Pumpkin Cheesecake

Sipdown! I know I haven’t been around lately, but I haven’t stopped drinking tea! I finally finished Cloud Atlas today and I’m already on to my next book.
This tea is really great as far as spice balance goes. It isn’t too upfront and they are well blended. I really loved using a bit of extra leaf to really bring that out. I don’t know if it really screamed pumpkin, but it was an excellent tea!

First snowstorm of the season! And only the second snow we’ve had at all… pretty abnormal for this time of year in NY. I like the snow so I am pleased it has decided to show up this winter. Also it means tons of birds at our bird feeders! It’s been relatively warm up to this point, and lots of other food was available so it was slow going. Not today!

I made this one with milk and sugar, which is just about the only way I can drink 52teas blacks. Now I get lots of pumpkin flavor and a little spice. No cheesecake flavor to speak of, really. Still, I will definitely be able to drink the rest of this tea like this.

Wow! Really really wow!!! (Picture me jumping up and down and running around an office with all of the other sane adults staring at me as if I has lost my mind…) My 52teas order arrived today!!!!!!! I imagine that this would be exciting anywhere, but me being in Ecuador made it that much more exciting! It was the first test order that I had placed and was crossing my fingers that it would make it through customs… It did! After a short 2 week wait I have my order in my hands! Now that I know that my orders will actually arrive, I will definitely have to place another order… (and another, and another, and another…) I am now sitting at home (after smelling the tea during the entire drive from work) and made a pot of this tea! Yep, it was an entire pot of tea worthy celebration!

The fact that I sniffed the tea the entire drive home (not the safest thing to do considering the way people drive in Ecuador) probably made you realize that I love the way it smelled. Spicy pumpkin pie with a creamy background that lingered behind. Wow… I was in love with this tea. I couldn’t make traffic go any faster in order to get home to try it.

Once I got home, first thing I did, brew it! I was a little worried while I brewed it. I wasn’t getting the strong delicious smell I got from the leaves. 2 large cups of water boiling water, 4 teaspoons of tea, and 3.5 minutes later my worries disappeared. The tea tasted exactly like I wanted it too. First up there was the spiciness. All the cinnamon and nutmeg that should be in pumpkin cheesecake or pie was there. Immediately after there was the earthy pumpkin. I mean to use earthy in the best of ways, meaning that there was just enough of it to equal an unmistakable pumpkin taste. Finally as an after taste, creaminess. Delicious.

There was no bitter or dirt taste. Nothing not to like. Only regret: not getting more of it…

I had a second brew that was not nearly as good as the first, but still drinkable. I think I will stick to a single brew in the future.

All in all, I can’t wait to place my next order. I loved this tea and I am going to be super sad when when I finish it. Thanks Frank for shipping your tea to another continent! You have made me a super happy girl today! : )

I saw Frank offer this one and immediately jumped to buy it. Everything about it screamed my name. One of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever made was a pumpkin cheesecake and the memories came flooding back. I couldn’t wait. Finally, it arrived and I made it the following morning, but I’m left a bit puzzled on several different levels.

First, the scent is slightly spicy. I’m thinking warm pumpkin pie. It’s definitely that nutmeg, slightly cinnamon promise of autumn’s enduring flavors. The addition of the marigold petals is perfect. It adds that touch of color that embodies the season. Aesthetically, it’s a pleasing tea, too.

After steeping, I’m still mentally tasting the spices and my mind is still anticipating pumpkin… until I take a sip and I’m not tasting pumpkin. Or cheesecake. Yet, as disappointing as this is, the actual flavor of the tea is not. It is warm and spicy in a perfect autumnal fashion. The tea is not bitter, but is instead a nice, mellow black that carries the flavor without casting its influence over it. I think the issue I have is the name. Maybe Autumn Spice would have been a better choice for what it actually is. Even though the pumpkin is missing, I’ve been drinking this each day since it arrived in my mailbox. It’s really a nice tea for the morning.

This is spicy and nutmeg-y and full of flavor! The clove is very strong and makes me think of my older brother for some weird reason…I think he’s the one who always begged my mom to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, whereas I never particularly liked it.

Anyway, I agree with others that it’s not very cheesecake-y. But I don’t tend to get cheesecake flavor out of 52teas cheesecake blends. I’m not sure what about it makes me miss that flavoring, but I’m missing it here too.

However, I do find this tea delicious! The blend of spices is very similar to what would be in a pumpkin pie. Now I’d really like to try 52teas’ Pumpkin Pie Tea because I feel like I’m drinking it now! Yum!

This is definitely a tea that needs milk. And again with this tea, I find the aftertaste the highlight of the experience. But the more I drink it, the more I like it. It’s actually really great cold too. I’m impressed! Thank you to Ninavampi for sharing this tea with me!! Go Ecuador!

It’s not too bad with some milk in it, as this seems to bring out some smoother notes in this tea and tones down the cinnamon and cloves. I’m still not getting the creamy-tangy flavours that I can taste in Frank’s other cheesecake-flavoured teas though.

Tea of second breakfast……

I am so excited for the cooler weather of Fall, and this tea fits the bill. I do get the cheesecake and spices along with a hint of pumpkin. In the pumpkin cheesecakes I have made in my day, the pumpkin was never the feature flavor as you could still tell it was cheesecake, so this reminds me of the real thing. More pumpkin flavor would have pushed it into the realm of tasting more like pumpkin pie. This one is definitely less pumpkiny than 52teas Pumpkin Pie. For those of you who have David’s Pumpkin Chai, this one is actually just a little spicier and of course creamier tasting. It is definitely a good one.

Steeped by the usual parameters.

Happy National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day!

I hadn’t planned on trying this tea today until I came across an article about it being National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day so I decided I’d try it to celebrate the occasion.

The dry leaf has a well-spiced aroma, and the pumpkin is there too. Once brewed, I notice much less of the pumpkin, but I can still smell spice – particularly clove.

But I can taste the pumpkin… and the tang of cream cheese, and clove and cinnamon … and especially black tea! This is really YUMMY! I know that there were some tasting notes here that were marred with disappointment over this tea, but, I am loving this! It’s really GOOD!

It’s like it was meant to be. I was just exclaiming to my husband how there needed to be a pumpkin spice latte tea equivalent and BAM! Frank offers up this. So like the pumpkin spice-lovin fiend I am I ordered this and anticipated its arrival.

And then it arrived and I eagerly opened it and gave it a sniff and it smelled….kinda like the vanilla caramel chai…uh oh (go and read my review on that one). Hmmm, I don’t know about this.

After 3 days of Matevana (I swear it helps keep migraines at bay so I drink it when I am prone to them) I decided to try this this morning. Per Ashley’s suggestion I was going to add a bit of milk with my go-to brown sugar splenda but alas, my husband and I finished the milk with our caramel frapaccino cupcakes last night.

Got to work and took a sip, praying that it didn’t taste like dirt (again, seriously, go read my caramel vanilla chai review) and…..

Phew! No dirt taste.

But no pumpkin.

Or cheesecake….

What kind of wizardry is this? Not that it was bad but I’m the kind of person who gets upset that her red velvet cake yogurt doesn’t actually have pieces of red velvet cake in it. And just as I was about to let the disappointment settle in…

What’s this?

Pumpkin?

Cheesecake?

Where did you come from?
I don’t know how it does it but, for me, the pumpkin cheesecake taste develops slowly on the tongue about 30 seconds after you swallow.
I’d obviously prefer it to be there from first sip but I wouldn’t kick this tea out of bed (if ya know what I mean ). And the sudden emergence is like a party trick in my mouth. It’s possible that my job is just really that boring, but I’ll take what I can get.

My first pumpkin. I get a chai vibe from this. I added creamer and rock sugar :D I really don’t have anything to compare this to but it makes me happy! I can taste a crust and I think some cinnamon? It is very COZY! I would buy this tea again!!!