Culinary Teas

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #24

Well, I don’t know what monks drink, but apparently I am not a monk myself as I have found this tea rather disappointing.

It was coppery and metallic black tea base with some, generic, fruity tea. If I am not mistaken, it should be grenandine; but for me it was just a little tart red fruit. But it was also somehow woody, oak wood to be bit more descriptive… and well, honestly in a conclusion, not great tea.

I have finished it, but nothing I have to re-try.

The main flavor here is a black tea that’s not the most delicious, perhaps a bit past its prime. I taste some mild dessertiness, but this one ends up being a bit murky and boring. Okay with sugar and milk, but my partner will be finishing the rest of this one.

TTB Review #24: This one bears creamy notes with hints of vanilla and fruit. Started off hot but I found it more enjoyable the more it cooled. Overall the profile feels complex and sophisticated.

Sipdown 21

Can’t say that I love this. The amaretto flavor is definitely there, but there is also an unpleasant seaweed quality that I can’t get past. I have one more cup worth left in this bag and will not be repurchasing once it’s gone.

Sample from the last TTB. I had to let this cool to room temperature so the flavors could shine. The black tea is pretty pleasant, and I’m enjoying the flavoring they used on top. It’s almost like maraschino cherry juice or something. It’s fruity and tangy in just the right way. This one is interesting!

I first purchased this tea a few years ago and really loved it. I thought it did an amazing job of capturing the flavor of a chocolate covered cherry in a teacup. I recently had the opportunity to purchase this wondrous blend again. In fact, I was so enthusiastic I ordered an 8 oz bag, only to be completely disappointed when I tasted it.

I don’t know if supply chain issues force them to change vendors or what happened but this tea is not what I remember. The chocolate flavor is so understated as to almost not be present. The cherry flavor is similarly muted, although at least it doesn’t taste like artificial cough syrup. I’ve tried making it several different ways to determine if my preparation technique was diluting the flavor. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to matter how much extra Tea leaf I use or how much cooler the temperature of the water is, I’m still getting a very disappointing cup of tea.

I recently ordered this tea because I like the flavors of white chocolate and orange and decided to give it a try. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that this tastes exactly the same as English Tea Store’s Chocolate Orange blend, where it sells for a significantly lower price.

It’s not a bad tea, although I honestly it smells better than it tastes. When I open the bag the chocolate and orange aromas are subtle but noticeable. When I brew the tea, the flavors disappear almost entirely. I’m going to make other attempts using slightly cooler water and shorter steeping time to see if that helps bring out the flavor.

Unfortunately, I’m so irritated by the fact that I paid almost twice as much for what seems to be the same blend as the one sold by English Tea Store, that it’s hard for me to recommend this.

Three to Seven minutes. That’s quite the range. The dry scent is a bit lacking but only, I guess, because this is an older sample. Slightly creamy, slightly woody. The liquor aroma isn’t bad. Kind of like brown sugar. Vanilla. The flavor is bits of vanilla with woodsy tones. Cedar and oak. Slightly sweet. The base is nice. Strong enough to fight on its own but not so strong that it overpowers the other flavors in the blend. Perhaps in its prime this would be better but eh… can’t say it’s one I would seek out on my own.

A new company from the TTB! This tea has that classic sweet almond flavor that I’ve seen in a million teas, but I don’t get tired of it. I have to say that the flavors are a little more muted than I prefer. The black tea is a little thin, and the flavoring wasn’t as strong as it could have been. It’s a pretty straightforward blend with nothing else going on. I would have preferred this flavor with a black tea with more depth, but it was still pleasant to drink warm with milk and sugar.

A bit underwhelmed by this. The cherry/almond aroma of the dry leaf is lovely. The flavor is a bit lacking.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge – a caramel tea

A pretty obvious choice for this prompt. Unfortunately it doesn’t really taste like caramel to me- maybe vaguely? More like a slightly buttery vanilla. Not bad, but not something I need to purchase once I run out. Pretty boring.

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I actually really disliked the last couple of couple I had of this, and I’m glad it’s gone. Too weirdly buttery.

I wasn’t super confident when I placed an order from Culinary Teas, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by quite a few of their blends. This is one of them.

It smells just like a freshly baked cinnamon roll- sweet cinnamon and pastry dough.

The flavor is much more subtle, which I like. The black base really shines through, with just a touch of the cinnamon pastry peaking through. Love that it’s a cinnamon pastry, rather than a red hot or Saigon cinnamon flavor.

This is quite tasty- really lovely creamy blueberry flavor.

Sipdown 15/15-2022

Logging the sipdown.

Culinary Teas blends have been quite hit or miss for me. This one was surprisingly nice. Unfussy and easy to brew. Good both with and without sweetener (raw sugar cubes). Would likely be nice with milk or cream as well. Lovely creamy vanilla flavor. The black base is basic, but not astringent or harsh.

Sipdown 151-2021
Not a true sipdown, as I’m putting it in my swap pile. But, I’m counting it. This is not for me. The grenadine flavor is really medicinal and off-putting.

Culinary Teas had a 25% off sale, so I purchased a few teas that I had been interested in. I love almond flavored things, and I already have an almond green tea that I love. But, I have been search for an almond black. This is not it. This is not very good at all.Truthfully, I can’t taste much flavoring at all. The black base is really muddled and cheap tasting.

Bought at a local market vendor. Fruity flavor with some hibiscus flavor. Very good.

The other review preceding my is very accurate. I bought this at the local market. The elderberry flavor and currants are very strong. I usually like my tea very strong but maybe will decrease steep. I threw in the whole bag and left it in. The flavor was more wine-like than I would prefer. I might like it with honey which is very rare for me.

Packed with whole fruit and Vitamin C, this is a tea to drink for vitality and energy.

Elderberry lays a delicious immunity-boosting foundation. The hibiscus adds a tart dimension to the blend, which makes it very refreshing and full of Vitamin C. The rosehip chips add a mellow smoothness to the tea along with even more Vitamin C. The currants give the tea a very distinctive character – black for fruitiness and red currants for ‘bite’ and tangy flavor. Finally, raisins give it a natural sweetness.

A predecessor tea to this in our shop was Berry Berry Herbal, but we think you will like this even more.

Take a look at this blog post about tea treatments for a cold, of which Elderberry is one.

Ingredients: Elderberries + Currants (a.k.a. Corinthian raisins), Hibiscus petals, Natural flavors

Dropping back in for a second to say that this is a very disappointing tea. I detest artificial cinnamon. The apple tastes fake, too. Skip this one, y’all, unless you like watered down Red Hots.

Really delicious, I thought. Nice, strong black base overtones of lavender. Bergamot is a little bit on the strong side but not overwhelming.

Perfect with a little bit of milk and sugar.