Savoy Tea Co

White cake with key lime frosting only makes this betterer. (Not a typo. It’s worthy of the extra er.) Sweet, authentic-tasting fruit flavor against the green tea. Sooooo good.

Ahhh! Now this is plausible cherry flavor, still a little sweet and syrupy, but the dried pineapple balances it nicely. And whaddya know? Son who calls tea “water with aftertaste” actually had a cup with me. That alone makes it worthwhile.

(I think I’m turning into the mommy from “Love You Forever” when the son grows up.)

Happy surprise: liked the sample so much I got a 4 ounce pouch when we were in NW Ark. at Christmas—room for great big blobs of dried pineapple and (I think) the cherries that weren’t in the teeny packet.

Gooooood stuff.

Mini-Christmas with sister and elderly folks today, and I served this in tiny little handle-less cups (Mom eats and drinks like a bird). Got a very polite “Well, that’s interesting” from Mom; but my sister loved it. I sent the rest home with her and…well, shoot…I’ll just have to get more.

My current favorite flavored green. A pleasant Christmas-compatible candied fruit sweetness to it. I don’t know that Savoy blends its own tea, but I’m not sure where they get stuff for private labeling. Not a mystery I have to work too hard to unravel now that the shop has its own website (http://www.savoytea.com/) and I’m planning a run in a few days.

Some shaved coconut added a little body, if not strong coconut flavor, to a second steep. Still mighty tasty.

I’m really digging this little blend. Was just the right topper-offer for take-out lo mein tonight. Not changing previous descriptors a bit…lovely candied-fruit sweetness that reminds me of good Christmas fruitcake.

Hubby took a sniff and wondered what it would be like with a little shaved coconut thrown in. Still enough left to give that a try soon.

This was another “it just smelled good” treat from my husband’s unscheduled trip through the Savoy shop. And does it ever! Very sweet and tropical—I can see why it reeled him in.

Enjoying my first cup right now, and I think it’s one of the sweetest flavored green teas I’ve ever tried. Reminds me a lot of candied fruitcake fruit, which I love and eat straight out of the tub. Leans significantly to the cherry side.

I’m thinking a little additional sugar and this would be a really nice dessert alternative or a nice pairing with my mom’s apple cake. (Hey, Mom…would you feel up to baking…?)

Low temp and short steep (175, less than 3 minutes).

Without sweetening, this is still a rich and creamy dessert tea, heavier flavor emphasis on the creamy than on the chocolate. That could change with the addition of sugar; I just don’t sweeten tea. Instead I splooshed in a little almond milk and it still made a pleasantly decadent breakfast for a slow Sunday morning.

This is not a substitute for a box of Russell Stover cream centers. It’s tasty; you can pick up on the chocolate and coconut, but it’s still light enough your chocolate cravings know you’re trying to put one over on them.

(The only chocolatey tea I can think of that has the “heft” to be a plausible candy bar substitute is 52teas Malted ChocoMate.)

Still, a nice treat and change of pace.

Woke up in my own bed after a week of air travel and hotel life craving great honkin’ wads of CHOCOLATE. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate a tub of Betty Crocker double fudge frosting in the cupboard, so this seemed like a plausible substitute.

It smells wonderful dry. You know that first whiff you get when you walk into a really good candy shop? Yeah, that. Pouch sniffing on this one is imperative.

Steeped, it’s not as strong as its scent—few chocolate teas are, but still nice. The chocolate vibe is stronger with the cream, but that could change with the addition of a little milk or half-and-half. Aw, shucks…I may need another cup.

I hate airline snags and snafus, but am grateful that a re-route to Northwest Arkansas airport last week prompted my husband to make a quick detour on his way home to pick up this little sample.

Be it ever so humble, enjoy where you are today.

Of course I needed this tonight. Hopefully it’ll keep me out of the minature Hershey bars intended for our miniature and eerie visitors. This tisane tastes spookily like Apple Jacks. Wish they made a black tea version.

Not much of a second steeper. Still smells great, but after 10-12 minutes the first time around, we’ve squoze about all the juice we can get out of those Granny Smiths.

Savoy Tea Company is a cozy little shop on the Promenade in Rogers, Arkansas. Bulk and custom-packaged teas, cupcakes, tea goodies and accessories, just a storehouse of things near and dear to our hearts.

As I was browsing, husband was a couple of paces behind me, he checked out the “sniffer” jar of this one, and when my back was turned, I discovered a sample pack in the shopping basket :)

This smells so good, sweet apples and toffee, it took a good deal of willpower not to chew it and swallow it whole. It took even more to wait the full…10…minutes recommended for a full-strength steep.

The steeped stuff is the color of a clementine orange rind. The texture is light, but the flavor is (paused to think about it, but my sweetie pegged it for me) Apple Jacks! (I knew I’ve kept him around for 27 years…today…for a reason!)

I’m thinking that with a little half-and-half I would have me a lovely little cup of cereal milk. And decaf at that.

Nothing new to say about this tea’s carmelly-lemony goodness, but it tasted ten times better about 6:30 this morning sitting in the backyard glider silently holding hands with my husband. 31 years and counting. We watched the stars go down and the sun come up.

Tastebuds wanted sugar; bleary eyes and general disposition needed an adrenaline IV and a B12 shot straight to the brain. Compromised. Gently lemony-caramel with a reasonable amount of morning wake-up strength behind it.

Hey! I can post!

This smells a lot like a bag of fresh Brach’s Pick-A-Mix caramels this morning. The bergamot keeps it from being so cloyingly sweet.

Supply is waning…must conserve…

Slow Saturday morning start. Yum. The caramel stays on your tongue long after you’ve swallowed. Definitely not a tea to hurry through.

Almost like candy for breakfast. Nothing new to say about it after half a dozen tasting notes; caramelly, lemony. Only for mornings when there’s time to enjoy it. Because of where I buy it, when I drink it, I have strong sensory connections of leisurely days in the days of the Ozarks. I am in deep need of a strong dose of “somewhere else.”

This lemony caramel tea makes me smile. So does a morning spent with my nose in a commentary discovering the deeper meanings of the Israelite tabernacle furnishings so I can write about it for grade schoolers. Geekness at its finest :)

Still haven’t tried this with milk, but I need to. That would turn it in to a caramel-cream Earl Grey.

This was specifically the reason for my return visit to Savoy Tea Company. (Oh, who am I kidding? It’s a decent tea shop less than two hours from my front door. Of course I’m going to stop there every time it’s possible.)

Must be one of their more popular blends, because when I placed my bulk order, the lady asked if I’d read on Facebook that it had just come back in.

What grabbed me on the first sample pack was the luscious creamy caramel texture and flavor with a little bergamot thrown in. First cup out of this batch, I noticed more bergamot and it was a little pushy. (Stand back, you, and let the caramel through!)

I’ll check time and temp more closely next time around and see if I can whip it back into submission. Otherwise, I may just have to go to the Ozarks again. Darn.

This will be my last cup till we get back to Arkansas. Sweet caramel, little bergamot…light and lovely.

(Unless I figure out whose teas Savoy Tea Co. is private labeling …)

I’m glad this double-steeps well because my supply is running low. Caramel, in my opinion, needs to be its own food group and this blend shows it off beautifully. Like a Brach’s Milk Maid caramel from the candy bin that’s still soft. The black tea base is dark and smooth, and the bergamot is barely there—just enough to complement the other flavors.

As I was savoring it this morning, I was also savoring the thought of some people who bless me regularly. You need to meet Miss Kathy. A frumpy, somewhat lumpy, gray-haired pillar of our church in sensible taupe Velcro shoes. She is generosity and humility personified, working with and loving the special needs adults Sunday after Sunday. Her other ministry is sending cards to homebound elders, and she has adopted my mom as one of her pen pals. When the tornado trashed my writing room and reference library, she brought me a box with a full set of J. Vernon McGee commentaries and said, “With your writing, you’ll need these more than I do.” I treasure them.

This cup’s for Kathy. May you cross paths today with someone who makes you feel treasured, too.

I need to go back to Arkansas and get more. This lemon/bergamot/caramel twist has got me by the taste buds. A perfect balance of all three, which for me, is “just barely bergamot.”

Still impressed. Passed the second steep test with flying colors. Was even strong enough to take a little milk. The milk overpowerered what was left of the citrus flavor, but still enough caramel to make you smack your lips.