Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Premium Indian CTC black teas blended with organic flavoring. Amazing tea with a great Neapolitan ice cream finish.
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
YUM!
I am nearly finished with this series of teas (just one more flavor to try – Bubblegum!), and I’ve really enjoyed them all so far. Each one has been deliciously unique – revamping the idea of boring iced tea, transforming it into a very exciting way to enjoy cool, summertime refreshment.
The original “Neapolitan Ice Cream” tea from 52Teas was actually a flavored honeybush that I quite enjoyed, although I didn’t really drink a whole lot of it. My oldest daughter went through a honeybush phase where she would have honeybush tisane every morning, and this was one of her favorites (Her #1 favorite, though, was the Coconut Cheesecake Honeybush) Anyway, my pouch of this vanished pretty quickly during her honeybush phase, so I have to admit that I was pretty excited to try this new black tea version of the dynamic flavor.
Before brewing it last night (I cold-brewed this the same way I did the other six Southern Boy Teas before it), I smelled the teabag, and I could smell each of the flavors: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, although the strongest fragrance came from the strawberry. It almost overpowered the other notes, with a subtle vanilla/creamy note coming through and mere hints of chocolate.
This translates into the brewed tea as well. The strawberry is the strongest flavor – in fact, with the first few sips, all I could taste, really was the strawberry and the black tea. By about the third sip, I began to notice some creaminess coming through, and by the time I was nearly finished with my first glass, the chocolate was coming through … and it was really weird because it wasn’t really like “boom! and now, here is the chocolate” … “it was more like hello! I was here all the time, I just wanted to let the strawberry have its time in the spotlight.”
Now that I’m nearly finished with my second glass (goodness this tea disappears quickly!), all three flavors are shining through. I get a sweet yet tart note from the strawberry, complete with the tickle of berry in the aftertaste. I get a smooth, rich chocolate note that is nicely complemented by the creamy, sweet vanilla notes. These three flavors together give it all a very ice-cream-y kind of flavor that is really delectable!
But what I think I like even better than the flavors of this tea is how well the black tea performs with these flavors. It comes through very pleasantly strong, with delicious malty notes and a nice amount of astringency that I find to be very refreshing.
Another winner in this set of iced teas! I’m loving it!
