The Season of Giveaways, Take 2

by liberteas

This giveaway is now closed – but don’t despair!  Another contest will be coming up soon!  Keep watching for more details!

Our last giveaway was so incredibly successful that I thought that maybe we should embrace the season of giving by hosting a Season of Giveaways here on SororiTea Sisters!  (Heck, maybe we’ll even make this an annual event!)

So, we have other Giveaways that we’ll be hosting for the next month or so – and these will ROCK your TEACUPS!   (I was going to say Rock your Socks but that just didn’t make sense.  What do socks have to do with tea.  Nothing.  So, even though Rock your Teacups may not sound as hip and cool as Rock your Socks … I think that the crowd that reads this blog would rather have their teacups rocked than their socks rocked)

And one tea company that totally ROCKS my teacup is Della Terra Teas!  Their teas are delicious!  They have one of my very favorite chocolate teas, an amazing Chocolate Pumpkin Tea, and a stellar Oatmeal Raisin Cookie tea … just to name a few!

How about something totally exciting for this time of year?  How about a 12 Days of Christmas Tea sampler from Della Terra Teas?

Excited Yet?

You will be!

I already ordered mine, which is a good thing, because I’m not eligible to win this contest… but YOU are (so long as you are not a SororiTea Sister or a member of the Della Terra Teas staff).  And here’s all you need to do to enter to win this fantastic prize:

  • First, click on this link and read about the 12 Days of Tea Sampler … sounds good, right?  Then comment on this blog post, and tell us what excites you most about this sampler pack!  That’s all you have to do to get entered into the contest.  Just comment on the blog, and tell me a little bit about why you want to win this sampler.
  • Want to earn another entry?  OK, tweet about the contest.  The contest tweet should include a link to this blog post so that your followers on twitter can come here and enter too.
  • Two entries not enough?  Want more?  OK … now log on to facebook and mention this giveaway on your facebook page.  Again, please include a link to the contest.
  • How about a bonus entry?  While you’re on Facebook, be sure to LIKE Della Terra Teas.
  • Once you’ve done all of these things, be sure to come back here, add a comment that includes a link to your facebook post and/or your tweet!  Thank you!

Easy Peasy – Super Simple ways to earn up to four entries in this contest and WIN  a sampler pack that is valued at $28.95!

I will be drawing the name of the winner on November 30, so you have until November 29 to enter this drawing!  Anyone can win … even you!  Well, not anyone.  Again, I am not eligible because I’m a SororiTea Sister.  But if you aren’t a SororiTea Sister and you don’t work for Della Terra Teas … YOU can win.  So you SHOULD enter!

Congratulations to this week’s winner:  Melanie! 

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Tea Products and Accessories, Uncategorized

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent to Me …

by liberteas

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the SororiTea Sisters!

These twelve days – well, really, this whole year! – has flown by.

I suppose I could get sappy and wistfully reminisce about the year that has past.  Or perhaps I could get optimistic about the new year about to start.  But why?  This blog is about tea, not about life’s big questions and/or answers.  To me, the question and answer all begin with tea!

I have been eagerly awaiting today because it would be the day to unveil the BIG surprise… the tea that was specially made for the 12th day!  So without delay, let’s just get right into it, shall we?

MILK & COOKIES FLAVORED BLACK TEA

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Product Description: 

Note:  There isn’t a description available at the moment, so I will instead list the ingredients as shown on the label.

Ingredients:  Black teas, organic cacao nibs, natural flavors

Taster’s Review:

When I first opened the package, I could smell chocolate.  This brought a huge smile to my face.  Then I read the label … Milk & Cookies?  Wow!  This sounds interesting!

I mean, no need to put out milk and cookies for Santa anymore, right?  Just put out Milk & Cookies flavored tea!

My first sip, I felt it was missing something.  So, I reached for some turbinado sugar and added a pinch.  This helped, but it still didn’t taste like Milk and Cookies to me.  It tasted like black tea with notes of chocolate.

Then, I let it cool a bit.  Not completely cool, of course, but, just enough to where it’s drinkable.  Now the flavors are beginning to pop!  I definitely taste the cookies aspect of this, I can taste the pastry with hints of butter and I can taste the chocolate.  I don’t taste much “milk” in this though… and I needed a splash of milk to not actually add a creamy element, but, I found that it brought out that creaminess.

I am finding that black tea blend that 52Teas uses is a bit harsh with these particular flavors.  This might be better with a good, malty Assam, as the malty tones of the Assam would amplify the Milk & Cookies aspect a bit, I think.

Overall, it’s not a bad cup of tea.  But, it certainly is not my favorite from 52Teas and it is a bit of a let down for me, because I had hoped for something amazing like last year’s Gingerbread Chai.  (Yeah, I know, I’ve mentioned it a few times in the course of this 12 Days series, but, I liked it!)

And even though I’m not overly impressed with this offering, I was very happy to be able to revisit the other teas offered in this 12 Days collection, and I look forward to another great year of tea with 52Teas.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in 52Teas, Black Tea, Tea Company, Type Of Tea

On The Eleventh Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent To Me …

by liberteas

It’s Christmas Eve!  Wow!  I can’t believe I’m almost finished with my sampler box.  I did enjoy it, though. It was fun to revisit these wonderful teas.  And I am very excited to find out what tea Frank came up with for tomorrow!

For the most part, I have not been surprised by any of the teas that 52Teas put in this box.  Frank made really good choices, choosing some of the best teas that he crafted over the past year or so.  I do wish that the Gingerbread Chai was a part of this box, but I do understand why it wasn’t (since it was the Christmas Day sampler last year).  It would have also been incredibly cool to find my Tomato, Basil and Black Pepper tea in this box.  And since there was one or two blends that I haven’t tried over the last year or so, I wish that those were part of this box, only because I would have liked to have tried them.

But, besides these few minor details, this box has been a real winner with me.  And today’s tea comes as no surprise to me, because this was definitely a hot seller.  So, for the eleventh tea of Christmas, it’s …

CINNAMON ROLL HONEYBUSH

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Frank has a way with honeybush.  I may not always love other blends he creates, but, usually, his honeybush blends are absolutely amazing.

This Cinnamon Roll Honeybush is a dieter’s dream, because it has the flavor of a freshly baked cinnamon roll without the fat and calories.

I reviewed this tisane in September, and I am really glad that this was in the sampler box, because I’ve finished my pouch of this already.  It’s so good, and it’s nice to revisit it.  I hope that Frank will eventually make this tisane part of his Sweet Honeybush line, but until then, you can visit the in-stock page as Frank is reviving all the teas that he’s featured in this sampler.  If you haven’t tried this one yet, you really should!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in 52Teas, Honeybush, Tea Company, Type Of Tea

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent to Me …

by liberteas

We are nearing the finish line.  These sampler boxes are a fun way to count down the days until Christmas, especially if you’re like me and have difficulty with time.  I often blame it on the artist in me, but whether or not that is the case, I don’t know.  What I do know is that I have a real issue with the concept of time.

And I bring that up, because, well, an Advent calendar seldom works for me, because I can’t usually wrap my brain around the fact that it’s December 1st when it is.  So, even if my intentions are good and I happen to buy an Advent-type, countdown calender, I probably would end up forgetting about it and not start it until mid-December anyway.  This cuts the time in half for me, I can handle 12 days.  25 days … well, I probably COULD handle it, but, knowing the struggle it would pose for me, I rather not put myself in that situation.

Yes, I’m babbling.  Basically my point is, this kind of countdown – 12 Days of Christmas – works for me.  Even though, technically, the 12 Days of Christmas isn’t actually supposed to start before Christmas and be a “countdown”, but actually, should start on Christmas Day.

Enough already!  Let’s get on with today’s tea, shall we?

Here is the tenth tea of Christmas …

CARAMEL VANILLA CHAI

This chai appearing in the box was a very happy surprise, mainly because it was the first chai in the box (and possibly the only chai!) and Chai is just so warm and cozy and comforting that I expected there to be at least one other Chai tea before this, the tenth day.

Assuming that this is the only chai in the box this year, I guess that this is a good choice for that one chai.  It is certainly yummy.  Although, truth be told, I would have selected the Gingerbread Chai which is my favorite chai from 52Teas.  However, since it was last year’s 12th Tea of Christmas, I didn’t really expect it to appear in this year’s box.

But, all that aside, this is a really yummy chai, so long as it is brewed correctly.  The first time I brewed this (it’s been a couple of months now), I brewed it too strong and it caused the Assam to taste really harsh.  Normally, I like to brew my chai really strong, but this is not a normal chai, so don’t treat it as such!

A very flavorful chai, the black tea base is bold and invigorating, the spices do not overpower the delightful flavors of caramel and vanilla.  I wrote my full-length review of this chai back in October, and I think I’m loving this now even more than I did back then, and that just may be because I am enjoying this “latte” and – just as I stated back in October – it is an over-the-top treat.  It is AMAZINGLY good, and even if you don’t think you need to go over-the-top, I do recommend trying it … at least once!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in 52Teas, Black Tea, Chai, Tea Company, Type Of Tea

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent to Me …

by liberteas

Today’s tea is another one of my favorites from this past year.  I seem to have more hits than misses when it comes to 52Teas, but, I suppose that is what makes them my favorite tea company.  Not only does Frank manage to create some really unusual and totally unique flavored teas, but, he does it well.  He doesn’t just toss flavoring in with some tea leaves and call it a blend.  He takes the time to create something that tastes as good and interesting as it sounds.  Having been a tea artist, I can speak from experience and say that it is NOT easy.  But, Frank makes it look easy because it is a rare occasion when I’m actually disappointed by one of his teas.  Most of the time, I’m just as pleased as can be with his creations.

And today’s blend is no exception.  He brought back some cherished childhood memories with this tea blend.

For the ninth tea of Christmas, 52Teas gave to me …

 GINGER ALE FLAVORED WHITE TEA

I wasn’t allowed to drink a lot of soda as a kid, which, looking back now, I think was a good thing.  I was pretty frustrated with it as a kid though, because all I drank was water and punch (aka Kool-Aid, which was made with saccharine – YUCK!)  There was a rare occasion as a child when we would visit my father’s best friend, he would make me a special “cocktail” consisting of ginger ale, ice and a maraschino cherry.  It looked much like the glass on the label.  It made me feel grown up to have a drink that at least looked like the adults drinks, even if it didn’t taste like it (and truth be told, I still prefer the way the ginger ale would taste over a mixed drink).

And then, there was the even more rare occasion when I might be sick to my stomach, and was allowed to drink “flat” ginger ale, which was supposed to settle my stomach (according to my step-mom).  Those were the only two times I was really allowed to have soda (unless we were out to eat, which was an even more rare occasion), and both times involved Ginger Ale.  So, Ginger Ale is kind of a special beverage for me, and Frank has managed to capture that flavor very well in this tea.

Like the other teas in this 12 Teas of Christmas series, I have reviewed this tea previously … and I love it now as much as I loved it then.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in 52Teas, Tea Company, Type Of Tea, White Tea