If you were a teenage girl in the 90s-2000s (raises hand), there’s not a doubt in my mind that at some point, you owned a bottle of cucumber melon body splash. (Am I right, or am I right?) When I spotted this tea in my sample pile, my mind immediately jumped to that infamous, chemically-fresh scent of my adolescence.
Luckily, upon first sniff, I’m totally blown away– in the best way possible. There’s hints of the true cucumber-melon notes from the scent we’ve all come to know and love, but authentically, not chemically and fake at all. Underneath the bright freshness of the fruit and veg notes are hints of spice and vegetal green.
Brewed, the same notes come out– crisp, fresh and fruity, but a red pepper kick on the back end that is unexpected and delightful. I get a hint of bitterness from the green at the end of the sip when hot, but that bitterness all but disappears as a cold brew, which is a refreshing and unique treat.
All in all, this tea is such a fun, delicious throwback-with-a-twist to my tweenager days. Ow, to throw on my crushed velvet Blossom hat, blast some Ace of Base, and brew another cup!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for the teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Blue from 52Teas
I usually imagine earl grey tea with a little bit of a bite, the kind of proper tea that staunch old ladies sip from fine china teacups in British dramas.
Once my mother sent me to an old-timey etiquette class led by a strict old woman. The tea we drank from teacups had a bite, black and tart, and a squeeze of lemon on top made my mouth pucker.
It was more palatable by the second cup with milk and sugar cubes but I always associate a bit of bite with that first cup of earl grey.
Earl Blue from 52teas would have been a better first cup for my childhood self. The darjeeling base minimizes astringency, making for a smoother, gentler cup of tea. Whole blueberries are sprinkled throughout the loose leaf and add a rich, berry sweetness.
There’s still bright citrus in the palette of flavor, but it’s easy and creamy, making for a drinkable cup even without milk and sugar. Citrus and blueberry are a well-balanced combination, not too sweet or sour, with enough traditional bergamot to earn the title of earl grey.
Earl Blue from 52teas is the perfect blend to drink out of a porcelain teacup when I’m feeling more playful than proper.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Darjeeling
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for the teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chai Houjicha from 52Teas . . . . .
I was so excited to try this tea. I love love love Chai tea. I love Chai green tea especially since I’m working on cutting back on caffeine.
And doing some Googling I discovered that Houjicha is green tea that has been roasted. The roasting process cuts down on the earthiness of green tea, making it more caramel like in flavor, and also cuts down on the caffeine. This makes it a nice tea to serve in the evening.
Bonus!!
As soon as I opened the packet, I could smell cardamom, which excited me because with a lot of Chai tea the cinnamon and nutmeg kind of take center stage, which is fine but it’s nice to let other flavors play a role.
This blend also has pepper and long pepper, so it is nice and warming. I wouldn’t say spicy, but it is nice and zesty and flavorful. It has a perfect balance of flavors. As I read the ingredients, I noticed that I could taste every single ingredient, including ginger which often gets lost in the mix.
This is one of the best Chai teas I’ve had, and at this point I’ve had a lot. I really enjoy the flavor of roasted green tea, it goes very well with all the Chai spices. I had mine with a little bit of raw sugar and a splash of coconut milk. It was a wonderful thing to have first thing in the morning, especially on this grey winter day. It made me feel warm and cozy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
As I sit here, tasting this, it’s just a couple of days past the first day of FALL – my favorite time of year! There are a couple of reasons why it’s my favorite time of year. First, I love the change in temperature. The change of color outside with all the beautiful orange, red and yellow leaves is wonderfully inspiring but the main reason fall is my favorite season is the change in temperature. That cool, crisp air of autumn is certainly a welcome respite from the heat of summer (and in August around here, it usually gets down-right unbearable!) And the cooler temperatures not only mean it’s time to start wearing warm, fluffy sweaters and cozy wool socks but hot tea is much more enjoyable this time of year – and especially “chai” teas. (Yes, I know that “chai” translates simply to “tea” and means all tea types but around here when I think “chai” I think of a nicely spiced tea.)
If I had to narrow my ‘flavored’ tea choices to just three or four favorites, chai would certainly make that list (as well as Earl Grey and probably chocolate – or possibly vanilla?) Fortunately, here at 52Teas – we don’t have to narrow our choices when it comes to tea! We’re all about celebration of flavor here! But that doesn’t diminish my adoration for a well-spiced chai!
I decided for my first ‘official’ chai of this fall season, I’d make a Houjicha based chai! I started with an organic, roasted green tea (aka Houjicha) and added cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, cardamom, black pepper and a little bit of long pepper.
Mmm! The toasty flavor of the Houjicha adds a delightfully warm, nutty flavor to the cup and it is beautifully matched with the warmth of the spices. Not a hot spice – but comfortably warm. The kind of tea you want to curl up with while cuddling up under a a soft blanket and a good book.
Large size is approximately 50g.
organic ingredients: roasted green tea, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, long pepper and natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spiced Orappangele Green Tea from 52Teas. . . . . .
I woke up feeling my throat was an exploded landmine. What did I need, aside from a mountain of cold medicine? A tea. A GREEN tea. That’s HEALTHY, yeah?
Sure. It’s healthy as heck. I’m going to live forever.
I picked around my work tea basket and this one spoke to me.
“Hello,” Spiced Orappangele Green Tea whispered. “You have taken too much Robitussin. You should not operate machinery or respond to my voice aloud.”
“Why can’t I respond to you aloud?” I asked. Everyone in my office looked at me quizzically.
“Ahhhh,” I said, in my head. “I get it now.”
“Try me. I am the thing. I am TOTES the thing,” it said.
And it IS, guys. This is the citrus-sweet-light-spice concoction of your dreams. It’s a throat soother. It’s a taste sensation. It’s tasty enough to break the barrier of cold-tastelessness, but not so strong as to upset my delicate stomach.
(When I get sick, my stomach gets upset. When I am stressed out, my stomach gets upset. When I eat too much unhealthy food, my stomach gets upset. When I work out too hard, my stomach gets upset. My stomach is also upset by: virtual reality, strong smells, the sight of raw meat, flight turbulence, trying to read in the car, crying, fear, and being hungry too long.)
(I am a delicate flower.)
This flavor is juicy, but not fake. It doesn’t have that weird tart Jolly-Rancher thing that a lot of apple flavors do. The cinnamon/nutmeg also take this high-flying sweetness a little bit more down to earth.
I daresay this tea is sugar, and spice, and everything nice.
This tea isn’t available on 52Teas’ site right now, but I recommend keeping an eye out for apple mixes and spice mixes from them in the future. They seem to be nailing these really well lately.
Stay healthy, Sisters!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for what is currently available.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Smoking Coconut Black Tea from 52Teas. . . .
I loved everything about this warming tea. I loved seeing the big coconut pieces, the delicious coconut aroma, and of course the taste. As soon as I poured the boiling water over this tea, all I could smell was coconut.
I associate coconut with all things sunny and warm, so it was very soothing on a cold, grey, snowy winter day. I added a little raw sugar and a splash of coconut milk and just enjoyed the heck out of this cup. I never thought of combining any kind of tea with coconut(other than milk) but it really works out so well.
The caffeine in the black tea helped to wake up my fuzzy brain, and the aromatherapy of the coconut helped not only wake up my senses, but put me in a mellow, peaceful frame of mind which is so important. I felt like this tea was giving me a big, welcoming wake up hug. If you love coconut, this is a tea that you need to try. It’s the kind of tea that you mourn the last sip, you just want it to last forever.
I would say this is in my top three favorite new teas I tried in 2016. Actually, I would say it’s in my top two. It’s competing with another coconut tea, matcha with coconut. I guess I just love coconut!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for what teas are.
Tea Description: I just wanted a tea that was coconut-y and a little bit smoky. So that’s what I did.
Sometimes, that’s what my inspiration is all about. I wanted a coconut-y tea and I thought that the combination of a lightly smoky tea with the creamy, sweet coconut flavor would be really interesting.
I started with a blend of black teas – a rich, malty Assam; a smooth, medium-bodied Ceylon and a tippy, robust Yunnan. Then I added just a teensy bit of Lapsang Souchong to give it a hint of smoke. I wasn’t going for a heavily smoked tea this time around – I didn’t want an overpoweringly smoky presence – just enough smoke to add some contrast to the silky sweet coconut flavor. Then I added a bunch of huge shreds of coconut.
The result is a sublimely yummy cuppa that you’ve gotta try. Sure, it might be a little on the ‘usual’ side especially when compared to some of the teas that we’ve made in the past but it’s no less delicious. Sometimes – going with something a little more ordinary can lead to extraordinary results!
This tea is vegan, gluten-free and all organic!
organic ingredients: black teas, coconut and natural flavors.