Strawberry Shortcake from The NecessiTeas. . . .

by SuperStarling

This tea isn’t so much strawberry shortcake the food, but Strawberry Shortcake the character. It is so cute. It’s sweet and tiny and a little bit of strawberry for flavor/excitement. There’s a green base to this, yes, but it’s subtle, in the background. Because green’s good for you, it adds to the wholesome vibe of this tea.

It’s a GREAT intro-tea. I’d hook a n00b up with this any time to give them an idea of what’s possible in teas besides earl grey or chamomile.

This is a tea you totally could give a kid. Maybe not right next to bedtime (White tea has a little caffeine), but in the afternoon. Maybe ice it. Maybe put in a splash of vanilla soy milk to brighten it up a little more.

I don’t really want kids, but I think I would make a great grandma. If I could somehow skip straight over the kids-of-my-own thing, that’d be great.

I could teach a kid to crochet, to appreciate libraries, and to appreciate tea. I’d start them off with straightforward, sweet little numbers like this, and gradually ease them into the scene as they got older.

Every year, as I ticked my way into a creaky, pleasant old age, I would receive teas-and-yarn kits from my grandkids. Great little companies like the NecessiTeas would, of course, still be around. The NecessiTeas’ Robot Delivery Service 3000 would bring fresh tea to my doorstep with notes from my grandkids about how much they love me. They’re having a great time at the Mars Colony and will use Facetime Hologram with me when they get back to Earth.

What fun the future will be.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  The NecessiTeas
Description

Angel food cake perfectly combines with a light layer of sweet cream and juicy strawberries to create this guilt-free dessert. Enjoy hot or poured over ice.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

SuperStarling

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"

This post was posted in The NecessiTeas, White Tea

Plum Oatmeal Squares from A Quarter To Tea. . ..

by Sophia

Oh plum oatmeal squares, where art thou? Pastry, fruit, and vanilla tea- you’ve already won me over. I love anything that is described as having “pastry notes”. I am one of those people who could cook an entire slab of pastry dough, and just eat it with some cinnamon and sugar. I have loved pastry dough since I was a kid. I utilize it whenever possible in my cooking, and of course in my desserts. The name “Plum Oatmeal Squares” definitely peaked my curiosity. We’ve all had those Quaker Oatmeal Squares as a quick breakfast or snack, but how would they translate into tea?

The answer to that, my friends, is “quite well”. That’s how! Yeah, I am really enjoying this. The first thing I taste when I take a sip is the fruitiness of the plum. Next, is the warmth of the vanilla. Lastly, this tea finishes with strong notes of pastry and oat! It is so good. Personally I would prefer to drink this on a crisp fall morning, but the fruity notes do make it suitable as a summer beverage. Although, i’m not sure how well the pastry and oat flavors would transfer iced. I would stick to drinking this hot, because it is dang delicious!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black Tea
Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea
Description

Temi’s perfect muscatel notes are blended with rich dessert flavors: plum, pastry, and vanilla butter. A warming dessert tea, perfect for this (or any other) season.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sophia

Hi, my name is Sophia. I am a first time mother to a beautiful little girl who will be 1 in July 2017. I spend my days at home with her and when I get a minute to myself, I usually spend that time making, drinking, or researching tea! My love for loose leaf tea is relatively new. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my mother (a tea addict herself) brought me to DAVIDsTEA. I enjoyed a cup of their Coconut Cream Pie Oolong and was instantly hooked! Since then, my addiction has grown to fill entire cabinets, and shows no sign of stopping. I am the creator of the Facebook group CommuniTEA where we have one big tea discussion. It is a great group for those new to the tea-world. I feel strongly about spreading the joy of loose leaf tea. I like making instructional videos and helping those that are new to the art of tea-making so that they, too, can share in the happiness that tea brings. I am excited to see where this hobby takes me and I will continue to spread the joy!

This post was posted in A Quarter To Tea, Black Tea

Blueberry Muffin Honeybush from 52Teas. . . .

by VariaTEA

I love 52 Teas. They have a great selection of unique and exciting flavored teas thanks to their business model of releasing a new small batch custom blended hand-crafted tea each week. The only downfall? The flavors go fast so if you fall in love, you have to act quickly to make sure you get your hands on that particular tea before it is sold out. That, or you hope and beg and pray for the 52 Teas gods to bless you with a reblend of your beloved flavor. I mention this because this particularly tea, Blueberry Muffin Honeybush, is not currently available on 52 Teas website but it may return in the future.

The blueberry flavor of this tea is perfect. It is juicy and just a little sweeter than the fruit itself but that is because it is more reminiscent of the blueberries found in muffins which are more syrupy sweet than fresh blueberries. The honeybush, though a little woody, also contributes a honeyed baked goods flavor that helps sell the idea of blueberry muffins. On top of all that, this tea is a touch buttery which is like the cherry on top.

This tea is a great evening treat. Being based on honeybush means it is naturally caffeine free and that means even the caffeine-sensitive won’t be kept up at night after enjoying a cup.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description

This blend is not currently available but click below for blends that are.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in 52Teas, Honeybush

Strawberry Shortcake from The NecessiTeas. . . . .

by Sophia

One of my absolute, all-time, favorite summer desserts is strawberry shortcake. I have really, really fond memories of strawberry shortcake from when I was a kid. My nana and papa would always have BBQ get-together at their house and my nana would buy biscuits from the grocery store and we would pile them with cool whip and fresh strawberries. It was so good, so cool, and fresh, and summery. When I think of a strawberry shortcake tea, I want it to be crisp and fresh tasting…and of course, strawberry!

Upon opening my pre-packaged tin of Strawberry Shortcake by The NecessiTEA’s I smelled something really sweet, almost like cherry. I was really hoping for more of a fresh strawberry smell so this was a little different. I steeped it for three minutes and added a touch of agave. I’m still smelling cherry instead of strawberry which is slightly disappointing, but now I’m wondering if its maybe the vanilla mingling with the strawberry.

The white tea is very light and a perfect base for the sweet flavors of strawberry shortcake. I think that I would have enjoyed this more if I wasn’t smelling that artificial cherry scent…but that’s not to say that it isn’t a good blend. I’m actually wondering if I would enjoy this better iced. The aftertaste is definitely vanilla with a hint of cake, so I do think this was half true to it’s name, but I wish there was more fresh strawberry flavor opposed to “cherry”. Either way, it is definitely worth trying and next time I brew it I will brew it over ice!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  The NecessiTeas
Description

Angel food cake perfectly combines with a light layer of sweet cream and juicy strawberries to create this guilt-free dessert. Enjoy hot or poured over ice.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sophia

Hi, my name is Sophia. I am a first time mother to a beautiful little girl who will be 1 in July 2017. I spend my days at home with her and when I get a minute to myself, I usually spend that time making, drinking, or researching tea! My love for loose leaf tea is relatively new. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my mother (a tea addict herself) brought me to DAVIDsTEA. I enjoyed a cup of their Coconut Cream Pie Oolong and was instantly hooked! Since then, my addiction has grown to fill entire cabinets, and shows no sign of stopping. I am the creator of the Facebook group CommuniTEA where we have one big tea discussion. It is a great group for those new to the tea-world. I feel strongly about spreading the joy of loose leaf tea. I like making instructional videos and helping those that are new to the art of tea-making so that they, too, can share in the happiness that tea brings. I am excited to see where this hobby takes me and I will continue to spread the joy!

This post was posted in The NecessiTeas, White Tea

Vanilla Cupcake from the True Tea Club

by MrsPremise

It’s hard to resist a tea named Vanilla Cupcake, especially on a day when you just need something cute and sweet to brighten your day.  This tea smells surprisingly fruity alongside the vanilla cake flavors, reminding me of fruitcake or banana bread.  In a world of frosting-flavored, cake-themed tea blends, the amount of fruit flavors and fruity ingredients makes this blend stand apart.

The orange and papaya coupled with the vanilla, make this feel more like an orange-glazed sponge cake. Yum!  The banana chips add their own full-flavored sweetness, but there is distinctly less of the traditional “frosting” taste, so if you want the extra creaminess, you should add a splash of milk to give the blend that dessert-like twist.

Because this is a decaf rooibos blend, it would be a perfect choice to brew up for a girl’s tea party.  Who wouldn’t want a sip of a tea called vanilla cupcake?  You could even serve it with real cupcakes and make a day of it!

In addition to all the fruit pieces in the tea, the leaves have at least two types of flower petals which makes the blend especially pretty to the eye.  The bright and varied colors seem especially festive if you imagine this tea blend not just as a vanilla cupcake, but maybe as a “birthday cake” cupcake.  This is a great blend for any day that needs a celebration.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Roobios
Where to Buy: True Tea Club
Description:

This Vanilla Cupcake Rooibos provides an exotic and smooth rooibos which provides a velvet-mouth feel.  A dash of Banana chips amplifies this infusion into a heavenly status.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

MrsPremise

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels. When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends. Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

This post was posted in Rooibos, True Tea Club