Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
A flavory and tasty combination of mellow peaches with deep full flavored apricots. Try a cup for yourself and discover what makes this one of our most special flavored teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love peaches and apricots. I can’t think of any two fruits that say “summer” to me more than peach and apricot. My grandmother had a very prolific apricot tree in her backyard when I was young, and not only did it provide the family with lots of juicy apricots in the mid-to-late summer weeks, but it also was our favorite climbing tree! I remember climbing that tree and sitting in it while eating a fresh, tree-ripened apricot. YUM!
My grandmother also had a peach tree, but it wasn’t as prolific as the apricot, so instead of peach cobbler, she’d make apricot-peach cobbler and this was one of my favorite desserts. This tea brings all those delicious dessert memories back! And it tastes a little like the filling of the cobbler – liquefied – and then added to a pleasant, medium-bodied Ceylon tea.
The dry leaf is beautiful: dark brown tea leaves mixed with bright yellowish-orange petals and pieces of dried fruit. The dry leaf smells – not surprisingly – like peaches and apricots! It evokes thoughts of a farmer’s fruit stand in the middle of summer!
To brew this tea, I used my Kati Tumbler. I added 1 bamboo scoop of tea to the basket and poured boiling water into the tumbler. Then I steeped the tea for three minutes. This seems like the perfect steep time for my palate – the tea tastes strong without any bitterness and I’m getting LOTS of fruit flavor from the peach and apricot.
The base is brisk and invigorating without being too aggressive. It’s got a light to moderate astringency to it. It’s a good base for the flavors because it’s strong enough to be tasted. There’s no doubt that what I’m drinking is indeed tea. It tastes like tea! However, there is plenty of sweet, juicy peach and apricot flavor too.
The peach and apricot flavors here are so strong and delicious. It reminds me of those summer days when I’d bite into a peach or an apricot that was just picked from the tree. That fruit essence has been captured in this tea: it tastes fresh, sweet and true to the fruit. Most of all, it tastes delicious.
Green Pineapple Tea from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Enjoy our tasty low-caffeine Green Pineapple tea any time of day. This sweet and refreshing tea mixes organic green loose-leaf tea leaves with tropical flavors of pineapple, mango and papaya. Pour over ice, add a splash of fresh pineapple juice and crushed mint for a deliciously unique summer beverage.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The first thing that I want to say about this Green Pineapple Tea from The Persimmon Tree is that it’s a very forgiving tea! I brewed this tea in my Kati Tumbler and after I poured in the hot water (180°F), I forgot to set the timer! Normally, I’d steep this for 2 minutes, but I’m quite sure that it brewed longer than that, probably closer to 3 1/2 to 4 minutes! But as I sip this tea, I am detecting no bitterness. It’s sweet and fruity and delicious!
I had expected some bitterness from an oversteeped green tea, but, I’m not getting any. There is a slight astringency to the cup, but even then, I’m experiencing less astringency than I expected from it.
What I am experiencing is a fresh, vibrant tea with delightful tropical fruit notes. The green tea is sweet and vegetal. The vegetal note is somewhere between a grassy taste and steamed spinach. There is a light creaminess to it too. Somewhat buttery.
The pineapple offers a sweet-tart flavor and it is complemented with a little more tropical flair with notes of mango and papaya. It’s a pleasant medley of tropical fruit that sends your taste buds on an exotic getaway!
When served warm, I find this to be very relaxing and soothing. And it’s especially tasty iced.
Pomegrape Flavored Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
A few weeks ago, I got a delivery from FedEx just as I was brainstorming tea ideas. The poor delivery guy had no idea what he was getting into, bringing me a package at that moment. “Quick! Give me an idea for a yummy flavored tea,” says I, to which he merely responded with a blank, mildly confused stare.“Well? What kind of tea should I make, man?”“Uh… I–I don’t know.” He really wanted me to sign for the package and leave him alone.“Do you like tea? Do you like flavored teas?” He nodded. “Well, what would be a good flavor for a flavored tea?” He still looked baffled. “What sorts of dessert or fruit flavors do you like?”“I like grape. And pomegranate.”“Awesome choice! Pomegrape tea it is!” So, I signed for the package and gave him one of our grape flavored Southern Boy Teas iced teas for helping me out and sent him on his way. And then I got to work on this delicious blend of buttery sweet Chinese sencha, freeze-dried grapes and pomegranate airils, and organic grape and pomegranate flavors.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I really wasn’t all that excited when I learned about the tea of the week for the week of July 21st: Pomegrape Green Tea. Not because of the pomegranate, but because of the grape. I’m just not much of a fan of grape flavored things, as I’ve confessed on this blog at least once or twice (and probably more than twice, actually).
I don’t like grape flavored candies, I don’t like grape ice pops, I don’t like grape soda. I just don’t like that overly sweet flavor that comes with the grape flavored thing … whatever that thing might be.
That said, I love grapes. I love the sweetness of a grape, the sweetness that comes from nature. But I don’t dig the overly sweet interpretation of grape flavor when it comes to candy or other grape flavored edibles.
However, I have managed to find some grape flavored teas that I actually have enjoyed (and I do love the natural muscatel of a second flush Darjeeling!) So even though this tea smelled like a bag full of grape flavored runts when I tore open the pouch, I decided to not let that deter me and I was going to taste this tea with as open minded as possible.
So I measured out two scoops of the tea that smelled of grape candy into my tea maker (along with 500 ml of water) and let the tea maker do it’s magic (175°F for 2 minutes) and hoped for the best.
While the tea is still hot, the flavors are a little … muddled. I taste notes of grape (and not an overly sweet grape, either) and I taste notes of pomegranate and I even taste subtle hints of green tea in there too, but it’s all very obscure and difficult to really describe other than to say it tastes muddled.
So I let the tea cool a little longer, as it has been my experience with flavored teas that sometimes a short cool time allows the flavors to become focused. And that is true in this case. Now I’m starting to pick up on flavors that are a little more concise.
It’s sweet. But it’s tart too. I think that the tartness of the pomegranate flavor helps to offset some of the sweet, candy-like flavor of the grape, allowing it to taste more like grape and less like soda pop. These two fruit flavors balance each other quite nicely. It’s a little tart, a little sweet and a whole lot fruity, but not as candied as I thought it would be. Yeah, I still get that candy taste occasionally, but it’s not in my face. I don’t feel like someone melted a grape Popsicle in my green tea.
And I’m also happy to say that the green tea isn’t completely overpowered with these flavors either. I taste the sweet, buttery notes of the Chinese Sencha and it has a creamy taste and texture to it that is an unexpected yet appealing complement to these fruit flavors.
So, this flavor combination is a win for 52Teas! I liked it hot and I liked it even better iced. I’m glad I decided to give this one a chance!
Strawberry Banana Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I think someone suggested this. Honestly, I can’t remember. I’m getting old and you know they say the memory is the second thing to go. Wish I could remember what the first is. Anyway, of all of our teas, our banana teas and our strawberry teas seem to be extra popular, so why NOT make a strawberry banana tea? Sure, I imagine it’s not the most original combination we’ve ever come up with, but it might just be one of the most delicious!
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
OK … when Frank told me that this would be the tea for the week of May 26th, I was less than thrilled with the news. See, I sent him a quick message and told him that his tea for that week needed to be spectacular, because it was my birthday week. So I had big expectations. Like something fabulously chocolate-y or something like that. Perhaps a new tomato blend.
Note to Frank: I would still love to try a green tea with tomato and basil and black pepper and perhaps some tulsi … maybe a Chinese Sencha and Gunpowder blend for a base. Call it LIberTEAS Summer Salad Tea.
But I wasn’t expecting him to say something like Strawberry Banana. Of the many fruit combinations that are out there, Strawberry Banana is one of the most popular. You can find it in flavored yogurts and in just about every smoothie bar out there. And I’m not a big fan. In fact, I’ve often found myself wondering what it is about this combination that seems to attract so many fans. I mean, I like strawberry. I like banana. But together, they just … kind of lose something. The strawberry is less strawberry-ish, and the banana is less banana-y.
And while I do like strawberry teas and banana teas on their own, I just didn’t see Strawberry Banana Black Tea as one that I would really do flips over, nor is it one that I would have purchased for myself if I didn’t actually subscribe to 52Teas and automatically receive each of the 52Teas that they make every year. I’m just not a fan of the combination of Strawberry and Banana.
But, believe it or not, this is actually pretty good. There is a plentiful strawberry flavor, and I find that I’m tasting strawberry long after the sip is finished. It is a long lasting flavor that keeps on going into the aftertaste. The strawberry tastes sweet and a little bit tart, with that tingly berry sensation that tickles my tongue at the finish. The banana isn’t quite as strong but it is a nice flavor. It’s a sweeter banana note, and it actually has a slight creaminess to it that I like.
The black tea base is a smooth tasting base. It doesn’t taste as rich as I seem to remember some of the black teas from 52Teas tasting, so I don’t know if they changed their black tea base again or if it’s just because of the way this particular blend of flavors work with the black tea base. It’s still a brisk tasting black tea, and it’s got a nice, smooth, round taste to it and I’m enjoying it. I’m not finding it to be overly astringent nor is it a tannic tasting tea, so it’s a good base, just not quite as … rich in flavor as I remember the black tea base from 52Teas tasting.
This is good, and it makes me really glad I’m a subscriber and I had the chance to try this tea, because like I said before, I probably wouldn’t have tried it otherwise. This wouldn’t have been a tea that I added to my cart if I were shopping without the subscription. It tastes good hot, and it’s delightful iced too!. My youngest daughter gave a happy thumbs up to it too! We both enjoyed it!
Cinnamon Peach & Apricot Honeybush from 52Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
Here’s a blend of caffeine-free honeybush with freeze-dried peaches and apricots and cinnamon chips. This is one of those blends that is bound to make you happy inside whether you prepare it hot or iced.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I usually approach the tisanes from 52Teas with a certain amount of tired disinterest. Not because I haven’t enjoyed the tisanes from 52Teas, but because that’s my general attitude when it comes to tisanes (and not just those from this company!) I – quite simply – prefer blends with camellia sinensis in them. That’s just me.
And even though I tend to find myself sort of bored with tisanes, I usually enjoy them once I get around to actually brewing them.
And that’s true of this Cinnamon Peach & Apricot Honeybush from 52Teas. This is actually quite good, much better than I expected it to be. The peach and apricot are a naturally delicious combination. For example, I love peach cobbler, and I love apricot cobbler … but even better is a peach-apricot cobbler! The two fruits just taste better together.
And this tisane – when served warm – tastes a little bit like a peach and apricot cobbler. The naturally nutty, sweet notes of the honeybush offer a “crust” sort of flavor to the cup, while the cinnamon offers just the right touch of spice.
But where this tisane really shines is as an iced drink. It is fruity and sweet, with just enough zesty cinnamon to offset that sweetness and give the cup some balance. The nutty flavors of the honeybush seem to subdue as the tisane cools, and I taste mostly fruit and spice. It’s a refreshing, tasty beverage that both my daughter and I enjoy.
This tisane doesn’t really need any sweetener to enhance it, but if you do decide you want a little extra sweetness to it, try adding a little brown sugar to it. This really amplifies that peach-apricot cobbler taste I mentioned earlier. And a splash of milk or cream will give it a really decadent, creamy flavor that is absolutely YUM!
So even though I started out kind of feeling lackadaisical about this tisane, it proved to be a really tasty treat.