Today's Tea: Toasted Marshmallow

Toasted Marshmallow from David's Tea

Description: Everyone loves a camping trip in the fall. Fresh air, beautiful scenery, hungry bears – ah, the great outdoors. Well, okay, we’ll admit it. We’re only in it for the marshmallows. Nothing beats a freshly toasted marshmallow straight from the campfire. But what if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth without going camping? Try this tea. It’s a sweet, toasty black tea blend with cinnamon, brittle and...you guessed it! Mini marshmallows. Now you can enjoy your favourite outdoorsy treat without a hungry bear in sight.

Ingredients: Black tea, marshmallows, brittle pieces, cinnamon, allspice, roasted kukicha green tea, natural flavouring.

Allergens:  nuts, not vegan

(From David's Tea: Toasted Marshmallow)


Steph's Thoughts:
This is officially my second cup of this tea, but the first time I've had a chance to review it. I will, however, give you both sets of thoughts.

My initial cup of Toasted Marshmallow was rather disappointing. It tasted more of cinnamon and allspice than it did anything resembling a marshmallow, let alone a gooey, nummy, freshly toasted marshmallow.
This may be a result of several factors:
 - I was away from my kitchen all weekend so I couldn't take my tea stash with me, and thought I'd be brilliant by putting "preloaded" teabags each in their own little baggie, then stored in a big bag, and take that with me, since the place where we were going is known for not having great tea. (Red Rose and Green Tea are fine in a pinch, but FOUR DAYS? No thanks.) However, this seems to severely compromise the quality of the tea. Next time I think I'm just going to bring my tea stash along, and to heck with space (and the funny looks from Hubby).  I don't really need a different outfit for every day, do I?? (Or shoes to match)
 - Also, I had no access to dish soap to wash out my travel mug, so I had to rinse it out between teas in the bathroom sink. While the body is metal, the lid is plastic and it is starting to absorb the flavours of the tea that I've (accidentally) left in the mug too long.... Anybody have any good recipes for a soak that will take the flavour out of the plastic??
My sister in law wasn't impressed either, mostly because of the overwhelming cinnamon and allspice. It tasted more like chai or gingerbread than marshmallow.

I made my second cup of Toasted Marshmallow for breakfast this morning, thinking, "well, if it's as disappointing as the first time, I just won't buy any more of it." I figure I should give new teas several tries before I make up my mind.  I opted not to put any sweetener in. I'm glad I didn't, because the second-go-round was exactly the way I expected it to be the first time 'round. Sweet, and tastes like marshmallow, except without all the unbelievable stickiness that is the downside to roasting marshmallows. The brittle pieces make it sweet enough that you don't really need sweetener, which is also the downside to real marshmallows - the overwhelming and all-consuming sweetness that makes you sick to your stomach after, like, four, except they're SO GOOD that you can't stop eating them.... This is a way to enjoy toasted marshmallows without any regrets.  Also, I'm pretty sure that even with the actual marshmallows and brittle in the tea, that this tea has less calories than toasted marshmallows. See? It's a win for everyone!

So, if you put the tea FRESH in a teabag (or steeper) and drink it out of a clean mug (rather than an oft-used travel mug that hasn't been washed [but has been rinsed!] in a while), it allows the TRUE flavour to really come out, and it's not nearly as disappointing.

Lesson: Pay attention to how you're brewing your tea, because it really does affect the quality of the taste.

Verdict: When brewed right, a win!