Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This tea smells amazing. Like buttery batter, creamy frosting, and all manner of sweet and cakey things. I liked it right from first sniff out of the bag. It is easy on the eyes with the tightly curled cut black leaf, dried pineapple pieces, and flower petals. I remember this tea had quite a reputation for being one of the must-try Della Terra teas and I can see why people enjoy it.

The steeped tea also smells like a moist and buttery cake and the liquor is clear and dark brown. The taste is very pleasant and sweet. Smooth and faintly malty black tea blend with sugar, vanilla, and a flavor I can only describe as yellow cake. I’m not really getting any pineapple or fruitiness, but that is just as well because I am a vanilla buttercream cake addict. This is a very nice way to treat the sweet tooth without stuffing my face with cake. I’m really glad I bought 2oz of this. I just brewed a second pot and the hubby is enjoying it as well. Most Della dessert teas I’ve tried have gone over well in this household. Without being overly cloying or artificial, they have a good flavor to my palate and I think the base is a decent black.

So…this was kind of funny…there I was, making my Della Terra Black Friday order. I was debating about whether or not to get a package of this tea when I suddenly remembered that not only did I have a sample of this waiting for me (courtesy of the lovely Ost) but that I had actually remembered to bring it with me to my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving! So, I of course made a cup immediately and sat there sipping it while adding all the other Della Terra Teas I wanted to my cart.

Let’s just say that by the end, this was part of my order :) I enjoyed this one but can’t exactly say that it reminded me of its namesake. I suppose it did taste like a very brown-sugary pineapple, but I don’t recall getting the little touch of cherry that I expected. I’m okay with that, though. I’ll enjoy this once I get it!

Got this in a swap from Cameron B

I am so disappointed in this tea. :c It had my hopes up. It made me excited. But it just didn’t … have much of a taste.
The smell… omg the smell was amazing. PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE IN THIS BAG!
but when I brewed it, it didn’t come through. The flavor was there, but it was SO VAGUE that I couldn’t really make much of it. :c

I realized this tea has just made me want to make a real pineapple upside down cake. I guess that’s how I’ll get that flavor because it’s not in this cup. :c

Such a shame… I would totally have bought some of this if it’d help up to my expectations.

Drank yesterday. Site was being weird.

I sent out my first swaps ever today, hooray! Thanks to Arshness and Ost for their friendliness. :D Ladies, I sent your tracking numbers via private messages.

This is my first tea to try from my Della Terra order that arrived today. It was full of shameless dessert teas like this one and cotton candy… Sue me! The dry leaf of this tea smells amazing – mostly butter with brown sugar undertones. It’s black tea mixed with a decent amount of candied pineapple pieces, various flower petals, and the occasional dried cherry. I have to assume the cherries are only there for style, since there were only like five total in my 1 ounce package. This makes sense, considering the maraschino cherries on top of the pineapple upside down cake are only there for show, too.

The first time, I brewed the recommended teaspoon (mine was a bit heaping) for 3 minutes. It came out far too weak for my tastes. So then I did about a teaspoon and a half for 4 minutes and it definitely improved. The brewed tea smells strongly of butter and brown sugar with kind of a toasted nut smell. It reminds me of a really buttery pound cake with some kind of glaze, which is pretty much what pineapple upside down cake is. I don’t get any pineapple in the smell.

The tea itself is quite tasty. I can taste the base just barely, so it must be a fairly mild variety since I steeped for 4 minutes and with extra tea. The flavor is very buttery and sugary with hints of dark caramelized sugar and cream. I think it equates very well to the actual cake used in the dessert, but I am getting zero pineapple here. Not even a hint of pineapple. And to be honest, that’s okay with me because this does cake very well. This is almost a dead ringer for that terrible-for-you sliced butter cake that you can buy at grocery stores (it’s like a more ridiculous pound cake basically).

I feel like this tea is a little weak, maybe I’ll try 2 full teaspoons next time I make it. Very tasty though!

Having this one this afternoon as my Victory tea! Got up at 5 and took my drugs, pushed myself to go to work and to stay till 2:30 which is the usual time when I go home. Was a lot more pain today than yesterday but it was still a good day and I got to spend time with my awesome co-workers! So that made me really happy! :D
Haven’t had this tea in a while. But man do I still love it!!

Had to add a touch of sugar to this one. I am finding I do that a lot. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I may have overleafed this in my attempt to get a couple of the pineapple chunks out of the sample bag. Sadly, I don’t get much pineapple flavor. It is a very nice creamy dessert tea though. Very enjoyable. I could see getting this again if I don’t find something different to try when I use up the sample.

Ohh Myyy. I’m in trouble with this tea! I like reading the reviews as I drink the tea for the 1st time, or if I havn’t had it in a while.

When it comes to dessert teas I am just not that big of a fan, so when 1 comes along that I really like…I can’t help but say “Seriously?!” It makes me think that I need to make an order to Della Terra, which I hadn’t really planned on because I’ve tried a fair amount from DT and there just was not many that I felt I liked enough to buy, not to mention the fact that I decided to use my Birthday $$ at David’s Tea and Butiki, along with a possible order to Verdant if Eight Treasures Yabao comes back in. (Yes I know there is a winter blend, but I’d rather hold out for the Spring…I hope they bring it back!

So, might end up making an order for Della Terra though am going to try and hold off for a few months, like till May or June, depending on when I move. And despite the fact that I really liked this, I’m mostlikely going to stick to samples as I could see myself getting tired of it fairly quick. But…I might talk myself into getting a 2 ou. LOL.

Also, tried a 2nd steep, it was tasty but less so then the 1st. Definitely not inspiring. But then…I am not an resteeper expert, I love the concept, but generally if I have more then 1 cup I prefer them to be different teas though I could see myself getting more into it with (Hopefully!) a partner that loves tea as much or more then I do, be a lovely sunday activity.

Dang sinus headache last night and today. I thought it was going away this afternoon, but blah… here it comes back again. Nothing seems to really help except putting pressure on my sinuses.

Had a little bit of a sample left of this and decided to give it a go today. Still really like this one. Cakey and a bit of pineapple. MMmmm…

Overboard TTB

This is a yummy tea and I see that I gave it a 95 last time I drank it. I would rate it just a bit lower today but it’s probably me. I’ve got a bit of an upset stomach and should have made a mint tea but this one was just calling to me. I enjoyed it but… I should have waited for another day. Luckily I have enough for a lovely cup or three on another day.

Tea & Cards TTB

Oh, another pastry tea…this one smells delightfully tropical in the bag and picks up interesting aromatic notes post-steeping. It smells nothing like I remember pineapple upside down cake being – but I was a terrible baker, so that says more about my cakes than this tea.

Upon tasting I’m mainly picking up hints of candied pineapple layered over that yeasty-pastry black tea note that Della Terra does so very well. It’s a delicious dessert-ish tea that would go equally well first thing in the morning or as a comfort cuppa after a long day…

Tasty tea and one that I really appreciate. I’m less-likely to buy this one since I’m quite smitten by Blueberry Crumble…but it’s a good tea nontheless and I’d happily have another cup in the future.