Cococaramel Sea Salt Herbal Tea

Josie Jade (thanks!) sent me this because she hated it and I really enjoyed it, from what I recalled the one time a girl at work brought some in and let me try.

Drinking it now, I find it really weird tasting, not necessarily BAD, but artificially sweet, and definitely oily, and it’s leaving a weird fake taste in the back of my mouth.

Here’s what’s good…. The smell of the dry blend. Period.

Ughhh it’s soooo fake sweet, what IS that???

I don’t know what’s happening in my mouth right now but I don’t think I like it.

Sad face.

I got this one today, in a swap from irishgirlieknits. I panicked a bit, when I saw it. Totally not expecting peppercorns in this blend, and all I could smell from the bag was chai. It really threw me off.

I brewed it up anyway, and anxiously waited while it steeped. I didn’t see brewing instructions anywhere, so I tried a four minute infusion.

I tasted caramel from the very first sip. So good! And there’s a bit of heat, from the peppercorns, that gives this herbal tea a bit more depth than I had anticipated. The caramel flavor got more intense as the tea cooled, and I am just sitting down for a second steep now. I am really looking forward to drinking the rest of this sample, and could see myself ordering this in the future. It’s nice to have a delicious, caffeine-free evening treat.

Another one off the shopping list courtesy of momo!

This one certainly smelled like a buttery caramel dry, which is funny because all the different components (coconut, red peppercorns) making up the leaf wouldn’t seem to yield that result. Steeped it develops that greasy film that flavored teas sometimes do, which I really wish could be avoided. It kind of looks like chicken broth which is hard to stomach when you’re smelling caramel.

The tea itself was not worth drinking plan. It was caramel without the sugar, with an extra bonus of a slick, thicker texture. The addition of milk and sugar turned this into a more accurate representation of salted caramel. In fact, I think it’s probably the most accurate salted caramel tea that I’ve had (which makes what, two total? So that’s not saying much haha).

Still, the David’s tea salted caramel was more toffee than anything, so I have to rate this semi decent for at least matching it’s description. I’m glad I got to try it without buying the full two ounces, too!

This sample is from a swap with Mitch.

I mixed this up with some cold milk and it made a pretty fine “not quite hot chocolate” beverage. Teavana tends to be a bit of miss with me but this tastes like my favourite Himalayan pink salt chocolates in liquid, low fat form. It’s got a chocolatey, gooey center and salted exterior that lingers. This isn’t something I’d order for myself (I’d rather eat all of the listed ingredients outright), but I’m quite happy to drink it here. The last bit of this is going to become a proper latte.

80oz… The oily layer on top is really bugging me, now. Is it the melted chocolate chips? Is it a by-product of the steeped nuts, coconut, and cocoa pieces? Could it be the salt?

Either way, this really is a tea that you either need to drink down quickly, or drink with a spoon. The melted chocolate mixes well with the water at first, but after sitting, sinks to the bottom of the cup and needs to be stirred back in.

I keep drinking the same teas over and over again, and I haven’t gotten in anything new so I haven’t felt the need to report the same ol’ same ol’. That being said, I miss just blabbing on here lol.
This was my go to feel-good tea for tonight. I thought about reaching for a chamomile, but I wanted something sweet. Dessert teas have always been my favorite, but now they will serve even more as happily little guilt free (or almost guilt free) indulgences.
I just had a blood panel done a couple days ago :( borderline high cholesterol levels- again. I knew it would be coming. It’s been a while, but I really fell off the wagon this holiday season. With my genetics, and a love of bacon and french fries, it was bound to happen if I wasn’t diligent. So I’ll be indulging in more fibrous fruits and veggies, starting my days off with oatmeal, and trying to remember to get some healthy omegas in my diet.

Alright, so I forced myself to make another cup of this. I kept the dry leaf as far from myself as possible while making it to avoid smelling it accidentally and being put off.

As part of my healthy eating regime, no additives this time. And ugh, I wish I could put something in this because all I taste is liquorice.. and I despise anything with liquorice. As much as I was underwhelmed by the first time I had this with milk and sweetener, this time I just plain don’t like it. I might have to dump this one, otherwise try a little agave and hope for the best.

EDIT: I added some agave and it’s not gotten any better. If it was any stronger it would be reminiscent of David’s Choconut Oolong which I absolutely hated. Ugh, I really don’t know what to do with this tea.

I’m a little nervous to try this tea because it looks like it has some things in it that I might not like. It’s mostly all about the pink peppercorns.. but I’m hoping that they won’t be too prominent. Peppercorns and I don’t go well together.

Sipping… It’s very sweet at first and actually fades into something a little bit buttery. I’m not sure that I taste sea salt or caramel — just a messy sweetness. The flavors are all muddied together and I can’t seem to pick anything out. There is something very artificial about this cup and it makes me want to stop drinking. I wish that there was something more natural about this blend, because the idea behind it is fantastic (I love caramel and sea salt… or really anything salty and sweet at the same time). It would also be nice if I could distinguish each individual flavor note… but this means that I can’t taste the pink peppercorns at all, thankfully. I won’t be finishing this cup, but thank you to Yssah for a sample of this tea!

When I was at the local Teavana store on Saturday, I let my nose pick the teas du jour. As the sales associate fanned this herbal blend my way, it immediately struck a nerve in my sweet tooth (teeth). I could be happy just snorting this one all day. It smelled like a delicious chocolate and caramel candy bar.

Several minutes after I opened the container to brew the tea this morning, I had to snap myself out of the aroma euphoria so I could steep it. I brewed the blend at 205 degrees (my tea maker doesn’t have a recommended 208 degrees setting) for six minutes.

The steeped aroma wasn’t nearly as impressive as the unbrewed odor but there was a faint caramel scent detectable in the cup when I plunged my nose into it. The color was a muddy gold.

I was initially disappointed after the first sip. The flavor did not have anything approaching the impact of the aroma. However, as I determinedly sipped more and more from my cup (I REALLY wanted to like this tea), a nice sweet caramel taste began to accumulate and linger on my taste buds.

After two cups of this herbal blend, I concluded that, although this tea is a slow starter, if you don’t give up on it, you will eventually be rewarded with a relatively full and defined sweet caramel flavor. The sea salt factor didn’t seem to identify itself for me.

This tea is smooth without bitterness. I enjoyed the second cup much more than the first, even though both cups were steeped in the same pot at the same time. If you are a patient tea drinker, you might like it too!

the scent! very strong upon opening..but it was bliss…
the “tea” – very weak…i would add more next time

the treat – it has no tea leaves. but it smells so good, i could eat it up before even steeping it! and guess what..after steeping, i did eat it all up! ______________

i like momo’s suggestion to boil it for 10mins…might get a bit stronger. will try that next time!