Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our amazing organic Iyerpadi iced tea base blended with the organic flavors of blackberry, red wine, and citrus fruits. This will delight your palate and the palates of your guests. A great iced tea to share with your holiday guests.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s a tasty iced tea, but as someone who typically doesn’t get all that into alcoholic beverages, I’m not finding the flavor combination of fruit and red wine all that alluring. It’s just not my ideal flavor combination.
But it is tasty. The blackberry notes are very forward which I am enjoying, and I taste notes of red wine. I like that the red wine isn’t a particularly strong flavor, it reminds me a bit of the wine flavor you’d taste if you were drinking a wine cooler. Yeah, I used to drink those. They were pretty popular when I was younger. Boy, I just aged myself, didn’t I?
There’s also a background note of citrus. These flavors add more ‘tang’ than a real focused citrus-y flavor. A little bit of contrast to the sweet notes of blackberry.
The black tea is tasted among these other flavors, and I appreciate that as well. I can’t say that this is my favorite iced tea flavor, but I’m enjoying it. It’s refreshing and fruity and my palate finds it pleasing. But if I were to sit down and place another order, I don’t think that this would be one that I’d put into my shopping cart.
But Southern Boy Teas does have a lot of other teas that I’d put into my shopping cart (more than I’ll allow myself to buy! ha!) Have you checked out their Indiegogo campaign yet? They’re looking to take their brand to new heights with this campaign, so please consider contributing and helping them reach their goal!
Sugar Cookie Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic caffeine-free honeybush with organic sweet, cakey, sugar cookie flavors. This is one of those teas that your family might end up squabbling over, so be sure to stock up on a few of these. Blends like these are a great alternative to sugary caffeinated sodas–we don’t let me daughter have much caffeine, but she LOVES these honeybush iced teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After having tried Christmas Cookie Shou Mei from 52Teas, I thought that this iced tea might be a lot like that blend, but it really isn’t.
This doesn’t have the same warm spice profile that the Christmas Cookie tea has. This is more of a sugar cookie. (Just like the name implies!) I like that it’s not overly sweet. I don’t get a heavy “sugar” cookie sugary taste, but I get that freshly baked shortbread-type of flavor. It’s sweet but not too sweet. This isn’t like a heavily iced sugar cookie that you’ll find in your grocery store bakery.
You know the cookies I’m talking about, right? They’re really colorful and they have trigger kind of names like “cotton candy” or “caramel apple” that lure you in and you have to try it, but then when you bite into it, it doesn’t taste like cotton candy or caramel apple, it tastes like sugar and shortening. It’s so cloying that a bite is all you can handle.
This is more like the homemade cookies that are rolled in sugar, so you get a even, consistent, sugary-sweet flavor, but as long as the cookies are made right, it isn’t too cloying. The dough is not overly sweet, more like a shortbread so balance is achieved.
I enjoyed this. I liked that despite the name “sugar cookie” this isn’t a too-sweet kind of drink. It’s really tasty!
Please take a moment to check out Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo Campaign – they’re looking to take their teas to new heights and could really use your support!
Cinnamon Chai Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
If you’ve never had an iced chai, you’re missing out. And this one, with it’s organic honeybush base, is exceptional. I think we found just the right balance of chai spice flavors to add to this one–some cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and a touch of clove.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I personally prefer my chai hot, but, it’s really nice to drink an iced chai now and then. This is really refreshing and flavorful.
If you’ve read any of my other SBT reviews, you’re probably familiar with how I brew these teas. The tea comes in a big sachet which is really convenient for iced tea brewing. You can cold brew it or hot brew it and because it’s in a sachet, you can stash the brewed sachet in the fridge to resteep it for a second pitcher of tea if you’re so inclined.
I don’t usually resteep honeybush teas because I find that they lose flavor quicker than say, a white or green tea. But I highly recommend resteeping the white and green tea varieties of Southern Boy Teas!
I heated 1 quart of water to 195°F and then I added the sachet to the pitcher and let it steep for 9 minutes (because it’s a honeybush base, there are no tannins – this won’t become bitter if you ‘oversteep’ it – so keep it steeping for maximum flavor!) Then I poured the tea into my favorite tea pitcher and I repeated the process with a second quart of water, resteeping the sachet for 12 minutes. This produced a full 1/2 gallon pitcher of iced tea. (Well, you gotta let it cool first! I usually brew the tea at night and in the morning, I have a pitcher full of refreshing iced tea.)
I like the honeyed sweetness from the honeybush. It’s a light, nutty taste that melds well with the chai spices. The spices are zesty but not overly spicy. The name of this chai is “Cinnamon Chai” so I expected a big burst of cinnamon flavor but that didn’t happen. It’s got the cinnamon flavor there, to be sure, but it’s not super cinnamon-y. It’s a gentle warmth and I’m getting that not just from the cinnamon but also the ginger, cardamom, pepper, and cloves.
It’s warm and zesty, but not what I’d call ‘spicy.’ Just a pleasant, warmly spiced tea. I like this one – it’s one I wouldn’t mind having on hand to enjoy regularly. It’s tasty!
Please don’t forget about Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo Fundraiser! Help this small business grow! As little as $4 can help further their dream and you’ll get some really tasty tea in return!
Blueberry Cordial Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
After sharing some blueberry cordials with a friend, my helper, Shante wanted us to create a blueberry cordial tea. So here it is: our premium Indian black teas blended with organic chocolate, blueberry and brandy flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about how to subscribe to Southern Boy Teas here.
Check out Southern Boy Teas Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign here and consider supporting this small business!
Taster’s Review:
I’m starting to notice that I need to drink at least a full glass of iced tea of whatever flavor I’m reviewing from Southern Boy Teas before I’m able to make a proper assessment of it. I need to finish the first glass and be about halfway through my second glass before I’m able to really offer a fair evaluation of the tea.
That’s because the flavors don’t really reach out and grab me from the first few sips. It isn’t until I reach the end of the first glass that I’m starting to notice the flavors. Then with the second glass … I notice that the flavors are still developing on my palate. By the time I’ve reached the mid-glass point of the second glass of iced tea, then I can really taste the flavors clearly.
And this is really a tasty iced tea!
I don’t know if it’s a “blueberry cordial” exactly, though. I find myself still searching for the chocolate notes. I can taste the blueberry very clearly. I get a strong sweet yet tart blueberry flavor with that familiar tingly berry sensation at the finish. That tingling, tart note lingers into the aftertaste.
I also taste notes of brandy. The notes of brandy are subtle but they’re there and they seem to accentuate the flavors of the blueberry rather than try to stand out on their own.
The chocolate is there too, but it’s something that I find myself needing to really focus on the sip to taste. Once I do focus on the sip – by sipping slowly with a slight ‘slurp’ to aerate the liquid on my palate – I can really taste the chocolate. So, I’m not saying that the chocolate notes are too delicate, I’m just saying that when taking a casual sip, they aren’t as noticeable as when I’m really trying to focus on what flavors I’m experiencing with this tea.
The black tea is also tasted in this. It’s not an aggressive flavor, but it’s tasted. It’s smooth and brisk. No bitterness and I’m not detecting any astringency either. It’s just smooth and pleasant. It isn’t a particularly bold tasting tea, but it isn’t something I’d call muted or even drab. I think it’s offering just the right amount of flavor for this particular blend: allowing the flavors of the blueberry cordial to shine through while still reminding me that I’m drinking black tea.
Overall, I think that this blend is a win. It might not be my favorite to come from Southern Boy Teas, but it’s one that I wouldn’t mind having again. I enjoyed it!
Candy Cane Flavored Iced White Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Don’t let the simplicity of this flavor fool you: this is a blend of our premium organic shou mei white tea fannings with organic peppermint candy cane flavors and it does not disappoint. Believe me when I say, you’ll have a hard time keeping this tea in your refrigerator.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After having tried the Candy Cane Iced Black Tea from SBT last year and loving it, I had really high expectations for this white tea version. Unfortunately, it fell a little short of the expectations I had.
Oh, this is still a really tasty iced tea. It’s just not as amazing as I remember the black tea version. Then again, it could be that my expectations were too high, so this was not going to reach those heights.
But this is – as I said – quite tasty. The white tea is light and I like the crisp, refreshing flavor. It has a sweet flavor that’s airy and hay-like and very fresh tasting.
This fresh taste melds well with the cool notes of the minty candy cane flavor. It’s not just “minty” – there is a light sweetness in there too so this tastes more like a white tea flavored with a candy cane than it does a white tea flavored with peppermint. There are hints of vanilla and a soft, almost ‘candy-like’ sweetness in there. I like that I’m getting this really delicious sweetness but it isn’t too sweet.
It’s a tasty tea. That said, if I’m going to be shopping for a candy cane iced tea, I’d probably be putting the black tea version in my cart before I’d grab the white tea version.
Please take a minute to check out Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo campaign and support this small business – help them take their business even further.