Continuing with my apparent disregard for the non-holiday season (remember when I sipped on a Chanukah-themed tea in March?), I grabbed this sample out of my stash for our nightly tea lattes the other day. Skeptical as I was, as I usually am with red rooibos, both my fiancé (fellow nighttime tea lover) and I couldn’t get enough of this one.
All the goodness of red rooibos with none of the medicinal ick, this one is like a woodsy-orange, with hints of custard and pink peppercorn spice. Rather than a creamsicle-esque orange, this one is a bit more reminiscent of a holiday orange, dotted with cloves, smothered in warm custard cream. Mmm. Am I making anyone else as hungry as I’m making myself right now? No? Moving on.
Would I necessarily harken these flavors to a gingerbread man? Probably not. Would I sip this one nightly, regardless of name or closest holiday (I’m pretty sure this one isn’t meant to be sipped on the 4th of July, but I say it matters not)? Yes and yes.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: BRUU Tea
Description
This tea was part of a monthly tea subscription box. Click below for more info.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Peep Crispies from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
I have one, very important rule about Easter candy: Peeps. Must. Be. Stale.
Now. I understand that this is a very divisive stance. Statistically, about 50% of you right now are probably nodding in impassioned agreement, thinking “of COURSE! What other way is there to eat them?!” and the other 50% of you are probably sharpening your pitchforks and chanting “off with her head!”
Okay. So maybe not *quite* that impassioned. But little did I know that there was even room for another rule in the world of Peeps: they should be brewed. As a tea. And sipped often.
I know. You’re thinking I’ve lost my mind– and I promise, I’m not actually sticking sugary marshmallows into cups of tea and waiting for them to melt (because that sounds like a sticky mess)– but with this green blend from A Quarter to Tea, I may as well be for as delightfully spot-on as this flavor is. A green genmaicha with toasty, popped rice, marshmallow root, and adorably bright sprinkles, this tea is maybe a little bit closer to a toasted (dare I say it– or even a stale) peep than a fresh & puffy, right-out-of-the-package little guy, but if that’s even close to sounding tasty to you, you must give this one a try. All of the seasonal delight with so much less of the high fructose corn syrup and neon-colored sugar dusting. I’ll be sipping this one long after Peter Rabbit has finished his seasonal duties and left for summer vacation.
Now, there’s only one thing left to do– leave the bag open for a few days and see if peeps tea is as good stale as the actual marshmallows. Can’t hurt, right? 😉
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
A toasted marshmallow delight with roasty genmaicha, marshmallow, and brightly colored sprinkles
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tangerine Cupcake? With Marshmallow FROSTING? #52Teas
There’s just something about a well-named tea, you guys. I’ll be the first to admit that I TOTALLY judge literal books by their covers when I’m in a bookstore, or the library– and that same tendency seems to spill into the tea-loving parts of my life as well. So when I stumbled across this tea– TANGERINE cupcake? With MARSHMALLOW FROSTING? it immediately got bumped to the top of the list on name alone.
Like many other sisters reviewing here, I am a sucker for marshmallow in tea– particularly, the pillowy, creamy goodness that the marshmallow root herb adds to a tea. No disrespect to the (delicious) cute little mini marshmallows peppering so many of my favorite dessert teas, but I love how the root adds that flavor without the additives and sugary-sweetness. And this tea has it in spades! The dry leaf looks to be almost 60:40 black tea to marshmallow root, which is a fantastic ratio, if you’re asking my palate.
Brewed, however, this tea doesn’t quite hit the mark that I was hoping for. Is it a fantastic marshmallow black tea? YES. Did I maybe set my sights too high in hoping for something citrusy, sweet, cake-like AND marshmallow-y? Probably, yes. I’m not picking too much tangerine up in my cup, which is a little disappointing. But to be fair, if this tea hadn’t been named so spectacularly (thus, setting my expectations sky-high), I would’ve been super pleased by the pillow-y, vanilla goodness from this black tea blend.
Three takeaways from this experience: 1. 52 Teas can make a pretty spectacular marshmallow tea. 2. I should learn to temper my judge-a-book-by-its-cover tendencies. 3. I’ll take another cup, please and thanks.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for blends that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Romancing the Beach from Beach House Teas. . . . .
First of all, a name like this– Romancing the Beach? So fancy, you guys. Also maybe a little risqué, no?
Sassy name or not, this one had a lot of promise for me, a blend of red rooibos with strawberry and cacao, a touch of hibiscus and rose. Brewed, it’s a beautiful pink (hello, hibiscus!) and smells like a light, floral rooibos. I’ll admit– I had HIGH hopes for the flavor. Cacao? Strawberries? GIMME. But it fell a tiny bit flat on the complexity for me. It was a great rooibos blend, none of that medicinal ick that sometimes is all too present in a red rooibos. But I think I was expecting something more reminiscent of chocolate-covered-strawberries, but I mostly just got a tart, floral rooibos from this cup.
That being said– if I were to make this one again, I think it would be a STELLAR iced tea. Perfect for sipping on a beach– while romancing the beach, even? I’ll defer to Beach House’s expertise on this one.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Beach House Teas
Description
Romancing the Beach is 100% organic loose leaf tea blended with red rooibos tea, Oregon Hood Strawberries, hibiscus, rose petals, rose hips and cocoa nibs because love is always in the air at the beach! This blissful tea is a profusion of hibiscus, exalted by scrumptious strawberries and enveloped with delicious rose petals notes. A delight you will return to over and over again.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Maracuja Orange from Gypsy Soul Teas. . . . .
Something happens to my tea cabinet in the spring. All of the hearty, heavier black teas get pushed to the back, and the light, fresh, vegetal greens and fruit herbals seem to float like cream to the top. I’ve just spent a winter sipping on the tea-equivalent of a warm blanket and wool socks– give me sandals and sunglasses in my cup instead, please and thanks!
And once the calendar flips to summer, its even unlikelier that I’ll be sipping on ANYTHING hot. In my A/C-less apartment with my German ancestry, not made for heat waves– iced tea reigns supreme. When I pulled this sample out of my stash, bright and bold, with big orange chunks and bright red bits of…something? I knew it would make a great iced choice for the start of the warmer season.
Cold-brewed overnight, this tea turns delightfully pink– I’m guessing, as a result of the beetroot pieces in the blend. I expected more orange-juice-orange flavors, but what I’m getting instead is a blend of juicy fruits, with just a hint of bitterness at the end. Maybe it’s the hibiscus? Maybe it’s the interesting addition of pumpkin and carrot in this dry mix? Either way, it’s not unpleasant, but it isn’t quiet what I was expecting either.
My recommendation? Go into this sip without the expectations of fresh oranges, but rather, a big ol’ party-o-fruits, and you’ll be super pleased with your iced cup. Unusual? Sure. But great as the temps start to rise and you’re looking for something refreshing to fill your cup?
Definitely.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Gypsy Soul Teas
Description
Fresh & Fruity! Exotic Passion fruit orange fruit tea. Caffeine free. Great hot or iced.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!