Caramelized Pear

Turns out my local tea shop orders several of their teas from Art of Tea, so even though I previously logged this tea under a different company name (The Tea Shop) it makes more sense to me to post it under Art of Tea from here on out.

I’m still middle of the road about this tea. I want to love it, but the rooibos flavor just gets to me. The pear, caramel, and honey flavors are all there, and they’re really nice. Sweet without being cloying. But the rooibos taste too medicinal to me, and it kills all the fun that’s happening with the caramelized pear flavor. I’m really wishing this had a honeybush base rather than a rooibos base, but alas….

I’ll probably finish the rest of what I purchased, but this isn’t something I’d buy again.

First of all let me start by saying that pears aren’t my favorite fruit. This is pretty good though. It tastes so much like canned pears that I kept expecting there to be a graininess in the cup. There is a mild caramel undertone that develops as the cup cools. This gets too sweet easily and I enjoyed it best with just a couple rocks of German rock cane sugar and it was also delicious with a splash of dairy (really brought out the caramel).

Thank you LiberTEAS for sending me this lovely blend. I truly was excited to try this and I did enjoy it, mostly because the pear really came through. I didn’t score this higher because to me the rooibos and the pear didn’t blend together as well as I would have liked. It was like they were two separate entities forced to be roommates and only sort of got along. I felt there needed to be another buffering agent added to make it all mesh together a little better. Although, I don’t know what it would be. Nevertheless, still worth a try and still very happy I had a chance to try it.

WOW.

Perhaps it is merely sense memory, but I swear this tea is textured like a perfectly ripe pear.

This is so good!

Had this tea last night as a before bed drink…

Mmmm… the dry leaves of this tea smell so delicious! They smell like caramel and pear and just overall very sweet and strong and desserty! It is so strong smelling that I could smell it before I even opened the package.

The lovely scent carries over as it steeps! This was one of those teas that I couldn’t wait to drink as it was steeping. It has a really nice flavor. I have never had a pear flavored tea before but I adore pears so this tea has been on my wish list for a while. This tea definitely lives up to its name. It tastes like pears and caramel. It is quite awesome.

I received the dessert sampler pack as a gift and this tea made me super excited to try the other 3 teas included. Can’t wait to have one after dinner tonight!!!

Pleaseexcusemyomgit’scoming…. tea*GASM*. Phew thanks. I just needed to break the ice with that.

Well this little ravishing thing is definitely a tease on the taste buds. I had the ecstasy of taking a sip of this tea a few days ago paired with a bag of Archer Farm’s Cinnamon Apple Pie trail mix. Um, until this point in time, I’ve always considered myself a prudent girl… however this whole little threesome between the tea, the trail mix, and my tongue was enough to make me into a permanent sinner.

I bought this along with a few other teas in a Desert Sampler set from Art of Tea. I haven’t gotten around to them, but if all the teas in that set are half as good as this one I might just quit my day job and take up teanography. Hmm.

The first few sips are a lovely heavier bodied rooibos with a hint of cinnamon. Later gulps (cup licking?) result in a fantastic end note of pears and other sweet ditties I just can’t place. It’s definitely smooth on the way down, not a single thought of dryness. (Haha.. dryness… smooth… [AHEM]).

Me and my little friend went for about 4 rounds (i mean cups, naughty thinker ;]), afterwards it degrades into a plain ’ol rooibos. I am definitely ordering more than 2 ounces because this little sample pack is NOT going to tide me over.

I purchased this tea with some scepticism. I love the flavor of pears, but I’ve had too many tea-bags that proclaim Pear flavor with no discernable taste nor even odor of pear.

This one is a true keeper. The aroma is strong and distinct and the taste is divine. There are pear over-notes, mid-notes, and base-notes! I was so caught up in my first cup that all I could do was start thinking about my second cup. For me that is a signal of true tea dementia. When I get demented over a tea, I know that I love it.
If you like sweet flavored teas and the taste of pear you will love this. It’s de-caf so you can drink it all evening long and you don’t need to worry about over-steeping.

Thanks to kimquat for a sample of this tea! It’s been on my shopping list for ages and I’m lucky to have a chance to try it. This tea smells quite strongly of sweet rooibos and apples.

Sipping… ahh.. there is the pear! It’s sweet and juicy — very much like pear jellybeans. It’s bordering on the artificial side, but still enjoyable. The rooibos base is unfortunately the worst part of this blend. It abruptly ends the pear flavor and leaves you with a dry, woody aftertaste. I am a huge rooibos fan, but can’t really deal with the artificial pear & harsh rooibos pairing. The more I sip, the more cloying the flavors become… just can’t finish the cup. I usually like Art of Tea blends, but this one isn’t for me.

I was a bit hesitant about trying this tea because of the pear. Pear is such an elusive fruit when it comes to flavor – easily overwhelmed and lost in the mix. But you can definitely taste (and smell!) it in this cup of tea. There a hint of woodsyness from the rooibos, but it’s not very overpowering and the pear definitely shines through in this tea. It’s slightly sweet and very delicious, perfect for autumn. On the second brew, the rooibos flavor comes out much more, and the pear is almost gone.

Thanks to LiberTeas for passing on a sample!

I forgot that I included a cup of this in my morning ‘brew five cups at a time’ ritual (yeah, I work from home, this is my life), and when I took a random sip I was like what is this delicious drink?! If that’s not a ringing endorsement I don’t know what is.

Art of Tea does delightful things with rooibos, and I think this is their best. Delicious and sweet, like a pear-flavored dessert without the calories. The sweetness can get a wee bit cloying if you let it cool too much, but hot this is a cup of wondrous caramelly pear goodness. Recommended!