I grew up with the luxury of an AMAZING frozen custard stand within a mile of my house. In my younger years, I was all about the crazy flavors– brownie this and triple chocolate that, caramel twists and marshmallowy swirls and all that jazz. I always gave my mom and grandma a little side-eye when we’d be out for a girls afternoon treat and they’d get super pumped when the flavor of the day was butter pecan. Uh, guys? You know it’s just nuts in practically-vanilla custard, right?
Fast forward many years to the now-wiser adult that I am, and I can totally understand their infatuation with the simple goodness of butter pecan. Creamy, nutty, sweet-but-not-saccharine. Yes please.
As soon as I sniffed my sample of Blend Bee’s Pecan Assam, I was immediately transported back to those custard days of my youth. It’s everything I’d hope it would be with pecan so upfront in the title. It brews up strong and nutty without a hint of bitterness in the smooth Assam. With a little sweetener and coconut milk as a latte, the buttery undertones really shine for that spot-on butter pecan flavor goodness.
And bonus! It’s chock-full of good-for-you herbs like milk thistle and dandelion root. What! Count me a huge fan. With this one to keep me warm in the winter and a smooth cone of butter pecan custard to keep me cool in the summer, I’ve got all my buttery-delicious craving bases covered. Mmm.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
Filled with roots & seeds designed to help cleanse your body and soul. This butter pecan infused Black Assam Tea will be the perfect go to tea after a night of fun, or anytime you want a pick me up.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Tea + C Ginger Citrus from Sencha Naturals. . . .
In college, my friends and I used to have a habit of drinking those vitamin C drink mixes like they were going out of style. Looking back, I recognize now that they were maaaybe nothing more than glorified Kool-Aid, but we felt pretty smug as Well Hydrated Persons with Extra Vitamin’d Superpowers.
I’m not going to claim that this Sencha Naturals drink mix packet isn’t also slightly more than glorified Kool-Aid, but at the very least, this one’s got the addition of antioxidant-rich green tea in it, so I’m at minimum a little bit ahead of where college-Mary was in her vitamin-powered beverages.
I opted to mix this one up in cold water, 18 ounces instead of the prescribed 8-10. I found this to be a perfect balanced– a bit like iced tea, but still some kick from the flavor. If I’d made this one in half the water (as instructed), I think I might’ve felt it far too sweet. But diluted? It still had plenty of citrus-gingery flavor without the super-overdone sugar. The flavor was tart, but potent, with a bit of stevia aftertaste that I wasn’t super wild about, but also wasn’t the most offensive I’ve ever had. It was refreshing and would be the perfect quick summer iced-tea substitute, with the zing of the ginger taking it a notch above a store-bought iced tea bottle or mix.
Would I drink this one constantly? Probably not, though it may have more to do with my general now-adulting desire to get my vitamins from whole food sources. But does it make a lovely quick & easily accessible on-the-go drink when you need a mid-day pick-me-up with the benefit of some added vitamins and antioxidants? Absolutely. College-Mary would totally have these stocked in her backpack.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Sen Cha Naturals
Description
We believe that nutrition should come from whole food ingredients, versus synthetic vitamins. Whole leaf green tea, acerola cherry, coconut water, and supporting herbs to help you stay well. Serve hot for a gingery warm and citrus-y bright cup of tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange Cookies Tea from Kent & Sussex Tea Co.
A few quick questions for you guys:
1. Is there anything more delightful than cookies dunked in tea? I think not.
2. Is there anything more delightful than tea that tastes like cookies-dunked-in-tea? NOPE.
3. Am I boring you with my incessant questioning? Wait. Don’t answer that.
If you could tell from my aforementioned poll-taking, this tea is delightful. Truly. The dry leaf smells like a confection straight from The Great British Baking Show (can you tell what I’ve been Netflix-bingeing lately?), and brewed, it’s even more delightful. This tea reminds me of a citrus chai, but with a warm, buttery-cookie element that really takes it to the next level. Often citrus and spice can be fairly one-note, lacking that depth of flavor that really heightens the tea drinking experience, but not this cuppa.
With a little milk and maple syrup, it’s the perfect level of decadence that levels up a traditional breakfast tea without overdoing it on the saccharine-sweet. I’d pair this one with some orange spiced scones. Or a cinnamon tea cake. Or some orange-glazed shortbread. Mmm. Either way, the dunkability on this tea is unmatched.
Get Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood over here, I think we’ve got a showstopper!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co.
Description
Orange Cookies Flavoured Black Tea! A super new spicy loose leaf Tea. Combining pieces of Sweet Cinnamon Spicy Cardamoms Cloves and Fruity Pepper with lovely chunks of Sweet Apple pieces. A wonderful concoction with the scent of juicy Spanish Oranges. Orange Cookies Black Tea Ingredients: Black Tea, Apple pieces, Cinnamon bits, Coriander, Flavouring, Cardamom pods, Orange slices, Pink Pepper and Cloves.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Jasmine Floral Tea from Grimoire Tea
I’ll be honest with you guys– I don’t know what Grimoire means. Or what Whiterun is. (Don’t take away my nerd card, please.) And frankly, I don’t even reach for green teas (or jasmines!) all that frequently. (I know. Stick with me, I promise.) So when I saw this one waiting for me in my sample stash, I was… dubious, to say the least. Never one to shy away from a cup of anything, however, I knew I had to give this one a try.
The jasmine, upon brewing, is the FIRST thing you smell– and I mean that in ALL CAPS. It is JASMINE! with an exclamation point. To say I was expecting to find that same flavor-ferocity in the sip is an understatement, but I was pleasantly surprised! The actual brew is a beautiful deep gold liquor, with a delightfully balanced jasmine flavor profile. I can’t say I’m picking up too much green in this cup, but the jasmine is spot-on– strong enough that you certainly don’t have to go hunting for flavor, but balanced enough that it’s not going to kick you tush-over-teakettle.
Also present? Stevia. I know this is a controversial ingredient, but I actually think it works really well here, friends. If you’re not partial to ANY sweet in your tea, I’d skip this one– but from what I can tell, I’m fairly certain the sweetness comes from the actual stevia leaf and not the signature artificial taste from the liquid. There are definitely some unaccounted-for green flakes in the dry leaf that would back me up on this one. That said, the sweetness from the stevia brings a nice rounding-out of flavors that make this tea more accessible for the jasmine-novice and infrequent-green-sipper like myself. Grimoire, you might be making a green/jasmine fan of me yet! (Now just help me fill that gap in my nerdery knowledge, and I’ll be good to go.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Grimoire Tea
Description
Strolling the marketplace from the central plains of Skyrim, a sweet floral green tea with a fresh taste calls home.
Ingredients:
Green Tea
Jasmine
Stevia
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Oolong +Sweetner in One Convenient Tea Bag. . . . #Embrew
I was immediately intrigued by this tea as soon as I saw it sitting in my sample box. I’d been hearing about Embrew from my fellow Sororitea Sisters for the last few weeks– they’re a new company, packaging loose leaf tea into bags with the sweetener already added. A far cry from my early tea drinking days, I don’t usually sweeten my teas now, but will occasionally when it feels like they need a little oomph (or for homemade tea lattes, because #treatyoself).
This particular brew, Creamy Honey Oolong, sounds right up my alley. Brewed, it’s a beautiful light gold liquor, with a distinct honey scent. And just like the name implies, I get it all in one sip– honey, cream, light and floral oolong. It’s a delightful cup!
As far as the sweetener-in-bag? It’s pretty cool, but I don’t find it revolutionary. I did notice that by the time I pulled my bag out of the water (it was in about 2 minutes so as not to oversteep), there were still noticeable honey granules that hadn’t dissolved. Kind of a bummer on the design, but it ended up working well regardless, as I think if this tea had been any sweeter, I’d have lost a lot of the flavor nuance. The leaves unfurled fairly well for being Oolong-in-a-bag, which was impressive. Final thoughts? Definitely a great option for on-the-go sipping, when you need to make a cuppa without all the hassle of perfectly concocting your drink, or if you’re not a fan of having to take multiple steps to brew + sweeten your loose leaf tea.
I’ve got a few more samples from Embrew calling my name, and after this one, I’m eager to see what else they can do with this neat little idea!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Embrew
Description
This green oolong has a natural subtle creaminess brought on by the unique cultivation that emphasizes the soft, milky quality. We’ve paired it with pure granulated honey to further bolster the rich sweetness.