Over the Christmas break, I took some vacation time. I ended up still working a good chunk of the time but I was able to at least binge watch a few shows that I had been wanting to. Downton Abbey was on the list of shows I wanted to start so I was saving this tea until I had a few episodes watched. Unfortunately, the flashy ads for The Crown (staring Matt Smith, one of my favorite doctors from Doctor Who) caught my eye and I ended watching that series and not watching Downton Abbey. Shame on me. This is one show that I know I need to watch so hopefully I’ll be able to soon.
Since I wasn’t able to watch the show, I thought I’d go ahead and drink this tea. I honestly can’t believe how much I love this tea.
This tea is a bagged tea from The Republic of Tea. I’ve found that I either really love their tea or am just not a fan of it. Their green pear tea is one I find myself craving and the fact it is a bagged tea adds a nice convenience factor for me. 99% of the tea I drink every day is loose leaf but I do find myself running out the door quite often without the foresight of getting my morning tea ready to go for the commute. That is when this tea works perfectly in my busy life, plus it tastes amazing!
Mrs. Patmore’s Pudding Black Tea is a flavored black tea with notes of a dessert quality. The description is spot on with this one. You really don’t know this is a black tea because the flavoring does take over but in a good way. There is a vanilla cake like feel through each sip with a rich and lush caramel throughout. Absolutely delicious and one that I am considering getting a whole tin of.
Definitely a perfect tea to curb those sweet tooth cravings that hit me in the afternoon but also a great tea to enjoy on my morning commutes.
A dessert tea at its finest in a convenient tea bag form. Not sure if this is a dutiful tribute to Mrs Patmore’s Pudding but I’m quite tickled with this one!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Description
This decadent dessert tea has the homemade flavors of vanilla sponge cake drizzled with rich caramel sauce. The full-bodied base of premium black tea lends itself well to a splash of milk, making it a perfect afternoon tea to partner with puddings, scones and shortbread.
The award-winning TV series, Downton Abbey® has entranced millions of viewers and become a modern media sensation. Every episode is an explosion of drama, relationships and intrigue. Downton Abbey is home to the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. From the pen of Academy Award® winner Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey is the most watched drama ever on PBS!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bronte Sisters Black Tea from Simpson and Vail
This yummy papaya-and-raspberry blend was inspired by the Brontë sisters’ orchard. It’s a thick, rich berry-and-black combo. It’s very, for lack of a less icky word, juicy. Like biting into a real piece of fruit. I’m not sure I’ve ever bitten into a real papaya, but I have a vivid imagination. This is the real McCoy.
The description for the tea mentions that the ladies had an orchard. The tea is supposed to include “pear, apple, and gooseberry flavors,” but doesn’t include any of those ingredients. It doesn’t matter, however. It’s still an orchard — it’s simply a more warm-climate sort of orchard.
This tea is also giving me an identity crisis. Or, rather, the Brontë sisters are. Did you realize that the oldest-lived Brontë was 38 upon passing? They did ALL THAT WRITING before 38.
Do you realize I am 32 and have only succeeded at NaNoWriMo once? What. am. I. doing. with. my. life?!
I’m drinking this tea, that’s what I’m doing. It’s a good start.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Flavored Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, lived and wrote in Yorkshire, England. Born in 1816, 1818 and 1820, respectively, the sisters lived very short lives, with Charlotte living the longest at 38. During their unfortunately short lifetimes, each sister produced novels that would become cornerstones of western literature and inspire studies for generations. Emily’s Wuthering Heights, Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, and Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall each found an audience and acclaim that continues to this day. With their novels, the sisters introduced the world to a starkly honest portrayal of English womanhood that didn’t hide the ugliness and intrigue many novels of the time shied away from. Although tame by today’s standards, their inclusion of independent female characters, alcoholism, and abuse meant that the Bronte’s novels faced their share of controversy.
The Bronte family kept an orchard and garden where the sisters spent much of their time exploring, drawing, and writing. Charlotte was more inclined to draw the flowers and the plants than to stop and smell them, but Anne and Emily were happy to get their hands dirty with a little gardening. Emily especially, who was known to be a bit of a recluse, could often be found taking long walks and enjoying nature. Our Bronte Sisters tea blend combines pear, apple, and gooseberry flavors to make a sweet and fragrant blend that’s reminiscent of an orchard stroll. The flavors in this blend meld together in perfect harmony and the taste lingers deliciously on the palate.
Ingredients: Black teas, papaya pieces (papayas and sugar), flavorings, raspberry pieces, alfalfa leaves and marigold petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Harry Potter Fans-Check this out! Pumpkin Juice Green Tea from 52Teas
The thing I was originally going to write about this was “this tastes like the Hogwarts library.” I was going to talk about the vegetal green taste with the rich old spices, like herbology books being read by Neville Longbottom after a long day of academia. I had a variety of very interesting, seemingly novel ideas.
(NOVEL IDEAS? GET IT?)
Then I went to 52Teas’ own description which — I do not jest — literally says: “I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and have been for a lot of years so this year as my Halloween offering, I decided I wanted to celebrate my favorite books with a tribute to one of the wizarding world’s favorite juices: Pumpkin Juice!”
I don’t remember the words “pumpkin juice” being used in the Potterverse, but apparently the association was subliminal, because there I was, browsing the Hogwarts library’s forbidden section and trying not to get bitten by books with the best of them.
The tea itself tastes like pumpkin, pineapple, and spices. It’s a cool mix!
I’ve tried a bunch of Pumpkin Spice beverages this autumn, and this one stands out as the most original. It’s the only one that features green tea (!) and pineapples (!).
I suppose if you are a pumpkin spice classicist, you can drink your black pumpkin tea in your mundane Muggle life.
I, on the other hand, will be sharing this cup with Hagrid and Fang
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Flavored Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and have been for a lot of years so this year as my Halloween offering, I decided I wanted to celebrate my favorite books with a tribute to one of the wizarding world’s favorite juices: Pumpkin Juice!
Having never actually tasted pumpkin juice, I googled “pumpkin juice” for some ideas on recipes for it. There are a few different recipes online for pumpkin juice and each of them were a little different. Some were a combination of orange juice and pumpkin juice – which sounded interesting! Another included dried apricots instead of the orange juice – also interesting! Others were made with peach or pear juice. But the recipe that appealed to me most was one that combined pumpkin, apple juice, pineapple juice and spices. I thought that the apple would add some pleasant sweetness to the savory quality of the pumpkin and the pineapple juice would add some brightness to the overall flavor.
I started with a base of fair-trade, rainforest alliance certified Satemwa estate green teas (OP1 & Zomba Steamed) and added chunks of dried pumpkin, freeze-dried apples and pineapple, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and touch of freshly shaved nutmeg. The fruits do soften the flavor of the pumpkin somewhat however, the overall flavor is quite autumn-y and delicious.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sparkle Pony Oolong Tea from 52Teas
Sparkle Pony Oolong Tea from 52 Teas is just FUN in every way! Not only is it FUN but it’s special and unique in every way, too! Let me see if I can explain some of my thoughts behind this tea!
First off…Sparkle Pony Oolong Tea from 52 Teas contains organic oolong tea, dried pluots, organic ginger root, organic crystallized ginger (sliced ginger and sugar), vegan edible glitter and organic natural flavors.
Dried Pluots!? Are you serious!? I LOVE Pluots! In case you are not familiar with the fruit…they are a hybrid fruit…a cross between an apricot and a plum. They smell and taste like BOTH a plum and an apricot at the same time! They are juicy, sweet, and have that recognizable stone-fruit taste.
The ginger and crystallized ginger flavored are very distinct in this tea. The crystallized flavor is more muted that I thought it would be but totally understand why as I think it being any more intense would just change the taste completely.
The edible vegan glitter was more for show and you had to look at it cross-eyed to even find it but I know how expensive that stuff is so I’m totally ok with there NOT being more. I mean, we are here for the tea, right!?
The Oolong Tea itself has a woodsy-oolong taste to it. It infused darker than I expected but it was a pleasant surprise. The oolong even had a subtle smoky or hint of charcoal type flavor to it, too! Again, a nice surprise!
If you read a product description of ANY tea today make sure you check this one out because you can really see just how much thought and thoughtfulness Anne put into this creation over at 52 Teas! Whether you enjoy this tea for the artisan factor or enjoy the connection and tribute to unicorns/ponies, the Burning Man Festival, or even Portlandia it’s certainly a tea that will stick in your mind for one reason or another and certainly worthy of being one of 52 Teas Anniversary Teas! I’m LOVING THIS!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description (Please note, this tea is no longer available)
ingredients: organic oolong tea, dried pluots, organic ginger root, organic crystallized ginger (sliced ginger and sugar), vegan edible glitter and organic natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and what teas are currently available here!
Whouffle From Adagio’s Signature Blends
Being a Whovian, I have a soft spot for anything Doctor Who related. Especially for any Doctor Who teas. I can’t get enough of them. So I just had to try this one.
This particular blend even screams out more to me since it isn’t an earl grey blend. Whouffle is a blend of almond and raspberry black teas mixed with vanilla oolong. There is also a generous dose of cinnamon thrown in. With Adagio Signature Blends, they can heavy with the black teas and taste muddy. This has to be one of the best ones I’ve ever had.
Think about a gorgeous dessert comprised of an almond crust topped with a lush raspberry filling with a drizzle of a cinnamon syrup. That is what this tea tastes like. All of the flavors are insanely smooth and bursting with flavor. I’m literally on my fourth infusion of the tea and although the flavors are weaker, this tea is still on point. I’ve even thrown in a shot of bourbon just to enjoy my evening even more.
Each sip of this tea has you wanting for more. This tea is sweet, smooth, and full of flavors. A wonderful substitute for any leftover Halloween candy that you might still be snacking on.
Whouffle will be a tea that I start buying in the big boy size from now on. And I would encourage everyone to do the same- even if you are a Doctor Who fan or not.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Oolong/Black Tea Blend
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Light, sweet, and fluffy, with crisp raspberry jam. Souffles and jammy dodgers for the sweetest, fluffiest OTP ever. Carry this tea with you on your first journey through time and space, and you will miraculously never spill a drop!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!