Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
In honor of my significant other’s birthday, I’ve created a dessert-y tea to celebrate two of his favorite desserts: carrot cake & cheesecake. I decided to use a honeybush base for this because I thought that the natural nutty flavor of the honeybush would work well with these flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One of the reasons I love 52Teas so much is the unique flavors they have. I mean who else would create a honeybush based carrot cheesecake. . .and thank goodness they did!
This is a brilliant tea blend with all the cinnamon, carrot cake, and cheesecake goodness you can hope for and more. The dry tea blend smells wonderful and it is one of those aromas you want to bottle up into a candle. That aroma would be amazing closer to the fall season.
I am not always a huge fan of honeybush based blends. Sometimes I feel like they tend to be a bit more like my arch enemy, red rooibos, but sometimes they are done just right. This is one of those blends that is done right.
Prepped per the instructions on the package, this tea comes out perfect each and every time. I have drank so much of this tea that I have gone thru a few tasters and am currently on a larger size pouch of the tea. I’ve tried the blend hot, iced, and cold brewed. Here is what I thought of this tea:
Hot: This tea sings cinnamon with a sweet creaminess mixed in. There is a subtle nuttiness that you get here and there but what you really get is this gorgeous cinnamon flavor. Not too overwhelming. Just very soothing, especially as a late evening cuppa. Simple soul warming cinnamon. Perfect to curb those late night cravings.
Iced: Probably my least favorite method. Again, the cinnamon was there are prominent but there weren’t any other flavors really popping thru either. Everything just seemed a bit muddled. I was sad and was hoping for more of a pop of a dessert flavor.
Cold Brew: This is the ticket to this tea. Cold brew this tea and you will be greeted with a lush creamy sweet yet tangy cinnamon slightly cake like tea. Do I have you drooling yet? I was surprised by how well this turned out. I didn’t get the cheesecake flavor but I loved and adored the flavors that were coming thru. Really well done and I made a huge pitcher of this tea and it was gone in no time flat. Both my hubby and myself thought this was the best of the three experiments.
Even tho I never picked up on the cheesecake notes from any of the three methods, I still am immensely happy with the flavors I did get. Can’t wait to enjoy more cold brew of this tea blend when I get home tonight!
MatchaSticks Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha to Go from Magus Brands
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/Matcha
Where to Buy: Magus Brands
Tea Description:
- ✔ MATCHA WITHOUT THE MESS – Our convenient stickpacks have made enjoying ceremonial grade matcha a breeze!
- ✔ STEEPED IN TRADITION – Enjoy the same Matcha used in traditional tea houses in Japan.
- ✔ ORGANIC QUALITY YOU CAN TRUST – USDA Organic and JAS-KOAA Organic from the oldest tea farm in Kagoshima, Japan Sourced from a Japanese National Tea Competition winning tea farm
- ✔ 100% PURE MATCHA – NO sweeteners, NO colors, NO additives, just 100% pure organic ceremonial grade matcha. Just mix with water for clean green healthy energy to go!
- ✔ ALL NATURAL ALWAYS FRESH – Small batch production to ensure maximum freshness. Brought to you by Magus Brands of Orange County, California.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been on a matcha craze for the last few days. I don’t know why. Matcha isn’t something I typically drink but will admit that I do go thru spells where I crave it. I guess I’m in one of those moods right now. When it comes to matcha, I’m incredibly picky. A lot of matcha to me tastes incredibly bitter and I usually have to add in some honey to pep up the flavor.
When I stumbled upon these matcha sticks on Amazon from Magus Brands, I had to check them out. I love the convenience and idea of a to go version of matcha. I am usually prone to making what I call “matcha messes” in the kitchen when I’m scooping out the fine powder so the fact these are in a one serving pouch already delights me to no end.
To prep the matcha up, I just pour in almond milk in my blender bottle and the contents of one of the pouches, shake it up and I’m set and ready to go. You really can’t get any easier than that. So the convenience factor gets an A+++ from me.
The flavor is exactly what you want from matcha. Slightly sweet with a subtle bitter edge that tastes amazing. The flavor is creamy and is simple yet completely satisfying. This is one of those matchas that makes you want to keep drinking and drinking and drinking it. Froths up nicely and looks gorgeous!
I haven’t tried it yet with water but I’m off to do that now. This is just delicious and perfect for this summer weather! Refreshing and delightful! I’m happy!
Nepal Pearl Oolong Tea from Wha-Cha
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Wha-Cha
Tea Description:
An incredibly rare and unusual oolong with a great taste of apricots and nectarine combined with a brilliant aroma. .
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Alright. . .for anybody that has this tea in your stash and don’t want it. . .let me know! This tea is amazing! Amazing pearls of tea loving goodness! If you can’t tell, I’m quite smitten with this tea.
This gorgeous tea is a lovely pearl of oolong tea that gives you a satisfying sense of what good tea is supposed to be like. Each pearl is gorgeous and I loved watching the tea leaves uncurl in front of my eyes in my tea steeper. I used two balls because I want this tea to last as long as possible. I steeped and prepped this up per the instructions on the package.
Once the tea was all prepped and ready to try out, I took my first sip. A gorgeous sip of smooth, sweet, and slightly astringent delicious notes. This is one of those teas that needs the contrast of the sweet and astringent notes but the notes are incredibly soft and subtle. Almost like that sweet yet spicy or sweet but somehow sour notes in other foods. The two complimented each other so well. Seriously, this tea is gorgeous from the very beginning.
The sweet notes are what made me just sigh with happiness. They resemble those of a stone fruit like an apricot. This is one of those teas that tastes exactly how it is described on a website. (And this is one of those teas you hoard for those days when you need some extra tea loving to get you thru the day. ) Those sweet notes of apricot just elevate the tea to a different level.
At one point, I had a meeting at work and came back expecting a cold bitter brew awaiting me and that wasn’t the case at all. I was greeted with a lovely cold oolong that just kept my afternoon going.
I’m now on infusion four and still the tea is giving. I just love it. From the moment I opened the package and saw the pearls to the moment when I first tried the tea, I was in love with this oolong. One of the best teas I think I’ve tried so far this year. That’s how good it is!
Highly recommend this one!
Pineapple Angel Food Cake White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
All Organic ingredients: White Peony, Pineapple Pieces, Vanilla Bean and Natural Flavors
This particular blend is sold out. Learn what white teas are available here.
Taster’s Review:
Sipdown! Gotta love a sipdown. Sipdowns make me happy and sad. Happy that I’ve enjoyed a tea to the point that I’ve finished it. Sad because if that tea is from 52Teas it means that more than likely that tea is one you can’t get again.
I believe I reviewed this tea on my blog CuppaGeek, but I don’t believe I did here. So I thought with the summer finally upon us, this would be a great tea to try both hot and iced for these upcoming summer months, allowing me to sipdown a tea from my always growing tea stash.
With a tea named Pineapple Angel Food Cake White Tea, there are high expectations of a lush white tea with icing notes and that tropical pineapple feel. A hard goal to hit when it comes to tea, but one that 52Teas did amazingly well!
First I tried the tea hot. Prepped with water at 165F and allowed to steep for about 5 minutes and then allowed to cool for about 3. I took a sip and the flavors exploded. They captured the title of this tea perfectly. Lush notes of a decadent angel food cake with a vanilla icing and pineapple topping. The white tea provides a silky like feel that gives a unique dessert taste. The flavors are subtle but not so much that you can’t pick them out. They mingle together very well and make me sad that I have sipped this tea down. This is a tea that I should have bought a bigger pouch of.
Then after loving the tea as hot, I tried the tea as iced. I have to say this tea sings as a hot tea but as an iced tea it is pretty tasty as well. You still get all of those same notes but the pineapple flavors seem to be a bit sharper. The cake and vanilla notes were my favorite part when I tried the tea hot. Still, absolutely delicious and I have already drank two tall tumblers full and I’m going for a third.
Another wonderful offering from 52Teas. They really do dessert teas justice!
The Brew Is Out There From Geeky Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Tea Description:
Green tea with vanilla, orange peels, natural lemon and orange flavor and sunflower petals, goes great with honey from hybridized bees. Brews up a lovely green color.
I want to believe
Taster’s Review:
A tea dedicated to the X-Files?? How great is that!?!
This tea is a lovely green tea with vanilla, orange peels, lemon and orange flavors along with sunflower petals. I nice seemingly calm yet citrus blend. I was actually surprised when I read the description of the tea. I figured a tea dedicated to the X-Files would be more dark or even darker flavors like mocha or hazelnut. But I’m not complaining. This tea sounds fabulous to me. Maybe the green tea represents little green men 🙂
Prepped up my water for this green lovely tea and waited for the tea to steep (about 4 minutes) all the while I enjoyed the lovely dry leave notes from the tin I had received. The notes are fresh citrus notes that scream summertime.
Finally my tea was ready to try and I poured myself a huge cuppa. The first notes I noticed was a lovely vegetal one with a touch of sweetness. Then the gorgeous wave of citrus swept thru. Not a complex tea by any means but one that has a fantastic finish with the vegetal green flavors, the sweet creamy notes of the vanilla and the citrus finish. Each flavor plays nicely with each other and doesn’t dominate by any means. Having that vegetal green tea being the first note you get really elevates the tea. I can almost pick up a hint of an orange dreamsicle. Really lovely.
I wanted to try this tea as an iced tea, hoping that I could pull out of those citrus and vanilla notes. As an iced tea, the vegetal notes are more subtle and the vanilla notes really pop. I think if I make a cold brew out of this, I will get that orange dreamsicle flavor that would be amazing for these summer months.
Overall, loving this tea. Classic tea combo that the majority of people would enjoy. A great starter tea for those who are just getting into tea but also a delicious simple tea for tea enthusiasts. This is a combo that I’ve had a few different times over but have had mixed results. Some have too strong of a vanilla flavor, others not enough citrus. This is a great well blended version!