Just the Facts
Caffeine Level: None
Brewing Instructions: ½ teaspoon tea for every 6 ounces of water.
Brew 3-5 minutes (longer for iced tea). Aroma: fresh baked vanilla cake, with moments of citrus and berries.
Color: Amber Color
Ingredients: rooibos, flavors, cornflower petals, confetti sprinkles. Vegan. Description: Caffeine-free magical rooibos loose leaf tea infused with vanilla berry birthday cake and rainbow sprinkle vibes.
Tasting Notes: fresh baked birthday cake, browned butter, whipped cream, vanilla, ice cream, citrus, blueberries, blackberries, honeycomb.
The Review
Unicorn Vibes is a name that induces images of limitless whimsy and flavor-filled fun. So, while I approached the tea with the giddy enthusiasm of a ten year-old with a hula hoop in one hand and a bubble wand in the other, my adult skepticism told me to quell my inner child.
As of late, most rooibos teas with exciting names seemed to overpromise and underdeliver. I tend to like my tea on the medium-strong side so I increased the steeping time to 6 minutes. The moment the infuser hit the water a light amber hue began to emerge, deepening in tone until it became a deeper peachy amber color at the final steeping time. Initially, as the tea steeped, the aroma of vanilla gave way to a vanilla-berry scent that caused me to salivate.
I had never been this excited for a rooibos in my life! My inner child was winning, she knew this was going to be good and couldn’t wait to get her hands on it. I tried the brew without any sweetener and was astonished at the natural sweetness it exuded. I then tried the tea with regular sugar and then honey. Honey overpowered the vanilla and made it cloying. White sugar made it sweeter than it needed to be but was pleasant enough.
My favorite way was definitely au naturel since I could easily see this being great as an iced tea and a starter tea for children. I couldn’t stop drinking the tea in part because the flavor was as exceptional and unique as the name it bore. Mostly, my inner child kept goading me to have a little more as memories of childhood tea parties with friends, ice cream trucks circling the block, making cupcakes doused in sprinkles and the local candy shoppe came flooding back with each sip.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Vibes
Description
UNICORN VIBES is a caffeine-free magical rooibos loose leaf tea infused with vanilla berry birthday cake and rainbow sprinkle vibes. This is such a unique tea because it’s part of our “dessert tea” line. That doesn’t mean it’s super sweet; it just means it’s naturally sweet in a subtle way.
When brewed, UNICORN VIBES is a gorgeous amber color and gives off the comforting aroma of a fresh baked vanilla cake, with moments of citrus and berries.
Steep a cup or two of this dessert tea at night time or after meals to help fight sugar cravings. The creamy finish of vanilla, berries and citrus satisfies your sweet tooth and your mind will be like “That cake was delicious!” – but guess what? – with no calories. We highly recommend this tea with a splash of milk or cream for the full “cake effect”. Enjoy!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Gingerbread Latte/A Quarter To Tea
I only recently became a fan of gingerbread and I am a picky one. I like gingerbread just so and I like just enough ginger in food or drink to make it sparkle but not enough to bite!
I am happy to say that this blend is the good kind of gingerbread. I made it as a plain hot tea first in six ounces water with no sugar and it was very good and very flavorful with a steeping time of just over three minutes. Ginger is the main note, followed by cinnamon.
But it is called Gingerbread LATTE so even though I don’t usually add milk and sugar to my tea, I do like lattes – a LOT, even though I rarely drink them. So I heated six ounces of milk with two teaspoons of sugar, and then plopped the infuser basket in for four minutes.
The milk is now a creamy color with little specks of cinnamon and spice swirling in it. Ginger is still up front with cinnamon a close second. The taste and texture of this drink would totally satisfy me as a dessert, no cake or pie needed. The flavor lingers for a long time.
Another A+ for A Quarter To Tea.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for tea blends that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Empress Rajini/Simple Loose Leaf
“When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground,” Cersei famously said in the first season of Game of Thrones.
If you think fighting for dominance isn’t for you, try Empress Rajini. She seems to have her tea game on point. Think of all the tea you could have if you were in charge. Delicious, delicious tea.
I steeped this cup to go along with a donut I procured from the break room. (Why are there never, say, apples in there?)
The blend looked flowery and rich and dark, a perfect compliment to my chocolate-frosted confection.
And BOOM, I was right. This rose-lavender-fruit confection was the perfect counterpoint to the black tea in the blend and the chocolate from the donut. The whole thing was an IMMACULATE pick-me-up. Delicious. Wonderfully balanced, sweet, and ladylike.
I suspect Rajini is a fair and beloved empress.
If you don’t want to risk your life to rule, you could just buy the tea from Real Simple Loose Leaf, I guess.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Description
Black tea, lavender, and rose petals with mango and peach flavor
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Cupcake/52Teas
I am picky when it comes to my Earl Grey teas. I like them to be balanced. So often the bergamot is too strong, the cream flavors too artificial tasting or the black tea base is too weak.
Almost every tea manufacturer puts out their version of an Earl Grey and sadly I have a box full of Earl Grey teas that just didn’t make the cut. What is the point of drinking something that you don’t love?
When I saw that 52 Teas was again offering their Earl Grey Cupcake tea I really was interested. The tea itself is very pretty, full of star-shaped sprinkles. The smell of the dry leaf is very heavy on the bergamot so I was at first worried that the bergamot would be too overwhelming.
I steeped the tea for 3 minutes. The instructions on the packet indicate that the tea flavor develops as the tea cools, about 10 minutes. I am happy to report that this tea is lovely. The black tea base is solid, it is malty with very little astringency. The bergamot is perfect, not too strong at all, and the back end of the taste is a delightful vanilla flavor. The vanilla is not artificial tasting, it is a nice, natural flavor.
I did try the tea at the 10 minute mark and I do agree that the vanilla becomes much more prominent as the tea cools. I have been so pleased with all of the teas I have tired thus far from 52 teas and this tea is no exception. I highly recommend this tea if you love Earl Grey.
This probably would rank in my top 5 Earl Grey teas of all time and that is saying a lot as I have tried many!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
This tea is currently not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Raspberry Almond Coffee/A Quarter To Tea. . .
I think that of all the new teas I have in my “to review” box, I was most excited about this one. I am not a coffee drinker but I was so excited about the white tea, the raspberry, and the almond, that I was willing to compromise on that last flavor note of its title!
I need not have have worried, though. There is really no coffee flavor in this. The roasty flavor is coming from houjicha, a Japanese green tea that is roasted in ceramic vessels until the leaves change from green to brown or reddish brown, taking out any grassy or sour taste and replacing it with a dark, roasty goodness that is lower in caffeine than the starting product.
The first aroma when I sniff the dry leaves is ALMOND, and it is such a boozy scent that I felt it was full-on amaretto. Next is the fruit, then finally the very lightest hint of roasted leaves that makes up the coffee-like component here.
In the cup, again almond dominates, which is okay by me because I love the stuff. It is mixed with the sweet and summery raspberry flavor, and at first I think there is no coffee flavor or even roasted flavor at all. The more I drink and the longer I drink, the houjicha flavor builds and lingers, mixing beautifully with the sweet and boozy almond flavor.
I even tried this one cold and unsweetened, and guess what? It is still awesome, and I think if you are after the coffee (or houjicha) flavor, you will love it as an iced tea because I feel that the houjicha comes forward just a bit more than when it is served hot.
Another winner in my book from A Quarter To Tea!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This tea is sold out but click below to learn more about this blend and others!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!