Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s tea of the week programs here.
Taster’s Review:
Over the last year or so, my iced tea consumption has definitely increased. A couple of years ago, iced tea was a summertime beverage. Period. I only brewed it during the hottest months of the year, because I preferred (and still do prefer) hot tea. But, I’ve found that it’s so nice having a pitcher of iced tea waiting in the fridge when I want something cold to drink and I want something cold to drink every day. I may not drink it as often as I drink hot tea and I do drink more iced tea in the warmer months than in the cold months. But I have reached a point where I’m drinking (and thoroughly enjoying!) iced tea on a daily basis.
So I have been enjoying exploring the teas from 52Teas/Zoomdweebies iced tea line: Southern Boy Teas. These teas are crafted with organic teas and flavoring and then bagged in large sachets to make brewing easier. Yeah, yeah, I do prefer loose leaf. However, when it comes to iced tea brewing, I have to admit that the convenience of the sachet/bag is one that is difficult to overlook. Yep, I’m just going to come right out and say it: I prefer a bagged or sacheted tea when it comes to iced tea brewing.
And what I like about these bags from SBT is that they’re large, unbleached bags. The tea leaves have plenty of room to expand and do their thing to produce a very flavorful tea. To brew this Strawberry Kiwi Green Tea, I heated 1 quart of freshly filtered water in the jug of my Breville One-Touch to 170°F and then I tossed the tea bag right into the jug of my tea maker and let it steep for 1 1/2 minutes. I poured the brewed tea into my favorite glass iced tea pitcher (I temper the glass first by filling the pitcher with hot water from the tap so that the glass isn’t “shocked” by the heat from the 170°F liquid!) Then I repeat the process, resteeping the tea bag but steeping it for 2 minutes with the second infusion and add this to the pitcher. Then I allow the tea to cool at room temperature a bit before I put the pitcher in the fridge. The next day, I have a pitcher full of tasty iced tea! (Oh, and I keep the tea bag for next time. I stash the tea bag into an airtight container and put it in the fridge, and then I resteep it again. The green teas are especially GREAT for maintaining their flavor for a second 1/2 gallon of iced tea.)
My first impression of this tea: Hmm … I couldn’t really taste strawberry and kiwi. I can taste the green tea and I can taste a fruity sweet element to this but did it really taste like strawberry and kiwi to me? No. I found myself having to think “OK, what tea did I brew last night?” The flavors of strawberry and/or kiwi were not immediately recognizable.
My second impression: My second glass … OK! Now I can taste more of the intended flavors! I can taste more distinct strawberry notes. The tea has a delicious strawberry sweetness and I’m getting that tart berry tingle in the aftertaste. As I’m drinking, I can taste the kiwi too. The kiwi is less discernible than the strawberry. And I can still taste the fresh green tea flavor too: sweet, slightly buttery and smooth.
The more I sipped on this tea, the more I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say that it’s my favorite tea from SBT but it is refreshing and I found myself guzzling it. Even in the beginning when I couldn’t really immediately pick up on the flavors of strawberry and kiwi, I was still gulping it down because it’s still a very good, thirst-quenching glass of iced tea.
And the second pitcher of iced tea from this sachet is even better than the first. The strawberry and kiwi flavors are much more focused in this pitcher. Tasty!
