PART I
Snow was falling down heavily when I arrived at Crema Cafe for my meeting. I was also looking for something to taste. The three different cupcakes looked quite appealing under the soft light. Having never tried Crema cupcakes, I decided to buy one of each.
Chocolate Passion Fruit
I was a little disappointed in this cupcake when I took the first bite. It tasted just like a regular chocolate cupcake; I was expecting something more exotic from the title. However, I soon reached the passionfruit filling and the sourness of this viscous liquid really highlighted the sweetness and chocolate flavor of the cake.
Red Crema
This cupcake tasted also similarly to a regular vanilla cupcake, although the flavor of the egg quite prominent. I think the special feature of the cupcake was the frosting, which tasted really fresh and light, with a tint of apple.
Raspberry Kiss
The frosting like the Red Crema was light and fluffy and carried a tint of raspberry flavor. The batter seem to also have contained corn meal, which gave the cake more texture, something I enjoyed.
PART II
I visited Follow the Honey, a unique little place tucked away on the busy street of Mass. Ave. From the honey tasting bar, I sampled a number of different honeys from around the world, but it was difficult to conduct the parallel testing in that environment. So I purchased four small packs of honey to try back in my room.
I found a wheel of aromas and tastes of honey online and decided to use it as a source for my descriptions.
Appearance:
All the honeys had a similar appearance, except for the orange blossom which was noticeably lighter in color than the rest. The thistle honey also contained larger bubbles.
Taste:
Yellow Star Thistle
The most striking part of tasting the first drop of this honey is the dryness you feel after the woody flavor. The dryness also has a vegetal taste, similar to herbal tea.
Hawaiian Wildflower
This honey is reminiscent of my childhood, tasting similar to Chinese medicinal drinks I have taken in the past. It tastes fermented in an earthy way. The honey also reminded me of maple syrup and dried fruit, like dates.
Orange Blossom
This honey tasted fresh but a different freshness from the citrus flavor of the orange fruit. It was light in flavor but the sweetest of the four honeys.
California Coriander
Also woody in flavor like the thistle, this honey tasted more resinous and spicy. It was also warm, like caramel, a different like of sweet than the other four honeys.
Selection:
Thistle vs. Wildflower —> Wildflower
Orange vs. Coriander —> Orange
Wildflower vs. Orange —> Wildflower
Thistle vs. Coriander —> Thistle
Final Ranking:
- Wildflower
- Orange
- Thistle
- Coriander
PART III
I decided to also do a quick tasting of tea to pair with the honey and cupcakes. The TO mild mint tea was less strong than the Clipper peppermint tea, both in scent and taste. In appearance, the teas are similar before using; afterwards, the Clipper tea leaves appeared greener. The TO tea smelled earthier and even a little smoky while the peppermint had a hint of bitterness in the scent. The TO tea also had a stronger bitter aftertaste.
