After killing myself at the gym this morning*, I needed a little bit of comfort. Black teas are my go-to morning cuddle buddy. They never cause DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). They never make me sweaty. I never collapse after drinking one.
* (10 flights on the stairmaster, a mile on the treadmill, then a variety of circuit training nonsense that at one point just had me laying on a mat, reaching for my inhaler.)
Comforting though this blend is, it’s still got that black-tea kick. This one’s an eye-opener. It pries your face open, Clockwork Orange style. Are you nodding off at your desk?
NOT ANY MORE YOU’RE NOT. WELCOME TO THE DAY.
The flavor is a nice smooth blend, a bit malty and raisin-y. I have a feeling that, if you mixed some with an herbal tea (maybe berry-flavored), you’d have a great iced tea. This could be a strong backbone for a kickin’ blend.
If you’re the sort of person who does this sort of thing. Which I do. I like to play alchemist all the time. Is it unclassy to throw ingredients into other teas? Probably. But I’ve come up with some awesome stuff. (I have also — full disclosure — completely failed.)
So give this one a try, either straight or with a buddy. At the very least, you’re in for a good morning jostle.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Solstice Tea Traders
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
I Dream of Macchiato Dream from Steeped Tea
I don’t discriminate when it comes to tea and coffee, I like them both, hot and iced, and I often find myself drinking one or the other depending on my mood. I was very intrigued to try a rooibos tea with real coffee beans mixed in the dry leaf. Visually, this blend is intriguing, with the fine red grains of rooibos mixed in with dark, roasted coffee beans and chunky cocoa shells.
The smell of this tea is amazing right from the start: there is the sharp, earthy, depth of roasted coffee beans, the sweet decadence of cocoa, and the bright vanilla nuttiness of the red rooibos. Without even brewing a cup, this tea smells like a mocha dessert or java ice cream.
Brewed hot, the cocoa and coffee take over, completely masking the rooibos. This can be a benefit– I’m not always in the mood for the particular taste of red rooibos, though its caffeine-free status is hard to beat. The brewed tea has a smooth mouthfeel, warming and coating my throat, and the sweet flavors almost trick my tongue into thinking we’re having dessert instead of tea.
Even with the coffee beans, there’s not as much caffeine in this blend as other black teas or full-on coffee, so there is more flexibility as to when you can indulge in Macchiato Dream. I’m not as ambitious as some SororiTea Sisters when it comes to building lattes, but I can already tell that this tea will be a winner when mixed with milk and sweetener.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Steeped Tea
Description:
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Glazed Donut from 52Teas
I’ve hear about the 52Teas company for its unique and varying tea flavors (flavors like banana pudding, pumpkin cheesecake, and cotton candy), but this is my first time trying tea from 52Teas. With a name like Glazed Donut, how could you not give this blend a try?
Glazed Donut is a black tea with organic flavors added to create the dessert-flavor of its namesake. I brewed this tea in a variety of ways. First, I went for my preferred style: hot tea without any sugar or milk. With this method, the strongest glazed donut experience I had was the smell in my mug from the hot brew. The fragrance had the sugary, frosted notes of a sweet and buttery donut. When drinking the tea, the sweetness is much more mild, mostly tasting like quality, loose leaf black tea with the expected tart tannin flavors.
I also tried this tea as a twelve-hour cold brew. The blend is much smoother with this method, though I didn’t find the glazed donut flavor to be any stronger. It’s still the most noticeable in the scent and the first sip of the tea. The later notes are all traditional black tea.
Finally, I went out on a bit of a limb for me, and I tried this tea hot, with a hefty teaspoon of sugar. I also made sure to follow the recommended steeping instructions: brewing for 3 minutes and then letting sit to cool for 10 minutes. Overall, I think this was the best brewing style. Adding real sweetness to the glazed donut fragrance helped complete the flavor profile, and letting the brew cool a bit before drinking brought out more donut notes.
For best results, I recommend drinking this blend alongside a morning indulgence of your choice: cinnamon roll, danish, or glazed donut.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
I originally blended this tea as part of the Breakfast Inspired Sampler Add-On for the start-up Kickstarter campaign, but I do have a few packages of this tea remaining.
This tea was crafted with a very special tea base (a Thyolo OP1 from the Satemwa estate in Malawi). It’s a fair-trade and rainforest alliance tea – and it’s seriously good stuff!
I used this tea as the base for flavors to create a Glazed Donut like experiencece – and all I can say about this is YUM! So good!
Ingredients: single estate black tea, organic calendula petals, organic all-natural flavors.
This tea is no longer available but click below for the unique flavors that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Assam Black Tea from Mana Organics. . . .
In the mornings, I typically drink a cup of two of coffee before I leave the house. For my commute to work, I always bring some form of hot tea and my matcha smoothie. But to get me out of bed-which is no small task- coffee is usually what I drink. (My hubby actually brings me my first cup in bed to help me get up. He is such a sweetheart!) But lately, the coffee just hasn’t tasted right. I recently had the flu and I think my stomach is still a bit wonky from that experience because coffee just hasn’t been hitting those notes for me.
So the other night, I set my kettle up to start prepping my tea so that my hubby could bring me a cup of this Assam first thing in the am. And my taste buds are loving this experience!
This black Assam is malty with a gentle sweet note that combines to become the perfect wake me up cuppa. I really adore the brisk malty notes. They bring a lot of character to the tea and make the mouth feel so silky. I’m also picking up a floral hit now and again and a nutty undertone. A perfect combo first thing in the morning.
For me, this is about the perfect morning cuppa. I think I may have to pick up some of the bagged versions of this tea for an added convenience factor. Plus, my hubby can handle brewing me up a cup of this brisk brew in a bagged form much easier than the loose leaf version. And let’s face it, sometimes my mornings just don’t allow for brewing up loose leaf tea with getting the kiddos work, making sure everybody has their lunch, getting the dog set for the day and so on and so forth. . . .
I do have to end this review with a warning, do mind the steeping parameters. I have found that the tea as lovely as it is, can be a bit unforgiving if you forget that you are steeping your morning cuppa like I did the other day. But with a touch of milk and honey,
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mana Organics
Description
Brisk, bold, and pure, we grew this organic Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Assam black tea on our family tea estate, Chota Tingrai (27.458869 N, 95.354856 E). This tea is excellent for waking you in the morning or replacing your afternoon cup of coffee.
In this resealable packet, you find no fillers or dust. Instead you meet a blend of long aureate and black leaves. The golden leaves you see are the fabled tips of Assam. Prized for their complexity of scent and flavor, they are a rare find in any tea. The black leaves are the two leaves plucked next to the bud. These provide a sweet background flavor for taste of the golden tips to dance around in. Both these leaves come from the very tiniest leaves at the very tip of the youngest shoots of the tea bush, and are known as Flowery Orange Pekoe.
When you brew the tea, you can watch the long leaves unfurl. Upon brewing, you smell dates, almonds, and parsley as the liquor blooms a dark rosy red. As you take your first sip of the tea, you meet a flawlessly smooth balance of malt and sweet. While you can add milk and sugar, the honey after-taste will try to dissuade you.
As you savor each drop, you can taste the rich, healthy earth of Assam and the warm, happy pride of the women who plucked the leaf. This tea is both certified and actually 100% organic. We know this because we personally oversee the nurturing of every plant with compost made on our estate, and ensure that no staff uses any chemical pesticide in our organic sections.
We love this tea, the land we grew it on, and the people with whom we grew it. We know you will love it too.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Morning Mojo from The Tea Spot. . . . .
Have you ever taken one sip of a tea and been like “yuuuup, I’m going to have to buy a vat of this and keep it in an armed fortress just for myself”?
That’s how I felt about this tea, a super-creamy vanilla/orange pu’erh/black confection. It’s perfectly balanced, like a ninja poised to strike another ninja. (Because that obviously requires extra stealth). There’s the sweetness of the vanilla against the tangy of the orange and the earthy of the pu’erh and the depth of the black.
The flavors are like constructive criticism, which starts and ends with a compliment, and offers helpful advice in the middle. It’s like hearing “hey, sweetie, honeydew, WAKE THE HELL UP, lovely. Today’s going to be fine.”
And you know what? Today is, as promised, just fine so far.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description
Wake up, Buttercup! Morning Mojo’s boost will help you take charge of the day. This breakfast blend pairs pu-erh with the ideal black teas to create a perfectly rounded morning cuppa. Pu-erh, known for its effective caffeine punch, has been used traditionally for centuries as a slimming and beauty tea, as well as a hangover cure. With added vanilla to smooth out your morning routine, and citrus peels for a cleansing glow.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!