Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Our premium buttery sweet organic Chinese fannings green tea blended with organic yellow cake, pineapple, brown sugar, and a hint of maraschino cherry flavors. This is ridiculously delicious. Don’t miss your chance to grab one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about SBT’s subscription here.
Taster’s Review:
Pineapple Upside Down Cake used to be one of my favorite desserts my mom would make as a child. Growing up, my brothers and I were never fans of the traditional birthday cake. My poor mom would always ending up baking a pie or some other dessert (she tried once to make orange fluff and put candles in it-true story). She would ask us if we were sure we didn’t want a chocolate cake and we would always say no, we want pie or we want cheesecake. Or we would ask for Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Which was a little different than the traditional Pineapple Upside Down Cake. My mom would make it as a cheesecake instead. To this day, even as adults,we devour that dessert whenever she makes it. And she makes a healthy version of it now too- so you don’t have to feel guilty about cramming huge bites of it in your face.
This tea brought all those warm and fuzzy memories to me. This tea reminds me of that dessert my mom makes minus the cheesecake part. So good! The green tea provides a rich buttery base. The pineapple flavor is mixed in with just the right amount of brown sugar and maraschino cherry flavoring. You can seriously taste each flavor separately. But they do mingle very well together. The only flavor I didn’t pick up was the yellow cake but I’m wondering if that was a flavor that the green tea kind of overshadowed. Oh well. Regardless I am really enjoying this one.
I cold brewed this one and was very happy with the results. I didn’t try making it up like a hot beverage because I ended up steeping this one until there were just no more infusions in the poor little tea pouch. I see myself picking more of this one up for sure. This one is going to be a fantastic addition to those teas I keep on hand to keep my sweet tooth from demanding a piece of candy or junk food around 2pm each work day.
Hot Cross Bun Rooibos and Black Tea Blend By Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea & Rooibos Blend
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Yes you heard us right, our Limited Edition Easter tea tastes of Hot Cross Buns!
At Easter time there are few things better than the aroma of currants, cinnamon and freshly baked buns wafting across the kitchen. When creating our Spring Collection we knew we had to pay homage to our favourite Easter treat, so here you have it – Hot Cross Bun tea! Don’t say we don’t treat you every now and again!
Ingredients: Rooibos, Ceylon black tea, Cinnamon, Hibiscus, Apple, Rosehip, Orange peel, Lapsang Souchong, Vanilla, Cranberry, Flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Easter time has long since passed but holiday teas are forever. At least that is what my Hot Cross Bun craving is telling me right now. It’s the same with most holidays, I end up hoarding seasonal teas for those yearnings throughout the year that can only be fixed by tea. You want Halloween in Summer, there’s a tea for that. You want Christmas in the Spring, there is a tea for that too! Well now I want Easter. Perhaps because I didn’t actually manage to eat any Hot Cross Buns this year due to my strict diet (boo!).
Looking at the ingredients for this is inspiring, Rooibos and Ceylon and Lapsang Souchong…woah! That is one heck of a base for this blend.
In scent the orange is waxy and rather strong with some dark fruit (like raisin but not quite) bitter tones and a hint of cinnamon. It is Hot Cross Bun like but not completely, only missing the sweetness, but a good start so far.
The loose leaf appearance reminds me of Autumn, it’s rather dark and dry with mostly brown colours and a hint of red.
Sampled without milk or sweetener.
Steeped scent is sour, waxy and very orange. Also some warm cinnamon tones. Similar to the raw scent but actually nicer and more Bun like.
Flavour matches the scent rather well, the orange is waxy and dominant at first before the cinnamon kicks in and the whole flavour becomes toasty and extremely Hot Cross Bun like. The cranberries that smelled particularly sour in the raw scent now resemble raisins almost perfectly. The Lapsang Souchong offers it’s smoky flavour to be toasty and warm. It also has some sweetness which I mentioned it lacked previously in scent. Despite the archive of ingredients this is a nice strength, not too bitter nor strong and with enough flavour whilst remaining fairly light in clarity.
It is rather like a Hot Cross Bun, though there is one thing missing for me. Butter. I always have butter on my Bun whether it be toasted or plain. Though I must admit this is not a bad attempt at all, by any means.
So there we have it, Easter is available at the click of the kettle. It also helps to close your eyes and imagine those nostalgic holiday times.
Hot Cross Bun today, Candy Cane tomorrow. What a wonderful tea world we live in!
Raspberry Truffle Matcha Green Tea from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Raspberry Truffle Matcha is the perfectly designed treat that literally melts in the mouth with its mix of sweetness and Matcha undertones. This treat can make the perfect in-between meals treat that is perfect for enticing the taste buds to want much more. It can also make the perfect desert when people want to sample the different alternatives that are available for the palate to partake. For children, this exceptional treat can be one of many favorite offerings on their special occasions.
Raspberry Truffle Matcha is not for the faint hearted because of its deep rich taste sensation on the palate. It is a good alternative for other normal sweet choices such as chocolate or other candies. It also forms a great accompaniment to many foods and drinks with its sweetly inviting appeal and unforgettable flavor. This is a good treat for making a lifeless day unforgettable with its hints of pure pleasure and understated appeal.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Firstly, for those not familiar with Red Leaf Tea’s amazing and varied selection of flavoured matcha, this company offers probably the widest selection of flavours I’ve ever seen in addition to offering a choice on the level of flavouring (starting at delicate and going up to robust) and grade of matcha. If you want to get especially fancy, you can also get different tea types for your matcha as well, such as white or black tea.
The specifications for THIS matcha are the basic grade of green matcha and a robust flavouring level. It is important to note that my preparation was also not the traditional way even though I used a traditional chawan and chawask. This was prepared in cold milk, instead of hot water. That’s my personal preference when it comes to almost all matcha flavours as well as straight matcha.
You can definitely tell, just from the smell, that this is robust flavouring; if you focus hard enough you can actually pick up on the scent of the raspberry before even opening the resealable bag it comes in. And once it has been opened, you’re going to be flooded with the sweet smell of a confectionery-like raspberry with a dark chocolate backdrop – it’s 100% Raspberry Truffle in scent.
As I was whisking this one, it frothed up a great deal more than the average matcha and that thicker, frothy texture didn’t let up easily; for the first half of the chawan I probably could have consumed it with a spoon. It was that frothy! Considering how strong the smell is before being prepared, the flavour is actually surprisingly light – but there are some things about it that tip me off that it’s robust flavouring. I’ve noticed with other robustly flavoured matcha that some flavours tend to get a sort of chalky note; one that reminds me of children’s chewable vitamins or Tums. It seems particularly bad with flavours with fruit in them. This certainly isn’t the worst offender I’ve encountered (I think Orange probably wins that spot, or Boysenberry) but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed it at all.
Otherwise, the flavour is pretty good. I’m a touch surprised that the raspberry is coming off a lot stronger than the chocolate though; when I think of truffles I absolutely picture the over the top, dark, rich, fudgey chocolate notes with the ‘extra’ flavour kind of infused in as more of an aftertaste or undercurrent. You could say the opposite is true here! The raspberry doesn’t have any tartness or tang to it; more so it’s a bit of a sweet and confectionery type of raspberry; like what you’d have in a raspberry danish for example. The chocolate is obviously creamy from the milk but has a distinct ‘dark chocolate’ taste to it. It’s maybe a touch fudgey. The notes from the matcha itself are still present, though quite lightly. But that’s to be expected given the flavour level.
Overall; I’m quite happy with this one! It’s gonna do wonders for satisfying those late night sugar cravings and I’m already picturing how well this would taste lightly sprinkled over top cereal or popcorn. If I had to really emphasize anything to potential buyers though it’d probably just be to expect that the raspberry is going to taste stronger than the chocolate.
Product Review: Caramel Chai Tea Latte from International Delight
Product Information:
Where to Find: Where International Delight products are sold.
Tea Description:
Exotic flavors of cinnamon, clove & ginger blended with notes of sweet caramel & fragrant black tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Rarely do I go into the grocery store and think that I’ll find something tea-like in the dairy section. I find milk (of course) and half and half and I do use these products in my teas to make a latte on a rare occasion. Occasionally, I’ll see a ready-to-drink iced tea in the dairy section, but it’s my experience that most of these drinks taste more of sugar than they do of tea. So, I generally cast a disproving look toward those products and move along without giving them a second glance.
But this product earned a second glance from me because while I’ve seen many iced coffee latte drinks in the dairy section, I’ve not found a lot of chai latte drinks in the dairy section (except for in the high end grocery stores like Whole Foods).
My husband has become a fan of chai lattes lately so after checking the label to make sure that it was made with real milk and also to make sure it didn’t have any artificial sweetener (I’m allergic to aspartame), I decided to put it in the cart and give it a try. If nothing else, it would offer an affordable offering to my husband who wants to stop at Starbucks frequently to pick up a chai latte now.
Yes, I can make a chai latte, but, he doesn’t seem to like mine as much as he likes those horrible, sugar laden ones from the coffee shops.
The labeling shows serving this one iced but also suggests trying it hot which is how I prepared it for myself. I simply shook the carton vigorously for about 15 seconds or so to make sure that all the spices and stuff that no doubt have settled to the bottom of the carton are well incorporated and then poured about six ounces of the creamy beige liquid into my teacup. Then I zapped it for about a minute.
This is tasty. Now, granted, this is a very sugary drink. It’s very similar to what I’d get from one of those aforementioned coffee shops but without the frothy top.
If you want that frothy cap, you could probably achieve it with a frother. Mine is no longer functional so I just had to imagine that I had a frothy top.
But the lack of frothy cap aside, this tastes a lot like what I’d get if I ordered a Caramel Chai latte at one of the coffee shops. But the price for a whole carton of this costs about half of what a large chai latte would cost from that coffee shop.
It’s warmly spiced but not what I’d call spicy. I find myself missing the cardamom so the spices do leave a little to be desired. But I can taste the luscious caramel notes which are very nice and I can also taste the black tea and that’s something that I often don’t taste in those coffee shop chai lattes – so this might actually have an advantage over one of those concoctions.
Note: not all coffee shop chai lattes are created equal. Some are better than others.
Sugary, yes. But it’s also creamy and rich and has a pleasant flavor. And if you happen to have a mate who prefers a coffee shop latte over a superior chai brewed from loose leaf tea and spices like I do, this could present you an agreeable substitution for those pricey drinks at the coffee shop.
Lemon Meringue Mao Zhen Hair Needle Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Wow, that’s a mouthful. And this tea is a mouthful of deliciousness. This organic Chinese green tea is sweet with just a hint of almost salmon-like butteriness. I’ve paired it with lemon verbena, marshmallow roots and lemon-, marshmallow- and pastry- organic flavors. Be prepared to have your socks knocked off with this one..
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited when I saw the announcement for this Lemon Meringue Mao Zhen Hair Needle Green Tea as the tea of the week for March 23rd from 52Teas! I love Lemon Meringue Pie! And I got even more excited after I read our SororiTea Sister Nichole’s review of this tea. I really couldn’t wait until I was able to find the time to sit back and enjoy this tea!
My first sip or two of this tea were not as impressive as the rest of the cup for me. I took those first couple of sips when the tea was still very hot because to be honest, I couldn’t wait to try it. I mean, hello? Lemon Meringue? I want!
But the tea hadn’t cooled enough yet for the flavors to really emerge the way they began to after a few more minutes of cool time. After about six or seven minutes, the flavors really began to establish themselves in the cup. Now I can taste the tangy lemon notes – imagine lemon curd but not the lemon curd you’d buy on the grocery store shelves! Think to a homemade lemon curd or even to your (insert name of baking relative here)’s lemony filling for their lemon meringue pie. That’s the lemon flavor I’m talking about! It’s bright and sunny and vibrantly lemon-y, but not so tart that I’m puckering. There’s enough sweetness to the ‘filling’ taste that I’m getting a strong, assertive lemon-y flavor but I’m not puckering as if I just bit into a lemon wedge.
After the lemon note, I taste the fluffy marshmallow notes that mimic the sweet, creamy meringue flavor and even a hint of buttery pie pastry. Delicious!
And I’m happy to say that the green tea flavor isn’t lost in this tea. I taste grassy, vegetal notes from the green tea. Instead of “melding” or “marrying” with the lemon meringue pie flavors to create a unified flavor, this tea tastes very much to me like lemon meringue pie + green tea. It tastes like a nice balance of the two and I like the way I’m getting a slightly savory flavor from the green tea that contrasts with the sweet, dessert-like flavor of the lemon meringue pie.
The second infusion was even nicer than the first, because the lemon tones down just a little (still a very lemon-y tea!) and the green tea has become a silkier, smoother taste with a hint of creaminess that works beautifully with the marshmallow notes.
A really delightful tea. I think this particular tea is best served hot. Not piping hot like my first couple of sips were, but after it’s cooled a few minutes so that the flavors can develop but before it becomes cold to the point that it’s like iced tea. I find that the flavors become a little more muddied when the tea becomes cold. So drink it while it’s hot and it’ll be like you’re eating a piece of your favorite lemon meringue pie but without the fat and calories!