Vanilla Tea

Sample six! Only one more to go and I’ll have made my goal. Sort of. It was supposed to be one daily, but that didn’t work out much.

I have enjoyed this one, and shall enjoy the rest of it in bed with some classic british comedy on dvd, and possibly a little WordFeuding on the side.

I have a bowl of samples packages on the counter that I would really like to get through by the weekend. Only time will tell!

This sample came from Tasty Brew who, if you haven’t had the pleasure of trading with her, has the cutest stickers for her baggies. Because what could possibly be wrong in the world when you have a beer bottle in a teacup?

The dry aroma is very vanilla, and there’s definitely a creamy/milky aspect…with maybe a touch of homemade caramel sauce. The wet leaf has less vanilla smell and is more, well, tea-y.

The taste is a nice vanilla. The bean pod pieces seemed to impart a smoothness and a creaminess I wasn’t expecting, but really like. The depth of flavor isn’t quite what I was expecting (and I really need to review Periwinkle because it is awesome for this) but the base is okay and holds it’s own. I think the smoothness here is what I like most about this one.

I’ve got some low-key jazzy piano going and it really pairs well with this mellow cup.

Cold brew overnight. This definitely has the strength to still give a flavorful iced tea when cold brewed. Very very vanilla-y, and the black tea base is nice and subtle but definitely present. I think it would make a good sub with added interest for plain black tea in a big pitcher of sweet tea (which would of course make the vanilla really stand out, I think!)

This tea is probably one of the best examples of a Vanilla tea that we’ve encountered. It is a standard black tea, very much in line with the generic term, “China Black”. That said, it is a good quality tea base with a full black tea flavor.

The tea is advertised as a full-leaf tea, however, when wet, it reveals itself as a machine processed tea. The leaves are broken, cut and relatively small. This is in line with the tea being a standard China Black. Even though it does not appear to be a proper full-leaf tea, the base is still substantial enough to support the vanilla flavor.

This tea uses actual pieces of vanilla bean along with some artificial flavoring. The beans are exactly as they appear in the image, chopped pieces. In a sealed container, no doubt the oils from the bean pieces infuse with the tea. The flavoring is added for extra punch and works wonderfully.

Some drinkers may flinch at the use of artificial flavorings, however, Upton makes clear that the products they use are labeled according to FDA regulations which are fairly specific. However, Upton’s marketing material states, “…the so-called nature-identical flavorings which are used on most of our flavored teas, must be listed as artificial.” In other words, nothing to worry about here. Drink your tea.

The vanilla aroma is strongly present in the dry tea, and the liquor is properly infused with it as well. The subtle sweetness that vanilla offers is found throughout the sip and even lingers in the back of the mouth. The bean pieces really solidify what the added flavoring may not add, thus this tea has a creaminess to it.

We would go so far to say that this is one of the best Vanilla Teas available.

Note: Upton Tea is an importer, they repackage and sell teas from around the world. They are not blenders. This tea is a product of Germany and is blended there. Some members of the Leafbox staff are familiar with numerous German tea blenders and merchants. Vanilla tea is a standard tea in Germany available from numerous sources, this one ranks among the best of that segment as well.

Our tasters found this tea to be complimented well with a bar of good chocolate nearby.

Traveling Tea Box C #12
I don’t know what happened with this one. The dry leaf didn’t smell too much like vanilla and the taste was a very very faint vanilla Taste. I love vanilla teas but this one just isn’t for me. On to the next one! I need to get through this box but enjoy it at the same time:)

Tea #2 from Traveling Tea Box C (I can’t find the first tea I tried in the database yet. Lol)
1 tsp/cup

I think the cup of sencha I had before didn’t completely wash out of either my cup or the steeper, because I’m getting strong impressions of that greenness smell, and it’s rather spoiling the whole cup because I tend to inhale the aroma before taking a sip. Lol. Not rating it because of this. If I pinch my nose and take a sip, I do get the vanilla in the tea, but really, it’s not that strong anyway. I would think a straight vanilla tea would have a ‘bam!’ sort of vanilla-ness to it, or at least that’s what I wish for. So while not bad, I’ve had better vanilla teas.

Having 2 Upton vanilla teas to sample tonight, this choice was random (other being Earl Gray Vanilla). Turned cold and rainy here today, so in spite of a large Teavana (sale) order arriving today, this is what I wanted.

The words “black tea” always worry me. Will it be bitter?…too strong? Well in this one, the black tea is very well behaved, very nice. Obviously the vanilla is the star here, but they are very good partners, and am enjoying this cup of tea very much.

It’s good, a solid tea for sure, but I had higher expectations for it.

As usual the base of the tea from Upton is great, but I found myself hoping for more prominent vanilla flavours, especially because there is vanilla bean in it. I am usually one for more powerful flavouring, so take this with a grain of salt. But I found it was more like a strong base with a mild flavouring on top, as opposed to a straight “flavoured tea”.

Still nice quality, but I think I’m gonna move onto some more of the 30 samples I just got from Upton :)

12/09/09 I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon fire. Brewed for 3 minutes and I have a wonderfully smooth cup of tea. I don’t seem to like this tea by itself anymore. I am on my second infusion and will try for a third before the evening gets too late.
12/28/09 Smooth. Tasty. Great with chocolate

Hmmm- brought about 24 oz of this tea to work.. the vanilla flavor is very distinct in this tea and the black tea flavor profile is bold but not astringent. I will definitely re-order this tea.