The Floral Teapot

Today I made the last of Adagio Tea's pumpkin spice.  This is a black tea with pumpkin spice, cinnamon bark, ginger root, cardamom pods and marigold flowers. I purchased the sample size.  I make this a few times and just was disappointed each time.  It has a weird off flavor that I can't put my finger on.  I much prefer some of the other pumpkin teas I have, such as Republic of Teas pumpkin spice from Fresh Market.  I prepared the tea as indicated (3 minutes at 212 degrees) in my Breville tea maker.  I used Teavana rock sugar on one occasion and then Sugar in the Raw on another.  I used almond milk to add some creaminess.  I just could not doctor this one up enough to make it palatable.  I was pretty disappointed! While I am on the subject of Adagio, if you sign up on their website for emails and such you get $5 off of your purchase of $10 or more.  This is a great way to try some of their samples, as most are around $2.

When the weather gets cool and the leaves start to fall I always gravitate towards drinks that remind me of the season.  My favorite Fall tea is The Republic of Teas Hot Apple Cider Tea.  This tea is "a naturally caffeine-free blend of apples, cinnamon and cloves."  I love this tea.  It tastes just like apple cider, no joke!  I steep the bags for a lot longer than the recommended time as I find it helps to really bring out that apple flavor.  I do find that I need some sweetener in this so I add a packet of Stevia or Splenda to it.  This tea is limited edition so it won't be around for long.  I bought mine from World Market online; they had a promotion where it was free shipping plus 15% off so I was able to purchase it for $9.  I think the price of this is normally $11.50. Speaking of Republic of Tea, if you are a fan I would suggest signing up online for their catalog.  It is a really nice full-color catalog and it comes wit...