Market Spice
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In a way, this tea has the kind of vanilla/burnt caramel taste that I so enjoy in Mariage Frères’ Black Orchid. This tea is less well-balanced, though: As others have noted, it’s simpler. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it’s also very cheap, but – though pleasant – Market Spice has so many other teas for me to try that I’m not sure I’d buy this one again.
Flavors: Caramel, Vanilla
Preparation
One of my favorites. Both times i recieved it in a tea swap from inkling. thank you! i love it so much. i am not usually into anything that contains mint, but it doesnt overpower the other flavors here, the vanilla adds this delicious sweet creaminess that is truly divine. even if you dont like mint or dont generally like herbals, you just may like this! i just am bummed it contains hyssop because that isnt recommended during pregnancy so i can only have a few sips :/
Flavors: Cream, Herbs, Vanilla
Here’s Hoping Teabox – Round Seven- Tea #27
For some reason I thought this had flavors added, but I’m glad it doesn’t because the black tea here is delicious and complex on its own. Looking at tasting notes, I’m VERY glad it doesn’t have lychee flavor. It definitely could be a “connoisseur” tea as the flavor is at so many levels. I haven’t had a really good plain black tea in a while! That’s sad. But a tea like this is why I love tea.
Sipdown of an older sample teabag I picked up in Seattle last winter.
While the flavour profile is quite basic, I was impressed that this one teabag stood up to two cold steepings and produced two batches of delicious coldbrew. I’ve not actually had huckleberries, but this tastes like blueberries with a little bit of saskatoon berry thrown in. Bright, fruity, sweet pastry, and very flavourful. Blueberry pie in a cup. Plus, the base wasn’t bitter or overly tannic.
Flavors: Berry, Blueberry, Fruity, Pastries, Sweet, Tannin
Preparation
Here’s Hoping TTB
I generally steer clear of cranberry-flavored teas, as most of them include hibiscus. But this one was a pleasant surprise! Unexpectedly sweet with a strong creamy vanilla flavor and just a hint of generic berry (it doesn’t necessarily read as cranberry, but it’s not hibiscus, so I’m not complaining!) And the black tea base seems nice as well: robust but not bitter. Another reminder of why I enjoy Market Spice so much. Just wish they would sell their teas in smaller quantities!
Flavors: Berry, Cream, Vanilla
Preparation
Not sure it lives up to the hype, but this is a nice basic English Breakfast blend with a pleasant sweet, smooth flavor. Good on it’s own; better with milk. I like it, but it’s nothing special.
Flavors: Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
Quite possibly my favorite flavored tea ever ever in the whole wide world. Get the loose kind, somehow the bags change everything and not for the better… It smells amazing. Unless you’re lucky enough to live in Seattle, I think you have to buy a lot of it at once— but don’t worry, you’ll drink it. Until then, you’ll notice your kitchen smells a little cinnamon-y. I like to be a little heavy-handed and shove a lot of leaves into the teal on this one, but don’t let it steep too long or it gets a little bitter. Not a lot— Note: my friends have argued that I’m wrong on that— but this is my review, so thought I’ mention it. The good news is you can use a single tea ball for about three cups, just steep a little longer each time. This tea is also great iced, and not bad with cinnamon vodka— put some simple syrup at the bottom, garnish with mint and apple slices.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Orange
Another sample from Inkling. This is decent for a breakfast blend, but where’s the lychee? Minus points for false advertising, yet again. That said, if I hadn’t been expecting something different, I can’t say I’d have any real complaints about this one, though it’s not the most complex or exciting blend of straight black teas.
Here’s Hoping Teabox – Round Six – Tea #38
I’m finishing the last of this I had seen before in the teabox and removed it before the teabox went on its way. I thought I tried this one before but don’t see a tasting note. It’s an okay chai. It seems to have some extra ingredients like vanilla and nutmeg that make a chai special. Am I tasting these things though? Not really, it just seems like an okay chai. I wish the effort of the ingredients had shown through in the flavor. Just about any chai is good enough for me though (except for maybe that chai I had the other day that was WAY too much like dirt in appearance and flavor)!
I’ve been a fan of Republic of Tea’s Ginger Peach blend for a long time, so I decided to purchase this one the last time I ordered from Market Spice to see how it measures up. The verdict? I love it! I find myself reaching for this one several mornings a week. The strong, malty base and the spicy kick of ginger are the perfect wake-up brew and the peach flavor is spot-on…sweet and natural and perfectly balanced with the ginger. A new staple in my cupboard!
Flavors: Ginger, Malt, Peach
Preparation
Mastress Alita’s January sipdown challenge Tea #2: Cream tea
additional notes: Finished one package of this. It’s one I really enjoy and would be happy to stock up again (this is from a teabox). Great balance of tart cranberry and sweet cream all on an unassuming black base.
2022 sipdowns: 4
For about a year, we had a local gourmet shop that had a nice little selection of Market Spice teas, packaged and bulk both. I miss them!
Additional notes: This tea is ancient and from a teabox that I took out of because it was in more than one round. But I’m always drawn to it and steeping it up! It has such a tasty and unique cranberry flavor. A bit tart, a bit sweet, a bit creamy. And four ounces is only $4.99… but then shipping is $7. yikes. I MIGHT go for 4 ounces eventually… especially if it’s one of the teas I grab most often (which might be, somehow only a few times a year anyway? I have too many choices.) Raising the rating from 80.
Here’s Hoping Teabox – Round Six – Tea #20
Marketspice teas sometime surprise me for some reason! The flavor here on this (probably) Ceylon base is really lovely. I was cringing waiting to see or taste hibiscus… but NO. There is more of the “cream” flavor than the cranberry, though there are definite hints of some sort of berry. The cream is like the vanilla flavor from the Adagio Vanilla I had the other day. I might keep a couple teaspoons of this one out of the teabox for later, since there is a lot here. Two tasty steeps full of flavor.
I tried the decaf black variety as an individual teabag.
Firstly, i couldn’t finish the cup because the cinnamon was sickly sweet to a gross extent. The orange flavour could have been stronger. The black base was unremarkable, but the cinnamon was absolutely disgusting. This is coming from someone who loves cinnamon.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Honey, Medicinal, Orange Zest, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
This is one of the lamest rooibos blends I have ever had. It is labelled as “true vanilla” (vanilla rooibos blend). I didn’t notice it had stevia in it until later that day when I went to through out the package, but I didn’t seem to get a stomach ache from it, so that is good news. The stevia was unnecessary IMO, and I couldn’t taste it anyway.
The rooibos is very woody and tannic, it tastes like really cheap rooibos that is overly processed or is very stale. A bit of vanilla, but it doesn’t really add anything to it. I couldn’t taste any chamomile at all.
Flavors: Almond, Drying, Rooibos, Tannic, Vanilla, Wood
Preparation
Mmm, this is so lovely! I’ve had other “gingerbread” blends that burned my throat with too much ginger or overwhelmed me with their cinnamon kick, but this one is perfect. It actually smells like you’re baking gingerbread while its brewing and the flavor is pretty much spot-on: a warming blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and something bread-y that really makes it taste like a cookie in a cup. Everyone I’ve shared this with has enjoyed it, even those who aren’t really into tea. Almost done with my first 4oz and will definitely be re-purchasing for the winter!
Flavors: Bread, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Vanilla