Candied Yams

Happy National Lottery Day! Today the prompt is to drink a tea selected entirely by random. I used a rando number generator for my tea inventory spreadsheet, and this was the tea that was selected! (A Limited Thanksgiving tea in July?! Sure, why not…)

I haven’t reviewed this before, which means I probably have not drunk it before, but the top was opened… must’ve given it out in an exchange. It’s quite old now (still in Bluebird Tea Co. packaging) and typically old + opened package mean flavor degradation for me. Hoping for the best, while expecting much less…

Teabag of leaf left in a 350ml cup of 205F water. As it steeps, I’m smelling mostly spice… a “red hot sweet cinnamon” aroma, and nutmeg. Later in the steep, more orange comes forward on the nose, smelling like a typical orange spice profile.

Hmm… I’m not really getting anything from this that makes me think of Candied Yams… I’m getting an herbal Orange Spice tea. A nicely juicy and pithy orange, with a hit of sweet cinnamon (thankfully it doesn’t go “red hot candy” on the flavor) and nutmeg. The orange has a nice bit of tanginess to it, but beneath the orange the tea is a much sweeter apple.

This is fine, but not Candied Yams. My idea of a candied yam profile would be a very natural yam-forward tasting Chinese black base, sweetened up with honey and marshmallow notes. I think “Orange Glaze” would’ve been a more accurate name for this one.

This one is also from Mastress Alita. Boy, I was so excited to try this one that I drank most of it when it was too hot to really be able to taste the complexities. Now that it’s cooled a bit and I’m concentrating on the flavors, I can say that the yam flavor is clear, a bit savory, and so fun. I added some whipped cream on top, and that just makes it perfect. It smells and tastes like sweet potato pie! I haven’t tried candied yams before, but I imagine they’re pretty similar? Anyway, I rarely drink a cup of tea as quickly as I’ve finished off this one, so that’s definitely a compliment to this tea.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – November Tea #7-A tea you are thankful for

I’m thankful on many levels for this tea – that B&B ever created this blend, that I had the chance to try it in all its limited-timeness, and also thankful that Mastress Alita shared some of her stash a while ago, after I knew I liked the sample I tried!  It’s a sipdown now.   It’s B&B’s thanksgiving tea!  The scent of the dry leaf seemed a little off at this point, but the flavor is better, though I don’t remember the flavor being this tangy. Otherwise, it’s still a very unique tasting blend.  I wish they would keep it around, even if it’s only seasonally right alongside Spiced Pumpkin Pie (which I’m almost out of!  oh no!). But the remainder of the ingredients meld well, for quite the unique flavor.  I hope all who celebrate had a lovely thanksgiving! 
2022 sipdowns: 109