Teas Mugged and Rating [see key]:
Lavender Oolong 4+
Cinnamon Black 3+
As the holidays flare up again, the many flavors of spice come roaring into the realm of lauded drink options. Most people think of lattes flavored with gingerbread or peppermint, but there's also quite a few teas that get a little more play in kitchens and coffee bars at this time of year.
Two of such that I got to try out recently were a Lavender oolong and Cinnamon black tea from Le Palais des Thes out of France. For each tea, I sampled it according to the brew recommendations on the product pages.
First up was the Cinnamon black tea, a combination of cinnamon and Chinese Pu Erh (an aged black tea from the Yunnan Province). At the risk of sounding obvious and over-simplified, the cinnamon tea really smacked primarily only of, well, cinnamon. Given the strong flavor of the spice, it's really not much of a surprise, though I was able to glean some notes of the Pu Erh (dark malt, slight anise, touch of date, etc) as it cooled. A deep cinnamon tea that provided just enough of the spice to make it refreshing without the intense burning of a fireball.
The Lavender oolong proved a little more complex (aka the lavender did not dominate the drink, unlike the cinnamon). Amidst the lavender, there were flavorings of light apple, vanilla cake, lemongrass and iceberg lettuce, making for a smooth and sweet infusion.
While both teas definitely had their dominant flavors, it was clear that both were definitely designed to headline said singular flavor, though the level of supporting flavors definitely differed in the two. Nonetheless, if you seek some great flavored teas, check out Le Palais des Thés.
note: tea was provided free of charge and the above review is objective feedback.
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