Dag nabbit! I tried this Irish-themed tea too late for Saint Patrick’s day! That is so disappointing! I love a theme!
Unlike my timing, this tea is NOT a disappointment. It’s a potato pancake flavored Darjeeling with vanilla and honey. Sounds cool, right?
In my home, we call potato pancakes “latkes,” but I doubt that’s what the Irish call it. My brother dumps cheese and salt into his latkes — but it appears that the Irish take a sweeter route.
This flavor tends more toward butter and cream. It’s very sweet, smooth on the tongue. It also has a robust Irish darjeeling base keeping it on track.
It feels like a liquefied hangover-breakfast. You’ve got the tough tea with your fried carbs to re-fuel your body. (The fried carbs, in this story, are obviously made by someone else. Someone who made better decisions than you did last night.)
Judging by how sweet and yummy this tea is, if it were me (and I’ve been there), I’d dive right in to such a meal. I’d eat it until there was nothing left and whine for more.
Maybe THIS is what’s at the end of a leprechaun’s rainbow!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
All the flavors of a creamy potato pancake with a malty base, with a heaping helping of vanilla and honey.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Super Starling drinks English Breakfast from Solstice Tea Traders. . .
After killing myself at the gym this morning*, I needed a little bit of comfort. Black teas are my go-to morning cuddle buddy. They never cause DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). They never make me sweaty. I never collapse after drinking one.
* (10 flights on the stairmaster, a mile on the treadmill, then a variety of circuit training nonsense that at one point just had me laying on a mat, reaching for my inhaler.)
Comforting though this blend is, it’s still got that black-tea kick. This one’s an eye-opener. It pries your face open, Clockwork Orange style. Are you nodding off at your desk?
NOT ANY MORE YOU’RE NOT. WELCOME TO THE DAY.
The flavor is a nice smooth blend, a bit malty and raisin-y. I have a feeling that, if you mixed some with an herbal tea (maybe berry-flavored), you’d have a great iced tea. This could be a strong backbone for a kickin’ blend.
If you’re the sort of person who does this sort of thing. Which I do. I like to play alchemist all the time. Is it unclassy to throw ingredients into other teas? Probably. But I’ve come up with some awesome stuff. (I have also — full disclosure — completely failed.)
So give this one a try, either straight or with a buddy. At the very least, you’re in for a good morning jostle.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Solstice Tea Traders
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Taking The Day On With My Morning Blend from The NecessiTeas. . .
I drank three cups of this before I wrote this review because I read that there were chocolate/cocoa nibs in here — but I could never find them. I’ve never given up on locating Waldo, so I don’t know why I’d quit on this tea.
But friends, despite the delicious chocolate smell in the dry leaf, I cannot pinpoint any chocolate flavoring in this tea.
Which is not to say the tea is bad. It’s a lovely Assam-y bread-y malt-y mix. A dark blend of sultry Eastern European men telling fortunes and learning to box. Like, if the Winter Soldier were a tea, this might be the one.
The caffeine content is no joke. I could actually feel my brain rousing itself. “AHA. THE DAY. GOT IT. ON IT NOW.”
It’s weird that wake-up juice comes from natural sources like tea leaves. Doesn’t caffeine seem like something that would have come from a lab, like some kind of drug? You could imagine some sort of mad scientist raging “LIKE GARFIELD, I HATE MONDAYS. I MUST IMPROVE MY LOT.” And storming around, lab coat flapping behind his frenzied, sweaty body, as he crafted a glowing substance that looks a lot like alien pee and/or Mountain Dew.
Nope? Just me?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
If you are looking for a wake-me-up, perk-me-up cup in the morning, that’s off the beaten path of coffee, look no further. This strong black tea has the smoothness of chocolate, and the boldness of roasted cocoa beans. Doctor it as you would a cup of coffee, with milk and sugar to start off your day!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
A Geography Tea Lesson with Rockville Raspberry Black Tea from Charleston Tea Plantation. . .
They say that tea tastes different depending on the soil, weather, elevation, location, etc. Which always sounded silly to me, until I started really getting into tea. And now I’m all “this has a kick, probably a Darjeeling” or “malty! Assam, maybe!” My husband thought I was joking at first.
It’s not a joke. It’s DEAD SERIOUS.
This tea is AMERICAN tea. U-S-A! U-S-A! It has a raisin-y underbelly that I find a lot in black teas, usually Ceylon. Is South Carolina like Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in weather? To do some really rudimentary research, I pulled up a world map.
Sri Lanka is the little teardrop-shaped island by the bottom of India. It is essentially booping the Equator on the nose. South Carolina, on the other hand, is up by where “Bahamas” and “Haiti” are written. They don’t look like they have the same relationship to the equator, so the similarity in flavor profile is not explained that way. I’m all out of other ideas. Sorry.
I have temporarily made this map my computer desktop so I can consult it. This blog post, at the very least, might help me with my geography in the long run.
Back to the tea! It isn’t all black! There is also raspberry flavoring, which I feared would overpower the base , but totally didn’t. They coincided nicely, like kids in a sandbox that resisted throwing sand in each other’s eyes. (Kids’ violent, rapid-fire friendships and breakups frighten me a little.)
I’d say if you like straight blacks with a little something extra, try this. But if you’re looking for a straight sweet dessert, this might not be the thing for you. It might be very good iced, but I had it hot, and really enjoyed it that way.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Charleston Tea Plantation
Description
Rockville Raspberry Tea is grown on the Charleston Tea Plantation in the Lowcountry near historic Charleston, South Carolina. It is only here that direct descendants of heirloom tea bushes, brought from China and India over 100 years ago, have been lovingly cultivated to make this tea. Enjoy the invigorating and great taste of Rockville Raspberry Tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
How Do You Feel About Fig Newtons? #MissFiggy #TeaandTins
Do you like Fig Newtons?
The answer to that question will determine whether you will like this tea. It’s like a Buzzfeed quiz, but with just one question.
Because this tea is Fig Newtons in liquid form. 100%. The tea even has notes that I *swear* taste like the graham cracker.
Growing up, my dad loved Fig Newtons to the point where it was a family joke. They were pretty good, I guess, but I couldn’t understand how they’d be a thing a person would SNEAK when no one was looking. Or a treat that somehow trumped cookies.
In addition to thinking they were A DELISH DISH, my dad was also convinced they were hella-healthy. Which my mom would constantly tell him they were NOT. They were sugar and carbs. If he wanted to be healthy, he could eat an actual fruit. He was like “FIGS. COME. FROM. TREES! … NATURE!”
This tea hits the spot — without the health debate regarding processed food and empty calories.
Now that I’m an adult, I was kind of excited to hop aboard the Budin Family Nostalgia Express. We’re listening to 90s music for Throwback Thursday in our office, which is what I grew up with, and I’m drinking my dad’s favorite snack.
It’s a pretty ideal situation.
Next time I see Dad, I’m going to drink some with him.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Tea & Tins
Description
Loose leaf black tea, nicknamed Miss figgy!
Ingredients: black tea, fig taste with dried figs and pink pig sprinkles.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!