I told my husband I’ve been borrowing his t-shirts sometimes, and he said that was “sneaky.” Later in the day, I told him I’m drinking a “Winter Treat” tea in August, and he said that too, was “sneaky.”
I don’t think drinking a winter tea in September is sneaky; it’s more “ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT, MAAAAAAN.” I won’t let the seasons dictate what I drink, maaaaaan. I’ll wear white after labor day AT A WEDDING, maaaaan. Like a teenager who skims Marx after their history homework and uses that shaky grasp to buy a Rage Against The Machine album, maaaaan. BERNIE 2020.
I don’t know if you can tell, but I went through an ill-informed “rebellious” phase I’m slightly ashamed of.
Unfortunately, my reviewing Winter’s Treat in September means it’s not currently available, but you need to listen up: 52 TEAS KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON WITH OOLONGS. I’m not sure I have literally ever been disappointed by one of their oolongs. I am not owned by them; I have no financial stake in any tea company whatsoever. I am saying this FOR FREE. Keep an eye on those new releases as they come out. When an oolong that speaks to you emerges, BUY. IT.
This tea is a marshmallow, banana, cinnamon mix. I’m not sure what bananas have to do with winter, but NO MATTER. It’s very sweet. It’s like a chai that someone in the tropics might make. They’re like “it’s 100 degrees out here, but we’re on a banana plantation, and it’s technically ‘winter,’ so… let’s do the thing.”
The oolong makes a rich background, a perfect canvas for the other colors to shine. But I doubted nothing less from 52Teas, the Oolong Queen of Tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is currently not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Roasted Pumpkin Carrot Cake Houjicha from A Quarter To Tea. . .
So many pumpkin spice teas appear around this time of year, but most of them are just pumpkin spices and make no attempt to taste like pumpkin.
Here is a tea that offers the creaminess of pumpkin and carrot cake as well as the spices.
May I just begin by saying how happy I am that this has houjicha as the base instead of rooibos? So many of the fall spiced teas are built on rooibos that they are beginning to fall into the “avoid” category for me.
I made two steeps of this tea and drank the first plain. I thought I tasted clove at first, but it was actually ginger adding the kick beside the cinnamon. It is somewhat creamy but I don’t know that I taste anything I would identify as pumpkin or carrot. This is an older sample, though, so it may have been there when fresh. I am delighted to taste these spices without rooibos, though!
The second steep proved to be as colorful and as flavorful as the first. A friend who was drinking it with me said she couldn’t tell a difference between the two.
I decided to add milk and sugar to the second cup from the second steep (something I rarely do) because I think most people add them when they are using a flavored tea as a dessert replacement. I expected the milk to take the ginger down a notch but it really didn’t. Most teas could not handle milk on a second steep and still taste like the original.
So far, everything I have tried from A Quarter To Tea re-steeps brilliantly. This was no exception, and may be worth checking out if you are a ginger lover.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Roasted houjicha tea with autumn spices and the creaminess of pumpkin blended together with hints of vanilla cream, extra ginger and carrot for a pumpkin carrot cake experience sure to delight.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spritz of Glitz from Tea and Tins. . .
What attracted me to this tea was the little silver candies. I’m sucker for sprinkles!
This was a very striking blend with the silver gleaming against the dark green tea leaves. While the name of the blend is ‘pear,’ the dry blend and wet leaves had more of a peach aroma to me. If you are familiar with Sour Peaches, it smelt like that!
However, when I went in to sip the liquor, I got a whiff of pear. There was a rich pear flavour from the liquor as well. Since the blend leaned towards sweet, it reminded me of pear candy instead of freshly picked pears. I kept getting a mixture of pear and peaches in my mouth.
This yellow liquor tea is for pear (and peach) lovers!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea and Tins
Description
Ingredients: green tea, succulent peach and fresh pear with a glitzy spritz of sparkling sugars!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pear Green White from Mahamosa. . . . .
I was interested in the name of the blend since it implied a white and green tea base. The label of the packaging indicated that it contained “China Sencha, Lung Ching, green Yunnan and Pai Mu Tan” – quite a few teas! Looking at the blend, there was also a nice sprinkle of rosebuds and mango cubes. The dry blend had a nice pear aroma that became grassier after steeping.
The liquor was smooth and pale yellow with very mild astringency. The green and white tea blend base came through and had a very clean taste. There was a slight sweetness at the tail end of the sip, which may have come from the mango cubes or pineapple flakes.
This would be a nice tea if you want to unwind and relax with a book or movie!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green/White
Where to Buy: Mahamosa
Description
This noble blend of different green and white teas captivates the senses with the typical, attractive Pai Mu Tan and a Yunnan which is dominated by light, fluffy tips. Yellow rosebuds, pineapple flakes and mango cubes enhance the delicate yet significant freshness of this aromatic variety. The tea leaves dominate the overall taste with their typically delicate, slightly bitter notes. A touch of juicy pear and creamy sweet exotic flavors envelop the characteristic flavor of green tea. Ingredients: China Sencha, Lung Ching, green Yunnan and Pai Mu Tan (89% total tea), flavoring, mango cubes (mango,sugar), pineapple flakes, rosebuds.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rainbow Sherbet from The NecessiTeas. . . . .
In my early tween years, I was lucky enough to have one of my best friends living right down the block. With our minor amounts of freedom (given our newly advanced age of 12), we were able to bike around our neighborhood to our hearts’ content, and often snuck a few extra blocks in to get to the local general shop just around the corner. Our favorite treats to stock up on? Big League Chew, and Mambos, of course– and one time, when we were feeling really adventurous: rainbow sherbet.
Now, let me paint you a little picture real quick: here we were, 12 years old, a half a mile from our homes on a hot day with nothing but a backpack and our bikes, stocking up on candy and very-meltable ice cream. I don’t know why we were so stricken with this sudden craving, but we HAD to have sherbet. So we bought ourselves a half gallon, shoved it in our backpacks, and raced against the clock to bike it back home before it melted and got everywhere. Honestly, I can’t remember its state by the time we made it home, but I can remember the exact feeling of the ferocity of biking like you were carrying a melting Hope Diamond in your backpack. Intense.
So when I saw this rainbow sherbet tea from The Necessiteas waiting for me in my most recent sample stash, I was over the moon. “Rainbow sherbet?!” I thought. “My favorite! And it won’t even melt on me! SWEET.” (I may be almost 30, but I have the mindset of a 12-year-old sherbet smuggler deep within me still, apparently.) I threw this one on ice, hoping to replicate those sweet, fruity, creamy flavors I love so much. The verdict? It was a really good green iced tea. But was it totally sherbet-esqe? Not entirely. I enjoyed this one a lot, ad will definitely sip it again, but I have such a specific flavor-memory of rainbow sherbet that anything that doesn’t entirely hit it on the nose is going to be a little bit of a disappointment to me.
Now, if 12-year-old Mary’d had this tea stashed away in her backpack instead of a rapidly-melting frozen treat? She probably would have been a happier, less-sticky camper.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
Real fruit makes this raspberry, orange, and lime sherbet combination a classic treat!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
