Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
After sharing some blueberry cordials with a friend, my helper, Shante wanted us to create a blueberry cordial tea. So here it is: our premium Indian black teas blended with organic chocolate, blueberry and brandy flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about how to subscribe to Southern Boy Teas here.
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Taster’s Review:
I’m starting to notice that I need to drink at least a full glass of iced tea of whatever flavor I’m reviewing from Southern Boy Teas before I’m able to make a proper assessment of it. I need to finish the first glass and be about halfway through my second glass before I’m able to really offer a fair evaluation of the tea.
That’s because the flavors don’t really reach out and grab me from the first few sips. It isn’t until I reach the end of the first glass that I’m starting to notice the flavors. Then with the second glass … I notice that the flavors are still developing on my palate. By the time I’ve reached the mid-glass point of the second glass of iced tea, then I can really taste the flavors clearly.
And this is really a tasty iced tea!
I don’t know if it’s a “blueberry cordial” exactly, though. I find myself still searching for the chocolate notes. I can taste the blueberry very clearly. I get a strong sweet yet tart blueberry flavor with that familiar tingly berry sensation at the finish. That tingling, tart note lingers into the aftertaste.
I also taste notes of brandy. The notes of brandy are subtle but they’re there and they seem to accentuate the flavors of the blueberry rather than try to stand out on their own.
The chocolate is there too, but it’s something that I find myself needing to really focus on the sip to taste. Once I do focus on the sip – by sipping slowly with a slight ‘slurp’ to aerate the liquid on my palate – I can really taste the chocolate. So, I’m not saying that the chocolate notes are too delicate, I’m just saying that when taking a casual sip, they aren’t as noticeable as when I’m really trying to focus on what flavors I’m experiencing with this tea.
The black tea is also tasted in this. It’s not an aggressive flavor, but it’s tasted. It’s smooth and brisk. No bitterness and I’m not detecting any astringency either. It’s just smooth and pleasant. It isn’t a particularly bold tasting tea, but it isn’t something I’d call muted or even drab. I think it’s offering just the right amount of flavor for this particular blend: allowing the flavors of the blueberry cordial to shine through while still reminding me that I’m drinking black tea.
Overall, I think that this blend is a win. It might not be my favorite to come from Southern Boy Teas, but it’s one that I wouldn’t mind having again. I enjoyed it!
Berry Mocha Truffle Black Tea from Octavia Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Information:
Let’s keep this simple. This blend smells and tastes exactly like dark chocolate covered fruit. It’s seriously good. You get the mocha & dark chocolate first, a fruit blast in the middle and a slight bitter chocolate and floral finish. To make it more indulgent, stir in some milk and sugar.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
It’s also part of Amoda Tea’s Holiday Box!
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’m sitting here with the aroma of this tea wafting through the air, I find myself in total agreement with Amoda Tea’s description above: Yep, it smells exactly like dark chocolate covered fruit. My mouth is watering right now. It smells SO GOOD.
It’s the cocoa husks! (Aka cacao shells!) I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: tea companies should use cacao shells if they want a strong, true flavor for their chocolate teas.
As for the taste: Yum! I get the mocha notes up front, and as the sip continues, I pick up on a strong berry note that lingers into the aftertaste.
This has a really pleasing chocolate note. I love the dark chocolate flavor of this tea. Bittersweet! It’s a really nice contrast to the sweet-tart flavors of berry.
My one criticism of this tea is that the black tea seems just a wee bit lost in these strong flavors. Yes, I taste the black tea, but I don’t think it’s quite robust enough to be with all this chocolate mocha and berry flavors.
I don’t know what type of black tea is used as a base for this blend, but I think that an Assam or a Nilgiri would have been a good choice for it because I think that those malty notes that Assam and Nilgiri teas are known for would taste amazing with these chocolate mocha notes. My taste buds are “mmm-ing” just at the thought of a malty, rich Assam tea with the mocha flavors.
But as it is, this is really a nice tea. I can taste the tea – and I find that the tea flavors come through a little stronger as I make my way down the cup (and a slurp now and then doesn’t hurt!) But this really tastes more like a mocha than it does a tea.
The berry notes brighten the cup in a really nice way. The sip starts out with the strong mocha-esque flavors and then all the sudden, a bit of bright, berry flavor hits the palate. Nice!
This is the tea I’d recommend to someone who is a former coffee drinker and decided to turn to tea because the caffeine of coffee is harsh on them (it was on me!) but they still miss that mocha flavor from their favorite coffee shop! This tea will help them miss their mocha less – or perhaps not at all – because I’d rather drink this than a $5 mocha any day!
Wild Woman Black Tea Blend from Tay Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Information:
Do you have as much trouble finding well-balanced berry teas as we do? Look no further. This is the one. Wild Woman has an amazing dark berry aroma. Don’t let it scare you off though because it softens in the sip. The hibiscus is light and adds to how deliciously tart this tea is. The blueberry and black currant authentically flavour a bold black tea base.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After reading the description of this tea on the website, I was a little apprehensive. I’m not into hibiscus, as I’ve said on many occasions and I really think that hibiscus is “overused” in the tea industry. It’s become a substitute for true berry flavor and I think that’s a shame. So, I found myself thinking … “ugh, hibiscus in a berry blend, how original.” (sarcasm, of course!)
But … this is pretty darned good, I must say!
As the description above promises, the hibiscus here is light. It doesn’t add too much tartness nor does it add a thick, syrupy texture to the cup. There’s just a wee bit of hibiscus tart that accents the berry notes in a pleasant way. But what I’m appreciating here is that the hibiscus isn’t taking away from the berry flavors or making it tastes too hibiscus-y. Instead, the hibiscus seems to encourage the berry notes to come forward.
The black tea is a medium-bodied tea, brisk and even toned. It is smooth, not very astringent (a moderate astringency is noticed at the tail) and it doesn’t taste bitter.
The blueberry is the top note. It’s sweet and it’s my favorite aspect of this blend. The currant offers a slight wine-like quality to the cup and it adds just a hint of tartness. There is that berry tingle at the end of the sip.
A very enjoyable berry tea. I didn’t try it latte but I think it would be quite nice with a splash of milk in it – berries and cream! It has a nice sweetness to it and doesn’t require sugar to coax the flavors to come forward, so I would recommend tasting this one before you sweeten because you may find it doesn’t need it.
It tastes good hot but I liked it even better as it cooled. It had a really pleasant flavor, suggesting to me that this one would be great to have on hand in the summer for iced tea!
Mintberry Pine Green Tea Blend from M & K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Sweet roasted sloe berries doused in honey and liquid hibiscus, tossed with fresh spearmint and 3-distinct green teas, paired with real pine needles. That’s Mintberry Pine. It’s our limited-edition green tea holiday blend that offers a more complex, subtle taste (as opposed to mint exploding in your mouth with the force of a white hot sun). If you’re a green tea lover, mint lover, berry lover, or all three, this tea is perfect for you. Get it while it’s here!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw that M&K’s Tea Company had some really intriguing holiday blends, I decided that I needed (yes, needed) to try them! Fortunately, they understood this need and they offered a Wintertime Tea Sampler! This sampler offers five different teas: Moroccan Mint, Pine Needle Tea, Winterwolf Tea, White Vanilla Peppermint and this Mintberry Pine Green Tea. These samples were all packed into a special sampler package that’s just the right size for stocking stuffers. It’s a handsome package, something that Santa would be proud to give!
Before I received my package, I received a message from Marty (the “M” of M&K’s, I think!) explaining that the Mintberry Pine (and the Pine Needle Tea) are both very subtle teas. He recommended steeping them a little longer than the package directs and to allow plenty of steep room for the leaves (let them steep loose in the teapot instead of using an infuser tool).
To steep, I grabbed my small teapot (4 cup size) and dusted it off – it’s been a while since I’ve used this! I have gotten spoiled with my Breville! I warmed the teapot and poured the contents of the sampler into the teapot and heated 16 ounces of water to 180°F. Then I poured the water into the teapot and let it steep for 3 1/2 minutes. The package suggests 2 – 4 1/2 minutes, but I couldn’t bear to let a green tea steep longer than 3 1/2 minutes. I was willing to sacrifice a little of the mint, berry and pine flavors but I didn’t want a bitter green tea.
Yes, the flavors are a little subtle, but I like that I’m tasting all the elements of this tea and that the green tea doesn’t taste bitter.
I like the subtle flavor of the mint here. I like that I have a crisp, cool minty taste without it tasting like I added a shot of mouthwash to my cup of green tea.
The berry notes add some sweetness and not a lot of tartness (which I was a little apprehensive about because I saw liquid hibiscus up there in the description). There is a light, tingly tart tone that tickles the tongue (try saying that five times fast) in the aftertaste, but that’s to be expected with berry blends. I’m also picking up a delightful honeyed note from the honey roasting process. Nice touch.
The pine needles are the softest flavor component of the three elements in the name of this tea. I do get a very slight, resinous pine note to this that hits the palate right at the start and then it quickly disappears and reappears just after mid-sip, just to remind me that it is there. It’s very faint and it’s something that I think I’d have missed if I didn’t search for it.
However, as I continue to sip, I taste more and more of the pine, and by the time I’m halfway through my second cup of this tea, I’m getting a nice pine note. It never becomes a strong presence, but it certainly is a noticeable presence at this point.
And let us not forget that we’re drinking tea here. There’s a soft, buttery note of green tea. It’s lightly grassy (and I think that the grassy tones accentuate both the pine and the mint notes in a positive way), and it has a nice mouthfeel. It’s not bitter nor is it overly astringent, even though I steeped it longer than I typically would steep a green tea. I think that this could have even gone another 30 seconds to 1 full minute longer without bitterness!
Overall, a very unique blend. Certainly festive and definitely different from the other teas that everyone else is producing out there! Bravo M&K!
Provénce Rooibos Blend from The Secret Garden Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: The Secret Garden Tea Co.
Tea Description:
French lavender, rosebuds, and berries yield a sweet melange.
Ingredients: Rooibos, rosehip, elderberry, and blueberry pieces, lavender, rose petals, natural flavors.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really lovely melody of flavors. I like the way the floral notes of lavender and rose contrast with the earthy and nutty flavors of the rooibos and the sweet-tart berry notes of elderberry and blueberry. It all comes together in a really pleasant way.
To brew this, I used my Breville One-Touch and added 3 bamboo scoops of leaf to the basket (I usually use a little more leaf with herbal tisanes) and 500ml of water to the kettle. I set the temperature for 195°F (my go-to temperature for most rooibos or honeybush blends as well as other herbal tisanes), and the time for 10 minutes (again, my go-to steep time for rooibos or honeybush blends – except for tisanes with hibiscus in them).
The sip starts with floral notes of lavender and lighter notes of rose. Almost immediately after I pick up on the lavender and rose, I start to notice the tart notes of elderberry and a hint of sweetness from the blueberry. A moment later, I start to recognize the honeyed sweetness of the rooibos, followed by the nutty and earthy flavors. The finish is sweet with fruit and flower tastes, with the floral notes lingering in the aftertaste along with that tingly berry tartness.
It’s a really enjoyable cup and it’s one that I’d recommend to those who feel that rooibos blends are one-note. This one will change their mind. There are some really wonderful layers of flavor to it. The berry flavors as well as the sweet floral notes bring to mind thoughts of spring or summer and this would make a really nice warm weather blend (it’s really quite nice as it cools!) but because I am finding it to be a very calming blend, I think it’s just as appropriate a blend to have in the winter season because let’s face it, we could all use a little bit of calm during this busy holiday season!