172 Tasting Notes
I did a sipdown of this 12g bag that came with my Adagio ingenuiTEA Bottom-Dispensing Teapot. I think I got four servings out of it. The packaging says to steep for 7-10 minutes! So I did 7 minutes for the first steep and 8 for the second.
First steep is very cardamom-heavy, while it’s more balanced with a second steep. I hot-steeped using my IngenuiTEA and then added a little almond milk for flavor and to get it down to my usual drinking temperature. I’m a little wimpy with drinks that are too hot for me.
It’s odd for me with a chai to prefer the second steep, but there you go. It’s unbalanced, but it was free, and drinkable. I tried it without almond milk too (brewed it yesterday and forgot I was out of milk), but prefer it with. This last time I used Almond Breeze “Hint of Honey,” but I can’t taste the hint through all the spices.
Flavors: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove
Preparation
What is a treacle sponge? It’s apparently a pudding, but when I first opened the tin, it smelled like a delicious cookie. I wonder if there’s a good way to make sugar cookies and flavor them with this tea.
Anyway, it tastes like delicious cookies, and I also like it with a little vanilla almond milk. I drank it hot. I wish it were part of Bluebird’s permanent collection, but at least I bought a nice 0.15 kg tin of it. My friend recommended it to me, and thanks for that!
Flavors: Cookie, Ginger
Preparation
I’m still waiting for my Bluebird order, but am also glad for the opportunity to pick up more of this! Doesn’t look like it’s going to win the election, but it had my vote!
When I sampled it a while ago, I remember it having a very buttery mouthfeel, and a caramel flavor. I never had a chance to try it as a latte off my sample before, so once I have a chance to try it again I definitely want to try it that way, as well.
Wow, that’s a long recommended steep! Unless the intention is to prepare it for latte, I don’t normally steep black teas so long myself.
One of the things I’ve noticed from doing a chai-heavy month this month is a lot of cardamom-heavy blends, myself! What is the deal with all the cardamom? I definitely have found that for the cardamom-heavy blends, I prefer them with milk, too. It definitely cuts it back a bit. I definitely like the more balanced chais though, where you can savor more of the spices and I can enjoy plain, but are still good with milk if I feel in a latte mood.