Caramel Creme Brule

Back after a long, and quite frankly awful, absence. I’ve been sick for a week after having an allergic reaction to some antibiotics. Wasn’t able to have any of my tea! =(
The worst seems to have past. Now I’m just resting up so I can be back to my normal self.

This one came from TastyBrew!

The dry leaf smelled amazing. Very sweet and caramelly, with just a hint of the black tea base. Once brewed, this tea it picks up an even stronger, almost melted white chocolate/caramel aspect.

Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be a huge fan of caramel teas when it comes to taste. This one, like many of the others I’ve had, ends up tasting too artificial for me to really enjoy. The caramel flavor is there, but it’s got an odd taste and aftertaste. The black base is present, but slightly astringent.

I’m happy to have gotten the chance to taste this tea, but I wouldn’t buy it for myself. Oh well. If every tea were a favorite, I’d be in debt and seriously out of space. =)

I had this back when I was sick last week and had lost my ability to taste anything. It was ok, but not great. I wanted to give this fair shot so I tried it again this afternoon. It was pretty good. Nice smooth caramel flavor. But I didn’t taste the burnt sugar I want from creme brulee. Its definitely good caramel tea. But I won’t be re-ordering as I prefer the salted caramel from david’s.

I got this one from Darby
The dry notes smell of caramel only. Once steeped it tastes mainly like a black with the slightest hint o caramel. I added some honey to try and save it, I got more of a caramel taste after that but was still missing the creme brule part. Additionally I added a bit of milk, and there comes the creme brule flavour, so good. Although it has now lost the caramel flavour.
It seems that I have had to add hobey and milk to many teas lately.

Nah.

I overleafed this intentionally because I’ve found myself disappointed by caramel teas lately, which I at least half attribute to me being stingy with my leaves .

Soooo this is kind of bitter and astringent and lacking in flavor even with the overleafing.

It smells good…that’s about it.

Not for me, I have better caramel teas so I don’t need to waste my time with this one. In fact, I’m not even going to bother finishing my cup.
It’s making my teeth hurt.

So, to summarize…“Nah.”

I can see why reviews for this are on the lower side, but I think I found a way to make it decent.

I do taste a burnt sugar flavor, but there is a noticeable lack of sweetness. A hair of real sweetener gives it that extra oomph. I used literally a drop of agave. Then, to impart the creaminess, I used a healthy dash of almond milk. This also helps to emphasize the sweet flavor and minimize the artificial.

I don’t mind doing some doctoring for teas like this. I usually have a small sip, assess the situation, and add milk and/or sweetener as I see fit, in whatever amounts it needs. I relate it to tasting your food before adding condiments/seasoning. It doesn’t make the food bad…but it is ideal when you get it right on the first try. Which is why I am giving this an ok rating, and not great, as well as the fact that it peaks at “good” even with doctoring. Recommended if you don’t mind sipping first and helping the tea to be its best.

This is another tea from Mandy.
Not getting too much caramel from this one to be honest. Getting more of a burnt creme brule flavor for some reason. xD Don’t know why. Not such a fan of this one.
But these samples have been a nice distraction from feeling horrible today, so that’s nice at least. Thanks so much, Mandy! (:

The dry leaf smells like the sugar free caramel sauce on top of the sugar free dulce de leche puddings in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Sweet and caramel like, but also a bit off.

The wet leaf and tea liquor smell like creamy custard and a but like caramel. It smells like that milk film the coats the pot after making a chai tea latte.

The flavor isn’t nearly as strong as the smell. There’s a bit of the milk taste, but not much of the custard from the aroma. There’s a bit of a sugar taste but it’s a far cry from the sweet sticky caramel smell from the dry leaf.

As it cools down there’s a bit more of a caramel taste, and some of the black tea base is coming out and mingling with the milk at the end of the sip. It smells better than it tastes, unfortunately, but I think that it might shine better in a cold brew.