Sweet, but I wasn’t able to find anything about it online except for an expired Etsy page. All the information on here came from the baggie she sent it in.

My nose has been acting up, so I can’t be exact, but to me this smells vaguely chocolatey. As you can tell from the picture I took, it’s obviously a black tea with some very pretty rose petals that add dimension and color.

After I steeped it, I was surprised to find the vanilla was so prominent. The black tea plays second fiddle to it, and the rose petals make only a slight appearance. That said, I can easily picture a pot of this sitting happily with a nice scone or two.

This was fun to try, but I think it will also be moving on to the traveling tea box’s next destination.

Tea #6 from the Here’s Hoping TTB

This tea is right up my alley since it has vanilla and rose, those just happen to be among my favorite ingredients to find in a flavored tea. I really love the creamy texture and subtle sweetness that the vanilla adds to the black base. The rose only adds a hint of floral flavor here and there, it really is balanced nicely and not overpowering like many rose teas are.

This tea was the perfect way to end a very stressful day, thanks for sharing this BrewTEAlly Sweet I really enjoyed it.

BrewTEAlly Sweet kindly sent some of this along as a bonus when I bought a few teas during her stash sale. Thanks!

Meh. There’s a distinct vanilla scent here, but I’m not picking up any vanilla flavor. There’s a creaminess that’s probably attributable to the vanilla, though. It complements the slight astringency of the base tea. As the tea cools, the vanilla flavor comes through more clearly. I’m not picking up any rose scent or flavor to speak of. Overall, this is passable but not worth the risk of hurting my stomach by drinking a black tea.

Here’s Hoping Tea Box

OK blend. a little too floral for me and not the creamy vanilla taste I always crave.

From the HHTTB2

I really wanted to like this tea, but it’s a middle of the road tea for me. The dry leaves are very pretty with a nice amount of rose petals mixed in with the tea leaves. Given the amount of petals in my infuser I was expecting a rather rosy tea, but there was only a faint rose taste. The vanilla flavor was also very faint. The base tea is alright. It’s not bitter or astringent, but there was nothing remarkable about it.

I think I’m going to start looking for other vanilla/rose teas. It sounds like something I would love.