Sparkle Pony Oolong Tea from 52 Teas is just FUN in every way! Not only is it FUN but it’s special and unique in every way, too! Let me see if I can explain some of my thoughts behind this tea!
First off…Sparkle Pony Oolong Tea from 52 Teas contains organic oolong tea, dried pluots, organic ginger root, organic crystallized ginger (sliced ginger and sugar), vegan edible glitter and organic natural flavors.
Dried Pluots!? Are you serious!? I LOVE Pluots! In case you are not familiar with the fruit…they are a hybrid fruit…a cross between an apricot and a plum. They smell and taste like BOTH a plum and an apricot at the same time! They are juicy, sweet, and have that recognizable stone-fruit taste.
The ginger and crystallized ginger flavored are very distinct in this tea. The crystallized flavor is more muted that I thought it would be but totally understand why as I think it being any more intense would just change the taste completely.
The edible vegan glitter was more for show and you had to look at it cross-eyed to even find it but I know how expensive that stuff is so I’m totally ok with there NOT being more. I mean, we are here for the tea, right!?
The Oolong Tea itself has a woodsy-oolong taste to it. It infused darker than I expected but it was a pleasant surprise. The oolong even had a subtle smoky or hint of charcoal type flavor to it, too! Again, a nice surprise!
If you read a product description of ANY tea today make sure you check this one out because you can really see just how much thought and thoughtfulness Anne put into this creation over at 52 Teas! Whether you enjoy this tea for the artisan factor or enjoy the connection and tribute to unicorns/ponies, the Burning Man Festival, or even Portlandia it’s certainly a tea that will stick in your mind for one reason or another and certainly worthy of being one of 52 Teas Anniversary Teas! I’m LOVING THIS!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description (Please note, this tea is no longer available)
ingredients: organic oolong tea, dried pluots, organic ginger root, organic crystallized ginger (sliced ginger and sugar), vegan edible glitter and organic natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and what teas are currently available here!
Mayan Chocolate Chai from 52Teas
So today was the first day I broke out my leather jacket. I don’t get cold so that means this morning’s weather has finally reflected the season. Cold weather means certain flavors take center stage. Of course pumpkin spice is one but among tea drinkers, the spices of a nice chai really scream Fall. And what’s the best way to have a chai? As a latte, of course.
Now chai is something hard to get right because it is a mix of various spices. Different people like more of one spice and less of another so a chai that pleases everyone is hard to find. For instance, I am not a cardamom lover so cardamom pods in my tea makes me a little apprehensive. This tea was no exception. However, though I am getting a fair amount of cardamom flavor here, it isn’t taking over. Would I like a little less cardamom? Yes, but that’s my personal preference.
The surprise to me in this cup is the actual spice kick you get when drinking it. My tea is diluted among the milk of the latte and yet I am still getting some of that cayenne hitting me, which is rather impressive since 9 times out of 10, I don’t taste the hot spice in plain teas, let alone a latte.
Right there with the cayenne is a dark cocoa note. It reminds me of the chocolate tasting party we had for my sister’s bachelorette party in which melted dark chocolate was mixed with a bunch of different flavors and we had to guess what each chocolate cup was mixed with. The cayenne and dark chocolate was the only one we could actually pick out since its flavor is so distinctive. 52 Tea’s captures that nicely. With that said, I probably wouldn’t say no to a little more of that chocolate note.
The other flavors such as the cinnamon and ginger add to the overall tea. Rather than standing out on their own, they are acting in a way that puts emphasis on the other flavors. The ginger, for example, helps the cayenne give that spicy kick to the back of the throat.
This was a surprise for me since I don’t usually love chocolate in teas or chais and yet I found this to be quite enjoyable. With this tea, you get what you are being promised: a Mayan Chocolate Chai.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
This tea is no longer available but these teas are!
French Toast from 52Teas
I’ve sampled this tea twice and gotten different impressions of it, so it has a lot of facets to examine. The first time I tried it, I mostly picked up on the maple.
“Mmmm,” I thought. “Sweet, sweet Canada.” My eyes fluttered with visions of maple leaves, Mounties, moose, and POLITENESS. Oh my goodness. So much HUMAN DECENCY.
And health care! The bountiful health care! O CANADA!
The second time I tried the tea, I got a lot of malty richness. I got less of the syrup, and more of the toast. The depth of the black tea made me think about a nicely crisped bread piece. Hmmm.
Neither time did I get a lot of cinnamon/butter, which I thought was a little odd, since I feel like cinnamon and butter are pretty key. Maybe a future sip will yield it, but even if it doesn’t, this is a pretty swell mixture.
I would happily sip it while watching a Toronto Maple Leaf ice hockey game, traipsing through the Yukon territory, or practicing my français in Montreal.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
This tea is no longer available but these black teas are!
Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai from 52Teas
I was super excited to see a spicier Chai! I love Chai, and I love spice too. This chai is different in that there is no anise, but there is crushed red pepper! It also has vegan white chocolate chips, and vegan dark chocolate! It’s a beautiful tea just to look at really. I enjoyed a cup of this Chai this morning with a touch of coconut sugar, and a little coconut milk. Wow, I know I keep saying it but this might be my favorite Chai ever! Don’t worry about the crushed red pepper, it only adds a little spice, it won’t burn any throats! This Chai is creamy, and sweet and just totally something different from the usual Chai. I didn’t immediately think marshmallow when I tatsed this tea, but I did detect the white chocolate right away. As a vegan I really appreciate that they used vegan chocolate so everyone can enjoy this!
If you enjoy mellower, sweeter Chai’s with a little kick, this will blow your mind. This is my new winter beverage!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This is actually a reblend of sorts – let’s call it a reinterpreted blend since I did take some artistic freedom with this blend because while I did very much enjoy the original, I thought that it could have been spicier. And, I must confess that up until this evening, I had it in my head that the name of this tea was Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai, but I realized as I posted my thoughts about this tea on Steepster that it was actually Chocolate Marshmallow Spicy Chai. Not Spicier – just Spicy.
So when I blended this, I thought I was blending Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai and my memory of the original was that it wasn’t spicy enough to be a “spicier” chai and I added more spices to make it spicier. First, I added some chili pepper flake. Not a lot – but enough to give this a nice, spicy kick – or should I say Spicier kick! There’s a good amount of heat from the chili pepper but not so much that it’s sending me running to the kitchen for a drink of water to extinguish the heat.
And since I am a chocoholic, I added more chocolate flavor with the addition of cacao shells, mini vegan chocolate chips and vegan white chocolate chips. I like the addition of the white chocolate especially, I think that it enhances the marshmallow flavor just a bit. Another change: I didn’t add anise to this blend. Now, I love anise. LOVE it! But I wanted to try it first without the anise because anise can add a rather strong, distinctive licorice-y flavor and I didn’t think I wanted a licorice-y note to this. Maybe at some point, I’ll do a chocolate anise blend or something, but for now, I’m quite happy with this just the way it is!
If you enjoyed the original but thought it needed more spice – you should definitely try this!
organic ingredients: black teas, secret blend of spices, marshmallow root, cacao nibs, cacao shells, mini vegan chocolate chips, vegan white chocolate chips and natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
#FanaticFriday: Pumpkin Butter Cookie Tea from 52Teas
We at SororiTea Sisters love all things fall! So today we are fanatic about fall!!
I chose this week to begin a diet and give up soda/booze.
Tea is all I have left, guys.
After limping through a day of surprise projects, lunch-salads, and ZERO COOKIES, I needed a cup of tea to survive a play. (I love plays. I just wasn’t sure I could stay awake.)
While rooting through my un-tried samples, this one called to me.
“There’s a chill in the air,” it whispered. “Tomorrow is the autumn equinox. You want something caffeinated and pumpkin spiced, and you know it.”
The tea was right. The tea is always right.
This tea is about halfway between pumpkin pie and a frosted gingerbread cookie. It’s extremely rich, sugary, spicy, and pumpkin-a-riffic.
It’s homemade Halloween costumes, crunchy leaf piles, oversized cable-knit sweaters, and hay rides in every sip.
I feel bad telling you about it, actually, because it’s not currently available to buy.
Does it make you feel any better to know that I enjoyed the play?
