On The Fifth Day of Christmas, Southern Boy Teas Edition!

New Year’s is right around the corner.  Do you still make resolutions for the new year?  I pretty much stopped because I never kept the resolutions so I didn’t see the point in going through the motions.  Good intentions, yeah … maybe.

Maple Bacon Iced Tea

MapleBaconSBTTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.

Taster’s Review:

OK, I’ll be the first to admit it, as much as I do enjoy the bacon flavored teas from 52Teas, I wasn’t too sure about this one.  I mean, it works on a certain level for the hot tea, but I’m not so sure how good this is going to be iced.  It kind of sounds weird.  When bacon gets cold, you get congealed fat.  And even though this is vegan bacon flavor … the thought of cold bacon just sort of … evokes those thoughts for me.

And as I’m sipping this … yeah, it’s weird.  It’s … alright.  It’s not horrible, but it’s still really weird.  And I can’t say that it’s my favorite iced tea flavor, because it isn’t.

That said, Frank (chief zoomdweebie at 52Teas and Southern Boy Teas) nailed the maple bacon flavor.  This tastes like bacon.  I taste notes of maple (although, I wouldn’t complain if there were a little more maple-y notes).  I even taste the brisk black tea in the background.

To enhance the salty notes of the bacon, I added about 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to the hot-brewed tea (yes, I hot-brewed this pouch this time.  I don’t know why, but something inside just told me that the bacon flavors needed to be extracted via hot-brewing).  And I think that the 1/4 teaspoon adds just the right touch of saltiness to this iced tea that’s needed to bacon-ize this tea.

Yeah … it’s still weird.  I can’t see myself actually wanting this tea again … you know, craving it?  That said, I’m not hating this.  I just don’t think it will be a tea that I’d order again, because I find myself more refreshed with Southern Boy Teas’ fruit-flavored iced teas.

I didn’t love this tea but I didn’t hate it.  However, there are so many other successful flavors of iced tea out there and this one is just sort of misses the mark for me.  I like the original maple bacon tea from 52Teas served hot much better, and I guess it goes back to what I was saying at the beginning of this review:  I don’t think that maple bacon flavor works for an iced tea flavor.  Not for me, at least.  And it pains me to say that, because I love bacon.

On The Fifth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent Me This Tea …

Today is the fifth day of yummy teas from Della Terra Teas.  I’ve really been enjoying this year’s countdown, and today’s tea is just entirely too yummy for words.  But, since you’re here to read a review, I’ll do my best to come up with some words to describe this confectionery delight.

Cozy Caramel Oolong

Caramel OolongTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Della Terra Teas

Tea Description:  

On this, the fifth day, be cozy with this delicious caramel oolong. 

As golden as the five golden rings, so is this delicious, warm caramel tea.  Enjoy this Oolong, sip the creamy caramel and create a holiday memory.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This Cozy Caramel Oolong from Della Terra Teas offers me two of my favorite tastes:  Oolong tea and caramel.  How could I resist?

Answer:  I can’t.  This is so yummy.

The Oolong tea is a darker Oolong, and it brings a sweet and toasted nut flavor to the cup.  The roasty-toasty notes accentuate the delectable notes of caramel perfectly.  I can taste a hint of burnt sugar like flavor in the background, and this elevates the caramel tones, giving them some dimension.

The Oolong has a rich, creamy texture but it isn’t overwhelming.  That is to say, it doesn’t inundate the palate with that sort of creaminess that might otherwise obscure the nuanced flavors of the caramel.  There is a lot of complexity to this cup, and you want to enjoy each and every layer of flavor!

When it come to Oolong teas, I generally prefer them to be “pure” or unadulterated with flavor because Oolong is such a flavorful experience on its own and no additional flavor is really necessary.  However, I have enjoyed many different flavored Oolong teas, and of those that I’ve enjoyed, I’d have to say that this might be one of the very best.

This should be a must try for those of you who love caramel, or the Oolong enthusiast who is looking for something just a little different!  This one resteeps really well too – the caramel flavor subdues somewhat, but the second infusion is still very flavorful!