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I rooted through my stash for this after a discussion with whosbradpitt about the potential similarities and/or differences between gingerbread in the US and UK. Neither of us has tried both, so I decided to pull it out, steep it up and see how similar to gingerbread it seemed to me. I took this very seriously, making myself two cups steeped regular western style (one plain, one with additives), as well as a tea latte, which I’ve been making almost every night lately.

I think my final answer is… a bit similar?
When drank plain, the similarity is less noticeable, more of a rooibos chai and less of a ‘baked goods’ vibe. The spices are well-blended, which would usually be a plus, but the ginger isn’t particularly prominent so the ‘gingerbread’ feel is missing. Adding milk dulls the whole thing down, but a pinch of brown sugar adds that dessert feel which was missing and makes it feel much more like gingerbread. I even think the ginger becomes a little more prominent this way!
Prepared as a latte, this is where it really shines. Double strength tea, 1/3 hot milk and a teaspoon of premium grade maple syrup – this is how you make it taste like gingerbread! Now ginger isn’t my favourite spice, but I love cinnamon, and this is a really nice blend of the two. The rooibos isn’t particularly woodsy, but somehow is adding to the ‘cakeiness’ of the whole thing. If there were a brown sugar or vanilla note to really amp up the dessert notes, I think it would be spot on!

So in conclusion, is it gingerbread? Kinda. Is it tasty? Heck yeah.

whosbradpitt

This is interesting – thanks for looking into this so much! What’s particularly funny to me is that plain, I felt like the ginger was really strong, and that’s what made it feel not like gingerbread. I do think some emphasis on the dessert component would be helpful. Glad you got to enjoy it in the process!

Martin Bednář

Gingerbread? Only from Pardubice (Czech Republic)!

Nattie

Any time haha, I got curious!
Yeah, I read your notes after I wrote this up and noticed that you found the ginger more prominent. It might have just faded from mine, because it’s a good couple of years old at this point! If you take additives in your tea I highly recommend trying it either as a latte, or with a pinch of brown sugar and/or cream (:

Martin Bednář

A side note: I made a trip to Torun last end of year; and they are famous for gingerbread as well (and with friend from Pardubice). It seems the recipe is very different, as they use more black pepper in the mix, while Pardubice uses higher dose of honey. I think the recipes are different everywhere.

Nattie

Martin – I had no idea gingerbread was Czech! I’m curious about the black pepper gingerbread, but the honey one from Pardubice sounds more like my kind of thing! Now I need to try the real deal when I visit. (:

Martin Bednář

If you ever come one day, I will be your guide (through teas, sights etc.) with a pleasure.

Nattie

I would love that Martin !

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Comments

whosbradpitt

This is interesting – thanks for looking into this so much! What’s particularly funny to me is that plain, I felt like the ginger was really strong, and that’s what made it feel not like gingerbread. I do think some emphasis on the dessert component would be helpful. Glad you got to enjoy it in the process!

Martin Bednář

Gingerbread? Only from Pardubice (Czech Republic)!

Nattie

Any time haha, I got curious!
Yeah, I read your notes after I wrote this up and noticed that you found the ginger more prominent. It might have just faded from mine, because it’s a good couple of years old at this point! If you take additives in your tea I highly recommend trying it either as a latte, or with a pinch of brown sugar and/or cream (:

Martin Bednář

A side note: I made a trip to Torun last end of year; and they are famous for gingerbread as well (and with friend from Pardubice). It seems the recipe is very different, as they use more black pepper in the mix, while Pardubice uses higher dose of honey. I think the recipes are different everywhere.

Nattie

Martin – I had no idea gingerbread was Czech! I’m curious about the black pepper gingerbread, but the honey one from Pardubice sounds more like my kind of thing! Now I need to try the real deal when I visit. (:

Martin Bednář

If you ever come one day, I will be your guide (through teas, sights etc.) with a pleasure.

Nattie

I would love that Martin !

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Bio

I first got into loose leaf teas when a friend of mine showed me Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends on Adagio a good few years back, but they weren’t on sale in the UK so I started trying other kinds instead and have been hooked for almost three years (and have purchased several fandom tea sets including the Sherlock one I lusted over for so long).

Flavoured teas make up the majority of my collection, but I’m growing increasingly fond of unflavoured teas too. I usually reach for a black, oolong or white tea base over a pu’erh or green tea, though I do have my exceptions. I will update my likes and dislikes as I discover more about my palate, but for now:

Tea-likes: I’m generally easily pleased and will enjoy most flavours, but my absolute favourites are maple, caramel, chestnut, pecan, raspberry, coconut, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin, rose, hazelnut and peach

Tea-dislikes: vanilla (on its own), ginger, coriander/cilantro, cardamom, liquorice, pineapple and chocolate

I am a 25 year old bartender, English Literature sort-of-graduate and current student working towards finishing my degree. I am hoping to one day complete a masters degree in Mental Health Social Work and get a job working in care. Other than drinking, hoarding and reviewing tea, my hobbies include reading, doing quizzes and puzzles, TV watching, football/soccer (Sunderland AFC supporter and employee of my local football club), music, artsy weird makeup, and learning new things (currently British Sign Language).

I should probably also mention my tea-rating system, which seems to be much harsher than others I’ve seen on here. It’s not always concrete, but I’ll try to define it:

• 50 is the base-line which all teas start at. A normal, nothing-special industrial-type black teabag of regular old fannings would be a 50.

• 0 – 49 is bad, and varying degrees of bad. This is probably the least concrete as I hardly ever find something I don’t like.

• I have never given below a 20, and will not unless that tea is SO bad that I have to wash my mouth out after one sip. Any teas rated as such are unquestionably awful.

• This means most teas I don’t enjoy will be in the 30 – 50 range. This might just mean the tea is not to my own personal taste.

• 51+ are teas I enjoy. A good cup of tea will be in the 50 – 70 range.

• If I rate a tea at 70+, it means I really, really like it. Here’s where the system gets a little more concrete, and I can probably define this part, as it’s rarer for a tea to get there.

• 71- 80: I really enjoyed this tea, enough to tell somebody about, and will probably hang onto it for a little longer than I perhaps should because I don’t want to lose it.

• 81 – 90: I will power through this tea before I even know it’s gone, and will re-order the next time the mood takes me.

• 91 – 100: This is one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted, and I will re-order while I still have a good few cups left, so that I never have to run out. This is the crème de la crème, the Ivy League of teas.

I never rate a tea down, and my ratings are always based on my best experience of a tea if I drink it multiple times. I feel that this is fairest as many factors could affect the experience of one particular cup.

I am always happy to trade and share my teas with others, so feel free to look through my cupboard and message me if you’re interested in doing a swap. I keep it up-to-date, although this doesn’t mean I will definitely have enough to swap, as I also include my small samples.
Currently unable to swap as I’ve returned after a long hiatus to a cupboard of mostly-stale teas I’m trying to work through before I let myself purchase anything fresh

I also tend to ramble on a bit.

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South Shields, UK

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