Caramel Latte

sipdown! today is a random drinking tea sort of day. mostly, whatever grabs my fancy when i happen to be standing near the kettle. :) MissB was kind enough to send a little of this one my way, for which i am thankful! this is one that i’ve been wanting to try for a while now but keep putting off because i HATE shanti’s website. i hate having to sign in to add things to a cart…i hate that you don’t know whether the tea is in stock or not until you click through to the tea – and they often have a lot of teas not in stock…it’s just not a pleasant experience combines with shipping prices that aren’t great.

Which of course makes me sad because i like supporting Canadian tea shops. So the tea..it’s…kinda bland. There’s a coffee taste hanging out in the background of the cup, but the brew isn’t a smooth blend. I don’t want to say it’s bitter because it wasn’t really but it was slightly dark. The caramel taste is slightly present but not enough for me to say wow. I hope this isn’t what justjames tastes when he drinks caramel flavoured teas lol
Still though, i’m happy to have tried it! thanks missb!

I thought I already reviewed this one but it doesn’t look like it logged. So…here goes!

This certainly smells and tastes like coffee or a coffee latte.It has a hazelnut hint to it too both in taste and aroma.

At times when I think it’s like sucking on a coffee bean…I start picking up other flavors to really make me think…black tea…nuttiness…floral…it’s different but good.

(This sample was generously provide to me by Shanti Tea. Thank you Team Shanti)
Dry Leaf: Has a sweet caramel like aroma with a light coffee aroma with a very faint floral aroma way off in the background.
Wet Leaf: Has a warm sweet malty aroma with a touch of floral.
Liquor: Is deep dark amber think almost like black coffee.
Taste: At first it was supper bitter. I couldn’t drink it plain. I added milk and sugar than this tea turn sweet almost caramel like and malty with a touch of a floral flavor in the background and it did not overwhelm the tea either. The broth of this tea is kind of watery and leaves almost a raisin flavor that lingers in the mouth.
Overall Opinion: I have to give this a 86. I tend to drink my teas plain without adding anything to it. But, this tea came off very bitter plain. I added sugar and milk which made a big difference for this tea. I think this is a great morning tea that any coffee drinker could find a pleasurable alternative to there normal coffee routine.

This is not the bold hit of flavour I was expecting based on the gorgeous thick caramel scent coming off the dry leaf. It’s a mild, tannin-heavy, raisin-y black with the barest whisper of coffee, and a hint of caramel which becomes more prominent after adding milk and sugar. I’m a little disappointed, but probably had unfair expectations because of how much I enjoy actual caramel lattes. Plus, this came to me a good while ago courtesy of MissB so as always with my current tasting notes take it with a pinch of salt. I read through the other tasting notes on this tea, though, and it seems like even fresh it was lacking in the flavour department. Oh, well. Can’t win them all.

I drank this straight initially, but found it kind of… dirty tasting? It was definitely bitter, but the first thought in my head was that it tasted dirty. This benefits big-time from some milk (almond) and sweetener (sugar). I also found I liked it much more as it cooled, but that’s something I often find. It’s decent, but not particularly strong, so I’ll probably be sticking to other teas for those days I crave coffee. Though, if you prefer a milder coffee flavour, this could do the trick!