I found this tea via a Shirley Jackson gift list on Book Riot. Ms Jackson was an early female horror writer whose work still holds up REALLY WELL today. If you want to be pleasantly surprised by some creepy older stories, give Shirley Jackson a try.
Anyway, this tea is based on a Jackson book I’d just read (We Have Always Lived In The Castle), so of COURSE I had to buy it, and maybe, like, some others fell in the cart, too. The Malfoy Tea Emporium focuses on literary references and guys, I’m mostly made of stuffed animal components, not willpower.
This tea is a mix of “black tea, raspberry leaves, natural creme flavor, natural blackberry flavor, natural cranberry flavor, and cranberries.” It is, true to its name, a creamy berry delight. The primary thing is the cranberry flavor, with the cream and raspberry skipping along behind it. These are fresh out the garden. A Victorian after-dinner treat.
This blend tastes like the berries in the novel that were covered in sugar and arsenic — except I don’t see poison in the ingredients, so I think I’m good here. If you don’t see any more posts from me, call the cops and tell them how I died.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Malfoy Tea Emporium
Description
Inspired by Merricat Blackwood from Shirley Jackson’s story “We Have Always Lived In The Castle”, this tea is blended with black tea, raspberry leaves, natural creme flavor, natural blackberry flavor, natural cranberry flavor, and cranberries.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jane Eyre from First Edition Tea Co. . . . . .
Something about the fall/winter months that makes me want to read Jane Eyre. I want deep, spooky, atmospheric, dramatic love stories, sweeping drama, chilly breezes and of course– good tea.
Of course, this likely has something to do with the fact that I first read Jane Eyre in an October, a few years ago– and everything makes me crave tea, frankly. So you can imagine my delight when this lovely little Jane-themed sample popped up in my sample stash while the air was still crisp and cool outside.
Jane Eyre is a black tea filled with autumnal like delights– currants, cranberries, cinnamon, fennel, licorice– all things reminiscent of a dark and spooky night. Brewed, it’s hearty and dark, but not pitch black– a fall tea that’s still light enough that it could be as appropriate when sipped at an apple orchard as it is with a book in your hand, next to the fire. The spice is the most prominent flavor here for me, though the cranberry/currant notes find themselves onto my palette as well, making this tea almost-reminiscent of a liquid fruit cake. I just have an inkling that Jane would’ve been a fan of this brew, friends.
Reader, I drank it. (and it was gooooood.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: First Edition Tea
Description
Shop is currently taking a break but should be returning soon.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Queen of the Underworld from Malfoy Tea Emporium. . .
I bought a huge lot of samples on Etsy a few months ago, and then tripped and fell down a rabbit hole of Endless Workweeks and forgot to post about tea for like two months. True story. Now I have clawed my way out of this hole, gasping, covered in mud, and disoriented, and this tea is no longer for sale, but whatever, I’m reviewing it to the best of my ability, even though I can’t look up what’s in it or any of its specs any more.
This tea from Malfoy Tea Emporium’s Goddess Collection was a black tea with cinnamon and pomegranate/berries in it. I’ve had about 4 cups now and this is the final bit of my sample. Let me tell you, I’ve been loving the HECK out of it in my frenzied interim. It’s just the right balance of sweet and tart. It’s sassy. It’s pretty. It tastes like someone snapping their manicured fingers at you to row the canoe across the River Styx a LITTLE faster, please.
It instantly brews up a dark amber that’s very alluring. If this is meant to emulate Aaliyah’s final role as Queen of the Damned, and this is sort of a blood thing, it nailed it. If that wasn’t the intent (I can’t seem to read the Etsy listing any more), well, uh, you failed at getting something else right.
I’m not sure if this is going to come back, but if it does, you should get on board. It’s the catty sorta-chai you’ve been waiting for.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Malfoy Tea Emporium
Description
This tea is currently not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
RYCBAR by Fandom Teas. . . .
I’m a Doctor Who fan and, even with the information that this is an “impossible girl” inspired tea, it still took me several seconds to figure out what the name of this blend meant. Maybe my brain was just really slow today? Hopefully you can figure it out faster. 😉
I steeped two teaspoons of this tea in ten ounces of 175-degree water for three minutes.
While steeping, it starts smelling fruity right away. This is a flavored tea (raspberry-pomegranate flavored) and the tea liquid is much darker than an unflavored green tea would. That might be from the raspberry, although it’s not really pink; it’s a sort of clear and handsome brown color with a reddish tinge.
First sip: It’s definitely fruity and sweet. Pomegranate and raspberry are both quite tart fruits, but the tartness isn’t coming through too strongly here, although yes, there is quite a bit of astringency. The fruity flavors complement each other well, and the green tea base sings backup; I’m hard put to it to distinguish its flavor components separately, yet I can still tell it’s there.
With sugar: Sweeter, of course. But surprisingly, I can taste the green tea base a bit more now. The sugar tames the astringency but doesn’t really bring out the fruity flavors like I hoped/assumed it would.
I bet this one would be great as iced tea too, but wouldn’t want to try milk with it because it might be too acidic for that.
All in all a fun tea, and one that I’d like to try iced (or as cold-brew) if I ever have the chance to try it again!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Fandom Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for Doctor Who teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Boba Fett Fandom Blend from Adagio Teas. . . .
The fandom blends section of the Adagio website is a wonderful, wacky, wild west of tea blends. Any movie or video game or book you can think of has a series of community-made teas meticulously blended and designed for your tea-brewing pleasure. One downside is that the blend creators can change or remove their blends at any time. I’ve got a tea today from the Adagio fandom vault, a blend that’s no longer posted, but we’ll still take a look at it’s fun, fandom flavors: Boba Fett from Chelsea Drangsholt.
This green tea blend is fruity with a bit of earthiness. I have a sneaking suspicion that this tea might be an early draft of her current Bossk blend, made with gunpowder green, rhubarb green, and sour apple herbal teas, Bossk being a fellow bounty hunter with Boba Fett. Either way, this Boba Fett blend is green and striking like Boba Fett’s signature armor. This tea has a well-balanced mix of sweet and sour fruit flavors, over a masculine, musky green teas base. The fruit flavors give this tea an energetic pop, but the green tea won’t over-caffeinate you, so this blend can be enjoyed at any time of day.
While this exact blend isn’t live on Adagio right now, you can check out other Star Wars teas from Chelsea.
I know I’ll be brewing up a cup of this tea the next time I need some energy to kick-ass on my own adventures. Or when I need to get hyped for one of the upcoming Star Wars universe movies.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
This tea is no longer available but click below for Star Wars teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
