Caramel Pop

Sipdown (615)!

Another share from VariaTEA! Thank you for spreading the tea love!

So, I realize that the name Caramel Pop is supposed to be a play on ‘Caramel Popcorn’ but also a sort of action-y sounding word – because tea companies just love “action words” like pop/blast/burst/splash/etc. that “convey excitement and intense flavour”. However, that is 100% not going to stop my stupid monkey brain from interpreting the name of this tea as “Caramel Soda”, and while I’m sure that wouldn’t be quite as weird as what I’m picturing (I mean, Cream Soda is a thing) it still sounds… off.

Actually, this tastes pretty decent though. It’s caramel-ish and has a good overall sweetness and amount of body, with a bit of toasty notes from the Genmaicha. I do get a fruity undertone, kind of apple-y, that is a little weird but it’s not bad or unpleasant. Just unexpected, really. I think it’s very, very hard to nail a true, pure caramel flavour in tea, especially with thickness/body and the creaminess that actual caramel has; I’ve been really on the hunt for a good caramel tea in 2019 and haven’t yet found one despite trying probably close to a dozen now…

I think this falls somewhere roughly in the middle of those dozen or so caramel teas; in terms of accuracy to that rich caramel note that I’m craving deep, deep in my bones.

Sipdown (246)

I did not realize this was a genmaicha when I asked Cameron B for a sample. However, now that I realized it is, I am quite pleased. It tastes like Caramel Popcorn. Again, didn’t realize that is what it is meant to be when I read “Caramel Pop”. Now that I am drinking it though and the caramel popcorn flavor is really spot on, I feel dumb for not realizing these things sooner rather than later.

Caramel popcorn and a bit of typical genmaicha roastiness. It is quite nice. Thank you for sharing, Cameron B!!!

Tastes like popcorn, that’s for sure! I don’t notice any caramel though. And the taste of the tea comes through too. I don’t see myself buying it, but I enjoyed the sample from Cameron B. I’ve had a different caramel corn tea that I prefer, but I don’t remember where it’s from…

I just… I just can’t go to London without coming home with tea. It’s literally impossible. Especially as they’ve opened a T2 on Regent Street and it was directly en route to Broadcasting House, where I was attending a radio taping.

(November 16th, Radio 2, The Peterford Golf Club is very funny and you might well hear me laughing in the audience. High fives to Mister Farnaby for going out there and making funnies!)

But I digress. Sampled this one in-store, as it’s part of the caramel range they’ve got going (I already brought home a box of Caramel Brownie I have yet to open, but is SO GOOD) and I actually liked it more than I was expecting, as I’ve always had a bit of a meh relationship with genmaicha. That bit of caramel sweetness is a delightful counterpoint to the toasty, dry flavour of the tea. It was nice.

I still didn’t buy it, mind – but I did manage to blow like £24 on stuff. Whoops.

I tried a sample of this in store, being part of the current promotion (caramel teas?). I didn’t get much from the store prep of just this… probably because I’m not crazy about green teas. Still, there was a takeaway leaf sample so I grabbed that to see if I could play around with it at all once I got home. I brought it in to work today instead and made it into a soy latte. Big reminder of the flavoured Red Leaf matcha samples I got to try! So if that stuff floats your boat, turn this blend into a latte and you’ll be pleased as punch.