Elizabeth's Caramel Apple Moxie is one of the specialty blends that I created through Adagio; it was designed as a blend of chai, caramel and apple. Now that the weather is turning colder (and wetter), and hot tea finally sounds appetizing, I decided it was time for a tasting.
I don't like milk in my tea, so I am going to have to recruit some other tea drinker to drink this as "proper" chai. I'm sure someone will take that bullet for the team.
In leaf/chunk form, this tea smells sweet and spicy, like a tin full of autumn. Brewed, that scent lovely scent remains, with the apple becoming a distinct note amid the chai spices.
This tea tastes best with a teaspoon of clover honey -- the sweetness of the honey brings out the full flavors of the caramel and apple without eliminating the spicy chai. Otherwise, the apple gets overwhelmed by the spices of the chai and can be found only in the scent. The unsweetened version isn't bad by any means. It's a lovely slightly sweet chai. The cloves and the cinnamon are just strong enough. But, adding honey or Sugar in the Raw lets the blend sing all of its notes.
I look forward to enjoying this throughout the fall season.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Friday, September 2, 2016
Bottled Iced Tea: Alexander's Real Teas
Alexander's Real Tea is a small company located in New Brunswick, NJ. Its products can be found on store shelves in NJ and NY at this point. Of course, I had to sample their wares.
I've tried their Peach, Raspberry, Green Tea and Pomegranate Green. Of these, I like the Pomegranate Green the best.
The Peach and Raspberry are your basic fruit-flavored sweetened black teas. They taste better than, say, Snapple, because they use cane sugar rather than HCF. While perfectly drinkable if you like that sort of thing, they are far too sweet for my taste. There's at least some tea flavor underneath all that sweet, but not much. Still, I've had worse.
Their Green tea is likewise perfectly adequate, but not much more. Once again, the sweetener kills any character the green tea base might have had. That the sweetener is real sugar makes this marginally acceptable. I've definitely had worse green teas in bottled form, though. I've been spoiled by making my own green iced teas all summer.
Of the four options, the Pomegranate Green achieves the best balance between sweet and tea. It's not amazing, but a good off the shelf option when thirsty. I'll continue to pick it up every now and then.
So, if you are one of those who like sweet tea -- and I know you're out there -- Alexander's Real Tea is definitely a tasty option. Plus, supporting NJ small businesses makes me happy. Maybe I can encourage them to make something unsweetened?
NOTE: Alexander's Real Tea should not be confused with Alexander's Gourmet Tea, an entirely different company that sells actual tea.
I've tried their Peach, Raspberry, Green Tea and Pomegranate Green. Of these, I like the Pomegranate Green the best.
The Peach and Raspberry are your basic fruit-flavored sweetened black teas. They taste better than, say, Snapple, because they use cane sugar rather than HCF. While perfectly drinkable if you like that sort of thing, they are far too sweet for my taste. There's at least some tea flavor underneath all that sweet, but not much. Still, I've had worse.
Their Green tea is likewise perfectly adequate, but not much more. Once again, the sweetener kills any character the green tea base might have had. That the sweetener is real sugar makes this marginally acceptable. I've definitely had worse green teas in bottled form, though. I've been spoiled by making my own green iced teas all summer.
Of the four options, the Pomegranate Green achieves the best balance between sweet and tea. It's not amazing, but a good off the shelf option when thirsty. I'll continue to pick it up every now and then.
So, if you are one of those who like sweet tea -- and I know you're out there -- Alexander's Real Tea is definitely a tasty option. Plus, supporting NJ small businesses makes me happy. Maybe I can encourage them to make something unsweetened?
NOTE: Alexander's Real Tea should not be confused with Alexander's Gourmet Tea, an entirely different company that sells actual tea.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)