Slytherin from The Forest Witch. . . . . .

by SuperStarling

The Forest Witch’s Slytherin Blend is — to start off — just a really cool name. Both the Forest Witch part and the Harry Potter part. Kudos on the naming. The Witch also carries teas named after Game of Thrones houses, mythological characters, and other magic. I’m a huge sucker for that kind of thing, and this tea definitely knows its niche and caters to it.

The tea itself is a hearty lemon and nut-flavored tea with a dash of cherry. The cherry is secondary, so if that’s your primary focus, I’d recommend hunting down another cup. But if you want a cool blend of unexpected yet harmonious flavors, this might be your jam.

The lemon is zesty; the cherry is like a violin playing; and the nuts form a friendly base. They’re all being embraced by the malty black.

This tea totally works. Sometimes, when I’m trying a tea, I think the creators are putting in a little too much effort. (“Eighty ingredients? Are they OKAY over there?”) But a base + 3 flavors is just right. You get the high, the middle, and the low notes (ideally, in my opinion).

I don’t know if this tea says “Slytherin” to me, necessarily. Lemon is totally a Slytherin thing (kinda spiky in flavor, a little sassy). Cherry, sure. Black tea? Obviously. Slytherins look great in black.

But I feel like nuts are the zone of Hufflepuff. Nuts feel “friendly” to me.

This is, obviously, totally subjective and in my head.

I’ve put a lot of thought into the Potter Houses. For example, of all the Harry Potter houses I could be at present, Slytherin is literally the last. I’m not bragging here that I’m a selfless angel; I’m instead telling you that my “go-getter” drive is dead. I took too many AP classes in high school, and was, frankly, terminally exhausted by the time I was 18. Then I got sucked into a difficult (but rewarding!) major, and I’m now a vortex “meh, not worth it.”

If Hermione Granger just took it easy the rest of her life post-Hogwarts, would anyone really hold it against her? Maybe she could find a reasonably-challenging job she liked, and devote her free time to writing tea reviews or something.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black Tea
Where to Buy:  The Forest Witch
Description

Brewing up plans for your path to success and prestige once you leave Hogwarts? Why not enjoy a satisfying cup of tea sure to help fortify you on your way?

Black tea provides a lovely malty and sweet base for pistachios, cherries, and lemongrass. A delicious treat for pistachio pudding lovers, and ambitious witches and wizards alike!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

SuperStarling

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"

This post was posted in Black Tea, The Forest Witch

Cherry Cordial from The NecessiTeas. . .A Hand Blended Treat!

by VariaTEA

Growing up, my brother was obsessed with video games. Obsessed. He used to drag my mom out to the stores for midnight releases and then pretend to be sick the next game so he could stay home and play the games. I never understood it…until now. Is it weird I feel that way about tea? Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of skipping work though so I spent the day thinking about my NecessiTeas haul sitting at home. More specifically, I spent the day thinking about this tea.

I wish I had the words to describe the smell of the dry leaf because it is beyond amazing. Truly awesome. And realistically, what could be bad. Cherries? Chocolate chips? Marshmallows? It all sounds pretty darn delicious to me.

And delicious it is. At first I got a bit of astringency from the base but now that it has cooled a bit, I am getting black cherry perfection. Sweet, rich and distinctive, this is certainly one of the better cherry blends I have tried. No cough syrup here. Add to that a fluffy marshmallow note floating on top contributing creaminess that is only further accentuated by the velvety smoothness of the melted milk chocolate. It’s all there and its all delightful.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description

The combination of a sweet liquid cordial center with a milk chocolate coating is truly divine. Try with a splash of milk and rock sugar for an even more decadent treat!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Black Tea, The NecessiTeas