A Quarter to Tea

Thank you Sil for the chance to experiment more with this awesome tea. Unfortunately when I made this I forgot the “latte” in the title represented the coffee beans in the mix as opposed to acting as a prep suggestion. Maybe not the best thing to be having when tomorrow I start back at school which means early mornings again but it should be okay.

Nonetheless, I brewed this as a latte (5 mins at 190, which definitely was too long) and I’m getting mostly oolong and coffee. In the middle of the sip I can pick up some chocolate trying to fight its way through but the other flavors are just drowning it out. And cherry…where are you, cherry? I know you’re in there but I can’t taste you at all. Tbh, I could see this being awesome but I just overdid it with the brewing time. I think I’ll try an iced latte with what I have left.

Once again, thank you Sil for sharing and being so generous with your tea!

Sipdown (128)

Ever had black cherry ice cream/frozen yogurt…the ones with the actually black cherry pieces mixed in? Because my first sip of this tasted exactly like when you bite into one of those big cherry pieces in the ice cream! So good :)

As I continue to sip away at my mug, though the cherry flavor is there and thriving, there is more and more nuances to this tea. The next sip started with a rich latte flavor, like a Starbucks latte drink (sugary and not overly coffee flavored for those who like something a little sweeter. I get maybe a hint of chocolate as well but tbh I think that may be more because I feel it should be there so I am looking for it, as opposed to it actually being present.

Finally the oolong, a base I tend to hate, is actually quite lovely in this blend. It helps prop up the other flavors by providing a mild, buttery base that helps create the idea of a creamy, rich latte.

Really I can see why everyone loves this tea. Though I may not have understood the hype around Banana Nut Pancake, I am definitely getting it here. If I could rate it, it would be high 80s/low 90s for sure. Truly a beautiful cuppa!

On this wonderfully stormy night I am sipping A Quarter to Tea’s Banana Nut Pancakes, a surprise sample from Equusfell! The aroma of the brewed tea is spot on and rather delicious. Those inspiration banana walnut pancakes may be on the menu tomorrow!

My first few sips of a new-to-me tea are always straight, even though adding sweetener is pretty standard for me when it comes to dessert teas. Even when I enjoy a dessert tea or otherwise flavored tea straight, I usually find that to my tastebuds, I prefer it when the flavors have been awakened by a bit of sweetener, and often cream or (nondairy) milk as well. Straight, even the best flavored teas I’ve tried are not nearly as compelling to me as unflavored teas. So when I play with flavored tea, I do it up.

As I am with this tea. A spoonful of simple syrup coaxed the delightful aroma into the brewed cup. Simple syrup is convenient since it blends into the tea more evenly than sugar, but sometimes (perhaps when I’ve added too much) I can taste the simple syrup itself, which I don’t love. I found myself thinking, hmm, honey would be nice, and took it one step further, my friends, to the obvious(ly brilliant) conclusion of maple syrup!

Which brings us up to this very sip: real maple, a 4 min steep (this is the 4th steep, and it’s still flavorful), a touch of cream, and wow: this is dessert in a cup.

Backlog 27Sep – Sipdown.
7min, 4tsp, 12oz
Semi-sweet chocolate, sweet mint, non-woody rooibos
YUMMY!

8Feb16- 2.5tsp 7 min
Very dark smell chocolate mint, taste chocolate mint. No woody rooibos! Yay!
2nd steep more rooibos flavor. Still have mint but I lost most of the chocolate flavoring.

Almost at the end of my 2 oz. bag of this. This is easily my favorite of the AQ2T teas that I bought. The maple is the dominant flavor for sure. Enjoying this outside on a nice MN springish day. #Springish

This is not a tea I ever would have chosen for myself, because “latte” makes me think coffee, and tea and coffee should remain separate drinks.

But OMG. Thanks so much for sending me some, Dexter! It’s SO GOOD. The cherry flavour is amazing. It really tastes like those cherry candies that ooze cherry syrup when you bite into them. The expensive ones, though, not the waxy $2/box ones you sometimes find at Christmas.

Yum!

better cup of this today but still all over the place with the flavouring… will need to just place a new order one of these days with a quarter to tea :)

oooh. so this one? kinda like a spicy oolong. No chocolate or real sweetness here, just a deecnt tea base that’s spicey…and i can pick out the oolong notes. I can live without tiny marshmallows but where is my chocolate? I’ll have to add some cacao nibs or shells to this and see if that works better for me.

This is the second tea from A Quarter to Tea that I have tried so far. This was a sample, whereas the other was a regular bag. At first sip, I was like, “oh no, it’s a bit astringent…I should have added milk as I had originally thought to” but then as it cooled a little, I got a really smooth and warm caramel tea. It almost reminded me of Butiki’s Caramel Vanilla Assam, only the chestnut was a bit warmer with the caramel than the vanilla. I’ve got just one serving left, so I might try a wee bit with milk to see how it holds up, before adding it to the whole brew. I worry it might overpower this milder tea, but on the other hand, it might make this more decadent. Wishing I hadn’t waited so long to order, as this is pretty much gone now.

Follow up to the original note…I have used more leaf in the subsequent steeps, and it is a stronger flavour, but I still find it milder than I had expected. The vanilla pear just sort of blends into everything, and the cardamom butter is more of a mouthfeel. Despite this, I do really like this tea, as a tea, and how it tastes to me. But I just don’t get the flours from it as I was hoping to. Would I get more if I could? Quite possibly. It does make a quite lovely breakfast or morning tea. I am upping my rating on this.

This was my first tea to try from this company. I used a little over a teaspoon, and found it to be very mild. The instructions say to use 1-2 teaspoons, so next time I will try 2 teaspoons. I did get a little spiced buttery feel, but not much on the vanilla or pear. Hoping the increase in leaf will bust out a bit more flavour.

This was an interesting tea…I like it…I just might buy an ounce.

Next to Banana Nut Pancakes, this is my favorite tea I received in my recent AQTT order! The white tea base is light and sweet and blends perfectly with the rich cakey flavor of the tea. The eggnog flavor is spot-on and the cake notes are definitely present as well. Lovely!

This tea smells SO good…like some kind of rich, cream-filled pastry. The flavor is heavy on the cream and caramel with just a hint of chestnut coming through. My only complaint is that the base tea is slightly bitter, which messes with the rich sweetness of the caramel. I may have to break down and try some sweetener in this one!

This one wasn’t what I was expecting: the “syrup” (maple) flavor really dominated the blend for me, with just a light spiced pumpkin flavor coming through. It was good, but not my favorite.

removing the rating because i did love this…and now i don’t…and there were some consistency issues with this as i recall. oh well! clean up continues!

more orange than truffle today but that’s ok. I had this earlier today before we went out to try and get Ruby used to being a trail dog. She’s still a little young for long adventures but we’re gradually getting her there. Plus she got to jump in the river today – that’s twice this weekend!

i pulled this one out this morning because i had a hankering for some orange like flavours. Sadly i let this one cool off too much, so it’s not the best cup i’ve had but it’s still tasty. I just prefer it hot to cold :)

mmmm yes i’m pulling out a number of my AQ2T teas today because i waited for them forever AND i want a few NON samples before i continue on my sipdown journey this weekend. this one again smells divine in dry leaf! chocolate, orange deliciousness. Brewed, this hold true. The orange is strongest in this one, with the chocolate in the tail end of it. it works for me. I’m a fan of this one :)

last of this one – not much else to say on this one – it was decent, but not a favourite of mine.

so many teas…so little time. Making such good progress, just not getting around to tasting notes. I think my only ask for this one would be MOAR cadamom haha. still a tasty treat this afternoon.