Creme Caramel

SIPDOWN!

Finally starting to be able to get through more of my upton samples again. This could for sure be a re-order when i get around to it as i am digging the delicious blend of the black base and caramel. so good! Now to try and get my stash down to under 200 today… ha!

I’m FINALLY able to try this one!
It SURE smells like Caramel. More notably “Werthers Original” Candies!

It has a softer black tea base with a creamy and caramelly flavor to it. The flavorings are more powerful than the black tea base. I can taste both the creme and the caramel notes. I would also say there is a dryness that Tawny noted at a while back, too!

This is pretty good. I like it more as it cools for a few moments.

It smells really caramelly in the tin. The little candy squares are kinda cute, they remind me of the Dammann Freres Caramel-Toffee.

It tastes just fine, but the one thing it doesn’t have going for it is that indescribable French thing that Dammann Freres and Kusmi both have. I would describe this as an “every day” caramel. It’s quite good, the flavor is exactly as described, but something about the way the blend is put together makes it taste less than exceptional. If I were going to have an every day caramel this would be a fine choice. I can’t understand why I’d do that, though, when I could have have something extraordinary instead?

I think Upton is a solid tea company, but I’m finding in general that I think they excel more at unflavored teas. Whereas I think the reverse tends to be true of the French companies, if my recent Mariage Freres experience with English Breakfast is any indicator.

Backlog:

Yum! Some of you may have tried my Sweet Caramel O’Mine tea when I was a blender … and this one is good … maybe even almost as good as mine, but mine is (or was) better. :)

Sweet, caramel-y … this has a really good, clear caramel-y note.

Very pleasantly surprised by this cup! I very rarely buy any flavored teas from Upton, but since I was grabbing all the other samples I figured I’d give this a go. Especially since I’m knee deep in a caramel phase. It smelled like caramel candy in the bag. Once brewed up, it has a nice caramel flavor on top of a smooth black tea. With a bit of raw honey and milk I’m having enjoyable treat. I’ll get a few mugs out of this sample. For $1. I love Upton samples.

Running on very little sleep & looking at a stack of tasting notes that I seem to have only imagined typing up previously, so I apologize if this tasting note is less eloquent and more of me just spewing words :P
And before I forget- a big thanks to Sandy Stith from whom this tea sample came :)

As soon as the water hit the tea the aroma of caramel hit my nose & I could hardly wait for the 4min to be up.

Very rich tea, well suited to a dash of sweetening & splash of milk.

Creamy mouthfeel with a hint of dryness at the end which helps it not to be TOO rich. A hint of toasty notes as well, though quite subtle. More of a toasted sugar flavor more than what I’d normally think of as ‘toasty’

I can tell however that some artificial flavoring was used, which detracted from the caramel flavor for me. I’d have loved if there were just more caramel pieces and the artificial flavoring left out. I mean, why do you need artificial flavoring if you’re putting caramel in it?

Yes, the caramel extravaganza continues.

This is a nice change-up from the Creme au Caramel from Tropical Tea and the Creme Caramel Rooibos from DAVIDsTEA.

I love the little chunks of caramel in the mix. This also is fairly astringent. What makes this genuinely interesting is its smokiness. This adds depth that you don’t find in the rooibos’ teas.

This goes nicely with a small amount of honey. I’ll also be picking up some crumpets. This is worth a try. It’s bold.

This is the first caramel tea that I’ve tried and I am happy with this one. It brews up nice and dark/rich with a bit of a burnt caramel aroma. This black tea is very strong and present, but not bitter in any way. This is as close to coffee-like that I’d want to be. The caramel is very strong as well, and I think it’s the tea base that is giving it a slight burnt impression. Added 1 tsp. raw sugar and 1 tbs. of Coffeemate “Natural Bliss” Sweet Cream to sweeten it up some, and it is really strong and flavorful.

This is a nice, sharp Ceylon black tea with a strong scent of caramel. It is sweet in the cup, almost like candy. I drink my black teas with Silk Creamer and this one complements the Silk extremely well.

Like all Ceylon blacks I’ve had, it has a bit of tannin to the tongue, but it is not objectionable. That dryness is a welcome addition to the sweet. I can’t see drinking this over and over. I think it would become cloying in time but it would be particularly good when craving sweets in the afternoon.

Well the caramel chunks in the tea are certainly not as big as the photo… But this tea is yummy w/a distinct caramel flavor (w/an emphasis on the toasty sugar flavor) and not just a cloying sweetness. I purchased the sample and I will repurchase again…