Autumn Leaves

I won this in one of Della Terra’s Facebook giveaways – they are the best!

This is the second time I’ve tried this, but I held off logging it the first time around.

The aroma in the pouch is astounding. It smells like pure maple syrup. There are little blocks of what look like wood. Curious, I picked one out and ate it – it’s maple candy! Yum.

Maple’s not my favorite flavor, so the first time I steeped it, I did 5 minutes. The liquor was a slightly murky brown-gold. The smell was still maple, but much less strong. The taste was much the same as the smell. It didn’t taste like much of anything, unfortunately.

This time, I steeped for 10 minutes. It smells stronger and tastes more like maple. Still, though, I’m finding that the tea itself is lacking in the taste department. It smells really authentic, but I don’t really want to put maple syrup into the tea to sweeten it. I also used ~2tsp/8-10oz, so I don’t think I’m under-steeping it.

Maple and rooibos are two of my favourite flavours, so I expected this blend to transport me immediately to my happy place. My first impression, unfortunately, is that something is a little off in both its fragrance and flavour.

Upon opening the little ziplock baggie, I detected something vaguely medicinal photobombing the maple. The brew also had the same smell. I’m now sitting here with a cold, empty teacup, sniffing madly and trying to figure out what’s bugging me. My current theory is that maple is sweet and rooibos has its own sweetness, and possibly the two sweets aren’t meshing together very well for me. I really thought this was the perfect blend, but my nose and tastebuds are telling me I might be wrong.

The flavour is more harmonious than the fragrance, but still not quite amazing. Next time, I want to try sweetening my cup with a bit of maple syrup.

Tea amount: 1 level tsp
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: None at first, then about ¾ tsp demerara sugar.
Dry mouth factor: 1/10

Since it is now the Spring Equinox… I’m not having Autumn tea.

I really like the maple aroma of this. The flavour reminds me of these maple brown sugar candies. Now I wonder how it is with vanilla.

Thanks to yappychappy for this.

Tea #13 from the traveling tea box.

I keep trying to drink teas with rooibos in hopes that I will acquire a taste for it, but I’m not really sure that I ever will. To this date I’ve only managed to find two that enjoy. This tea is not something i would have ordered for myself because of the cheesy sprinkles, but definitely an interesting one to try.

In the end I was surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did, although it was too sweet for my tastes. It has a nice maple syrup flavor which manages to let a hint of the rooibos and honeybush flavors through.

Goodbye Autumn Leaves Tea…
which is proper i suppose since the daylight savings change happens this weekend. and i’m excited!
goodbye double hoodies,and goodbye double gloves.
hello to not wearing socks, and hello to skirts and pastel purses.

Tea #25 from Traveling Tea Box C

Oooooooooh. This was a pleasant surprise.

This tea brews up a beautiful dark red color and smells faintly of maple and quite a bit like cigar leaf. Like good cigar leaf.

The taste is quite sweet and maple-y. The rooibos and honeybush flavors eek through and keep it from being overdone, but I was still surprised that it was this sweet without sugar.

For rooibos, I really liked this, but I still don’t like rooibos-flavor in much of anything. So don’t know if I’d ever order this on my own, but it’s well done for what it is.

The last of the Secret Pumpkin teas from Lariel I’m trying tonight—I feel so doused in the season now! I love it (fall is the best)! It’s like I’ve had a three-course Thanksgiving meal where every course was a fall dessert, ha.

The maple in this is STRONG both aroma and flavor-wise. But it’s not bitter. I think the green rooibos in this is good stuff, makes the rooibos in general less noticeable/distracting/scented woodchippy.

The maple for me is strong enough that it evokes other things due to childhood association, primarily black walnuts. Memories of picking them up one by one off my neighbors’ driveway (the deal was we could keep them…there must’ve been a reason we didn’t just sweep them with a wide broom to collect them, but now years later it completely escapes me), then going out back with a sledgehammer to open them one by one. My cat playing with them in their rock-hard bristley shells by the fire in winter, the noise they made skittering across the living room. Some of my happiest seasonal memories of upstate.

P.S. The colorful maple leaf candies in this are adorable; I love how they’re visually echoed in the felt maple leaves that came in my Secret Pumpkin card.

Tried this as a cold brew. It’s very sweet and mapley, and I think the roobios actually tones it down a bit here to keep it from being overpoweringly sweet. It’s good, but I prefer it warm

Got this one from jess and I love honeybush!!! I’m already tired and its only 9 pm but I have been all day and tonight I think I will sleep soundly thanks to this tea. You can just taste that wonderful maple flavor! I never new I liked maple so much lol. Thank you jess for this wonderful tea!!!!

Got this one as a sample how could a Canadian resist trying something with maple syrup wrote on it ? simple we can’t the smell is just divine when opening the bag even the colour after steeping look like maple syrup

it’s was tasting a little maple after 4 minute not enough for me ( longer steep next time ) and a taste i can’t remember maybe the honeybush or Green rooibos since i’ve never have neither of them

So far it’s good will update that tasting note after another try with a longer steeping time