Friday, November 29, 2013

Simple Loose Leaf, Vanilla Decaf Black

Simple Loose Leaf Description:
A delicious whole leaf Ceylon Black Tea, decaffeinated by CO2 natural processing, combined with the smooth flavor of vanilla to create a deliciously sweet and sensual tea, perfect for an after-dinner treat.

Ingredients:
Decaffeinated Ceylon Black Tea, Jasmine Flowers, N/A Vanilla Flavor

My Review:
I have been trying to review this tea for a month. Every time I brew a cup the aroma fills the air and my wife smells it and takes the cup out of my hands. I think that is a good sign for Simple Loose Leaf. Not so much for me. So to be perfectly honest, what I am reviewing today is cup number two from the same leaves.

The dry scent is intoxicating - vanilla and light jasmine. Mmmmmm. The leaf is large pieces of leaf. No CTC here. There are a number of jasmine flowers spread throughout the mix. I used one scoop (about 3g) and just boiling water in my press. The steep for the first cup was 3 minutes. I didn't get to taste it. :( The second cup was around 5 minutes.

The cup is a nice orange. The first cup was darker. The first sip reminds me of cotton candy. I love cotton candy. It is not bitter. I did not notice much drying. Being a Ceylon, both surprised me. I added a little sweetener at this point to see what happens.

This is a very warm cup of flavor. It tastes like caramel to my taste buds. Vanilla is a flavor that I tend to taste above everything else. This tea is no exception. Others often say the vanilla is very light but it is always the predominant note I catch. Here though it combines with the jasmine and the Ceylon base and leans heavily towards caramel. I am noticing as the cup cools the Ceylon base is apparent in the aftertaste. Bonus points for tasting the base in a vanilla tea!

My wife avoids caffeine. Me not so much. That said, I can see why she keeps taking my cup. Even though I had the second steep this is very nice.

Simple Loose Leaf is a fairly new company. They initially intended to offer only customized subscription monthly tea service but now sell by the ounce and sample sizes as well. The teas I have tried so far have been a solid value based on cost.

Visit the Simple Loose Leaf website.

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