The Spice & Tea Exchange

Meh. Of course, my definition of a yummy chai is to simmer a lot of freshly cracked spices, of my own mix, in whole milk for about 15 minutes, then throw in some darjeeling at the end. But even discounting the butterfat content of my own mixture, this just seems too bland by comparison. Hubby agrees. Our taste buds prefer my bold recipe.

After we went to a very lovely French bakery for tarts (oh my, those tarts), my sister picked this one out on her birthday (because I’m slowly getting her into tea).

I just got around to making it, and I was skeptical, but it was ridiculously good. My sister complained of a slight astringency so I might lower the steep time just a tad.

I agree with LiberTEAS, I’m getting a slight “spiciness” off of this tea, but not in a chai sort of way. It’s more like… well if you’ve ever walked into a Spice and Tea Exchange store, the scent of the shop, it kind of tastes like that. It’s a very savory sort of spice, like eating pumpkin soup.

I still very much taste the pumpkin though and I quite enjoy the savoriness of the spice behind it. I think, though, the most incredible part of the blend is the caramel flavor.

I’ve noticed that the caramel comes out more once its cooled a little and the pumpkin/spices are a bit more subdued. It’s crazy though. I’m transported back into a time when I was very young, eating caramel drizzled ice cream at The Macaroni Grill (why does that look way less meaningful than it is in my head…)

Anyways, upon cooling a bit, it tastes just like caramel. Silky smooth texture and all. I’ve never experienced such a thing in a tea until now, so this impressed me the most.

My only regret: Not buying more.

I got this in my Christmas Stocking (yep, I bought this one too, and stuffed it in my own stocking. Sad … but true) This is the second time I’ve tried it, the first time was less successful. I wasn’t getting a whole lot of pumpkin or caramel in the sip, just spices and bitterness. It wasn’t bad … exactly, but, it wasn’t as pleasant a cup as I hoped for. This time, it’s better. I found that a splash of milk really improves the taste here. the caramel is accented, the pumpkin comes out a little more, and the spices are not as prominent, but instead provide pleasing background notes to the caramel and pumpkin flavors. It’s not as good as 52Teas Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake … of course, but, it is certainly enjoyable, and this one has a bit more of a spiced taste to it than the cheesecake version.

This is one of three teas that I received in my holiday stocking … of course, I had to buy them myself to stuff them in my stocking. But my husband did take me to the Spice and Tea Exchange knowing full well that I intended to buy tea … so, I’ve got to give him credit there. Usually he won’t even entertain the idea of taking me to a tea shop, as he claims I have enough tea. I don’t even understand this concept, sounds kind of crazy to me. “Enough” tea? Ha! As if there were ever enough tea.

Anyway, I really like this. It’s better if you let it cool for a couple of minutes … still warm and comforting, but not piping hot. The flavors really have a chance to meld and they come through nicer than when it is piping hot. I like the way this tea is put together – the cranberry, orange and cinnamon is not a new holiday type blend, it seems that every tea company has one of these! But the chestnut flavors is what makes this one stand out, and it gives it the sort of crumb cake kind of taste. The raspberry leaves brighten the tartness of the cranberry. The ginger and cinnamon give it warmth but this isn’t an overly spiced blend … kind of like the spices would be in a crumb cake … accentuating the cake without overwhelming it.

Really yummy!

This is THE tea that I can’t live without. I can get two great steepings from it, which makes it an even better value. The Bao Zhong base perfectly complements the coconut flavor. It’s truly a delightful mix of fruit and floral flavors. I’ve only tried it hot. It might make a nice iced tea, but I have to wait until it’s much warmer to try it out.

Brews up a delicate yellowy orange. Smells of a flowers dipped in peppermint in the bag.. the tea itself brews up much more floral, with almost a peppery note.

The flavor is mellow. Very floral, and the peppermint takes a backseat to the bouquet on my tongue.

I thought I’d use up the last bit of this that I have left… now I have to go get more.

This is the first oolong I’ve ever ventured to try. I really love the smooth buttery taste of this tea. The coconut tastes very natural as well, and I adore coconut flavor so much. It’s like liquid Almond Joy, but way, way less sickly sweet and fake. I’m kind of obsessed… :)

I never tried it with milk, but come to think of it, it probably* works very well with milk… probably.

I’d love to try other oolongs, but so far this has given me a very good impression of oolongs on the whole.

*Maybe…

Rose takes the forefront in this delicate tea. I’m not typically a huge fan of rose flavored things, but of course none have ever been as natural tasting as this.

The white tea lays a nice and sweet foundation for the other ingredients to play on. Another reviewer mentions mint, and to be honest I couldn’t really detect it on the first few times I brewed this tea, it’s very subtle.

I’m in love though, and I plan to get my hands on some more soon.

This was my first experience with a Lapsang Souchong and I fell head over heels with the warm and deep smokey aroma. I could just sit and inhale this all day long (but then people would stare and my tea would get cold…)

I’ve dubbed this my favorite black tea so far and I personally enjoy this one over Adagio’s Lapsang Souchong.

A nice flavor with a lot of spice. I drink mine with a little milk, but it needs to be brewed strongly to compensate.

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this. I could tell as soon as I took a sip that this was a decaffeinated tea, it has that slight metallic twinge that is apparent in the aftertaste. It isn’t strong, and it doesn’t disrupt my enjoyment of the tea, but it is definitely there.

A nice level of mango flavor, the green tea has a nice amount of body and a tasty vegetative tone … I’m enjoying it, a nice decaf.

A huge HUGE thank you to Invader Zim for sending me a surprise box of tea for some teas I had sent to her previously. It was totally unexpected as I asked for nothing – practically demanded nothing in return! What a lovely surprise today in the mail!
I do not think I have ever had a tea from Spice and Tea Exchange so this is new for me and I am quite enjoying it!
A nice pu-erh base with some wonderful notes and of course peppermint and chai spices.
I am not even minding the licorice note!
I am going to play with this tea a bit and do a review on http://sororiteasisters.com/
Thank you Invader Zim :) Happy dance.

Thanks Liberteas
This was different than I thought it would be…I’m thinking that is today’s tea theme with me…hum…

Anyhow – it’s slightly malty-chocolate tasting but with a pu-erh type flavor, too.

It was ok but not what I was hoping for.

Tea of the morning…..

Not bad, but not memorable, either. The Ceylon base is pretty good, but I think they should have chosen something more in the naturally choclatey tasting range. The tea base kind of fights with the flavor. It is roasty and bready, but it is missing a cocoa note in my book.

I do appreciate that The Spice & Tea Exchange does offer tea in small amounts, however, I do think they charge quite a bit for what you are getting.

Usual teapot method…..

I am not warming up to this tea. Maybe it is user error, steeping too long? Not fragrant, mostly a bitter tonic. Does it require sweetener or cream? Didn’t like it enough to experiment. Maybe I will, on a day when I have time to play around with it.

Another go round of this sample – last remaining bit taken care of :) Still enjoy this one as it’s a really nice berry flavour. It’s nice to bring a bunch of samples to work and actually have time to go through some of them :)

I think part of the problem with having 500 samples (thanks indigobloom) of tea in one place is that some of the flavours/smells blend together. there’s a hint of smokiness in this tea that i’m pretty sure comes from another sample of tea from Kittena And that ladies and gents is why you must be wary of canadians pushing tea out of the back of their car. haha but anyway…ignoring that, this is a really nice light tea. Not something i’d drink all the time, and something i’d probably rather enjoy iced. The colour is a wonderful purpley-red and the smell is great! Theres a tang as your first sip the tea that quickly changes to a warm subtle flavour. Not too shabby!

I love this tea. I put in a little bit of The Spice and Tea Exchange’s coconut sugar in it. It smells so good, too. Would be a perfect pair to almond cookies!

-Dry blend is a beautiful mixture of green leaves, pink and yellow rose petals and lavender. Wet leaves floated to the top during steeping. Wet leaves reveal long tea leaves and whole peppermint leaves.
-Dry leaves smell like a minty potpourri. Tea liquor smells clean and faintly of roses.
-Tea liquor is a clear, pale yellow.
-Grassy flavor with a wispy mint finish. Able to detect rose taste after swallowing.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. Very delicate flavor, but sweetener enhances the floral and mint notes.

Hmmm. Thought I reviewed this before because I got a sample from Indigobloom and it was the reason I decided to purchase this….

Anyway, second tea of the morning…..

I think pu’erh is usually a cooler weather tea for me, but I decided to have this today anyway. I did pick this up on a recent trip to Williamsburg, VA where they have a Spice & Tea Exchange. It was a fun stop. I picked up an ounce of this, the Coconut Oolong, and a Hazelnut tea that I cannot seem to locate at the moment….This should tell me it is time to do some rearranging…. I do find their tea a little on the pricey side. I think $4.89 per ounce is very steep for some, but not necessarily for others like the Coconut Oolong. They did give $2 off for buying three ounces. I do appreciate the ability to buy in small mounts, though. Bulk amounts there are definitely cost prohibitive.

I really like this one. There is something wonderful about the combination of chocolate flavors and pu’erh tea. It is like they were meant to be together. The addition of the strawberry just makes it taste like a decadent dessert. I can’t really decide if I like this one or the one from Lupicia better. I guess it will just depend on where I am shopping at the time of needing more….

Mug method, 3 minute steep. Lightly sweetened.

This tea was quite good- sweet & chocolatey with a hint of strawberry and the earthy undertone of pu-erh. I enjoyed it, but I think I’d have liked if the pu-erh and strawberry flavors had stood out more. Maybe it’s just because I have a love hate relationship with chocolate sometimes, but to me the chocolate was a little bit of a show stealer. I tend to gravitate towards darker, more bitter chocolates though so maybe that was part of it!

For die-hard chocolate lovers however, I think this tea would be a huge hit! I definitely enjoyed it though and it was a nice rich cup to stir me awake this morning :)