On the 6th Day of Christmas 52 Teas gave to me…. Brownie Batter with Nut Butter Swirl Black Tea! I have a feeling this one will get a lot of swoons from you readers! The name is pretty irresistible, and so is the smell of the dry leaf. Even I did a little happy dance when I smelled it. In fact, I’m pretty sure over the next week I’ll be googling a recipe for brownies with a nut butter swirl because it sounds pretty amazing.
I had my baby shower a few weeks ago and my mom made my cake. It is this secret recipe for a from-scratch chocolate cake that actually has a brownie-batter frosting in between the layers. It is divine…seriously. I don’t know how she did it, she won’t even give me the recipe! I could eat that cake every single day, but that would be really bad for my health. Thankfully, we have companies like 52 Teas that can take our favorite desserts and put them into the form of tea….and, it is virtually calorie-free! Yay!
This one smells like brownies and almonds to me. Two of my favorite things! On taste, the chocolate is light and not syrupy or artificial. Ie: it doesn’t taste like watery hot cocoa, which is how some chocolate teas end up tasting. No, this one is really well done! It has an underlying flavor of buttery almond and maybe a little pecan…definitely a “nut” flavor. The combo of brownie batter and nut butter really is so, so good! I now must find a recipe to combine the two into an actual dessert. Great idea for a hostess gift at your Christmas party. :)Enjoy!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Buddha’s Best – A Quarter to Tea . . . .
Hello, readers, I am here again to talk about yet another rose blended tea. Which if you are new to my reviews I will fill you in quickly, I adore rose in just about everything. So it is not surprising that I was ecstatic to try out this new blend.
First and foremost, this tea is a simply made of a blend of black teas, rose petals, and tulsi leaf. Now I have had all three before in numerous cups but this cup was a bit different. First off, the smell is the rose tea smell I have become accustomed to, sweet and floral with a bit of boldness from the black tea. But the taste is where it is a bit different. Even though this tea is a blend of different black teas it almost has the flavor of a jasmine green tea. For it is not as heavy as the other blends I have tried that are both black tea and rose. That being said it is very refreshing, mentally and physically. The only negative that I can find with this tea is that the rose flavor is very light. But I guess that will be a plus to people who are indifferent to rose for it is an odd flavor.
Now to the economics, it comes in a variety of three sizes 1 oz for $5.50, 2 oz for $10.70, and 4 oz for $21.10. And I am happy to announce that they do offer a sample of 2-3 cups with the asking price of $1.50! So I will say that this is well worth the price so I would say go for it. Also, I was perusing the site and they also have tea subscription boxes so if you like this company and/or you are unsure of just what to buy maybe the subscription boxes would be something you are after.
I will finish off by saying that I will absolutely purchase this and/or other teas from A Quater to Tea in the near future. The asking price is right and the quality of my brewed beverage left me satisfied.
See you for the next cuppa!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter to Tea
Description
A showcase blend featuring teas from the birthplace of the Buddha. Light with lots of character with the staple muscatel notes of the region. Definitely a blend to try and find out why it’s simply the best!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the First Day of Christmas, 52Teas sent to me. . . . .
Every December we happily look forward to the Christmas teas that 52Teas puts together for their Christmas box. Our Sister will be giving us the daily low down on which teas made their way into the box this year . . . . .
The First Day of Christmas
Coconut French Toast with Cardamom Maple Syrup Black Tea
For the First Day of Christmas, 52 Teas gave to me….coconut crusted French toast with cardamom syrup! This was the tea of the week for June 15, 2015 and at that time I had not yet heard of 52 Teas, so I am really excited to have the chance to try this. It sounds like pure Heaven!
The dry leaf smell is creamy, maple-y, and coconut-y! There are big chunks of coconut and cardamom pods. Maple and cardamom tend to go well together and, in my humble opinion, coconut just goes well with almost anything!
I steeped this tea for about 3 minutes with very hot water and I also added just a tad bit of agave. This is so, so good! The cardamom shines through so well, its not overpowering though. Sometimes I feel that cardamom can add such an intense flavor and end up outshining the other ingredients, but here it just accents everything. The combination of coconut and maple add this nutty sweet and creaminess. I am very much enjoying this one, so this holiday TEAson (see what I did there?) is off to a fantastic start! I am going to enjoy the rest of this cup now and also finish the entire sample bag- and can I be honest with you guys? I feel like I haven’t done that in a really long time. I mean yeah I’ve found the teas I’ve been ordering to be very enjoyable, but to finish off the cup and the rest of the tea leaves? That’s rare for me these days so i’m really happy to be loving this tea so much.
So cheers to you and yours, enjoy this lovely symphony of flavor, and come on back tomorrow to see what I have to say about Day #2!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I think we should kick off this holiday countdown with some BREAKFAST – don’t you? How about some delicious coconut crusted French Toast with a touch of butter and some sweet maple syrup that’s been infused with the warmth of cardamom? Sound good? Yeah, it sounds good to me too!
Here’s our original description for this tea:
This tea was inspired by a very memorable breakfast. Coconut crusted French toast that was topped with melted butter and a cardamom syrup. I went a step further and added maple flavoring because it sounded like a good idea. It tastes even better than it sounds!
I stuck close to the recipe here although there’s a bit more cardamom here than in my past versions. I wanted to highlight the cardamom!
organic ingredients: black teas, toasted coconut flakes, cardamom pods & natural flavors
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
1st Place Tea: Snowflake from Aromatica Fine Teas
Depending on where you live, you may have seen some snowflakes flying on the air this time of year, which would be the perfect time to brew up a cup of Snowflake tea from Aromatica Fine Teas.
This is an award-winning blend, taking 1st place in the North American Tea Championships in 2011. Thinking about tea championships puts some silly images in my head, like some kind of tea Olympics, with little packs of tea on a snowy downhill ski slope. Anyway, the story is getting away from me.
Like beautiful, white, creamy snowdrifts, this black tea is blanketed with extra vanilla and creamy flavors. This tea is somewhere between a breakfast blend and a dessert blend, so that means it can be brewed up just about any time of day. In addition to the vanilla, there are coconut flakes, which add their usual creamy, buttery taste. Luckily there’s not too much coconut, and this moderation keeps the brew from getting too oily.
What really sets this blend apart are the real slivers of almond. These stylish blonde slivers go beyond the typical marzipan flavoring, and add real, sweet, nuttiness from actual nuts as ingredients. With smooth almond and lush coconut shavings, this tea taste a bit more like a coconut cookie than a simple coconut cream tea.
Overall, Snowflake is a really solid vanilla tea blend, super drinkable and smooth. I drank it black, but it would amazing as a latte or made hot-cocoa-style, topped with marshmallows. The blend isn’t too sweet, nor too plain.
I know coconut is traditionally a tropical flavor, but with a name like Snowflake, this can be your next favorite winter brew.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Aromatica Fine Teas
Description:
A fabulous almond coconut tea. Brew it in steamed milk for a Tropical Fog. Ceylon and China black tea, coconut rasps, flavour, almond flakes.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rose Chateau by The Love Tea Co
I steeped this tea at 200 degrees in about a cup of water for about four minutes.
This is another selection from the Love Tea Company, who donates a quarter of their proceeds to mental health causes. Their teas also come in cute little reusable canisters!
The dried leaf has rose petals and other flower petals too, it looks like. According to the ingredients list these could be hibiscus, calendula, or sunflower petals, which are all included in the blend! In addition, there’s green tea in here and some curled oolong bits and some pieces of dried fruit (which turn out to be rosehips based on the ingredients list). It smells mainly fruity, with some rose/floral scent.
The steeped liquid looks almost pinkish-peach and smells like strawberry with floral notes and some savory green tea flavor.
I steeped for four minutes because it didn’t seem very strong at three (and I prefer getting stronger flavor out of my tea when I can).
First sip: it tastes a little astringent and strawberryish; the rose flavor isn’t overpowering here (maybe I just didn’t get any rose petals in my scoop of leaf?). It’s delicate and reminds me the most of a strawberry-flavored green tea, which is quite nice and desserty. There’s a bit of seaweedy vegetalness in the back of the throat. A few particles of tea escaped the strainer so I’d recommend a fine mesh if you don’t like that sort of thing (although mostly they’re just sitting on the bottom of the cup not causing a problem).
Overall it’s light, floral/fruity, but with a hint of buttery aftertaste (from the oolong), so I’d say it’s great for afternoon or evening relaxation (unless you’re super-sensitive to caffeine; green tea generally has just a little).
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green/Black
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description
This blend was created by a Canadian Master to evoke the character and spirit of France’s best rose vintages. It’s combination of some of the most luxurious green and black teas available today. Like wine, it goes perfectly with cured meats and fine cheeses. Milk and sugar are NOT recommended with this one.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
