I’ve hear about the 52Teas company for its unique and varying tea flavors (flavors like banana pudding, pumpkin cheesecake, and cotton candy), but this is my first time trying tea from 52Teas. With a name like Glazed Donut, how could you not give this blend a try?
Glazed Donut is a black tea with organic flavors added to create the dessert-flavor of its namesake. I brewed this tea in a variety of ways. First, I went for my preferred style: hot tea without any sugar or milk. With this method, the strongest glazed donut experience I had was the smell in my mug from the hot brew. The fragrance had the sugary, frosted notes of a sweet and buttery donut. When drinking the tea, the sweetness is much more mild, mostly tasting like quality, loose leaf black tea with the expected tart tannin flavors.
I also tried this tea as a twelve-hour cold brew. The blend is much smoother with this method, though I didn’t find the glazed donut flavor to be any stronger. It’s still the most noticeable in the scent and the first sip of the tea. The later notes are all traditional black tea.
Finally, I went out on a bit of a limb for me, and I tried this tea hot, with a hefty teaspoon of sugar. I also made sure to follow the recommended steeping instructions: brewing for 3 minutes and then letting sit to cool for 10 minutes. Overall, I think this was the best brewing style. Adding real sweetness to the glazed donut fragrance helped complete the flavor profile, and letting the brew cool a bit before drinking brought out more donut notes.
For best results, I recommend drinking this blend alongside a morning indulgence of your choice: cinnamon roll, danish, or glazed donut.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
I originally blended this tea as part of the Breakfast Inspired Sampler Add-On for the start-up Kickstarter campaign, but I do have a few packages of this tea remaining.
This tea was crafted with a very special tea base (a Thyolo OP1 from the Satemwa estate in Malawi). It’s a fair-trade and rainforest alliance tea – and it’s seriously good stuff!
I used this tea as the base for flavors to create a Glazed Donut like experiencece – and all I can say about this is YUM! So good!
Ingredients: single estate black tea, organic calendula petals, organic all-natural flavors.
This tea is no longer available but click below for the unique flavors that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Union Jack from Lupicia
Union Jack from Lupicia…where do I start? I wasn’t able to find this on the Lupicia USA Site or Shop but I did see it on the Australian Shop/Site and I thought it was worth a mention regardless! Why? Because it’s one of the most intense black teas I have had in a while that also happens to be in a silken bag!
Lupicia Australia says this can be enjoyed with or without milk….of course I never add milk to any of the teas I drink. As many of you know I am a Dairy-Free type of gal but also I like my teas straight-up with nothing else to interfere with the glorious leaves!
Union Jack from Lupicia is considered a flavored black tea on their product description but it’s a rich, full-bodied blend of Ceylon and Kenyan black teas. The blend of black teas used in the base perfectly encapsulates the taste of a traditional English tea. With little bitterness, it makes for an ideal everyday tea and I would completely agree!
This was a hearty, hefty, strong, bold kick in the pants when I drank it and a wonderful way to start the day!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description: rich, full-bodied blend of Ceylon and Kenyan black teas. The blend of black teas used in the base perfectly encapsulates the taste of a traditional English tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
TeaEqualBliss’s TOP Flavored Black Teas of the Moment
- Rose Marzipan Black Tea from Stylin’ Tea Blends
- Orange Cookies Tea from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co.
- Persian Rose from Tay Tea
- Peach Vanilla Tea from Full Leaf Tea Company
- Persian Plum Rose Black from Blossom *
- Apple Cinnamon French Toast Black Tea from Simpson & Vail
- Earl Grey from Metolius Artisan Tea
- Pineapple Old Bay from Handmade Tea
- Sweet Slo-Sippin’ SimpliciTea: Lemon Sweets Black from Cup of Love
- Lemon Myrtle from The Tea Can Company
- * This tea review has yet to go LIVE at the time of writing this review. Look for a full length review SOON!
Here at the Sororitea Sisters we have been asked time and time again what we would include in our TOP TEN Teas. Since we drink SO MANY TEAS we have decided to occasionally release our TOP TEN TEAS of the MOMENT. This is one of those posts. This post is specifically highlighting some of the BEST Flavored Black Teas I have tasted the last few months! Of course MY taste buds differ from YOURS but these are just a few of MANY I thought deserved a little extra push!
Holiday Blend Alert! Snowball from Bluebird Tea Co.
I love Hostess Sno-Ball cakes. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the Sno-Ball was a chocolate cake, filled with cream, covered in marshmallow, and crusted in coconut. Yeah, I know, it’s a lot to take in. Not to mention the cakes were dyed different colors for the holidays (orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, pink for whatever). As a kid, these cakes were the nectar of the gods. Into adulthood, we entered the dark ages when Hostess filed for bankruptcy and the snacks were no longer being manufactured. To help me cope with the loss, I took a stab at designing my own chocolate-coconut tea blend (it turned out pretty good). Since then, the Hostess recipes have been acquired by new companies and I can now find those tasty marshmallow cakes back on the shelves.
With all this in mind, it was an easy choice to order up a bag of Snowball tea from Bluebird Tea Co. I love this blend, it is no surprise to me that it has even won awards for its taste. Rich coconut and sweet chocolate are really pushed over the top with mini marshmallows. There’s a hot-chocolate coziness to this tea, made all the more decadent by the creamy coconut and cocoa shells. I take my tea black, without sugar or milk, but this is just the kind of tea that would make a fantastic dessert late with milk and whipped cream. I look forward to ordering more of Snowball tea from Bluebird Tea Co. to drink and to share before the season is over.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Description:
The chocolatey, marshmallow, coconut goodness of a gooey Snowball is one of the best sweet treats of Christmas and this year it is award-winning too! Our most famous Christmas tea blend scooped a Great Taste Award this year for it’s chocolate chips in plenty, coconut flakes in tons and a sprinkle of mini marshmallows to finish it off- The perfect Christmas Snowball.
This tea is no longer on the site but click below for what teas are
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Irish Whiskey Cream from Tea & Absinthe – The Other Irish Breakfast
As the weather gets colder, I get a craving for sweeter, more dessert-like teas. So when it was the first real, cold and blustery day of the season, I was excited to taste Irish Whiskey Cream from Tea & Absinthe. The dry leaf smells mild but sweet, like black tea with a hint of caramel. When brewed, this blend smells amazing, as rich and decadent as crème brûlée. I take my tea without milk or sugar, and the dessert flavors were still very forward and enjoyable.
While there is “cream” in the name, the sweetness in this tea is less like vanilla frosting and much more like salted caramel or burnt brown sugar, with just a bit of vanilla underneath. Cocoa bits are listed in the ingredients, but any chocolate flavor gets buried under the more caramel and toffee notes. I’m sure the “whiskey” in the name is a recommended brewing partner for this tea on those evenings when you need a little bit more warmth and merriment. The tea itself doesn’t have any overtly whiskey tones, nothing smoky, but the roasted-sugar flavors do remind me of certain amber libations.
I was careful not to over steep this blend, as the Irish breakfast Assam black tea base could get strong very fast. Keeping an eye on my brew times, I’ve had no bitterness and all creaminess. I could definitely see myself brewing up a cup of Irish Whiskey Cream from Tea & Absinthe and topping it with whipped cream on a snowy day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea & Absinthe
Description:
“The Other Irish Breakfast” – Black tea Assam, cocoa bits, flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!