For Star Trek fans or just plain tea lovers alike, do yourself a favor and brew up a cup of Wake Me Up Scotty from 52Teas. This is based around a Scottish black tea, and gently sweetened with hints of butterscotch and a scattering of marshmallow root. The name of course, is in reference to the Star Trek phrase, Beam Me Up, Scotty. The tea got its name from all the ‘scotch and Scottish ingredients, and from the hearty caffeine dose of black tea.
I love a good Scottish breakfast blend first thing in the morning, though when I reach for a breakfast tea, I also want a little bit of tartness to make me feel fresh and awake. I was a little wary that the black tea in this blend would be hidden beneath its dessert flavors, but despite the candy-like inclusions, this tea preserves plenty of that crisp breakfast black tea taste.
This blend has it all: flavorful integrity of the black tea and a caress of caramel and cream flavors. You definitely taste the butterscotch and marshmallow, but not at the expense of the bright black tea. I take my tea without sugar or milk, but if you love the butterscotch notes, you can draw them forward by brewing this as a latte or by adding your favorite sweetener.
The caramel and marshmallow come across in this blend with almost the same nutty sweetness as honeyed breakfast cereal with mini marshmallows, which takes this whole idea of a breakfast tea to a new level. A delicious and balanced blend that I should keep on hand in my cabinet for any breakfast time brewing.
I applaud 52Teas for always being inventive in their flavors; they seek out new teas and flavor blends, and boldly go where no tea company has gone before!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
So this tea comes with a story – please bear with me . . .
I don’t usually go for teas that have already been blended. I usually want to do the blending myself. I also usually don’t go for CTC teas. But this tea presents us with an exception to that – because on a whim, I happened to sample an organic Scottish Breakfast Blend from a would-be supplier and I absolutely loved it. It was rich, rugged and malty and I immediately began to imagine what I might do with this tea.
So I ordered some of the tea to play around with it a bit and while playing around, I thought – hey, it’s a Scottish Breakfast Blend, I should try blending it with butterscotch. Not real creative, I know. But after my initial taste test of the blend flavored with butterscotch – I was hooked. I decided to lighten things up with some soft, creamy marshmallow. And my “Scotty Breakfast Blend” was born. Again – not a really creative name, right?
As I was sitting around with Mat and updating him with my tea studio happenings, he asked me why I called this one “Scotty Breakfast Blend.” And I told him something like: because it was made with a Scottish Breakfast Blend and I used ButterSCOTCH as the primary flavor component.
He mentioned I should call it “McBreakfast Blend” or something like that. Then I thought, what if McDonalds decides to slap a Cease and Desist on me for using their Mc. He told me that he didn’t think they could actually do that and they probably don’t lay claim to the prefix Mc. However, I wasn’t too keen on McBreakfast Blend … what about O’Scotty Breakfast Blend? During this exchange, I’m not sure who threw in “Beam Me Up, Scotty” into the mix . . . but I liked it. Not because I’m a big Star Trek fan because really, I’m not. I’m much more Harry Potter than Star Trek although I really liked Ricardo Montalbán’s portrayal as Khan.
But I digress.
I liked the idea that – for those of us who like to see different meanings in words – the “Beam Me Up” could be thought of as waking someone up or inspiring a sense of alertness which is what black tea (especially a rich CTC blend like this) does for me. At the end of my exchange with Mat, he said, just call it “Wake Me Up, Scotty!” because those who are Star Trek fans will appreciate the alluding to “Beam Me Up” without actually saying that – and those who wouldn’t get what I’m alluding to might still appreciate that this is a wake-me-up kind of tea with a Scottish Breakfast Blend base and a butterscotch flavor.
This a well-rounded black tea that on it’s own is pretty robust and stimulating – a fantastic first tea of the morning! The butterscotch and hint of marshmallow offer a pleasant sweetness to the cup. A delightful cuppa!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Wake Me Up Scotty! from 52Teas. . . . .
So, I have a wikid sweet tooth…like, bad. My favorite desserts include, but are not limited to: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (sans raisins), warm chocolate chip cookies, anything salted caramel, banana cream pie, coconut cream pie, anything marshmallow, anything pistachio or almond, and molten chocolate cake (like that decadent one from Chili’s). Although butterscotch isn’t necessarily on that list, when I was a kid those Werther’s Butterscotch Candies used to be an addiction of mine! This is actually my first butterscotch flavored tea (not my first marshmallow tea though, of course…i’m a marshmallow fein!) so I was really excited to give it a try. The black tea base that’s used here apparently has a good jolt of caffeine- so that’s a double win!
The first thing i’m going to say about this blend is that the black tea is bold- DON’T OVER STEEP. I steeped this for 2 minutes (30 seconds less than recommended) and it was still almost bitter, like at the brink of that astringency. The second thing I will say is although that would normally be a turn off for me, the flavors of butterscotch and marshmallow mixed with my own addition of agave really helped balance the bold black tea back out and made me enjoy the blend. Creamy marshmallow and that distinctive taste and smell of smooth butterscotch….it’s just wow! An awesome combination with the energizing black tea! This is a definite must try and a fabulous morning blend!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bananas Foster from Handmade Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Handmade Tea
Tea Description:
Handmade Tea is a once a month tea subscription company. Each month you receive a high quality tea that is unique and fantastic!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Bananas Foster is a dessert that I just can’t pass up. I love bananas and when you add in caramel and other goodies. . .I’m in! And when tea blends are created with this idea in mind to make a Bananas Foster tea, I just get giddy.
This tea is an oolong based tea with banana slices, butterscotch chips and cinnamon, along with a few other spices. The tea smells amazing and I couldn’t wait to dive into the tea and check it out. I eagerly steeped up the tea. I couldn’t wait to try this. I’m always on the look out for an amazing banana tea.
Brewed with water at about 190 degrees and allowed the tea to steep for about 4 minutes. Once the tea was poured into my cup, I allowed the tea to cool off for a few before trying it. First sip in, I was very pleased by the flavors I was getting. Now I will say, I still haven’t experienced any banana flavor in this tea. I can see the banana chips in the blend but I just am not picking up those notes. What I do get is this amazing silky smooth vegetal flavor with a caramel sweetness that just makes you smile. Every now again I pick up a honey note and butterscotch flavors. I wish I picked up more of that butterscotch and obviously the banana but having an oolong that is sweet and vegetal all in the same, that works for me! The tea is still delicious and I will have no problem finishing it. I had recently cancelled my subscription to Handmade Tea just because of the amount of tea I currently have, but I have to say, I don’t think I can quit them! I can’t miss any of these fun flavors!
