Bonfire Toffee

Backlog from Saturday

Mmmmm this smells so sweet & toffee like.
It tastes delicious too. Sweet, but not overly so & definitely toffee. There’s no smoke here, which I’m usually scared about, but was really looking forward to it, in this one.
As it cooled it maintained the toffee flavours, and developed some smokyness, I really wish there was more of that.
I find the black base on this quite light.

I have forgotten who needs to be credited for my little sample of Bonfire Toffee—I will ponder and make amends soon. With that said, this is a very, very cool combination of smoke and cider that doesn’t like burnt bacon. Enjoying in my office, but I may take the last teaspoon home so I can try with milk.

Another B&B tea that contains lapsang – when will I learn? I do get hints of toffee in some sips, but it’s mostly the too-smoky lapsang (though less lapsang than in some of their other blends). If it were just black tea, I’d enjoy this toffee flavor, but the smokiness doesn’t work for me. It’s too strong, and the toffee is too mild. I’ll pass along the rest of this, but I wouldn’t mind trying a different toffee tea from them in the future!

Another mindless meeting tea. I finished off the last of this bag but still have an unopened pouch waiting for me when I’m ready for another cup. This is a good one.

After some kind of hiccup of our dear Steepster, I am writing a note for this tea from
Shae’s ADVENT CALENDAR, December 17

Apparently this tea is one of teas I wanted to try, so I am lucky having a small pouch with me now. Thanks Shae, was it intention or lucky accident? Anyway, I am not THAT happy when I smelled it.

It is quite smoky for me, which is putting me bit off track. And apples, but no toffee. Now, after I took two teaspoons, I think I notice intended toffee. Maybe it just needed to breath a bit? Dunno.

Anyway, I again prepared my tea in 300 ml.
It was alright; there was some smokiness, bold black tea, baked apples in bonfire, but overall everthing somehow muted. The apples were like ash-y a bit? At least in taste; maybe my brain is fooling with me with that smokiness.

I would like something more brisk. I think in theory this tea is amazing, but unfortunately, something is lacking.

Photo: https://flic.kr/p/2khQ6ky — I really like the safflower. It looks like small flames!

Wonderful aroma from the zip bag – just like a very high quality pipe tobacco. A hint of smoke (much lower than in the pure lapsang souchong), caramel, toffee, dried apples.
Very rich, complex aroma after steeping, with mellow smokiness, caramel, toffee, burnt sugar, fruit pie and burnt twigs.
And the taste? Slight sweetness that really complements the rest, smoke, maltiness, earthiness of the good base black tea.
That’s exactly my kind of a flavoured black tea. I would like some more of the smoke character, but it’s still great.

This was one of last week’s samples from the B&B advent calendar. I was really interested by the name. I have had a few smoky teas that I really enjoyed (Winter Cabin Chai by 52Teas, for one ) and I expected this to be like those. However, I didn’t really get the smokiness I expected. In fact, I didnt’ get much of anything. I bet if I had a sense of smell I would have picked up on the toffee and other scents and flavors. But I don’t, so I didn’t. All in all, a bit of a disappointment for me. Still glad I got to try it though.

Not what I was expecting at all! I was anticipating something like a smokey caramel and this is much more like a mulled apple cider black tea: heavy and almost syrupy and very autumn-fruit-y. The smoke is a very light flavor component, not like a full Lapsang Souchong or even very like it.

Well, it took most of a 50 gram package for me to figure out how to make this one work, which is: 1) Open package, 2) Duct tape it to face, 3) Inhale amazing, fabulously fragrant apple toffee tea fumes all day.

No kidding, though, this might be the most best smelling tea ever. For most of my actual brewed cups, however, my tongue didn’t quite pick up on the hype my nose was laying down, and it most often tasted too watery, too weak, too under-toffeed and not at all smoky. Sadly. Nevertheless, now toward the end of my pack, I find that it comes much closer when I make it extra strong and add a nice dollop of honey, which does a good job of coaxing along some of that tantalizing toffee promise of the dry scent. The apple is nice and juicy-tart in this, and the base stands up to that challenge nicely if I leaf generously … and if I leaf generously, there’s maaaybe just a bare hint of smokiness? Anyway, it’s a very, very polite bonfire!

But I’m really enjoying my last few cups of this, and it’s definitely good enough to reorder. I probably won’t, though, because it’s twice the price of a Dammann Frères or Mariage Frères scented tea, while not quite delivering on the promise. (In fact, I could buy 3 Dammann Frères 100-gram packages for the same price as 150 grams of Bonfire Toffee.) It’s been nice, but for now, at least, I’ll spend that tea budget exploring some new flavors.

Be well, Bonfire Toffee, I enjoyed our brief friendship and will miss your lovely perfume … perhaps we may meet again!

I’m feeling like this could potentially be a good cup if I figured out the right steeping parameters. I stepped away when steeping this morning and ended up with a bitter cup. As it cools, the bitterness wears off a bit and I get a better cup. I get a little smoke in the rich deep sip. The apple toffee comes out in the finish and was more prevalent when the cup was hotter, it seems to be less noticeable as it cools. I do wish the apple toffee flavors were stronger, which is my complaint with most of the B&B teas I have tried, but maybe with some adjusting I can make it pop out a bit more.