T Kettle version of Maple Syrup Oolong? Cardamom French Toast? Mash up of the two!?
I’m thinking, based on taste/ingredients list/visual that this was intended to be Maple Syrup Oolong but that T Kettle figured they’re get more “bang for their dupe” and toss in the French Toast into the name and hastily cover two teas in one. Pure speculation, of course, but fits the pattern…
If I wasn’t such a big fan of DT’s Maple flavouring, and Maple Syrup Oolong in particular, I might think that this was pretty good – I enjoy the oolong base a lot, which is noticable and has a nice woodier and nutty quality with some floral undertones. The maple is a bit artificial leaning to me, and rather thin, but far from the worst maple I’ve encountered in a tea before. The chicory is a negative for me – I don’t like the almost sour roast note is sort of wedges into the profile.
Overall, it is a good tea – but it’s lacking the impressive density and complexity of the maple flavour that I know and love in Maple Syrup Oolong. Side by side, I think this would feel a bit sad in comparison. I’d still drink this tea, but with Maple Syrup Oolong so accessible to me… I don’t see any need to.