Teeccino

This time around I just had this hot and plain, and I didn’t have as nice of an experience. The deep roasty notes that are always present in Teeccino blends were totally lovely but – and I don’t know a better way to say it – there was also this note in the finish that tasted so strongly of the way wet cardboard smells. Not the best.

Iced Latte!

I’m not usually into pumpkin spice flavoured things, but once it starts to feel like Fall I do like to indulge in a cup or two of something pumpkin spice. After that, I usually feel done with that profile and am able to move it. It’s just slightly starting to feel like that, so I decided it was finally time to try this blend.

The dry leaf does smell really incredible, but very nutmeg heavy in particular. Now, I know there’s nutmeg in classic pumpkin spice mixes but this was soooo much nutmeg that it more brought me to eggnog than anything else. Where’s the clove, ginger, and cinnamon!?

Steeped up as an iced latte, I get them more than I did in scent – the clove/cinnamon in particular. Definitely not any ginger – but I think that’s a pro over a con. The nutmeg is strong though; and in iced latte format it reaallllyyyyy does taste a bit like eggnog. I’m into it, though! I love nutmeg a lot.

There’s something to be said about the PSL/Starbucks association though! With the heavy, heavy roast and strong flavour of Teeccino’s usual “base” of ingredients this does give me HEAVY coffee vibes. I think, actually, more than any other Teeccino blend I’ve had so far. Since that’s kind of what they’re going for, I think it’s a raving success on Teeccino’s part – I could absolutely see this being someone’s Autumnal replacement for a coffee shop PSL in a heartbeat. Especially that demographic who’s more inclined to get an iced variation on a PSL with more of the fun foam/syrup additions.

Yeah… a surprising standout in Teeccino’s line up, for sure!

Short and sweet tasting note since this is basically spot on for the name. Very, very dark and roasty and very, very chocolate-y in flavour. Not personally for me as I don’t love chocolate teas that much (especially when they aren’t paired with something else) but I would recommend this in a heart beat to someone looking for a really bold chocolate blend.

Vitacost was having a sale and the neighbor had gone nuts over the Vanilla Nut Teecino I gave him, so we placed an order Monday. Tuesday after lunch, my box arrived. They are lightning fast, and it helps that they ship from our main mail distribution city kn the state. I have received orders in less than 24 hours before.

We bought Vanilla Nut and Hazelnut, and a couple of jars of Bonne Maman Orange Marmalade. but I needed one more item to hit free shipping because we had a coupon. I decided to get this on a whim because I like almond scented things.

Thus I fulfill my final prompt for August – a random tea.

The aroma is heady and boozy. I bought this especially to have a decadent night time treat. Even hot chocolate was keeping me up last year.

I made this with half water and half milk, added sugar, and topped it with whipped cream. Ashman the coffee hater loved it. I loved it and I can’t drink coffee because I just can’t get past the bitterness.

I only used a tablespoon and a half of the loose mix for about 18 ounces of beverage, but it was enough. I am looking forward to enjoying these Teecino blends when the weather turns chilly. I need try it cold frappucino style, too.

We’re actually moving offices right now with work, so the last week most of the tea and tea making equipment I’m used to having such easy access to has been in boxes. So the last few days I’ve had less tea than usual and what I am making while there has all been teabags…

Anyway, this was very good. It has the typically “thick as mud” slick mouthfeel and deep, dense roasted root flavour with the sweet, brown undertones of the date its naturally sweetened with. Always delicious! However, as much as I adore the flavours of the base used here, I can’t say I reallllyyyy got any notes that make me think of macadamia nuts. Teeccino definitely has way stronger options if you’re looking for a nut flavour – my personal favourite being hazelnut.

The last couple of nut flavours I’ve tried from Teeccino have been a little disappointing because they haven’t really tasted accurate, so my expectations for Macadamia Nut were low – but it’s actually really spot on! I definitely found that this one was significantly less sweet than many of the other Teeccino formulations, but the macadamia notes themselves were rich and distinct. It was kind of weird to taste macadamia without either a cream or white chocolate addition since those two are paired together so much, but I suppose you could add your own cream or milk and easily solve that.

My main thing with this one is that, even though I liked the lack of sweetness, it was a bit noticeably bitter – and in a way that extended past just the roast and earthiness of the base ingredients and slight sharpness of the chicory/dandelion that’s always present. Also, it was weirdly oily in texture!? I think I need to try this with milk before really cementing in an opinion, and thankfully this is one of the few flavours I have more than one serving of so I will have the chance to do that. But it’s still pretty cool just how much it did actually taste like macadamia nut!

Interesting that I didn’t like this the last time I made it, because I had a mug a few nights ago and I really felt like it was impressively like the Butter Pecan coffee creamer that my mom used to drink frequently minus, well, the cream part. Wonderful sweetness level and that rich brown pecan taste, though! I drank it black, but with some added milk or cream I do think this would have been deceptively like her coffee and flavoured creamer combo. I guess having this as loose tea (what I drank this time) versus in a teabag really made a world of difference…

Like I mentioned in a past Teeccino tasting note, I was surprised to see that they carried two different pecan flavours – that seems like such a niche nut for two different options! My hope with this one was that it would be more buttery and creamy as I associated the “Southern Pecan” name with more of a “Butter Pecan” taste/profile. It definitely didn’t match up with that expectation, but more than that it also just didn’t feel distinct enough from Teeccino’s Maple Pecan either!? Neither really taste like pecan, and overall it was just kind of a meh cup. Still tasty because the base ingredients used in all of these blends are really tasty with the sweet carob/date last roasted profile. Just not really stand out like some of their other flavours have been.

Okay, this one definitely had the best dry leaf aroma to it out of any of the Teeccino blends I’ve tried yet – even with the Hazelnut included in that batch. It was really familiar too with that deep dark chocolat ganache and sweet syrupy raspberry kind of vibe. Reminded me a little bit of DT’s Chocolate Rocket but thicker. The taste was great, but not as amazing as the dry aroma. It’s almost more of a hot chocolate kind of vibe with a shot of very indulgent sweet raspberry syrup in it, except for the gentle earthy roast that manages to push past a thick and full bodied wall of rich cocoa. I still like the taste of the Hazelnut more, but this is maybe the next in line for me!

Sipdown (1802)!

I’m drinking this one right now and it tastes good but it also tastes reeeaaalllyyyy similar to some of the other Teeccino flavours I’ve tried and I feel like that’s maybe a bad thing since I actually haven’t tried anything vanilla flavoured yet other than this one. To clarify, similar in a sense other than just the overlap of base ingredients that these blends all share.

That said, I usually think of “Vanilla” as the more generic flavour that people often pick for their routine/ritually consumed food or beverage flavour. Like, if you were the kind of person to drink a cup of Teeccino daily in place of a cup of coffee, French Vanilla is one of the flavours I would feels that makes the most sense to be true about. It’s also another classic in terms of coffee flavours – something that wouldn’t make you even bat an eye if you saw it as an option in a coffee shop…

So, it’s also maybe a good thing that this doesn’t exactly stand out? Neutrally good tasting could be, well, good. I don’t know – thinking about it tonight is breaking my brain a little bit…

Steeped this one up last night. It’s still kind of middle of the pack for me, in terms of Teeccino’s assortment. I did really pick up on a lot of the maple last night though, especially in the mid sip. Very round on the palate with a hint of red fruit too. Of course still deep and roasty, as always.

It’s hard to not compare all of these Teeccino blends to each other since I’m having them all bunched together, and I think this one probably falls somewhere in the middle of the pack for me. I was optimistic about it because that Hazelnut truly was just fucking exceptional. I know I’ve been talking about it a lot, but it made a HUGE impact on me when I steeped it for the first time. So, since this is another nutty profile, I thought it might have similar wow factor.

Unfortunately, the pecan was kind of all but absent from the cup. That was disappointing, but it wasn’t a deal breaker because pecan only makes up half of the overall titular flavour and I thought the maple was very well executed. The most impressive thing about the maple was that it wasn’t cloyingly sweet or just maple-syrup like in flavour. That could have been a very easy out, and instead this was sort of that perfect balance of deep sweetness with more of the hint of red fruitiness that comes out in some amber maples. Not too little. Not too much. So as a maple profile, I was very into this cuppa.

It’ll be interesting to try the Southern Pecan and see how different the two flavours are, and if that ones actually does taste like pecan. It’s such a novel nut flavour, so the fact that Teeccino is carrying multiple of it is something I find intriguing.

Sipdown (1802)!

If I had another teabag of this blend it would be interesting to taste it against the Mango Lemon Balm from Teeccino that I had not too far back. I remember thinking that tea had a chocolate-y note to it, but I think this would have blown it out of the water. It was just very thick and chocolate heavy in an incredibly decadent and rich way. I’m not normally huge on chocolate teas, but I will admit that wish the strong roasted foundation I actually enjoyed this combination much more than I’d expected to. Especially as it cooled.

Last tea of 2022.

There was zero intention behind having this tea specifically as my last tea of the year – it just kinda worked out that way. I used to be really sentimental and cheesy about the symbolism of teas associated to things like that, but I’m trying really hard to let go of that for my own mental sanity.

It was a really nice cuppa though! It’s the same predictably roasty, cozy and darkly delicious base of ingredients that Teeccino uses across most of their flavours but with a bit more of a molasses-y note and a hint of ginger. Definitely one of my favourites of Teeccino’s line up – though the flavour could be stronger.

The different seasonal flavours Teeccino has carried definitely interest me, and this one honestly just feels like low hanging fruit in the best way. I’d definitely say it does taste like gingerbread, but most of the heavy lifting is being done by the really nice molasses flavour and not the ginger itself. That’s okay though – I mean, what’s a good gingerbread cookie without the molasses? Overall, it’s nice – I think it could be a littttllleee bit stronger though.

I don’t think it’ll ever stop surprising me how much I enjoy this flavour option since, with the standard Teeccino base blend, it seems to wild and uncomplimentary. But, it’s not like either the mango or lemon balm are super intense. The tea actually barely tastes like mango at all. It’s just a very smooth, roasty and semi-sweet base blend with a tad more general fruit flavour than I’d otherwise expect. And just, so smooth. You really taste that mix of date and carob in the best sorta way.

Once again, it freaks me out a little bit just how much this blend doesn’t taste like mango or lemon balm. It’s definitely fruitier than the other Teeccino compositions but if I didn’t know better I feel like I’d just describe those notes as, like, excessively fruity top notes from the carob?? It’s a weird tea, but I still kind of dig it…

Not gonna lie, I was definitely worried about this one. The idea of mango and lemon balm in a coffee replacement blend sounded very strange to me, and I thought the flavour might be weirdly sour or just cacophonous. However, I was pleasantly surprised by just how smooth the taste was. It was a really sweet, rich cup that tasting strongly of carob to me and maybe even chocolate a little bit? I think it’s actually my second favourite I’ve tried so far despite the fact both mango and lemon balm seemed absent in the taste…

Sipdown (1804)!

Still tasting my way through these Teeccino blends! This one seemed very promising, and I have to say that it’s probably the most intensely and accurately flavoured of the ones I’ve tried so far aside from Hazelnut – which is still reigning supreme as my favourite. With that said, as much as this had a very pleasant chocolate mint taste, I think it’s the only where I’ve tasted the least amount of roast or “coffee flavour” and given that these blends are sort of supposed to remind you of coffee I thought the more drastic departure from that flavour was maybe a bit of a miss.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgz_vIQueYz/ (The 4th photo)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCkKdnaXrAw

Sipdown (1795)!

Okay, first things first I have to get it out of my system that “Almond Amaretto” is such a painfully redundant name. Amaretto is made from almonds. It’s like calling something Chocolate Mocha when a mocha has chocolate in it or Pineapple Pina Colada. It’s in the name.

That aside, I really enjoyed this flavour! I think it’s the most full bodied flavour I’ve tried yet with an intensely heavy roast and dark flavour that is arguably the most coffee like of the ones I’ve tried thus far. What’s been interesting to me with these early flavour explorations is just how much the level of roast has varied. I had kind of assumed that maybe each Teeccino flavour was starting with the exact same base of ingredients and only the flavouring was being swapped, but perhaps that’s not the case…

This does taste strongly like almonds and amaretto though! However, I do find Amaretto incredibly sweet and I definitely wouldn’t call this a sweet cuppa even though those really distinct almond flavours are very present and defined in each sip. It’s hard to say whether or not the fact is tasted like roasted almonds in particular is coming from the flavouring versus the fact this is obviously a roasted tasting tisane – but whatever the case it’s pretty lovely!

Hazelnut still reigns supreme as my favourite flavour thus far, but I’m looking forward to seeing if any of these others I’ve recently picked up will dethrone it.

Iced Latte Sipdown (2416)!

A coworker and I ordered in roti for lunch today and it was delicious but I went a little too heavy handed with the trinidad scorpian hot sauce. The solution? An iced latte with real milk because damn did I need it for that heat.

Even with my mouth on fire I could appreciate the really bold, dark roasted flavours and hint of cinnamon in this blend. Though it was rich and creamy from the milk I did steep this pretty strong (and it’s a strong tea already) so it packed a punch. That was good. If it hadn’t then I think all of the other flavours going on from my lunch would have drowned the taste of this tea entirely.

Overall? A pretty middle of the road offering from Teeccino, but appropriately nostalgic and a great option if you like cinnamon.

Iced oat milk latte!

I made this in a brand new mug from an Indie pottery store called Bread and Badger! It’s super adorable, but also I can’t stop touching glossy deep green glaze. It’s just so satisfying to hold!

…and of course the tea latte is wonderful too; dark and roasty with the perfect balance of natural sweetness and a warming hint of sweet cinnamon to really drive home the nostalgia of the Snickerdoodle flavour!!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqGx6X-Oynp/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeinUH3jnqw

So, I ended up liking the Hazelnut from Teeccino so much that I placed an order and grabbed a sample of pretty much every tea they had – minus the ones I was allergic to.

I was a little surprised by this one. I think I’m just used to Snickerdoodle flavoured/inspired things being very sweet so I was expecting more of a cinnamon sugar kind of taste and instead this was very, very dark and roasty (more than the hazelnut had been) with a bit of bitterness to it and more of an “unrefined” kind of cinnamon note. The bitterness was pleasant in the way that some people find black coffee to be pleasant; I liked it alongside that dark roast and chicory flavour.

I think ultimately it was a nice tasting cuppa but I probably would have advertised it more as a “Cinnamon” flavour because it was so much more of a woody leaning and unsweet cinnamon note, and there was very little to make my brain actually think of the cookies that had inspired the namesake.

Another late night cuppa from this past weekend!

I love all of Teeccino’s blends for evenings when I just want something dark, roasty and indulgent – they’re that perfect heavily cozy drink for the wee hours of the night when I don’t want to be thinking about caffeine intake. This is my favourite, though. The hazelnut flavour is just exceptional. One of the best I’ve tasted in a blend. The only one that MAYBE competes is the hazelnut in DT’s Hazelnut Chocolate blend, but then that one loses points for having chocolate in it when what I really want is just plain hazelnut. So maybe the two blends break even because of that!?