Acquired Taste Tea Co.

Yeesh…I probably used water that was a little hot for this one. I wasn’t thinking when i made it that it’s a black and green blend. There’s a bit of bitterness behind it, that may very well be my fault so I’ll hold off rating this tea. I suspect that if this was brewed properly it would sit in about the 75 range. I like the blackberry taste, but i’m not getting a sense of the maple.

SIDOWN! I’m glad i had enough of this sample to try this again because this time i am getting a MUCH nicer blueberry cream taste instead of just “rooibos.” That being said i must have steeped it for more than 10 mins. That being said, i’m not sure how much i want to keep a tea in my cupboard that requires me to steep it forever to get the flavour :)

A decent enough tea, so i’ll be open to trying other teas from this company if i get back to edmonton for a visit. :)

I tried the last sample i received from this company today and needless to day i have a bit left over for another round of it. From this one, i’m getting mostly a rooibos taste, which i don’t mind but is clearly lacking the blueberry piece of the tea :) Holding off rating this though since i was at work and not paying much attention to how long i steeped it. That being said, wouldn’t it be nice if the website had SOME information on the tea? lol sigh

So in my many searches through the internet, I came across this company from my old home town and discovered they will send you two free samples if you email them. So I did what any sane tea lover would do, and requested a sample since the descriptions of their teas sounded lovely. Note: one complaint i have about tea companies? No pictures and No steeping parameters…drives me crazy! But i digress…

I popped open this sample first when my package arrived yesterday since I’ve had a few other toffee teas and I wanted to see how they stack up with a tea that many other companies provide. The verdict? Not too shabby indeed. I actually prefer their version, which maybe be the result of the sample itself, or the tea’s proclivity, because i can still taste the base through the toffee and it’s a stronger base than i’m used to in this sort of tea. Woah run on sentence/thought batman. heh oopsy. Well anyway…looking forward to trying the other samples and then possibly placing an order from these folks if i can find some others to go in on the larger sizes. I wish all companies offered samples sizes…i’d rather purchase 50 sample sizes than a single 1oz bag of something when trying a new company. I’m also much more inclined to come back.

Anyway, as i enjoyed this offering from this company, i’m looking forward to trying the sample that is a tea that I haven’t seen nearly everywhere :)

This was the other free sample that I chose. In the pouch, it’s hard to differentiate the spices from each other. Everything has been chopped up and the only ingredients I can distinguish are the orange peels and cinnamon bark. Alright, let’s give this a whirl on the stove.

I let this simmer on the stove for about twenty minutes, then added not quite a teaspoon of brown sugar. The colour of the steeped tea looks wonderfully dark and rich. I microwaved around half a cup of 2% milk and filled up the rest with the chai.

I know this doesn’t sound helpful, but it basically tastes like all other chai teas that I’ve had at Indian restaurants. The spices are there but none of them have a voice. I guess I’m not being fair because I always compare every chai to the ones made at this chai bar in Edmonton called Remedy. Seriously the best chai ever. Nothing like it. They import all their spices from India and use around 30 different spices in their blends. So yeah, almost all chai teas pale in comparison.

I normally drink my tea plain, without any milk or sugar, so I’m sorry to say that this was a waste of calories. But! The other tea that I’ve tried from this company is fabulous, so don’t let this discourage you from checking them out. I’m just picky little chai freak.

Coming home meant sipping this down! Acquired Taste kindly sent a sample last year. It’s pretty good, but not sure if I’d actually buy it The peppercorns are there giving off a little heat and the chocolate isn’t overly artificial. It just seems a little 2D to me though?

Oh well, more room in my virtual cupboard.

Right now, Acquired Taste Tea Co. are offering to send two samples free, so I decided to jump on that. I’m all into spicy chocolate, so this one was automatically the first choice.

When I open the pouch, the beautiful aroma of cocoa and spice fills the air. It sounds weird, but it actually reminds me of a rich, spicy bath product I once had. It smells very fresh too. The dry leaf is speckled with red peppercorns.

Steeped, it smells the same as it does in the pouch. Maybe a little more chocolatey. When it comes to taste, this is definitely a harmonious blend of cocoa and peppercorns. I can feel the heat from the peppercorns at the back of my mouth, but it’s not overwhelming at all. The cocoa doesn’t come out as much as I would have liked taste-wise, but it’s still a pleasurable sip.

One great thing about this tea is you can leave it steeping for upwards of ten minutes and it won’t even get bitter. That’s a bonus for me because I love bringing out the heat in this even more. I’ve steeped this with the same leaves thrice and as long as you steep it longer than the time before, it tastes nearly the same.

I think Acquired Taste Tea Co. acquired another customer! Too bad I didn’t know about them sooner despite the fact that they used to be in my backyard. Will definitely be making a purchase of this and trying out more.

My absolute favorite tea, very light and sweet.

Tasted rather floral, which is weird as there isn’t anything floral in it. Didn’t taste of berries at all.

A taste unlike any tea I’ve ever known. The aroma is for all the world like Rolo candies, and as you drink it, the caramel smell translates into a smooth, milky drinking experience. I think even tea haters would like this one!

Surprisingly neon green liquor, flowery aroma ( a lot like lilacs), and pleasantly astringent, refreshing flavor. Like sticking your nose in a fresh bouquet!

Almost a grape aroma and taste, slightly astringent. Pleasant aftertaste, with high floral notes.

Quite nice! Seems almost malty, like an Indian tea, but sweet because of the tips. Aroma reminds me of cocoa, like a Keemun. Quite full, even at first infusion. Looking forward to the second!

Nice and sweet! Seems quite bright, with an intriguing aroma, complex flavor. Seems to have a honeyed character, smells like a deciduous forest in the middle of spring. Reminds me of the smell of horses, somehow. First infusion only-expecting great things from the next one! Once again, drink without milk or sugar!

Quite a wonderful tea. Intriguingly spicy and sweet, with an interesting undertone of semisweet chocolate! Unblended. Don’t use sugar or milk, just let this wonderful tea speak for itself!

I am not a huge fan of black tea (unless it’s mixed with various fruits, flower petals, other teas, flavoring, etc… therefore making it pretty much unrecognizeable as a black tea, haha.) At first glance Grapefruit Grey looked like one of the teas I would normally avoid – plain, dark thin leaves, boring but with just a hint of grapefruit scent. I was curious and had to investigate further. As I don’t like strong bitter tea I only steeped it for about 2 minutes, the lovely grapefruit smell was wafting out and the tea was already a dark golden brown so I gave it a try. YUM! So tasty, this has become my favorite Sunday morning lounging in my PJs tea… You could definitely steep it for another minute or so if you like strong bracing teas and it can be resteeped at least once.

A nice loose-leaf peppermint tisane. I originally bought it to blend my own Moroccan mint, but I’ve been drinking it alone lately because I’ve been cutting back on caffeine. I brew it pretty strong, and I like to steep it for quite a while. It’s getting a bit old, so that’s probably why I need to use more leaf.