Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
You can also learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I love a bowl of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream! So rich, creamy and the crisp, cool mint flavor really makes it a perfect summer time treat. And hey … let’s not forget the chocolate chips. Mmm! Chocolate!
So I was looking forward to trying this new flavor from Southern Boy Teas: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Iced Tea!
It is a tasty iced tea. There is a palate-pleasing balance of mint, chocolate and creamy flavors along with a backdrop of black tea notes.
That said, I do have a little issue with it. My one complaint is that the chocolate notes are just a bit on the “fake” tasting side, but this is something that I found an easy fix for: just add a little bit of sugar.
But because this tea is already on the sweeter side, if you sweeten your iced tea while it’s still hot (so that the sugar melts!), you might want to use a little less than you usually would, or you might want to hold off altogether and make a simple syrup to sweeten to your taste once it’s chilled.
I found it to be rather tasty without the sweetener but as I said, the chocolate tasted just a little off. I then made a simple syrup: I just add a teensy bit of boiling water to about a half teaspoon of water and stir in a coffee cup until the sugar is dissolved, and then add it to my tea. The simple syrup enhanced the flavors nicely and improved the flavor of the chocolate.
Even without the sweetener, this is still quite tasty. The chocolate notes don’t taste bad, but, there’s just a little something not quite 100% perfect about it either. The sweetener does improve this issue with the chocolate, but I am not thrilled with the fact that I need to sweeten my tea to make it taste right.
I liked it, but I’ve liked other teas from SBT more than this one.
Mango Sherbet Flavored Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Check out Southern Boy Teas’ Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds to attend the ASD Trade Show in Las Vegas.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited when I saw this flavor added to the Southern Boy Teas line, because I remembered the yummy Mango Ice Cream flavor that 52Teas had as their tea of the week some time ago, and I was hoping that this would be similar to that. That tea was seriously yummy!
And so is this Iced Tea flavor from SBT! The mango is a strong flavor and it’s sweet and fruity. There is a creamy element to the flavor as well, and I like the way this melds with the black tea notes to create a malty, creamy, refreshing black tea flavor.
This iced tea is so delicious! It tastes like someone melted a scoop of mango sherbet in my glass of iced tea! It’s sweet and mango-ish, with just the right notes of creaminess, but these flavors don’t overpower the brisk flavor of the black tea. The creaminess does soften the “edge” of the tea just slightly without overwhelming the ‘black tea’ flavor that I’m looking for when I pour myself a glass of iced tea.
This iced tea flavor from SBT is a real winner!
Frank (the chief Zoomdweebie at 52Teas and Southern Boy Teas) is trying to raise enough money to set up a display at the ASD Trade Show in Las Vegas, which is to take place very soon. This kind of exposure will really help his company take off. Please consider helping this small business become a big success by donating to their Kickstarter campaign. Thank you!
Yunnan Gold Tips Limited Edition Tea from Damn Fine Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Damn Fine Tea
Tea Description:
We’re galloping into the New Year on a 150 horse-powered infusion of Yunnan Gold Tips. Care to join us? Like a chestnut mare with a brilliant golden mane, this special tea has the might to carry you through good times and bad, and a gentle, unassuming beauty that will stir noble feelings in your breast. We wish the year of the snake a fond farewell, perhaps even a tip of the hat as it slithers away into the bushes. Now it’s time to face the road ahead. Welcome to the year of the horse — saddle up this damn fine steed and ride out to meet it!
We’ve teamed up again with our pals at Aesthetic Apparatus and made 150 tins of one of our favorites, Yunnan Jin Hao Gold Tips tea. This full-bodied black tea from China will remind you of a classic Yunnan — it’s good and strong — but the gold tips add a soft, velvety smoothness. Brew it in boiling hot water for at least five minutes and you’re off to the races. Cross the finish line and re-steep the leaves for another ride.
Learn more about this limited-edition tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been chomping at the bits to order this tea for months now, ever since it was announced. However, I have quite a bit of tea as it is, and I always seem to go a bit over my budget when it comes to tea spending, so I held off on ordering this as long as I could. I didn’t want to miss out on it – since it is a limited edition! – but I also couldn’t justify ordering it when it was announced. I waited and waited for a “free shipping” offer from Damn Fine Teas, but I never found that opportunity.
Then they offered free shipping to Canadians for Canada Day, and when I looked at this tea, I saw that there were only 6 tins of it left! Egad! I was freaking out, worried that I’d miss out on this tea while I was waiting for the 4th of July when (hopefully) they might have free shipping in the states (which they did), but I worried that this tea might sell out before the 4th arrived (it didn’t). But I still didn’t want to take that chance, so I paid for the shipping and declared that my budget be damned! It was time for some Damn Fine Tea!
I mean, it’s not like I haven’t had a golden tips Yunnan before, I’ve had quite a few lovely opportunities to try this type of tea. I didn’t really feel like I was missing out on something as far as the tea goes, but, as I’ve admitted in the past, I’m a sucker for packaging. And I didn’t want to miss out on a numbered tin which is beautifully appropriated with a vivid, yellow label with a cool horse on it. I didn’t want to not have this tin. I also needed to find out what cool little extra they’d send along with the tin. They always have a nifty little toy or something with the tin … something that corresponds with the tea. This tin came with a little rubber horse head finger puppet toy. Cool.
Yeah, go ahead and say it. I’m a nerd.
This Yunnan Gold Tips is an enjoyable tea and a nice selection for the celebration of the Year of the Horse (which was the reason behind this limited edition series). I don’t know that it’s the best Yunnan tea that I’ve ever tasted, but I’m enjoying it and happy to have it as part of my tea stash while it lasts.
The dry leaf is beautiful with it’s chocolate-y brown leaves tipped with gold. The aroma is earthy and rich, and there are hints of sweetness. The leaves brew up dark and produce a flavorful liquid that smells sweet – like molasses!
That molasses-y note translates to the flavor, and I can taste notes of sweet molasses that seem to mingle with an undertone of caramel-like flavor. It’s a hearty, robust tea with enough gusto to get someone up and running (or galloping!) on the days when you need that sort of thing. It has a leather-y, earthy quality to the flavor which is a nice contrast to the sweeter notes.
But what I like best about a Yunnan are the spice notes. And this tea has those too. They are warm and comforting, and I think that’s why I enjoy a good Yunnan like this one so much. It is an invigorating drink but there is a certain comfort to drinking it. Like waking up even though you don’t want to, but then walking into that hot shower and it feels so good that all the sudden you’re not minding waking up so much. That’s what this tea provides for me.
A really awesome tea, I’m glad that I finally ordered it. I just wish that I could have gotten the free shipping on it. Hey … Washington is right next to Canada … and I live in a city that is often confused as a Canadian city. That should count for something, eh? (See, I’m even trying to sound Canadian.)
Almond Milk Flavored Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
You can also learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I recently ordered a few of the newer iced tea flavors that Southern Boy Teas has added to their line, and I’m excited for that order to arrive. This Almond Milk Flavored Iced Tea is the last of the “new-to-me” iced tea flavors that I have in my cupboard right now. Don’t take that as my way of saying that I’m running out of tea (nothing could be further from the truth), but I have run out of new to me iced teas … at least until that order arrives.
And to be honest, I wasn’t sure how I’d like this tea. I mean, I like almond milk alright, I guess. I’m not a big drinker of milk (almond or otherwise), and really, milk’s only purpose as far as I’m concerned is to pour over cereal or to add to tea when I’m feeling like I want a latte. The latte doesn’t happen very often, because I really would rather drink a tea straight up. Every once in a while, though, I’d like that creaminess of a latte, so on those occasions, I do add a splash of milk to my tea. But they are rare occasions. I’m just not all that into milk.
But I am in to tea! So, I figured hey, I like tea and the black tea base that 52Teas/SBT uses for thier Southern Boy Teas iced teas is quite a lovely black tea. Rich and flavorful, not overly astringent, and not bitter. And since I don’t hate almond milk, I thought that this tea had a pretty good chance of success.
And I am actually liking this a whole lot more than I thought I would. In fact, after I poured my first glass of this tea to sit down and write this review, I had to stop writing and go and refill my glass because I was enjoying it so much. At this rate, I might very well have the half gallon pitcher of tea nearly empty by the time I finish writing the review.
I can really taste the almond here, and there is a lovely creamy element to the cup as well. It tastes sweet and nutty and it’s a very refreshing drink. The black tea base is tasty and melds in a pleasant way with the almond milk flavor. It reminds me a lot of a lighter version of Thai iced tea, and I suspect that is why I’m liking it so much. Thai iced tea – serious yum. This … is also serious yum!
Now I’m thinking I wish I would have tried this tea before I placed that order, because I want more of this! This is great!
Masala Chai Blend from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Masala Chai tea combines premium organic Assam black tea leaves with warming cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and other fragrant spices. This tea is finely balanced to create the perfect aromatic blend for you to enjoy black, or as it has been traditionally enjoyed, with milk and sugar.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s Chai Latte time! Mmm! While chai teas tend to be my autumnal go-to cuppa, I enjoy a good masala spiced chai blend any time of the year, and I’m really enjoying this Masala Chai Blend from The Persimmon Tree. It’s warm and spicy and dee-lish!
While the spices are strong in this blend, I like that I am having no trouble tasting the bold flavor of the Assam black tea base with this tea. It is a rich, malty Assam and the sweetness of the Assam is a nice contrast to the zesty spices. The tea is a little on the astringent side, so I would recommend steeping this for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. I steeped it for 4 minutes and I’m finding it to be a little astringent. Not too bad, but I think a little less time to steep would still produce a flavorful result with less astringency.
The spices are comprised of the “usual suspects” – cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger. I think that they’re nicely balanced here. I taste a good amount of cinnamon and cloves, but the peppery taste of the ginger and the warmth of the cardamom also are detectable.
This is delicious served straight up, although I would recommend a little sugar or honey to accentuate the spices. I have always been one who thinks that spices need a little sweet to bring out the best flavors in the spice. (Sugar and Spice makes everything nice.) But for a real treat, add a splash of warmed milk (almond milk is really good in chai!) The spices aren’t diminished by the addition, and the creaminess of the milk seems to elevate the drink to a whole other level.
Or you can make an iced drink by brewing the chai extra strong and then blending the cooled tea in a blender with some milk, honey and ice. Yum!