Fall is definitely here, the trees are turning colors and there was frost on the ground when I woke up this morning. I’m not a huge winter/cold weather fan (though when you live in an area where the seasons should be named “Almost Winter”, “Winter”, “Still Winter” and “Road Construction” you have to be able to enjoy at least some of the cold weather or else go insane :D) but it’s mornings like this one that really make me want to stop and take in a deep breath of that crisp air… and then go inside and have some lovely tea!
Another first time tea for me; this one was one of the reasons I made sure to stop off at DT’s last week. I love spice cookies and cake (though a gluten allergy has caused me to start looking for new recipes to try) and as such this tea seemed like the perfect one for me.
Dry this tea has a wonderful aroma of cloves, cinnamon and vanilla. There’s a few higher fruity/flowery notes from the apple and marigold that weave through the scent, helping lighten it just enough that the spices don’t just bash you over the head. It is a bit heavy on the cloves but I like that particular spice so that’s not a huge issue for me. There is also a distinct sweet scent to this tea, not enough to be cloying but it certainly lives up to its name.
Steeped the liquor comes out with a lovely clear orange-brown color with an accompanying scent of clove, just touched with cinnamon and vanilla. I lose a bit of the higher notes found in the dry tea but every once and a while I can pick out the carrot that is hidden in there.
The flavor profile is interesting, very similar to a sweet chai for me. The clove is still the predominate flavor, though the cinnamon helps to break it up some and both spices linger a bit in your mouth (no heat just the flavor.) As for the “sugar”, I’m actually quite surprised at how well DT managed to make this sweet without over-doing it… going by the scent I was expecting much more sweetness but in the end (and with that touch of vanilla) it was just right for me. What was also surprising was the mouth-feel, quite light considering that it is based on a black tea. The other ingredients (apples, carrot, marigold and the tea itself) don’t really jump out at me; I can tell at times that they are there but though they help to round out the flavor, they don’t sing together quite like I was expecting.
Overall a pretty good tea in my opinion, spicy yet sweet with just enough other flavors to elevate what otherwise might be a fairly one-note tea. This one I will definitely try steeped in milk one day just to add a bit of richness to it…
