52Teas’ the 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 6- Spoilers!

by MrsPremise

Day 6!

It’s not Christmas morning yet but today’s tea is a great blend to have at breakfast: Banana Pancakes Black Tea. Put your nose in the bag, and you’ll see that the tea smells like your favorite diner or breakfast restaurant, with plenty of maple syrup flavor and a whiff of sliced banana.

Brewed, there is a pleasant starchiness in the black tea that suits the natural starchiness of the banana and adds to the pancake feeling. The maple and banana flavor combination reminds me of banana nut muffins or banana bread. This is a fun, sweet blend on its own but it would also go great with a few mulling spices for a banana chai, or with some coconut milk or nut milk for an almost banana nut cereal taste.

I’m always a fan if banana teas, so I was more than happy to go bananas over this brew!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
52teas
Description:

I don’t think it’s any big secret that I love banana teas. So when I go a couple of months without releasing a banana tea – I really start to miss them. And it seems like it’s been quite some time since I’ve done a pancake tea (actually, I haven’t done a pancake tea since the famous Pancake Breakfast tea which I reblended back in January of last year.) So, I’m thinking – why not bring these two flavors together in one tea?

I started with a fantastic blend of black teas from China: an Assamica from the JingMai Mountains, a Fujian Black and a Yunnan Gold. Then I added some bananas along with pancake and maple essence. But don’t worry, it’s vegan and gluten free – and depending upon how you serve it, its also sugar- and fat-free!

Take a sip on this and experience a stack of banana-filled pancakes dripping with maple syrup! Yummy!

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 52Teas, Black Tea

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, 52Teas sent to me. . .

by Sophia

On the 5th Day of Christmas 52 Teas gave to me….my actual true love: Banana Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha Green Tea. I am a huge fan of banana and marshmallow. It’s funny because the way I heard about 52 Teas was by doing a search of “marshmallow tea” on Steepster. I ended up coming across 52 Teas’ Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha! For that reason, that blend is actually pretty special to me, and I’m very happy its part of the permanent collection. Any twist on it, be it banana or pumpkin spice latte or chai spice or anything in between, I am always extremely eager to try.

                Suffice to say, when I scratched off Day 5’s label I was really excited and brewed up a cup right away! Yum, yum, yum. If you like banana and you like marshmallow, you’re going to like this. It is really smooth with that toasted rice and green tea flavor and aroma that is genmaicha, but it also has a really yummy twist: fluffy marshmallow and creamy banana! Dare I say that I enjoy this more than the original marshmallow treat? I know that some people have reservations with banana flavored teas, but this is really well done and not artificial tasting. It is smooth, creamy, delicate, and sweet. I would drink this again and again, and I definitely recommend that if you are given the chance you give it a try!

                I know I have said this already but I really am happy with this 12 Days of Tea package. I love that it has given me a chance to try teas that I otherwise would have missed my chance to taste. Some companies just put all the teas that had been available over the past year in their Christmas/Advent boxes and I feel like it is so repetitive. I’m really enjoying the uniqueness of this box and these blends and I truly have not had one that I dislike.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green
Where to Buy:  52Teas
Description

This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.

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 52Teas, Green Tea

Hummingbird from A Quarter To Tea. . . .

by VariaTEA

Sometimes when you try a tea for the first time you love it but part of the love comes from excitement over a tea being new and when you try it again, its just not as good. That is not the case with this tea. This tea is my latest obsession. Seriously, I think I am in love. I own over 350 teas and I keep reaching for this one, Hummingbird by A Quarter to Tea. I just can’t get enough of the banana, vanilla, and pecan praline awesomeness.

I have had this a few times hot and I swear each cup is better than the last. However today I decided to mix things up and see how this works as an iced tea. I steeped this per the recommended steeping parameters for 3 minutes in 200F water.

The iced cup still has that awesome banana smell but the banana falls to the background when prepared this way. Instead the smooth yunnan base combined with the nutty praline and vanilla is highlighted. It’s the slightest bit dry and yet it has notes of chocolate and honey that compliment the other flavors. Do I want more banana? Yes, but this tea prepared as an iced tea sort of reminds me of a chunky monkey ice cream/milkshake and that’s still pretty great

Iced or hot, this tea is just so good. Though my preference is the hot tea because it reminds me of a delicious bananas foster-like dessert, the iced tea still delivers on the mmmmmmmm factor. I honestly cannot recommend this one enough!

Here’s the scoop!

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

A malty Yunnan black tea with banana, vanilla, and pecan praline. Add a splash of pineapple juice for a more traditional twist.

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 A Quarter To Tea, Black Tea

Banana Maple Oatmeal from The NecessiTeas. . . .

by SuperStarling

I have a coworker that’s always wandering around the office with a bowl of oatmeal. It’s like his familiar — except it’s not a black cat. It’s food.

I’m always jealous of this oatmeal. You might be asking yourself “why don’t you get yourself a bowl of oatmeal?” I’VE HAD THAT IDEA, OKAY? Whenever I try to make my own, it never, ever smells as good as his.

Forget food preparation. I’m over it. I’m just going to make this tea instead.

This tea comes in a packet with real oatmeal and cinnamon and brown sugar in it. My desire is literally to just eat the contents of the bag. However, as someone over the age of 5, I knew I could not make this choice. I had to make the responsible decision. I had to steep it.

And aha! It really does taste like maple syrup, brown sugar, and oats!

There’s also, after you swallow, a little bit of a banana aftertaste. I’m not usually hype about banana flavors, but these are real bananas, not those yucky yellow banana-shaped candies that taste like a dumpster.

Mixed with the oats, the banana is transformed into a banana-bread flavor. And I’ll love the bread form of almost anything. I even like zucchini bread. And this is from a gal who probably couldn’t pick a zucchini out of a lineup. (Isn’t it kind of cucumber-like?)

Mmmm. This is a really nice blend. It’s totally worth a try, especially if you like the ingredients. You’ll be impressing your coworkers in no time.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  The NecessiTeas
Description

Oh, the aroma of banana and maple floating through the house… This oatmeal smelled so good simmering on the stove, I could hardly wait to eat it! And then I had that “Aha!” moment. Why not turn my breakfast into a big cup of morning deliciousness? This breakfast tea has all the yummy flavors of maple donuts mixed with banana bread and oatmeal cookies. Now, THAT is quite the combination!

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 Black Tea, The NecessiTeas

George Daddy from A Quarter To Tea. . . .

by Mary

If you know that there’s always money in the banana stand, you’ll likely understand this tea.

If you don’t? I mean, it’s still a delicious chocolate-banana-graham tea, but you’re probably gonna be a little weirded out by the name.

I’ll be honest: though so many of my fellow Sororitea Sister have proclaimed their love for banana teas, I’ve been skeptical. I like bananas. I don’t OMG LOVE them. I really like frozen, chocolate dipped bananas– does that count? But I am decidedly NOT a fan of fake banana flavor– banana runts? No thanks. Banana gum? Gag.

So you can bet I was a skoosh skeptical when I sniffed this tea right in the bag– it is pretty powerfully banana-flavor-scented. But the lingering background chocolate notes intrigued me, and the large chunks of chocolate graham cracker was enough to set me over the edge. Brewed, this one is a bit murky-golden, with a little visible oily-film on the top. The scent is still pretty strongly faux-banana, but I was pleased to find the taste to be more authentic. This needed no sweetness added, it was the perfect balance of flavors without any bitterness. I wish I had enough of this one to try it iced just to see how Bluth-family-banana-stand authentic the flavors actually were, but I still slurped up the whole hot cup, regardless. Would I repurchase? Maybe not– as human who’s fairly meh about bananas, I don’t know that I need it in my cabinet. But for a banana lover– or a Bluth? This one needs to live in your banana stand (er… tea cabinet).

Here’s the scoop!

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

This tea is no longer available but click below for the limited teas that are.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Mary

Hi there! I'm Mary, a 27-year-old mental health professional living with my fiancé and our quirky kitten in the Midwest! I've loved tea for as long as I can remember-- in fact, I have vivid memory of being four or five in a tea shop and being mesmerized by all the tea flavors and proclaiming that I "was going to be kind of adult who drank tea, not coffee." A stint living (and tea-drinking my way through) London and twenty-some years later, I'm still channeling that sassy four-year-old and loving my tea habit. When I'm not sipping a cuppa, you'll find me reading, doing yoga, traveling, exploring my own city, planning our wedding and experimenting with different healthful and healing foods in my kitchen.

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