Brooke and Bradford

I love me a flavored white tea… when done right.

The first time I had this, I remember thinking it didn’t taste enough like anything in the name of the tea. So this time, I brewed it two different ways, to see what I could get out of it.

Pot #1: 190F water, steeped for two minutes.

Pot #2: 170F water, steeped for four minutes.

Pot #2 won by a long shot!

Pot #1 tasted a bit flat, I couldn’t tell texture, flavor, anything really. Pot #2 though, yowza, that’s some toffee in my tea. Hot toddy? Well, not so much, but I’m sure I could have changed that if I were drinking these days.

I’d definitely grab more of this in the future (if I didn’t have so much tea to drink already), and steep it longer, at a lower temperature.

Oh, and it held up to heavy cream + stevia. Now THAT was divine.

Big thanks to Brooke + Bradford for gifting me this tea in exchange for an honest review!

Last year, Brooke and Bradford sent me several glass vials full of tea for me to try. (Look at my Instagram for the pictures: http://instagram.com/teatravelninja).

While I didn’t get a photo of this specific tea, I’d say it was my favorite. Sadly, it’s no longer for sale, and/or has a different name (I can’t tell which). New name? Deep & Steep Winter Chai.

I love white teas. Truly love them, especially if they have some body to them. Either as a light-as-a-feather pineapple/coconut blend, or a dark and smokey white tea. Well, or the white teas that seem like black teas…

Okay, okay, so I like white tea. :)

This white has body. It’s light, and yet, full and luscious. The cardamom comes through smoothly, and the spices are an added punch. Not too much of one, though. It’s subtle.

Honestly, I love my chai’s bold and spicy, but this one? It’s more for a mellow, winter day. Yep, perfect for Montreux, Switzerland, where I am today.

Phooey, this is the last of this tea.

Warm, it doesn’t taste like much. There’s a faint hint of something, but I found it challenging to get it to come out. With stevia, it shines ever so slightly.

But with cream? OMG. Yes. YES. YES!!

It’s divine.

I like the darker color of this tea, and when I steeped it overnight, and then gave some to my partner to drink, he said, “I thought I was drinking alcohol for a second”.

He doesn’t drink alcohol.

I’d definitely buy more of this tea, and especially so if it comes in one of the little test tube / glass vials again. Okay, so that’s not a ton of tea, but… I love the presentation.

I’m loving this brand of tea, and how they execute their teas. It’s really fun to try them all, plus, the presentation makes me smile (small vials of tea, like when I was on the Isle of Man and the tea house there offered up their teas in the same fashion for ‘breathing’).

Anyway. About this tea!

I wanted more chocolate and more mint from this. It’s fun, it’s a bit frivolous, and it requires quite a bit of sweetening to get it to where I want it, flavored-tea wise. Still, I like it.

The puer adds depth, richness and earthiness – all things that I love in tea. There’s a hint of mint, the cacao nibs are great.. but I’m also aware I’ve yet to have just nibs in my tea and it actually taste like chocolate. Call me picky. Or maybe I just drink too much tea.

For someone not accustomed to drinking tea as much as I do? This tea is amazeballs. For me, it’s just good. I won’t go out of my way to order more of this flavor, but I won’t say no if more ends up in my cup. I might even have seconds. ;)

Note: I receive this, and many other teas, from Brooke & Bradford in exchange for honest reviews on Instagram and other social media outlets. These are my opinions only.

Leave this tea to steep too long, and you’ve got a spicy cinnamon orange in liquid form. YUM.

Thanks to Bradford & Brooke, they sent me a whack of 10? 12? of their teas in little glass vials to try out. I’m enjoying them so much, I keep forgetting to review them.

There is CHOCOLATE in this tea, folks. White chocolate, okay… but it’s still chocolate. Thus, I’m trying it first.

Well, that’s a misnomer, because I’ve tried all of the vials of tea Brooke & Bradford sent me to try out and review. All but one – the vial that magically opened in transit and fully mingled with a few others that managed to keep most of themselves intact. (Caramel Apple, was the escape artist, if anyone’s wondering).

So, Berries and Creeeaaam.

FIrst off, I’m a bit skeptical with anything labelled “Berries”. I’m allergic to strawberries and told the folks over at Brooke & Bradford… but I’m still hesitant. I reviewed the ingredient list. Perhaps? Maybe? “Natural Flavor” can be a challenge to work around. Whatever. I’ll risk it. I won’t die.

I mean… chocolate…

The description of this tea says that Bradford loves cream and berries as his (?) favorite dessert, so this is the nod to that delectable feast.

Did it manage to do it a service? Well…. yes and no.

The cream is definitely not cream, like real whipped cream. However, it’s still creamy and full, buttery and rich.

The berries are definitely berrylicious, and so much so that I downed the first cup in one sip. Yes, this is goood..

Second time I made it, my partner almost drank the whole thing at once, too. We fought for it, he had half the cup in one gulp, and now I’m guiltly sipping the rest.

One note: oversteep this baby. You want the chocolate to melt fully (I found it took about 15 minutes both times). I didn’t get any bitterness that I normally do with rooibos – probably because this is a rooibos honeybush blend.

One more thing? It shines with sweetener. My partner hates “adulterated” tea (read: adding sugar or sweetener). I snuck in some stevia, and this really made the flavors come alive. Yum.

2.5 tsp in 12 oz of boiling water for 15 minutes.