1598 Tasting Notes
Oh lovely! This is one of the ones I was really looking forward to! I can taste the marshmallows, the graham crackers AND the chocolate. It was almost too much to hope for!
The black tea base is silky smooth, and the melted sugar etc makes me think of caramel goodness, or that toasty bit when the marshmallow is crisped nicely. I steeped it for 4 minutes to make sure the flavor was nice and strong and there’s no astringency. WIN! \0/
Preparation
I just had Santa’s Secret yesterday from DavidsTea, but that wasn’t enough peppermint for me. I thought I’d have this one so I can try and compare them.
It seems to me that the ingredients are near identical, except Candy Cane has chocolate and possibly more vanilla, while Santa’s Secret has more mint!
I think this tea is a little weaker than SS, but it still has some nice flavours. I wouldn’t associate chocolate with candy canes, but as a Christmas tea it works! Each sip starts with the base black tea, then makes way for the chocolate before I’m actually hit with a bit of mint. It’s extra nice if you hold it by your nose, while you curl up with a book.
I’m still not sure which I like better, which means I’ll just have to brew both at once and compare!
I wish we could add tags to our cupboard! It’d be great to add “christmas”, “core collection” or “pawn off on someone else” to our teas. :)
Preparation
That’d be cool – tags or shelves even, in the cupboard?
I actually bought chocolate-filled candy canes tonight.. hehehe.
I didn’t even know that was a thing! I’ll have to get some.
At Chapters/Indigo :D …they’re HUGE
would prob be amazing as a coffee stirrer O____O
Oh! That’s a great idea!
My order finally arrived! Now I have all the flavoured blacks, holiday blends and rooibos! That’s 8 new teas. Annnnnnd, that’ll probably be it for awhile. :)
I love how this smells dry, and while it was steeping the chocolate and orange scent took over my house. We were on a hurry so I poured it in my timolino and zipped out.
It’s tasty, but much like my orange sample from Zen Tea, it seems a little thin flavor-wise. I’ll add more tea next time, or make a smaller cup, then rate it.
Preparation
It’s nearly midnight, but… I think I’ll re-steep and have a second cup of this for the evening. It’s just so good and relaxing!
If I had actualfax candycanes in the house, or even chocolate, I would probably just demolish that instead. So… tea instead. It’s easier on the hips too! :P
Does anyone know if you lose caffeine if you re-steep? Cuz that would be a bonus!
Wow. Malty! Was it always like this, or is it just because it’s cooled a bit? I love the way this one smells. The whole thing is dark and kicks you in the mouth to make sure you’re awake! (Ok, maybe not that strong, but even a sip just takes over my mouth). This has got to be my favourite out of my Murchie’s teas!
I’ve got so many teas (and 15 new ones that I just ordered… :O) that I really need to make an effort to drink some of the “older” teas too otherwise I will NEVER finish anything off. :P
Preparation
I bought this for Steepster’s book club: we’re reading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. A Russian Caravan would have been better suited but I saw this at the mall and went for it. I wanted a smoky tea anyway and this makes me think of warming up by a fire in the winter. And winter fits well enough with the book… (which is really good so far too. I shouldn’t have any problems finishing it by Jan 25).
It smells STRONGLY of smoke. Happily, it doesn’t taste as strong as it smells but I can see this wouldn’t be for everyone.
I’d rate it higher but I think this is more of an occasional tea, instead of an all-the-time one so I won’t need to restock it as often.
Preparation
This is my first assam! It’s quite strong and malty – it makes me think that this would be the ‘coffee’ of teas! (That is, if coffee wasn’t just a vehicle to deliver cream/sugar to me…)
It’s cooled off a bit since I first steeped it, but I’m still sipping away at it and enjoying it. It sorta reminds me of Ceylon Best, but maltier. There’s no unpleasant astringency either so that puts it ahead of my Murchie’s blacks.
I guess I need to keep drinking these unflavoured blacks to get a better sense of what’s what!
I think cream/sugar would be a mistake here as there are a lot of flavours present I wouldn’t want to cover up!
Update: I re-steeped it in the afternoon, and it was even creamier!
Preparation
I had so much oolong and white tea today that I needed something decadent to finish the night. This is good. I wish it were more chocolately but it’s smooth, buttery, and creamy.
I’ll probably end up eating some of my stashed away chocolate bar tonight too… And if I resteep, I’ll make it a latte.
