Hi, this is Geeves! I have just returned from a whirlwind three-day trip to Seattle, and while there, I bought A LOT of tea! I hit three different stores, and wound up with about a pound of tea…(we’re not going to talk about how many cups I had with breakfast, lunch, and for snacks.) But anyway, Maggie and I are back to school, back to procrastinating, and back to the usual shenanigans! And tonight we baked up some cranberry chocolate scones, and broke out the new tea to pair it.
The first place I went on my trip was the Seattle Public Market, and within that there is a great tea and spice store: Market Spice. Tonight we broke out the Cranberry Creme, a tea I purchased because of a very specific reason.
Me: Hi! So what here can I not get in California?
Girl: Uh…what do you like?
Me: Anything! Something fun! Anything!
Girl: Fruit?
Me: Anything!
Girl: What type of tea?
Me: Anything!
Girl: I guess cranberry is popular?
Me: If it’s unique, I will take it!
And so I did.
Geeves’ Thoughts:
- 8.5/10!
- Not super strong flavor, but then again I am not always great at discerning flavor so the fact that I could taste the fruit was pretty good!
- Definitely can’t handle cream without being completely overshadowed, so take the creme flavor and don’t intend to add more.
- Okay but let me be straight here: I paid almost nothing for this. Well technically my mom bought it for me so I did pay nothing, but she paid like $3 for my 2oz of tea. Online, you can get 1lb for $20. Which is a good freaking deal! For tea of this quality, that is an actual steal and I may cease buying from anywhere else (not really, read my next posts) There is 4oz minimum online, but it’s only $5 so I’m fine with that. (PS: Shipping from Market Spice is $7, flat rate US)
Maggie’s Thoughts:
- 7/10
- So this may seem harsh. But i came in with high expectations of CRANBERRY and got like a Meh crranberrry
- The cream note was nice and smooth, but I felt like it overwhelmed the fruit flavor.
- However, all is not lost.
- The base tea was smooth and not at all bitter which is appreciated. I prefer tea over coffee because I can’t handle the bitter. (It feels to me like how I assume reading my comments feels to your eyes. Unpleasant.)
- Kinda reminiscent of the Russian jam tea my friend made me once. (Jam mixed into tea, essentially)
- I would High-Key say no cream in this one, folks. Due to the light nature of the hunan (the region the tea was grown in) leaf base, the cream would overwhelm the tea entirely making it more of a Lightly Flavored milk. Not Prefered.
- If you enjoy adding stuff, or you would like something extra (varieTea is the spice of life and all that jazz), a little bit of honey or a square of Dark Chocolate does go to enhance the fruit-ness a bit, bringing it from crranberrry to a solid CraaaanBerry
- I feel like this is a good afternoon black tea, as the lightness lends itself to a little less of the caffine ( i gave up on that word).
- Points as well for affordability, like dang. It college so we kinda be a little broke, so the price is a smooth balm over my irritated and sore wallet.
Also Normally i would record this statement for those who Dont want to read, but i ave been poisoned by the Devils Plant, and by god Did i lose the battle to Poison Ivy. (but im not dead so i guess i won the war??) But to save you all from being subjected to my 1600’s smallpox victim LooKe that i am rocking right now… no recording. Suffer.
So for your TL:DR summary:
- Rating: 7.75/10
- Tasting Notes: black tea with a light cranberry taste
- Pricing: Great! About $1.50/oz
- Recommendation: Not super special, but if you’re looking for a thing to drink on the veranda on a cold day, buy it!
We’ll put purchasing info and the links for each tea down at the bottom, so if you’re inclined to try something that catches your eye, it’s easy.
Until next time,
Geeves and Maggie
Here's the Tea 