Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea & Yerba Mate Blend
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Sometimes necessity really is the mother of invention. We didn’t quite have enough of either roasted mate or Fujian oolong left to make a full batch of a new blend, so I decided maybe we should blend them together, and the toasty Fujian oolong is a great compliment to the roasted mate! Even better, we paired it with organic caramel, cheesecake and pecan flavors with real pecans. This is a yummy treat you’re not going to want to miss out on.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
This morning, I was in dire need of some caffeine. It may come as a complete shock to you – but I’m guessing it won’t! – but I am addicted to caffeine. And occasionally, I’ll go a little longer than I should without a cup of caffeinated tea and I’ll feel the withdrawal headache come on. This was the case this morning when I woke up: caffeine headache! Ack!
When I get a caffeine headache, I generally turn to one of three types of “tea” to help rid me of the headache quickly. I either whisk up a bowl of Matcha or I brew up a cup of Yerba Mate or Guayusa. Usually, I reach for Matcha, but I don’t like to drink Matcha on an empty stomach and since I haven’t yet eaten anything and I can’t even think about food until I rid myself of this nagging pain in my skull, I decided to go with either Yerba Mate or Guayusa.
Fortunately, I remembered that I had some Yerba Mate to try in the form of this Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Oolong/Mate blend from 52Teas! So I grabbed the pouch and measured out 1 1/2 bamboo scoops into the basket of my Kati Tumbler as the kettle was heating 12 ounces of water to 185°F.
My go-to temperature for an Oolong is 180°F and for Yerba Mate it’s 195°F. Since this blend contains both, I decided to heat the kettle to somewhere in the middle.
I steeped the tea for 3 minutes and waited about 3 minutes to let the tea cool. Mmm!
OK, let me just say that I really did have my doubts when I first read the description of this tea. Seriously? A blend of Oolong and Mate? It sounded very strange and I wasn’t sure how I’d like it. But this WORKS! The nutty notes of the Oolong work together fabulously with the roasted flavor of the Mate. This profile offers the perfect backdrop for the pecan flavor which is the star of this show.
Deliciously nutty, I love how the top notes of warm, roasty-toasty nutty flavors marry with the mid-notes of sweet, decadent caramel. By mid-sip, I start to pick up on the creamy notes of cheesecake with just a touch of tangy cream cheese flavor.
This tea is so much better than I ever anticipated it being and guess what? No more headache either! This tea gets two thumbs up for being a deliciously rocked-out combination of tea bases that I would have never imagined together before now. And if I had an extra thumb, I’d give the tea another thumbs up for helping me with my caffeine fix! Unfortunately, I don’t have another thumb, so I’ll just say: Bravo, 52Teas!
Passion Fruit Cheesecake Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Passion fruit and cheesecake? Does it get more decadent than that? Well, yes, actually it does, when we combine the organic flavors of passion fruit and cheesecake with our premium organic Iyerpadi black tea to make an iced tea from heaven!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I made a half-gallon pitcher full of this Passion Fruit Cheesecake Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas last night, and now (less than 24 hours later and I’ve only been drinking this for about 3 of those 24 hours!) the pitcher is nearly empty. I think I have one glass of this tea left in the fridge!
In other words: this stuff is so tasty that I don’t want to stop drinking it!
The black tea base is a very harmonious flavor with the added flavors of passion fruit and cheesecake. The natural fruity notes of the Iyerpadi single estate black tea marries well with these flavors, allowing the flavors to come alive in my glass of iced tea while still managing to maintain its own presence there. It tastes brisk and refreshing. It’s strong without being aggressive or overwhelming. It’s not astringent or bitter. Just really, really lovely.
The passion fruit is a very well-defined flavor here. The cheesecake is less pronounced but it adds a really lusciously smooth and creamy taste to the sip. The tangy note of the cheesecake is there too, it’s a subtle little note that hits about mid-sip. A slight contrast from the sweet and creamy that is quite welcome and keeps the tea from becoming cloying.
Every once in a while, I also pick up on light buttery/pastry type of notes. This buttery/pastry flavor seem to mostly be hidden within the ubiquitous cheesecake note, not really standing on it’s own so much as being part of the collective ‘cheesecake’ but every once in a while, I taste a little more of that flavor, as if it is trying to stand up and shout: “Hello, I’m here too!”
So I guess if I were to offer any sort of criticism at all about this tea, that would be it. I might like just a tad more of that buttery/pastry flavor here. But as I mentioned at the start, I’ve nearly polished off an entire half-gallon of this magical liquid in fewer than four hours.
I think I’m going to be needing more of this.
Goomtee Autumnal Black Tea from Udyan Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Tea Description:
Goomtee is a very well known Darjeeling heritage garden planted with pure china bushes almost a century ago. This tea is for the strong hearted autumn flush lovers as it has a strong body with a very slight tinge of muscatel (grape flavour usually associated with second flush Darjeelings). It is a well balanced cup that leaves a stong after taste as well. With repeated steepings, the liquor becomes sweeter and midler. Perfect tea for long winding day with a good book in hand to read.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A lovely second flush Darjeeling tea, this Goomtee Autumnal Black Tea from Udyan Tea! It’s a stronger tea than what you might expect from a Darjeeling tea. This is not as crisp and light as a typical Darjeeling, but it’s not as heavy as other black teas. This still has a very recognizable Darjeeling character to it. When I sip this, my palate still identifies it as a Darjeeling.
And the question I usually have for a Darjeeling (especially a second flush) is: am I tasting muscatel? And the answer here is YES! The muscatel here isn’t as strong as one of those lighter, crisper second flush Darjeeling teas but there is still that lovely, muscat grape taste that I absolutely covet when it comes to Darjeeling.
The sip starts out brisk with woodsy notes. Almost immediately after my palate notices those woodsy tones, I start to pick up on a sweetness that reminds me of the sweetness I’d experience from golden raisins. By mid-sip, that raisin-y note transcends into something more like a muscat grape taste. The finish is dry and slightly astringent, but not overly so.
When it comes to Darjeeling teas, the autumnal harvest is usually my favorite, so I’m really glad that I got to experience this Autumnal Black from the Goomtee estate. It’s really delightful to sip.
Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qui Hao from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Mount Wuyi, in Fujian China is primarily known for oolongs, but this rare black tea is harvested only a short time each year. It is naturally low in tannins, giving it an exquisitely smooth finish which, combined with its natural chocolate notes, earned it the nickname “Black Silk”. We’ve upped the ante by adding some organic chocolate and marshmallow flavors, cacao nibs and marshmallow root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read my SororiTea Sister Nichole’s review of this Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qui Hao from 52Teas, I was eager to try the tea out for myself! If you’re a frequent reader of our little blog here, you may have picked up on the fact that I’m a little bit of a chocolate freak! So this tea is right up my alley!
Mmm! The Qui Hao black tea is a delightful choice for the base of this tea. It is a rich, satisfying, well-rounded tea and it compliments the flavor of the chocolate notes. There is a creaminess from the marshmallow but it seems a little subtle. But that’s alright, because for me, this tea is about the chocolate.
The combination of the rich, malty Qui Hao and the chocolate flavors creates a dark chocolate type of flavor and the hint of marshmallow enhances the overall sweetness of it. I don’t usually add milk to my teas these days, but after sipping on this for a while, I decided I’d see how it tasted with a splash of milk.
I have to say that I think that this is even better with the addition of dairy. It brings the marshmallow notes forward a little bit without obscuring the chocolate notes. It adds just a hint of the milk chocolate flavors that I think that this particular tea needed because I wasn’t really getting “chocolate milk” until I added the dairy. The milk just brought it all together very nicely.
Overall, a really pleasing chocolate tea. If you’re a chocoholic tea lover – you should definitely give this one a try!
Baozhong Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
Grown in the serene mountainous terrain of Wenshan, Taiwan. The twisted leaves produce elegant lilac and vanilla fragrances while developing delicate sweet, floral notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I think I fell in love with this Baozhong Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea at first whiff! The aroma is so sweet and wonderfully floral – just as the description suggests, I smell lilac! I appreciate that while it has a strong floral aroma, it doesn’t come across as perfume-y. It smells more like the air that has been lightly scented by a gentle breeze that filters through a lilac bush. It smells so beautiful!
The brewed tea has a more subdued fragrance with warm vanilla notes and mere hints of the flower that I experienced with the dry leaf. The scent is still captivating. It invites me to take a sip – and I think I’ll do that!
LOVE! The flavor has delicate notes of flower and a strong top note of creamy vanilla. It’s so creamy and sweet – vaguely reminiscent of a milk Oolong but with a lighter taste and texture. This doesn’t feel overwhelmingly creamy the way a milk Oolong can. It’s light and refreshing as it washes over the palate.
In no time at all, my first cup (infusions 1 and 2) disappeared. Time to resteep!
With this second cup (infusions 3 and 4) I’m tasting a stronger floral presence than I experienced with the first cup. It’s still what I’d call a subtle flavor and it marries with the vanilla notes quite harmoniously. In the distance, I pick up on soft notes of vegetation – very soft! Like a whisper of a slightly earthy, grassy tone.
As I continue to sip, I pick up on some woody notes. Again, these are very subtle and they meld with the previously mentioned vegetal notes to create a somewhat “earthy” taste that offers a contrast to the creamy notes of vanilla and the sweet floral tones.
And just like the previous cup, this cup disappeared quickly – so I resteeped the leaves again to create my third cup (infusions 5 and 6) and I think that this cup might be my favorite of the three! The delectable vanilla notes have softened somewhat, allowing for more of the floral notes to be explored.
The tea remains subtle yet richly flavored and I think the reason I favor this cup over the other two is that the complexity here is much more profound. I can taste the layers of flavor because the vanilla notes have muted just enough so that these layers can actually be discovered. I still get that delicious vanilla flavor but now I’m tasting other notes too. I taste more of those woodsy notes and I love how these earthier notes marry with the notes of vanilla and the flowery tones.
An exceptional tea, this!
Everything about this tea is soft. The texture is soft and silky. The flavor is soft and it seems to lull you into this tremendous sense of comfort and luxury. Nothing aggressive or sharp to the taste of this tea.
I highly recommend this to all those who appreciate a beautiful, gently nuanced Oolong! You’re going to LOVE this tea!