If Chewbacca drank tea, what would he drink?
We know they drink brandy, which is great mixed with a strong black tea and honey for colds, and can hold their liquor better than many other species.
Perhaps being a brandy loving type they would go for a more oxidized leaf such as this one. It’s simple but has enough caffeine kick to get you going in the morning. The toasted mate rounds it all out nicely while the added flavoring gives the aftertaste a pleasant caramel savoriness.
I can see Chewbacca, having finished his pre-flight duties, sitting in the cockpit waiting for Han while sipping on a cup of this.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black /Mate
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Caramel mocha, in tea form. Mocha Nut Mate is joined by Tiger Eye and Caramel black teas, resulting in a beverage brimming with dichotomies: familiar but new, caffeinated but chill. This blend is suitably robust, and can be relied upon to get the job done.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Whisky Tea/Whittard of Chelsea -VariaTEA-
I have never been a fan of whisky. My step-dad likes it and so when a young me meandered up to the side of of my mom’s bed and looked at the glass of whisky on the night stand and then at my mom and then back at the glass and back at my mom, my mom had no qualms about giving me the okay to taste it. Why? Because I reacted in the very way she expected…I took the tiniest sip and then spat it out and yelled “EWWWWWW!!!” I did not like it then. I still do not like it now. So when a tea friend sent me a whole bunch of this Whisky tea by Whittard of Chelsea, I had no idea what I was going to do with it.
That is until the other day when my family made pulled pork, which required 2L bottles of coke. My mom bought the off-brand coke figuring it was going in the food and wouldn’t really matter thus no sense spending the extra money on actual Coca Cola. So when there was a bit leftover, we were unsure of what to do with it. I felt inspired and decided to use it in a teapop. That left me with the question of which tea to use and it was this one that came to mind.
I brewed up both a plain hot cup of the tea and a teapop. Both were steeped for 3 minutes in 200F water.
The hot cup is malty. Malty but brisk. The underlying flavor is dry, like alcohol. It is like a breakfast tea but with alcohol. Definitely not the tea for me. I like softer and more dessert-like flavors. Astringency and briskness with a touch of alcohol is just not for me. However, for those that like breakfast teas and whisky, this could be right up your alley.
As for the teapop, it’s more of the same but with the off-brand coke, it has a pretty strong medicinal quality. It latches on to the dryness and gives this a bit of a cough syrup element. Like cherry cough syrup but without the cherry.
This tea smelled good in the bag but ended up being quite the bust. I think that is more due to my personal tastes than a reflection on the tea. Plus, it was not helped by the off-brand coke flavor since I am a Coca Cola girl through and through. So while this was not good for me, I do see that it has potential for those that enjoy these flavors.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Whittard of Chelsea
Description
Specially for those who love a tipple, we’ve concocted a rich black tea laced with flavours of fine Scotch whisky, adding a highland fling of heather petals in true Scottish spirit. With its warm, rounded flavours and malty sweetness, this tea is as good as any hot-toddy – so you won’t be needing that hip flask after all…
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Autumn 2019 Special Grade Laoshan Black/Verdant Tea
Please do not mind me as I sit here and gaze at this pulchritudinous tea.
It is somewhat difficult for me to describe the color of these brilliantly twisted leaves.
It is dark brown with hints of grays and greens. The aroma is fresh, toasty, and warm. The wet leaf aroma is vegetal.
Slightly musty. What a unique flavor.
Toasty notes are the forerunners. Followed closely by a chocolate and cream sensation. If steeped too long it takes almost like burnt chocolate.
The after taste is a bit mineral and this really shows when it comes to the feeling it leaves on the tongue.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description
Pioneers and community leaders in Laoshan Village, the He family was one of the first to plant tea on the misty ocean-facing slopes of the Taoist Holy Mountain they call home.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Review: Lion’s Blend/Friday Afternoon
This afternoon I felt like getting woke — both energetically and politically — so I chose Lion’s Blend from Friday Afternoon Tea.
This tea is essentially an Earl Grey with added rooibos & orange. The rooibos in Lion’s Blend gives a nice vanilla/sweetness that balances out its citrus/bergamot flavors. (I’m a huge fan of red rooibos, which I think throws in creaminess and joy to any cup.) Despite the rooibos, I still find this blend a little astringent. I like it, but it’s not on my must-have re-buy list.
However, I’m super happy I bought this blend because the proceeds go to an important charity that assists trans people with getting their mental health needs met (https://seattle.eater.com/2020/6/8/21284453/seattle-cafe-friday-afternoon-tea-donates-trans-mental-health-funds-jk-rowling). All of Friday Afternoon’s Harry Potter themed (https://fridaytea.com/collections/j-k-rowling) teas’ proceeds go there.
For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with a children’s book writer from 20 years ago, Jo (J. K.) Rowling has been saying a lot of transphobic things. You can Google it if you want. It’s mean stuff.
Friday Afternoon Tea saw this and decided to use its teas and the fans of her work to show that the fandom is progressive and kind! I love this. It’s a win-win situation.
It’s possible to love someone’s work without loving them. I also feel this way about horror/fantasy author HP Lovecraft. (He was really, REALLY racist. He thought Hitler had some good ideas.) It’s possible for people to be geniuses in one way but very, very behind in others.
That’s where this tea comes in.
Thanks, tea. You always give me balance in a crazy world.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Friday Afternoon
Description
Lions, tigers, and griffins, oh my! This tea is dedicated to our bold, righteous Gryffindor brethren. They can find courage and happiness in the darkest of places, especially when bolstered by the bright citrus notes in this tea!
Ingredients: Rooibos, Assam black tea, orange peel, marigold, natural flavorings
All of our teas available online are gluten-free and sourced from organically certified farms. Most are vegan, but some may include honey (indicated in ingredients).
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Two Seasons/teakruthi
teakruthi is a company that focuses on Ceylon teas. Personally, I did not think I was a fan of Ceylon teas since I always found them to be rather tannic and astringent. However, teakruthi was wonderful and shared generous samples of their teas in exchange for honest reviews. I have tried several of their teas now and I am happy to report that they have really changed my outlook on Ceylons. While I have not loved all of their teas, some have been quite enjoyable. In the enjoyable category is a blend called Two Seasons.
Two Seasons is one of a few blends that teakruthi carries as their focus is mostly on plain teas. Two Seasons is a mix of Pure Ceylon Black tea, Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (FBOP), ginger root, and peach. I steeped the tea per teakruthi’s recommended steeping parameters: 3 minutes in 95C water.
Drinking the tea, Two Seasons definitely seems like a fitting name. It’s got warming ginger notes that are flavorful but not very spicy and to balance that, it has a soft fruitiness from the peach. As such, the tea captures both flavors that represent Winter and Summer. The flavors are present but mild which allows the full/medium-bodied base to come through as well. The base tea is floral, which the peach plays off nicely. Also, It can be a touch astringent at the end of the sip but not overly so.
This tea is a nice bridge between flavored and unflavored teas. While it definitely has flavoring to it, it’s not overwhelming which allows you to appreciate the base tea as well. Softer flavoring also means you are less likely to tire of it quickly, which makes this easy to drink over and over again.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: teakruthi
Description
Mild in flavour, the high- and medium-grown black tea perfectly supports the delicate flavour infusion of ginger and peach. Hand-selected from the Sri Lankan wetlands on which it grows, the ginger in this tea boasts a subtle spiciness that harmonises with the flavour of the black tea. The sweet flavour of peach brings balance and peace to the spiciness of the black tea and ginger blend. Brewing to a deep copper in your cup, this tea is brimming with a tantalising blend of spicy, floral, and woody notes that are exclusively designed to exhilarate your taste buds while bringing peace to your mind.