This is another tea I was fairly certain would make it into one of the coveted spots of the 12 Days of Christmas sampler. This one has been a huge hit, it has even been reblended a couple of times and it manages to sell out quickly. (In other words, if this is a tea you want to try, I recommend getting to 52Teas NOW and buy one of the revived in-stock pouches, because, they will not last long.
For the 5th Day of Christmas, 52Teas chose this tea …
PANCAKE BREAKFAST FLAVORED BLACK TEA
This tea has been a big hit on Steepster. And for good reason. It’s not only incredibly good … it actually tastes like pancakes that have been topped with butter and maple syrup. It is pleasantly sweet (but not too much), buttery, maple-y, and there is a bread-y, cake-y kind of taste in there that gives it the pancake-like taste.
This is one of those teas that is best served warm, and it is a rich, satisfying tea so I think it’s fitting that it was chosen for a Sunday tea. It’s one of those teas that you want to reach for after sleeping in a bit.
If you’d like to read my review of this tea from earlier this year, click here. I really don’t know what else I can say about this tea that I haven’t already said, except that this is one that you need to taste to believe. It’s remarkable.
On The Fourth Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent to Me…
Back in October (I think?), 52Teas posted in the Steepster Forums asking which teas that “we” Steepsterites would like to see in the 12 Days of Christmas Sampler. I responded that I’d like to see my Tomato, Basil and Black Pepper blend in there (and I would still like that!), and then went on to list some that I thought he’d include as well as some of my favorites.
This tea – today’s tea – happened to be on that list. Yay!
So … for the Fourth Day of Christmas, 52Teas sent to me …
RAINBOW SHERBET FLAVORED BLACK TEA
If you’ve been keeping up with my reviews of 52Teas this past summer, you know that they had a couple of iced tea series … and those were great. But NONE of them made as good an iced tea as this. In fact, I think that this may just be my #1 favorite iced tea.
It is also very good hot. It has the flavors of lime, orange and raspberry, as well as a hint – the faintest hint – of vanilla to give it a sense of creaminess. And it tastes as though someone put a scoop of rainbow sherbet in my black tea and let it melt. So incredibly YUM!
Here is the review I wrote for this tea back in August. It is as good now as it was back then!
Ho! Ho! Ho! This is shaping up to be a great 12 Days of Christmas sampler!
On The Second Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent To Me …
It’s the second day of the Christmas tea “project” and I’m very happy with today’s selection, and judging from the tasting notes for this tea on Steepster, I’d say that others would agree with me.
So, without further ado, I’ll just jump right in with information about today’s tea!
For The Second Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent to me:
CASHEW TURTLE FLAVORED BLACK TEA
It should really come as no surprise that I love this tea. Caramel, chocolate, cashew and Assam tea? YUM, yum, YUM!
The Assam is strong and bold. It has a nice malty tone to it that accents the caramel notes especially well. The chocolate comes through as a bitter-sweet flavor, with a pleasing nutty dimension. It tastes as though I dropped a candy in a cup of hot Assam tea. Rich, chocolate-y, caramel-y, nutty goodness!
Of course, I did review this one previously, and I see that my thoughts really haven’t changed much on this tea, so I’ll just leave you with a link to my review, so that you can see what I thought of it back when I first tried it.
Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s tea will be!
On the 12th Day of Christmas … from 52Teas
Happy Holidays to everyone!
First of all, sorry this will end up posting a little late. I was up LATE last night doing the final preparations for the holiday morning, and I had figured I’d be up earlier than this! My youngest actually slept until about 9 am Pacific Time! I couldn’t believe it!
Anyway… I was especially excited for today’s tea, because it was one that I hadn’t yet tried! This was the one brand new blend from the box, and from what I understand it will soon be featured as a tea of the week.
Without further mumblings from me… The CHRISTMAS Tea of the Day is…
GINGERBREAD CHAI
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Ingredients: Premium black teas, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, pink peppercorns, natural flavors.
Taster’s Review:
Well, as I said before, this was the tea I was most excited about because I knew it was a new blend. Of the other 11 teas, there was only one of them that I hadn’t yet tried, but was definitely on my on-going list of teas to order when finances allow. (The one tea I hadn’t tried being the Chocolate Chai from Day 2)
Anyway, on to this NEW chai! Wow! It’s really tasty! It really tastes like gingerbread and chai married in one teacup! I can taste the baked cake-y taste in the cup, and I must say that in the time that I’ve gotten familiar with 52Teas blends, Frank (the head zoomdweebie at 52Teas) has improved with achieving the pastry and/or cake-y flavor for the tea.
Not surprisingly, the ginger is dominant in this cup. But, it doesn’t taste over-ginger-y either. That is to say, it doesn’t taste like Frank just got really happy with the ginger root. It tastes like gingerbread, not an overpoweringly-ginger-flavored chai.
The other spices are very well balanced and they carry a full-flavored taste that fills the palate with warm spice. The black tea base is a little understated here but not so much that it can’t be tasted. That’s not a complaint! I like that it doesn’t try to intrude upon the other flavors. The tea is there, it just doesn’t overwhelm the cup.
Because what really makes this chai outstanding is the gingerbread flavor! It really is yummy, I love the cake-y taste! It adds such a delightful dimension to the already delicious chai.
When I had originally ordered this sampler box for myself, my initial thought was “great, I can just order the sampler, and since I will have a small sample of the new Christmas blend, that will be one tea from 52Teas that I won’t need to buy because I will have already tried it!” But, as it turns out, this is one tea that I WILL have to order, because of all the chai teas that I’ve tried from 52Teas, this one is the BEST by far! Gee, thanks Frank. My wallet thanks you too. Yeah.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that Santa brought you LOTS of tea to enjoy!
White Christmas from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Product Description:
A black tea blend with the sweet aroma of white chocolate and apricot.
Taster’s Review:
Yesterday, I reviewed a tea called White Christmas from Harney & Sons. Today, I am reviewing a tea by the same name – and yet, the two are very different teas, indeed!
This tea offers a robust black tea base that is quite invigorating. It would serve well as a morning tea, or if one is in need of a little afternoon pick-me-up, this tea would fit that bill as well. There is a bit of astringency to this cup, but it doesn’t overwhelm. I will say that I steeped this tea for 4 minutes and notes of bitterness were starting to emerge, so I recommend steeping for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes maximum to avoid the bitter notes. Fortunately, these notes of bitterness were not detracting from the overall deliciousness of the tea.
When I had previously read about this tea, I knew that it was a white chocolate and apricot tea. But what I smelled when I first opened the pouch, and what I tasted with my first sip was a nutty essence! At first, I thought my memory must be playing tricks on me and that White Christmas was in fact a nutty flavored tea, and 0ne of the other teas in the holiday sampler was a white chocolate apricot.
But no, as you can read by the company’s product description (above) – this is definitely an apricot and white chocolate blend. That being said, there is a definite nutty quality to this tea. That isn’t a bad thing – because I find that it rather compliments the apricot and white tea flavors, and it gives the overall flavor a toasty, baked kind of essence, like fresh baked tea cakes!
The apricot flavor intensifies as I continue to sip on this tea. It starts out mild, and by about mid-cup, the flavor is much stronger. The white chocolate is very nice here and provides a very pleasant creamy taste and texture to the cup, with faint notes of sweet chocolate that also intensify as I get closer to the bottom of the cup.
I really like this tea! I don’t know if this is a tea that Lupicia keeps around all year or not, but, if they do, I highly recommend getting some as soon as you can! Yum!