I found this tea via a Shirley Jackson gift list on Book Riot. Ms Jackson was an early female horror writer whose work still holds up REALLY WELL today. If you want to be pleasantly surprised by some creepy older stories, give Shirley Jackson a try.
Anyway, this tea is based on a Jackson book I’d just read (We Have Always Lived In The Castle), so of COURSE I had to buy it, and maybe, like, some others fell in the cart, too. The Malfoy Tea Emporium focuses on literary references and guys, I’m mostly made of stuffed animal components, not willpower.
This tea is a mix of “black tea, raspberry leaves, natural creme flavor, natural blackberry flavor, natural cranberry flavor, and cranberries.” It is, true to its name, a creamy berry delight. The primary thing is the cranberry flavor, with the cream and raspberry skipping along behind it. These are fresh out the garden. A Victorian after-dinner treat.
This blend tastes like the berries in the novel that were covered in sugar and arsenic — except I don’t see poison in the ingredients, so I think I’m good here. If you don’t see any more posts from me, call the cops and tell them how I died.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Malfoy Tea Emporium
Description
Inspired by Merricat Blackwood from Shirley Jackson’s story “We Have Always Lived In The Castle”, this tea is blended with black tea, raspberry leaves, natural creme flavor, natural blackberry flavor, natural cranberry flavor, and cranberries.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
High Mountain Oolong from Qi Aerista. . . .
This tea is sturdy and sophisticated, like a sweater vest on a college professor who is woke to the kids’ causes. It is tasteful. It is educated. It knows how to reap the health benefits of green tea AND black tea.
There are notes here of plum, stone, moss, and maybe some algae, which I say with utter love and absolutely no derision. It’s earthy and wet and vegetal and a little bit juicy.
It somehow manages to make me feel like I know what’s going on. Like drinking it has made me a better person. Like maybe, very slightly, I have it together.
I do not, just to clarify.
I do not at all.
But the tea is very nice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Qi Aerista Tea
Description
Our High Mountain Oolong is grown on Xiyan mountain in Dapu county. This beautiful county is known as the Shangri-La of the Hakka world, where Hakka is one of the ethnic subgroups in China.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Tea with Pomegranate from Bigelow. . . . .
This is the tea I like to call “better than it has any right to be.”
I first had this blend at a brunch place with a sad, meager tray of tea bags. I chose the one I hadn’t tried that still had caffeine (this one).
“This is going to be trash,” I told my husband.
And then I sipped it.
I’m telling you, this is a pleasant surprise every time I have it!
It is surprisingly sturdy and juicy. I am usually kind of snide about bagged tea, but this one holds up. The green vegetal flavor is light, and the pomegranate pops. I turn to this blend fairly frequently when I just don’t have the energy to gravity-steep things. (Ugh, with the water, and the rinsing, and the measuring, you know? Sometimes you just want to put a bag in a mug and call it a day.)
When people want a cheap starter-tea that they can just grab at a supermarket, this is always the first one I recommend. Give it a whirl! It’s cheap, it’s everywhere, and it’s easy!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Bigelow
Description
Delicate green tea with the added touch of sweet pomegranate. If you love our green tea, we think you will really love our green tea with pomegranate…all the benefits of green tea with the added touch of sweet pomegranate.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Oolong from Simple Loose Leaf. . . .
Hello! Can you hear me? I am yelling out from underneath a hoodie and a blanket, weakened by a head cold, slightly discombobulated. If you’re receiving this message, SEND. MORE. TEA.
This morning, I decided to start off with an oolong that I received in my Simple Loose Leaf box this month. Oolongs are my current favorite tea. I like their shape-shifting, not-black-not-green ways. They’re Loki, the Trickster God, of tea.
This one, Qi Lan Oolong, has a great plum/raisin/stone/earth depth. If I didn’t know it was an oolong, I probably would have guessed it was a black, honestly. It’s very rich and earthy. It’s how I imagine that port wines taste.* *(I have never tried port wine. When I’m at a bar, I inevitably order Captain-and-diet, every time.)
This is probably going to sound odd, but do you remember the California Raisins?
This tea is them. Aged-tasting, deep, jazzy, raisin-y. Possibly ready to croon you a song.
Or a series of songs: it turns out the California Raisins RELEASED 4 ALBUMS. I’m not making this up. There was even a Michael Jackson California Raisin in one ad.
Although this tea can’t be purchased from Simple Loose Leaf individually, they do make monthly blind boxes, and there are other oolongs on offer here: https://www.simplelooseleaf.com/shop/oolong-tea/
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Description
Get 4 amazing loose leaf teas monthly or quarterly plus special membership only discounts! All tea boxes ship on the 1st of the month so order before the end of this month to get the next tea box.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
White Chocolate Tiramisu from Fava Tea. . . .
I accidentally left this in the steeper far too long — which you aren’t supposed to do with green — but it’s still really tasty, so that’s a sublimely positive thing for us scatterbrained tea enthusiasts.
This tea tastes like white chocolate, nuts, and caramel. It’s supposed to taste like Tiramisu, but I’m not sure I’m getting that. Tiramisu, to me, mostly has coffee notes. That said, who cares, a tasty tea is a tasty tea. This is SO creamy and delicious and sweet. It’s a slick mouth-feel (ew, the phrase “mouth-feel” is horrible) that really coats the inside of the mouth.
I feel like I’m in a French patisserie with this tea. Everything is Marie Antoinette pastel. I have a tiny purebred dog upon my lap. My pinky is up. I’m with all of my friends. We’re wearing blush and having a scintillating conversation that focuses on fine arts and gossip.
We might enjoy ourselves so much that we oversteep the tea. But that’s okay. This tea doesn’t mind.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black & Green
Where to Buy: Fava Tea
Description
This is a green and black tea blend with almonds, coconut, and cocoa pieces. If you like the darker, creamy, savory teas, this is one for you! A popular dessert tea. Blends well with rock sugar. Try Vanilla Rocks, Chocolate Cream Rocks, or Strawberry Rocks, for starters!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!