Birthday Cupcake

Had this the other day. Wasn’t entirely sure that I’d still like it since my taste buds have changed so much.
But it’s just as good as I remembered! It’s super sweet like DavidsTea’s Birthday Cake, but it also has a creamy battery note in it that just completes it.
The DavidsTea one has kinda been tasting off lately, like just pure sugar which I usually like…but I don’t know…just is a bit too much for me :S
Oh well.
Glad I have this one! :D

It’s my “baby’s” birthday – she’s turning 18! So I pulled this one out to celebrate. Smelled great in the bag. But first steep, COCONUT. Blech. No rating because it’s not their fault I hate coconut. The rest of it went into the trade pile.

I’ve had this bag for ages, and I found it last night at the back of my cupboard, unopened. What?! So, I made some before sending out some larger-than-normal packages of tea, just in case I needed to share some with others. ;)

I was a bit surprised brewing this up – had to double check it’s a black. By far the lightest flavored black I’ve come across – it brews up looking like a green. The sprinkles added a bit of granularity to the brew, and it’s definitely creamy and sweet. I want to love it, and yet it’s just meh for me. I feel like I’ve already tasted this, like many of Della Terra’s offerings are the same.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, other than I expected from others notes, and the description that I would enjoy it… I was right … & so was EvaGrimm… Thanks for the sample ! I haven’t been avoiding your samples by the way, just trying to save them for when Hubby is available too so he can join me in trying some of the ones he might be interested in.

Dry it smells of sweet vanilla. Steeped it is buttery, creamy vanilla, with just enough cakey flavor to round it out. I don’t get the chocolate and very little of the coconut, but it’s tasty without those being in the forefront.

I actually feel like this is very much like their Pineapple Upside Down, which I think is so good, but this is w/o the pineapple. Not sure which I like better, but have to admit I’ve been hoarding the little bit I have of the Pineapple one. I would be happy I think, to stock either one in my cupboard.

Hubby said this one’s ok… Translation: I like others better.
That’s ok… I like it… It’s dessert in a cup!

Birthday Cupcake is another tea that’s true to it’s name. Fresh steeped, it tastes like vanilla cake but after adding a little sugar, it tastes like vanilla cake with frosting! I should note that this reminds me of store bought cupcakes and has the same slight bitterness that their icing has (which makes the flavors much more realistic). I imagine that adding cream would really bring out the frosting flavors and turn this into a liquid dessert. Being a sweet-tooth, I’m a big fan of this one!

Another tea by Della Terra to add to the “keep stocked” pile.

I actually meant to drink and log this one on my birthday (sunday gone), but I ended up being so busy I didn’t get chance! This one was a real surprise to me — somehow, I associate birthday cake with light, airy, vanilla. This is chocolate, and I knew that, but I think subconsciously I was still expecting something else!

What’s obvious straight from the off is that this contains DTT’s “cake” flavouring. It’s that mouthwatering, sweet, buttery bakey smell that Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Blueberry Crumble have…the scent of cake fresh from the oven. Rich and heady. It filled the whole kitchen by the time it was done brewing!

I gave 1 tsp of this tea 3.5 minutes in boiling water. The leaf is really pretty — red and blue sprinkles, and white coconut, scattered amongst the brown/black leaves. It really does remind me of a decorated chocolate cupcake! Once brewed, the liquor was a very pale golden, so I skipped milk. The initial taste is chocolate — DTT’s overly sweet, fakey chocolate. Then comes the “cake” flavour, with a hint of coconut and a kind of generic sweetness to finish (the sprinkles?). Taken together, it’s a reasonable combination. There are “birthday cake” teas I prefer (Butiki, Bluebird…), but this one is by no means a bad example. The fact that it’s chocolate sets is apart, although I wish the chocolate was a bit more…real tasting. I didn’t get to drink this on my birthday, but it was a pleasant cup anyway – happy belated birthday to me!