The Spice & Tea Exchange

Had this this afternoon since I’ve been craving it since yesterday. As yummy as I remember… Steeped 3 times just to see how it turned out… Third time was pretty weak, but still had peppermint goodness and was very drinkable when I added a touch of raw sugar.

So gonna miss this one when it’s gone! Too bad it’s seasonal… Anyone have any extra to sell or trade ?

We don’t have many tea buying options in my area, other than bags of the grocery store variety so when we were on vacation the past week and I saw The Spice & Tea Exchange in the distance.. I just had to visit.

A couple of years ago we went into one of their stores and I was much more into cooking than I was tea. While we were there though, Hubby picked up the tea sampler pack and fell in love with their Blueberry Black. He has been trying to make that tea last because he hated to see it gone.

The first thing I did when we went into the store was go right in and find the Blueberry Black and had them make up a 2 oz bag for Hubby. He steeps it weak, so it should last him a good while. They had so many that peaked my interest that I had trouble deciding what to get. I wished they had had sample bags of their teas so I could take a few with me and then go back later before we left the area to pick up what I really liked in larger quantities.

This was one of the teas I picked up. The smell was fresh and inviting, and not too strong for peppermint. I was wishing that the holiday teas would be on sale since it was after Christmas, and even asked the sales associate and she couldn’t give me a discount.. always worth trying. The associate was pleasant and after browsing the tea section for awhile, I asked her of the holiday teas which was the most popular & which was her favorite… she said the Chocolate Candy Cane Tea. I picked it up, as well as the Gingerbread since I knew they were both seasonal varieties and the gingerbread smelled very nice too.

I have opened the bag to smell this several times and every time I think I’d love to try a cup but wanted to wait until I could enjoy the first one fully. I finally did that today. It smells fresh of peppermint and sweetness, with a bit of rich chocolate… smells like Christmas candy in a cup.

I didn’t pay close attention to my steep time as we had company and I was a bit distracted. The steeped cup has an inviting fragrance, but not so intense as the dry leaf. I added a bit of raw sugar as I couldn’t see myself drinking a candy related tea without sweetness (growing up with all my tea sweetened makes it hard to get away from). I must say this tea is yummy. I was a bit afraid it would be too intense of a peppermint or that the chocolate would come across as fake or just too rich. It is a perfect blend of mild peppermint rounded out with a bit of chocolate. This is the first tea with chocolate I can say I really enjoyed the first cup of.

The second steep I allowed to sit longer and again added a touch of raw sugar. It too was good, although a bit milder, and the chocolate came through more at the end of the sip.

I’m a bit saddened that after I tried this I went looking on their website and see that they have already pulled it from their Limited Edition teas. I almost wish I would have bought a second ounce… Hopefully they will offer it again next year when I need some Christmas in a cup, because I’m sure I will have finished this one by then.

Thanks to Indigobloom for sending me a sample of this tea. I believe there’s a Spice and tea Exchange in San Francisco but I’ve never been there. Shocking, isn’t it???

Anyway this has a nice cocoa type aroma after steeping. I did sip on some plain and it has the sort of winey/mud aftertaste that I associate with keemuns and I’m not a big fan. I guess this is some kind of a keemun assam blend with a bit of ceylon thrown in? there is also maltiness and chocolate. I liked this better as a breakfast tea after I added soymilk but decided it didn’t need any sweetener.

Overall, not bad but I won’t be clamoring to get this. I’m really glad I had a chance to try it though. :)

Still down with my head cold.
But guess what, I was right… this puerh is much better as a “sick tea”!
It’s so soothing and making me feel loads better, for the moment.
That sickly sweet note is now somehow refreshing. Bumping the rating just a little.

I’ve tried this twice now and still my palate can’t decide what to think. Hot, I really don’t care for it. It has a medicinal sweet note (probably from the licorice and peppermint) that reminds me of herbal throat remedies that I partake in only when necessary and can’t really taste at the time anyhow.
Cooled, its significantly better. I can taste the puerh, and while it doesn’t taste fishy at all, it has the mouthfeel of fishiness. I know that makes no sense but it’s true!
Anyhow. It also has a more biting mint note at that point, which I do appreciate. The vanilla seems to round things out a bit. I’m not sure where the ginger comes in though, it must be hidden underneath everything.
Actually now that I think about it, all the ingredients here are known to contribute sweetness to a blend so perhaps its the combination that irks me…
A touch of sugar seemed to help a bit. Next time I’ll remember to let it cool entirely before sipping, so I don’t bias anything.

This was gifted to me in a colleague holiday gift exchange. Thank you, Secret Giftee!

I wanted to try a new herbal tonight, as I’ve had more than my fair share of caffeine today. It smells strongly of cinnamon, licorice and something I failed to place, however steeped it’s all cinnamon. All I’m getting out of the brew however is hibiscus, followed by cinnamon, and something… off. Musty, darker fruit? Perhaps this is the plum. Sweetened with some Truvia (1tsp for 12oz), it’s still… yeah, I have to dump this. Sorry giftee, as I know your intentions were only the best.

We stopped by The Spice & Tea Exchange while we were in Asheville and picked out this tea on a whim. I made a travel mug for the boy to take with him when he was leaving for St. Louis, and he called 5 minutes after leaving to say how good it was. It certainly smells good while it’s steeping, and puts a wonderful smell in the air. The dry leaves smell like nutty hazelnuts with a wonderful cookie aroma. Sadly, I’m not getting much cookie in the taste at all. It’s a nice cup of toasty hazelnut black tea, without much cookie noticeable. There is a sweetness to the tea, so maybe that’s supposed to be the cookie? With milk and sugar it becomes a creamy cup. The black tea is definitely strong (almost to the point of being bitter), so this will be a nice morning tea.

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell of nutty hazelnuts with an underlying cookie scent. Tea liquor aroma is of toasty hazelnut.
-Tea liquor is a clear very dark brown color.
-Robust flavor with a nutty finish. Somewhat bitter malty aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. A strong cup of toasty hazelnut. Little cookie flavor noticeable.

So my scale came in the mail and I love it so so much and I’ve been playig with it a butt ton and WOW IT’S GREAT.
Decided to actually use the timer bit that the app comes with and I weighed my tea and wow weighing tea and timing it just makes the tea taste so much better okay. I think it’s really cute how when you use the timer, it buzzes and then a little notification saying “Your tea is done!” comes up and it’s just darn CUTE.

This tea is pretty good. It has the spice without it being too strong. Just the perfect balance of sweet and spice :)

(For some reason I’m tasting butter in this? That’s weird. But like.. must be the gingerbread :) Do they even use butter in gingerbread cookies? I don’t even know. I’ve never made gingerbread cookies before)

Because I have to be up early for errands, I needed a caffeine-free tea that would help me concentrate because MUCH HOMEWORK. SUCH QUIZZES. #HELPME.

Okay at first I was all 1tbs for one cup of tea? Isn’t that a bit much!? So I just did something just shy of 1tbs and let it steep for longer and.. no. Do what the instrudtions say. It got a bit bitter, but it’s still really good!
I mainly bought this tea because I’ve never had lapacho before. Still don’t know how it’s supposed to taste like, but I do taste the cinnamonny, gingery goodness! Perfect watmth for the holiday season… even though it’s nearly 75 degrees out at a quarter past 10pm.. this isn’t regular December weather for me, but hey! I’ve got my gingerbread tea and my peppermint brownies. I’m set for the holidays :)

side note: definitely going to try this tea again later on and put the right amount and steep it for the right time so it’s not all bitter and weird.

Oh wow this is definitely a tea that needs some sweetener to bring it to “that” place. But I’m ok with that. Not all teas can get there so it does quite well in my books!
This time around, I really feel as if I’ve eaten a ginger cookie, only a bready one. A ginger bun? ha!
I kinda forgot about this one over the holidays, with all the craziness I was in some sort of autopilot mode. Too bad, I would have loved to indulge in this on xmas eve. Ah well I still have second Christmas. (I’m part Ukrainian so we usually get two dinners muahahaha)

ps. rating bump :P

Yummy!! Very holiday cheer like. Gingery in the bread kinda way. I could barely taste the Lapacho note in there, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. Great for those who dislike the taste of Lapacho!
A pinch of sugar made it even more cookie like. Very comforting. I’m looking forward to using this up :D

Dangnabit I did it again!! This tea… well it keeps sweeping me off my feet like a giggly teen. Sheesh, get a grip already IB!
Fine. But this time I am rating it.

The funny part is that as ahhhhmazing as it is, I can’t have it with milk since its just too darn tasty for that. OK well maybe a tiny little splash to bring out the tobacco note. But it certainly does not fill my craving for a rich, malty, Assam tea. Sheesh. Even the perfect tea isn’t perfect. I guess every tea snob gets to have a diva moment, right??
(and no, this tea is not what I would consider malty, contrary to their description)

Have you ever been so floored by the deliciousness of a tea that you forget to pay attention to how it tastes and end up utterly seduced, then come out of your trance awhile later only to find an empty cup and you wonder what the heck happened?

I thought I’d give it another go, this one. Well, I’m glad I did because this is much better!!
There is a lot more blueberry flavour now. It still won’t replace my secret love of the DT version by any means, but at least I am finding this cup enjoyable.
Shame though, that it seems to be a flavour distribution issue, as well as a base choice problem.
SO. This particular cup would garner a rating of about 77. Darn inconsistencies.

Oh dear. I was really hoping this could replace the blueberry tea I love so much from David’s tea. Or atleast make a decent alternative. Boo.
Naw, this is “ok” but firmly in the ok zone. Something about the base paired with the flavouring doesn’t work for me.
The base is a Yunnan and I am typically very picky with my Chinese black teas so that could be part of it. But beyond that, the blueberry flavouring has an odd note to it in the aftertaste, and a kindof floral part during the sip. Altogether, it makes for a very odd experience. Not a terrible one mind you. I’ll certainly still drink it, and enjoy it. Milk and sugar helped to neutralize things a bit, but then my cup was pretty much unmemorable. Too bad, I had high hopes. Shame on me.

Yep, this is a nice one. Not nearly as super fantastic as the Assam, but still good. The lady at the shop mentioned there was some Chinese tea in there. I can’t remember what region but I know it wasn’t one of the standard ones. Actually I keep thinking it was Hubei but I know it wasn’t because I do recall thinking “I wonder if that is near Hubei” for some reason. And yet I can’t recall the name of the place she mentioned. Silly brain.
Ok. So! This one is quite round in depth and profile. A little too focused on the Keemum like notes for my preferences. I’m not a fan of Keemum, personally.
With milk and sugar, it works well enough for me. A nice sipping tea that I don’t need to pay much attention to. Not something I’d repurchase though

Backlog:

A deliciously sweet, roasty/toasty genmaicha. Really nice with a good balance between the nutty, sweet, “green” taste of the tea with the toasted rice notes.

This tea just tastes wrong. Maybe I just don’t like chocolate in tea. It’s just bad, and needs to go sit in the corner and think about what it did.

I can definitely see why some people may like it, but I am not one of them.

I only recently started learning to enjoy flavored teas, and I’ve found a number I liked. My philosophy for flavored teas: go strong, or go home. This one needs to go home.

A little bit of a letdown. I’ve been wanting to find a nice pear tea for a while, but this tea is not it. The pear flavor is there, but it’s weak and overpowered by the black tea, which is more bitter than a dessert tea should be.
And caramel? What caramel?