Thursday, December 5, 2013

Coffee Cake by DAVIDsTEA

Today has been such a strange day that I wanted something completely different in my cup this evening. It was different all right... just not in the way I expected!




Seller's Description"There’s nothing more nostalgic than a classic coffee cake. Just picture it. That dense, yellow cake, dotted with fruit and topped with crumbled brown sugar. And this sweet, fragrant black tea blend is every bit as satisfying. It has all the aroma of a fresh baked coffee cake, plus an energy boost from rich black tea and a fruity hint of cherry and pineapple. Now getting that fresh-from-the-bakery taste is so simple, it’s a piece of cake. Limited edition."
Ingredients: Black tea, cherries, pineapple, natural and artificial cake flavoring
WebsiteCoffee Cake by DAVIDsTEA
Sample source: Free sample with purchase


Teaware: 8oz of water in glass cup with pinch infuser
Measured dry: 1-1/4 teaspoons
Water Temperature: 212º F
Steeping Time: 5 minutes
Additives: 3 teaspoons raw sugar (oops!)

When I think of coffee cake, my memory takes me straight back to Mom's recipe. The flavor of a yellow cake with cinnamon-sugar striations which were at turns oozy and crunchy, depending on how close they were to the surface.

Maybe it's a regional thing, but I've never heard of a fruity coffee cake. Every time I would look at this sample, I would sigh happily and think of lazy mornings at home. I didn't check out the ingredients because I just assumed it was the same sweet treat that I was used to.

Now, when we look at this tea, I was a little heavy-handed on the raw sugar (an accident, I swear it!) but I think this one steeped up pretty true to form... it tastes exactly as it promises, but unfortunately, it's just not Mom's. To me this tastes more like pineapple upside down cake than coffee cake.

Even dry, the caramelized pineapple flavor just punches out of the bag and plays a game of "Got your nose!" And it doesn't let go... or even loosen its grip at all. It just holds on, from one step of the process to the next, it shouts, "Look at me!"

Now, some notes do manage to slip past it. The yellow cake batter does present itself as one of the more prominent flavors, which is what makes it so much like a pineapple upside down cake to me. There are very slight hints of the black tea base and cherry, but they stay fairly firmly in the background, and a pineapple glaze just seems to drizzle through each sip.

As a dessert tea, this is actually quite tasty... I just want to slap a different title on it!

Prominent Notes: Carmelized pineapple and cake batter
Aftertaste: Slight, very slight, hints of black tea and cherry
Overall: I think a name change might be in order :)

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