Grapefruit Ginger Granita from A Quarter To Tea. . . .

by Mary

It’s confession time again, tea-friends. I love iced tea. I ADORE it. It’s pretty much 95% of what I brew as soon as temps creep past the 60s all the way through the first frost in the fall. But while I’ll happily sip my oolongs, greens and herbals (even white teas!) plain and pure, I usually need a little something extra in my black iced tea to jazz it up. And *usually* this is either a squeeze of citrus fruit, or a dash of lemonade.

Now, don’t get me wrong– there is nothing negative about a delicious Arnold-Palmer-style tea. But I’d like to be able to sip a black tea straight from time to time, as I hold some silly tea-purist-standard up in my mind. Not many teas make that possible, but oh, this one makes up for them all. This bright Ceylon black is fresh and vibrant, and the ginger and grapefruit notes literally sing– this blend is fresh, fruity, with a hint of warm and spice from the ginger that translates surprisingly well to the iced cup. There’s something almost fizzy (I think it’s that ginger again) in this brew that is so incredibly refreshing.

For those of you whose iced tea habits have lent themselves more towards the kiddie-cocktail-side (ahem, moi) in the past, give this one a shot with no added goodies. It’ll made an un-sullied iced tea convert out of you yet!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea
Description

This blend is sold out but click below for more information about this and other A Quarter To Tea Blends

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Mary

Hi there! I'm Mary, a 27-year-old mental health professional living with my fiancé and our quirky kitten in the Midwest! I've loved tea for as long as I can remember-- in fact, I have vivid memory of being four or five in a tea shop and being mesmerized by all the tea flavors and proclaiming that I "was going to be kind of adult who drank tea, not coffee." A stint living (and tea-drinking my way through) London and twenty-some years later, I'm still channeling that sassy four-year-old and loving my tea habit. When I'm not sipping a cuppa, you'll find me reading, doing yoga, traveling, exploring my own city, planning our wedding and experimenting with different healthful and healing foods in my kitchen.

This post was posted in A Quarter To Tea, Black Tea

Lychee Daisy/A Quarter To Tea. . . . Sip Down!

by CuppaGeek

Sip Downs. . . They always make me feel like I’m being productive with my tea stash.  It seems like all of a sudden I turn around and my tea has doubled in size.  For some time now I’ve been on a buying hiatus but it seems like my stash just doesn’t seem to be dwindling.  I have a lot of really great teas in my stash but I just haven’t been paying much attention to them unfortunately.  Something I’m about to change.

So today, I said goodbye to one of my all time favorite A Quarter To Tea blends. . .Lychee Daisy!

Lychee Daisy is a vibrant green tea blend that gives you all the candied floral feels you could ask for. . . and then a bit more.  This green tea blend is sweet with a romantic floral tone that really doesn’t steer you wrong.  Brewed up as a hot tea or a cold brew, the flavor always stays on point and never lets you down.

The tea starts off with this touch of astringency from the green tea and the sweet kick from the sprinkles. Then as the sip develops, you get more of the floral flavors taking over (from the jasmine buds and rosebuds) which translates marvelously into a candied floral finish.

What really elevated the tea was taking a touch of a sparkling flavored peach water and topping my cold brew off. Really delicious, refreshing, and the perfect way to welcome in the spring like weather we currently have coming in.

For me being a green tea and floral fan, this tea is where its all about. Simple yet oh so lovely and tasty.  I’m sad that I’m savoring the last little bits of this tea.  I will be sad to see it go but A Quarter To Tea always has fun and unique blends to try.  Once I’ve drank down more of my stash, I’ll be placing a good size order to see what new blends A Quarter To Tea has made lately.

Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea

Description

This tea is no longer available but click below to learn more about A Quarter To Tea.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

CuppaGeek

I am a late 30s something mom who loves her family, will be getting married to a wonderful guy and has 4 kids (2 mine-2 his). We have a beautiful life together and I wouldn't change a thing. Tea is a passion that quickly turned into an obsession, very similar to my love for polka dots, the horror genre, and anything that is geeky and fun. I drink all kinds of tea and will try a tea twice to make sure I didn't bumble the first infusion. Besides SororiTea Sisters, I'm also the blogger and genius (I use that word very loosely) behind CuppaGeek, where I review tea, books, and the horror genre.

This post was posted in A Quarter To Tea, Green Tea

Lemon Poppyseed Muffin from A Quarter To Tea. . . .

by VariaTEA

“Malty rolled Yunnan tea with sweet lemon pastry and a vanilla glaze”. With a description like that, I was drooling long before I cut open the package to get into the Lemon Poppyseed Muffin Tea in A Quarter to Tea’s teabox. Easily one of the most underrated muffins, people don’t think much about the Lemon Poppyseed flavor until its put in front of them. And yet it’s always a pleasure when you have it so I was definitely intrigued to say the least.

I opened the package and was immediately enveloped in the smell of lemon poppyseed muffins. Bright and fresh yet also a touch sweet…and that’s just the scent of the dry leaf.

Upon my first taste, I’m impressed more than anything at how this captured “muffin”. It’s not baked goods. It’s not pastry. Somehow this is 100% a distinctly muffin tea. Not just any muffin either. It’s a fresh baked lemon poppyseed muffin, just out of the oven on a Sunday morning. The black tea is the perfect bready base while the lemon is soft and sweet. Somehow even the mouthfeel is thick enough (without being overwhelming) to sell the concept of “lemon poppyseed muffin”. Plus, the touch of vanilla is the icing on top of the cake…well, muffin. Smooth and gently creamy.

Honestly, this tea so accurately captures its namesake that I am half expecting to have to pick poppyseeds out of my teeth later. While some lemon teas can border on the edge of cleaning products, this manages to keep everything so perfectly balanced. It is a blast from the past and yet it’s making for one tasty present. Yum!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea
Description

This tea is sold out but more information can be found below.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in A Quarter To Tea, Black Tea

Tropical Peach Bellini from A Quarter To Tea. . .

by VariaTEA

Peach Bellinis were my drink as a young teenager just discovering alcohol. At first I only drank the frozen slush kind that tasted more like candy than it did a cocktail. Then I went to Venice, Italy and tried their take on a Peach Bellini which was a more adult combination of Peach Nectar and Prosecco (if I am remembering correctly).

Unfortunately, the hot tea tastes like neither. It is a sweeter tea and though there are underlying fruity vibes that lean towards peach, the mao fang takes over making this more vegetal than fruit. Also, I hoped for more mango to make this feel tropical but that isn’t coming through very clearly either.

The iced tea is just more of the same. I give this points for consistency but that also means that, like the hot tea, I am left wanting more. More peach. More bellini. More tropical. More of something other than a sort of generic and slightly fruity green tea.

Though the base is nice and the fruity vibes are pleasant, it is not selling the Tropical Peach Bellini flavor I was promised by the name. I wanted to like this one but, for me, it fell a bit flat.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green
Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea
Description

Like a Bellini but better. A touch of mango and mao fang sweetness make this a 2018 treat.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in A Quarter To Tea, Green Tea

Earl of Time from A Quarter To Tea. . .

by SuperStarling

Up to today’s bat is the Earl of Time, a Quarter To Tea blend that blends a black Earl Grey with vanilla and black currant.

I’m not sure why it’s called Earl of Time, but I SUSPECT it’s because Earl Grey got a message from a Time Lord to add these inclusions for a COMPELLING BREW.

Time Lord: “Listen, I’m from 3030, and Skynet just figured out a bangin’ way to make your trademark beverage a little more exciting.” Earl Grey: “My trademark beverage? I just throw a little bit of citrus into my black tea.” Time Lord: “Believe it or not, that’s going to be YOUR THING. You will be known through ALL OF TIME for that one thing.” Earl Grey: “What about my charity work? My metal band? My hand-tatted doilies?” Time Lord: “No.” Earl Grey: “My way with words? The fact that I am an expert cat cuddler?” Time Lord: “None of that makes it to the future.” Earl Grey: “So I’m just… like… a spritz of bergamot?” Time Lord: “And now… some vanilla and black currant. Try it.” Earl Grey: “That’s DELICIOUS! So creamy! That berry flavor, with the slight citrus edge! WOW! I might write a poem about it.” Time Lord: “It’ll be forgotten to the sands of time, but sure, I mean, go ahead.” Earl Grey: “Roses are red / violets are blue / I like this tea / and so might you.”

(illustration by Super Starling herself!)

 

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea
Description

A fun and fruity twist on the classic Earl Grey! This one features black currant, vanilla, with that classical satisfying punch of bergamot.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

SuperStarling

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"

This post was posted in A Quarter To Tea, Black Tea