Sweet & Sassy SororiTea

Recently (as in last week!) Uniq Teas approached us – the SororiTea Sisters – and offered us three blends (one for each of us) … allowing us each to first create our own blend and then sent us our blend to review.

(By the way, in the weeks to come, we will be hosting several giveaways sponsored by Uniq Teas where the winner will be able to create their own blend and receive it!)

This is my Blend! Sweet & Sassy SororiTea … although I don’t know if “sweet” is the right word to describe me, I think that sassy could be, although I think there are other … better … descriptive words that could be used to describe me. But, I chose the name not as a reflection of me but as a reflection of the tea. It is a combination of Caramel, Black Spiced Chai and Almond teas.

(If you’re interested in what the other Sisters created, you can see all the blends that have been crafted in the Uniq Teas Gallery: http://www.uniqteas.com/products )

Mmm… this smells so good. The aroma that is wafting out of my teacup. I keep holding up the cup to my nose as I impatiently await it to cool enough so that I can sip it … I guess I could drink it piping hot but I don’t want to burn my tongue. I’d be pretty useless as a tea reviewer with a scalded tongue.

YUM! This tastes just the way I wanted it to when I created the blend. I wanted something creamy and caramel-y, with enough spice to cut through some of the sweetness of the caramel, and just a touch of almond for a little bit of sweet, nutty flavor. Yep, and that’s what I’ve got in my teacup.

The caramel is the strongest note but it isn’t an overwhelming note. It is sweet and creamy without being too much. The almond gives it an almost almond toffee kind of flavor, and then the spices cut through that at just the right point.

I’m loving this, but I’m not going to rate it since I crafted it. Love it … and I’m wondering how it will taste in about three weeks … which is when I will write my full-length review of it. If it’s good now, it will be awesome in three weeks. (Remember … 3 weeks is the magic waiting period for tea blends to mingle)

I wanted to log this one because I did drink it but I am going to wait to give it an official tasting note when I can dedicate more time to fully explain. It’s much sturdier than I thought it would be and I DO like it!!!

This had one teaspoon left I removed from the HH teabox! I was intrigued when I saw from the description it’s a CARAMEL chai. Wow does caramel chai sound like a nice blend! There weren’t many spices, just a lot of black tea leaves. After steeping for a few minutes, the flavor isn’t caramel or spicy, which I kind of expected. But the black tea has a nice toughness (without astringency) and very raisin-like! I know this blend would have been better if it wasn’t the last of the sample… and probably not stored in a very thin baggy.

From the LiberTEAS sampler I bought a while back

After sniffing a whole bunch of the samples I settled on this one for my nightly brew – it smelled warm and spicy (which went quite nicely with the 0F temps here in Indianapolis) and I couldn’t wait to try it.

As it steeped it opened up into a deep, rich colour and a scent that reminds me a little of baked goods. I did sweeten it a little bit, but the black tea definitely manages to push it’s way to the front, palate-wise; I pick up a little bit of bitterness, some malty hints and that’s about it…I know there are supposed to be some caramel and sweet notes, but I’m just getting a definite dryness (that I think comes from the black chai).

In all honesty it reminds me most of my Irish Breakfast tea – hearty, rich and a little bit punchy (but in a good way)…I would’ve loved it more if it hadn’t gotten my hopes up for something sweetly caramel and spicy. Maybe I just need to stop reading the descriptions before I drink?

Oh, and as it cooled the spicy chai notes really came up a bit brighter. I decided to hit it with a generous splash of (whole, organic) milk and it helped the flavour quite a bit. If I resteep I’ll definitely sweeten it a bit more and add the milk right off the bat.

So I guess I like it, but with a little bit of a caveat. It’s not what I expected, but it is a hearty black tea that I would be willing to drink in the mornings if I was out of my usual suspects.

TTB A sample #2
A black chai blend, this seems promising….brewing….brewing…..sipping….nice, very drinkable. Caramel notes come through nicely with an almond note at the end. I am drinking this with no additions.

I’m sensing the chai and caramel. It’s nice but not as special as I had hoped. I do love a chai in the fall so this works for me today.

Thanks to Teeny Tiny TTB for this sample!

I enjoyed drinking this a lot – this was my first week of student teaching, and it was a really rough week. Everything went well, and my kids and cooperating teacher are great, but the 12 hour days so far are killer. I made this each morning from a sample I had to take in the car with me and it was great. I didn’t get any caramel flavors, but it was definitely spicy and very good when prepared with a little honey and almond milk like traditional chai. I have a 30 minute drive to my placement each day, and this makes me think chai will need to become a very regular part of the morning routine.