Category: Review

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Lemon Lily’s Caramel Apple & Honey

Caramel Apple & Honey by Lemon Lily
Black Tea / Flavoured
$10.00 for 50g

Lemon Lily’s Caramel Apple & Honey came to me as part of The Sugared Teacup’s October themed subscription box.

First Impressions

When I first saw the name Caramel Apple & Honey, I was intrigued. I love the idea of the classic carnival treat, but I never liked eating them because there’s always way more apple than caramel – the ratio is just off! Give me more caramel, I say! Caramel Apple & Honey comes in a familiar white, matte resealable foil bag with the label on the front that tells me everything that I need to know about the tea. The tea itself is covered in palm sugar, it’s super visible and pretty much everywhere (especially coating the apple pieces). The aroma of the tea is primarily that of the black tea base and the bee pollen, which gives it a honey fragrance. I feel like the bee pollen is stronger than the apple, so I can’t really smell the apple pieces.

Caramel Apple & Honey consists of organic: black tea, apples, palm sugar, and bee pollen. All of the ingredients are fairly visible, the bee pollen is a different colour than I’m used to. I buy locally harvested bee pollen to take during allergy season for my seasonal allergies – if you buy bee pollen that is local to you, you’ll find it comes in different colours as well because it’s dependent on the type of pollen in your area.

Preparation

Lemon Lily recommends steeping Caramel Apple & Honey in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. My initial steep was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Caramel Apple & Honey steeps to a slightly cloudy brown colour. I believe part of the cloudiness is due to the addition of bee pollen, I’m pretty familiar with the other ingredients and most of them don’t make tea cloudy. The aroma of Caramel Apple & Honey is primarily that of the bee pollen, honeyed sweetness. I don’t really smell the apple, which is not too surprising considering I couldn’t smell it in the dry leaf either. The flavour of Caramel Apple & Honey does have more honey/bee pollen flavour in comparison to the apple, but I do get a hint of the fruity apple goodness in my cup. I do wish that the apple was stronger though, to better remind me of a caramel apple.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Caramel Apple & Honey and found that it didn’t resteep well, I couldn’t really taste the bee pollen/honey flavour. I would say that Caramel Apple & Honey is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Lemon Lily’s Caramel Apple & Honey was just okay. I found it almost ironic that the tea is the polar opposite of an actual caramel apple – one has more apple than caramel! That said, I really like the idea of drinking teas with bee pollen in it, and as we get closer to allergy season, I’m going to have to put this idea into the back of my mind. I want to get a bit more creative with my bee pollen intake since I don’t really enjoy the dry, powdery texture of it when it’s not mixed in with something (I sprinkled it into my yoghurt last year!) and dissolving it into my tea sounds perfectly doable! The one thing that I think would improve Caramel Apple & Honey would be more apple pieces to boost up the apple flavour – just a little somethin’ somethin’ to make it live up to its name and expectations.

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kyth + kyn’s Glow

Glow by kyth + kyn
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$11.99 for 1 bag (5 servings)

First Impressions

I was first introduced to kyth + kyn in November, at the 2018 Vancouver Tea Festival. The idea behind kyth + kyn is to modernise traditional Chinese medicines, in particularly when it comes to the teas and soups. This concept really spoke to me because a lot of the ingredients being used in kyth + kyn’s tea blends were familiar to me. They’re ingredients that I grew up drinking (begrudgingly…), but now that I’ve grown up, I’m more appreciative of the flavours and the purpose behind the ingredients.

The ingredients for Glow are in separate plastic bags (resealable), which come in a sealed paper pouch that is also resealable and is plastic lined. Glow consists of dried red date and dried goji berries – each in separate bags. The aroma of the ingrediets are sweet, they remind me of walking into Chinese medicine shops as a child in Chinatown – there’s just something really familiar about it. Red dates have more of an aroma than the goji berries do, but I think that is par for the course.

kyth + kyn lists some of the positives about the ingredients on their product page for Glow. Red dates are high in vitamin C, help to regulate blood circulation, and contain flavanoids and sapoins (which promote sleep and relaxation). Goji berries have been in the news a lot lately because they are a super antioxidant, and they also help to promote healthy liver and kidney function, promote healthy skin, and also help to relieve stress and anxiety.

Preparation

kyth + kyn recommends combining 1 tablespoon of red dates with 1 teaspoon of goji berries in hot water, and then allowing it to steep for 15 to 20 minutes. I did measure out the ingredients and then tossed it into my teapot. I used 100°C (212°F) water since the temperature wasn’t specified. I let Glow steep for 20 minutes (and nearly forgot about it because it’s such a long steep time!).

First Taste

Glow steeps to a beautiful bright yellow, although it’s more of an orange in the teapot. It reminds me a bit like sunshine. The aroma from the tisane is mildly sweet and smells like dates primarily. The flavour of Glow is a nice balance between the red dates and the goji berries. There’s a slight tartness from the goji berries that is off-set by the sweetness from the dates, which lends itself to be quite tasty. I found the flavour to remind me a bit of apples, it just has that freshness to it that reminds me of biting into an apple.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Glow. It is an herbal tisane, so I found that it didn’t resteep well at all – which was to be expected. The first resteep was very watery compared to the initial steep, I would say that Glow is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved kyth + kyn’s Glow. Perhaps it’s because this tisane blend reminds me of my childhood, or because I just really enjoyed it – but I’m giving Glow a full four cups for the flavour, the balance between the goji berries and red dates, and for just being a good cup of tea. I love how kyth + kyn outlines the properties of the ingredients so I know what I’m drinking and what it’s good for. Pro-tip, you can eat all the ingredients if you want to (or toss them into a soup to get more out of it).

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Lemon Lily’s Candy Cane Chai

Candy Cane Chai by Lemon Lily
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.00 for 50g

Lemon Lily’s Candy Cane Chai came to me as part of The Sugared Teacup’s December themed subscription box.

First Impressions

It’s never too late for a little peppermint and cheer in your cup, right? I received Candy Cane Chai as part of my December box from The Sugared Teacup and I’ll be zooming through those teas before they get out of season. Candy Cane Chai comes in a familiar white, matte foil bag that is resealable (which is awesome!). The aroma of the tea itself is heavily ginger and cinnamon, I can’t really make out the peppermint from the candy cane at all, which is a shame. The candy cane pieces that I do see are speckled and mostly covered with the other ingredients.

As per the label on the bag I received, Candy Cane Chai consists of: black tea, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, candy cane and natural flavours. According to the product page on Lemon Lily’s website, Candy Cane Chai consists of: black tea, cinnamon, ginger, peppermint, candy cane, and vanilla bean. I also see the shells of cardamom pods in my tea, so I’m questioning how accurate the ingredients lists are. I didn’t really smell any peppermint in my blend, so I’m not sure when the blend was changed.

Preparation

Lemon Lily recommends steeping Candy Cane Chai in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I did a 5 minute steep.

First Taste

Candy Cane Chai steeps to a cloudy brown, which is due to the candy cane pieces. The tea itself has a strong cinnamon and ginger aroma to it, and I can smell the peppermint from the candy cane pieces. There’s a nice sweetness to it, but I do wish that the candy cane came through more since it does have some heavy chai spice flavours to it.

I did add some cream to my cup and found that it was tastier with it, and I also happen to have some leftover candy canes to stir into my tea… This also helps boost the peppermint flavour a lot! Highly recommend doing this to make it live up to its name.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Candy Cane Chai and found that it didn’t hold up to being resteeped. The peppermint aroma was gone and the spices weren’t as strong as the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Lemon Lily’s Candy Cane Chai was just okay. I’m a little torn between giving this one or two cups, because there’s some confusion for me with the ingredients listed on the packaging versus on the website. Did I get old stock? When did the blend change? I found the chai spice level to be pretty good and tasty, I just wish that the peppermint/candy cane flavour stood out more, was stronger, and had a presence in the steeped tea. I would definitely recommend adding in some milk or cream, and then using a candy cane as a stir stick to make it more like a tea latte – I think the addition of a candy cane and cream would really help it to live up to its name. Overall, I think the blend works well as a chai blend, but it doesn’t live up to my expectations on the holiday flavours.

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