Caramel Black HiCAF™ Tea

This was not a yummy sip.

Backlog

A coworker and I have started sharing tea samples with each other. Despite her “coffee ritual” from Starbucks on the way to work, she has started to look forward to “work tea time” (where we swap out tea during the slower hour(s); despite oftentimes having different tastes in tea)…My tea from her was this HiCaf Caramel Black….

At first, I thought to myself that this may have had potential, on the account that Republic of Tea is usually a more expensive brand of bagged tea. However, from what I’ve tried in the past, it has always been quite disappointing, so there was no hope in this being good.

I had three bags of this tea, so I had cut one of them open and poured the contents onto a piece of paper. Following that, I did the same with a bag of Lipton (just for fun). I asked my other coworker which tea might’ve been the better of the the two and he stated,
“Umm…there’re not the same?”

With that said, ROT & Lipton are the same to anyone looking at the tea directly, rather than basing their opinion on the box/packaging and/or type of tea present.

Notes: Gross. Bitter, tasted stale, & zero notes of caramel. I took one sip before spiting the tea out and making a cup of something else. My coworker that had made the tea swap with me found this to be some sort of hilarious joke, though. She also dislikes this tea, but wanted my opinion on it….Sadly, ROT has yet convinced me that their teas are worthy of the $9.99 per tin.

Horrible. Has a nasty metallic taste, does not taste like real caramel. Threw it out.

I absolutely had to have this after seeing it advertised on Instagram. Caramel AND a massive amount of caffeine? Perfect for a girl who has to get up at 7:30 but refuses to go to bed before midnight.

Last night, I went out with my friends and saw Purity Ring. They were fantastic, of course. Just all-around gorgeous show. But this morning was considerably less fantastic. I went about making this iced to keep myself upright at work. The packaging says that each tea bag contains 165mg of caffeine. A little intimidated, I thought I had only used 2 bags for a 24-ounce container. But when I scooped the bags out after steeping, I discovered a third one. Oh no.

But there was no going back! I had run out of time and had to get to work. Now, I’m going to have to try this again before I can get a proper feel for the flavor. However, even with 3 bags, I agree with what others say about the caramel taste. It’s good, but it’s not as strong as I tend to like it. If you’re only in this for the caramel, I suggest trying a different brand. The tea itself is SUPER potent. That is some bitingly bitter black. Of course, that has a lot to do with my preparation, though. I’m sure if I had used 2 bags instead it wouldn’t be so powerful.

Now, about the caffeine! It’s enough to make me queasy, and I’m a lover of espresso shots. I couldn’t even finish it, while I usually destroy my morning tea long before lunch. My hands shook pretty much all day. My handwriting was terrible. It was just too much. 2 bags next time, Tabby, never 3.

All that said, I’m really interested in a few of the other flavors now that I know how strong it’s going to be and can adjust. The coconut and cinnamon toast ones are calling my name!

Well, this tea works as advertised! I’ve been up working today since 5am (it’s now 3:30pm) and I am bouncing off the walls after drinking this tea- in a good way! This is going to be my new work tea. It’s great for that afternoon slump! It tastes like a generic caramel black tea…still good, but nothing special in the taste department.

Backlog from yesterday morning. I didn’t expect this to come in yesterday or I wouldn’t have had two cups of earl grey first. Of course, I probably shouldn’t have had a cup of this after that… It was only at about two in the afternoon (three or four hours afterward) that I got really, really jittery.

This was okay. I like the coconut better, but I’ll have to try this with milk and/or sugar added. It was definitely caramel flavor, but there wasn’t enough of it for me. It was watery and mostly just tasted like generic English Breakfast-esque tea. If I wanted that I would have gotten the English Breakfast flavor one!