Tea tasting: Various vanilla teas

I adore vanilla.  A good vanilla is one of my favorite flavors.  Vanilla flavored tea is always assured to make me happy.  Rather than focus on one tea today, I'm going to talk about my favorite go-to vanilla teas.

Harney & Sons' Vanilla Comoro (https://www.harney.com/vanilla-comoro.html) is a decaffeinated vanilla black tea.  It's a great after-dinner tea.  The decaffeination process doesn't destroy the quality of the tea.  It has a strong vanilla scent that puts me in mind of butter cookies, but a lighter vanilla flavor once brewed.  It's smooth and silky, good both hot and iced.

Republic of Tea's Vanilla Almond Black (http://www.republicoftea.com/vanilla-almond-black-tea/p/V00582/) has a far less heavy hand with the vanilla scent and flavor.  The vanilla and almond are both background notes behind the tea. This is a vanilla-flavored tea for people who generally don't like flavored teas.   I also like Republic of Tea's blacks because they don't get bitter if you happen to get called away and can't pull the tea bag out in time.

Mighty Leaf's Vanilla Bean (http://www.mightyleaf.com/tea-pouches_flavored-black-tea/vanilla-bean-black-tea-pouches/) falls in between the strong flavor of Harney & Sons and the very light flavor of Republic of Tea. The vanilla aroma is of medium strength and there's more distinct vanilla smoothness in the taste and mouth feel.  Mighty Leaf's tea pouches allow for larger tea leaves in the bags, enhancing the black tea taste.  I believe that the Vanilla Bean is available in both regular and decaf.

Twinings French Vanilla Chai (http://www.twiningsusashop.com/french-vanilla-chai.html) is a perfectly serviceable chai with strong vanilla notes.  

Twinings Camomiles, Honey and Vanilla (http://www.twiningsusashop.com/camomile-honey-vanilla.html) is a gentle and soothing blend which nicely balances the vanilla and honey notes without overwhelming the camomile.