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!
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!
Product Review: Organic Golden Amber Bottled Iced Tea from Tazo
Product Information:
Oolong tea unfolds its floral honey and light caramel essence, resting on a blanket under the midday sun and sprinkling sweet sugar cane on a pillow of daydreams.
Learn more about this product here.
Taster’s Review:
My oldest daughter brought me a bottle of this tea recently, so I figured I’d give it a try. I can’t recall ever having tried a RTD Oolong tea, so this may very well be a first for me!
The first thing that I notice is that there is no sediment at the bottom of the bottle. This appeals to me immediately, because that sediment … just isn’t attractive. Yeah, I know, just give it a shake and then it dispenses the sediment throughout the tea. But, I’m drinking that! I strain the tea that I brew myself before I drink it because I don’t like floaties in my tea. The fact that the sediment is there means floaties if I shake it into the tea, or if I don’t, I may be sacrificing flavor. I don’t like either option.
So, when I find a RTD tea without the sediment, I’m a happy tea drinker. I’m also happy about the ingredient list here:
Water, Organic Oolong Tea, Organic Cane Sugar, Citric Acid.
Woot! I’ve been kind of hard on Tazo products in the past, and for good reason, but, this one … this one may just be worthy of some praise.
My first impression: Not too sweet! I’m liking that immediately. It has a light sweetness to it, it doesn’t taste syrupy or like it’s more sugar than tea. That’s my biggest problem with the RTD teas. They’re way too sweet. I am liking that while there is a pleasing honey-caramel sweetness to this, it isn’t an overpowering element, and I think that some of these sweet notes are coming from the Oolong tea and not the sugar.
My biggest complaint about this is probably that it’s chilled. Sure, I like iced tea. It’s a great refresher. But, I think Oolong needs to be served hot to get the most flavor out of it. I have on occasion made iced Oolong tea, but I usually use a Formosa Oolong for this because the deeper flavor of the Oolong isn’t too transformed by the chill. Something happens to the flavor of tea when it goes from hot to cold. Sometimes … it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. With Oolongs, I find that the flavors begin to mute and there is such a lovely complexity to an Oolong that you don’t want to obscure it by chilling it.
But, I am still getting a nice Oolong flavor here. I’m picking up on some floral notes and hints of fruit notes (peach). It’s sweet and it has that thick texture that I’ve come to expect from an Oolong.
I’d give this tea extra points for the fact that it’s a RTD that’s not too sweet. Bonus points for that! I’d subtract a few points, though, because I’m missing the complexity that I seek when I sit down to enjoy an Oolong. That said, it’s a refreshing beverage that if I were to see this in the refrigerated section of a convenience store and I’m thirsty, I just might grab it based solely on the fact that I’m pleased that it’s not overly sweet, it’s made from organic ingredients and there’s not a heavy sediment collection at the bottom of the bottle.
Black n Blue 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 was so happy to see that this tea – originally released as a 52Teas’ tea of the week – brought back for one of the SBT iced tea blends. It was one of those ‘memorable’ blends, and I knew that it would make a killer iced tea!
Now that I have my new Breville One-Touch (I really, really missed this appliance for the two weeks I was without it. I can’t begin to express how much I missed it.) I hot brewed this large tea bag, steeping it for 2 minutes for the first quart, and then steeping it for 2 1/2 minutes for the second quart to make a half gallon of iced tea. Chilled it overnight, and now I have a pitcher full of deliciousness.
And it is delicious! When I first opened the pouch, I could smell the blueberry and blackberry. It’s a strong, distinctive aroma that I can smell now that I have a chilled glass of iced tea in front of me. It’s not quite as fragrant as a hot cup of tea would be, but I can still smell notes of sweet, juicy berries.
This is really good. I believe it’s as good as I remember the original tasting, which is quite a thing because usually the original teas from 52Teas are at least a little better – sometimes, it’s the reverse, but more often than not, the original 52Teas release is better – but this tastes every bit as good as I remember the original tasting. The blueberry and blackberry flavors are strong and they taste like sweet, fresh, ripe berries with just a hint of that berry tart that tingles on the tongue in the aftertaste.
The black tea is also discernable – it’s a brisk and refreshing black tea. It’s strong without overpowering the flavors, and this is one particular blend where I don’t want the flavors to be overpowered because there really is a very pleasing balance between blackberry and blueberry.
As I said before, the original version was one of those memorable black tea blends from 52Teas – it was one that I sort of hoarded for a while so that I could steep it for iced tea because it was such an incredibly good iced tea! I generally am very happy to share any of my teas with people because I have a lot of tea.
No, seriously, I have a lot of tea. Go into your nearest Teavana and see their tea wall … I have more tea than that. Not joking.
So, it’s a rare moment when I find a tea that I’m reluctant to share with others. But the original of this blend was one that I sort of kept to myself so that I could get as much iced tea out of it as I could. That’s how yummy this is. I’m so happy that 52Teas ‘accidentally’ recreated this for the Southern Boy Teas line!