Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
This is a crowd pleaser. Order this today and offer your Thanksgiving dinner guests an awesome caffeine-free treat with organic flavors of gingerbread and a hint of cream cheese frosting. This is a real treat and likely to go fast. Do not miss out on this one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Gingerbread is not something I eat often. I like some gingerbread, but most that I find tends to be a little on the wimpy side with no real ginger flavor. An exception to that is the gingerbread that I’ve tasted from Nikki’s Cookies. Good stuff.
But a lot of the gingerbread that you can buy in the grocery stores (about a month ago, you couldn’t walk into a grocery store without seeing a “gingerbread house kit.” And most of that stuff tastes like it was made from cardboard. No real ginger flavor – it’s as if the ginger that they use in the recipe is ground ginger that had been sitting on the shelf since Christmas in 1990. Boring flavor with no ginger kick.
So I’m hoping this tea will give me the kind of gingerbread flavor I want!
I hot-brewed this tea. I brought a quart of water to 195°F and dropped the sachet into the kettle and let it steep for 9 minutes. Then I strained the liquid into my favorite half gallon iced tea pitcher and repeated the process: heated a quart of water – 195°F – and put the same sachet into the kettle. This time, I let it steep for 11 minutes. Then I let the pitcher come to room temperature before I stashed it in the refrigerator to cool overnight.
Today, I have a pitcher full of gingerbread tea! Well, I guess I should say, I did have a pitcher full of gingerbread tea. Now I have about 1 glassful of tea remaining at the bottom of the pitcher and that glassful will be consumed soon!
This has a nice ginger flavor. The ginger is subtle but present in every sip. It doesn’t have a strong, peppery zing from the ginger, but there’s enough ginger in there to know that you’re tasting ginger. And there’s a pleasant sweetness, almost molasses-y, and that’s something I want to taste with gingerbread too.
This is sweet and enjoyable without being cloying. The ginger cuts through enough of the sweetness to keep it from tasting too sweet. The honeybush is a good base for the gingerbread flavors because the nutty and honey-esque flavors of the honeybush really tie in well with the overall gingerbread concept.
If I’m to offer any “complaint” about this tea, it would be that I want a little more “buttery/pastry” like flavor. That – it would seem – has become a common complaint of mine about some of the baked good flavor teas that 52Teas/Southern Boy Teas/Zoomdweebies has been producing as of late. I’m just not getting the buttery/pastry-like flavor that I’ve come to love from some of 52Teas’ classic flavors like their Pancake Breakfast tea. I think that would make this taste more like a gingerbread cookie.
That said, I found this iced tisane to be enjoyable. I like the flavor of the ginger and the molasses notes are quite delightful. It’s not my favorite iced tea selection from Southern Boy Teas, but it’s tasty and refreshing. The fact that the half gallon pitcher is nearly empty after it being in the refrigerator for less than a day should be testament to the fact that I enjoyed the flavor and it is very easy to drink.
Please take a moment to check out Frank’s Kickstarter campaign! He’s looking to take Southern Boy Teas to new heights and the fundraising effort will help get him started in the right direction! Please help this small business!
North Pole Estate Tea from Tippy’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tippy’s Tea
Tea Description:
A magical tea. Reindeer bitten and handpicked by elves in their off season, this tea is beloved by Santa Claus himself!
Our North Pole estate is a dark, malty black tea blend with hints of cinnamon, gingerbread, cloves, and a touch of chocolate. A delicious holiday tea to keep you warm. Recommended to slightly sweeten. Adding milk or brewing as a latte will add an extra dreamy creaminess.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yeah, I know that the holiday has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still be enjoying holiday tea blends! I, for one, love the warm, spicy flavors that seem to be a consistent theme for the holiday teas and I think they’re perfectly relevant to be sipping any time you want to feel that warm, cozy feeling!
This is the first tea from this new-to-me company that I’ve tried and I’m trying it in a brand new teacup! Last year, I broke my beloved Starry Night (Van Gogh) teacup and I’ve been using others that I have but I really needed a new big mug teacup that I loved as much as that Starry Night because I love tea – you know I do! But tea tastes so much better when it’s served in something you love to drink out of!
And yes … I’m a Harry Potter nerd. And while there are many parts of the books/movies that bring tears to my eyes, no five words from the Harry Potter world bring tears to my eyes more effectively than these:
“After all this time?” “Always.”
Yep, I’m tearing up right now.
So, let’s talk about this tea.
My initial couple of sips were not quite as spiced as I expected them to be. I let the cup cool for a few minutes, hoping that some time would help bring the flavors forward.
And it does! I am tasting more spice now. I taste subtle notes of cinnamon. The clove is even more subtle. I taste a background note of gingerbread and a hint of chocolate. The spices are not strong here – this isn’t a chai! – it’s an “estate” tea. A North Pole Estate.
Single Estate teas tend to take on the flavors that surround the estate, but usually subtly. The leaves absorb the essences that fill the air. In the North Pole, I’d imagine the scent of warm spice, gingerbread and chocolate permeate the air. And that’s what this cup brings to this cup.
The black tea is a strong blend of black teas from India and China (Assam and Keemun teas). Bold, malty, rich. There are wine-like notes to it along with the notes of malt. The finish is dry.
The cinnamon is the most pronounced of the flavors, with hints of clove dancing in the background. The chocolate is subtle but every now and again, it weaves its way into the sip in a very pleasing way. The gingerbread becomes more noticeable when I slurp the sip and aerate the liquid on the palate.
A really interesting cuppa. I like it.
Gingerbread Smoke Black Tea Blend from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
As for this week’s Tea of the Week, I think this is the tribute blend I should have done months ago when I released the Inscape blend. Inscape was maybe a bit too deep and complicated, whereas this one gets right to the heart of the (dark) matter.
If you haven’t read Joe Hill’s new horror novel NOS4A2 (think Nosferatu), you’re missing out. This week’s blend attempts to capture the essence of the insidious Gasmask Man’s terrible gingerbread smoke, which he uses to daze and sedate his victims. The tea is a blend of our premium black teas, ginger root pieces and just a hint of smoked lapsang souchong. It tastes a bit like the gingerbread cookies my mom used to make (she had a habit of burning cookies, but don’t tell her I said so).
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s fundraising campaign to reopen the Tea Bar here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, 52Teas released a second tribute tea for the horror novel NOS4A2 by Joe Hill … this tea: Gingerbread Smoke Black Tea Blend. And whenever there is something alluding to “smoke” in the name of a tea, I tend to be a little bit cautious. However, because there was also “gingerbread” in the name of this tea, I was actually kind of excited to try it, having LOVED the Gingerbread Chai 52Teas released a few years ago.
And I am loving this Gingerbread Smoke tea too! The smoke is not overwhelming at all. Even when I opened the package and smelled the dry leaf, I didn’t notice an overpowering smoky tone to the fragrance. Some hints of smoke … but certainly nothing that would have set off the alarm for me. The aroma smells of fresh gingerbread – with a well-defined note of ginger – and hints of smoke.
And the flavor is very much the way the scent suggests: spicy-sweet gingerbread with hints of smoke! But before I notice the gingerbread or the smoky notes, I notice the black tea base. It’s a robust yet well-rounded base, providing a satisfying background of tea flavor for these flavors. Rich, earthy, and sweet with caramel notes. Nice.
The gingerbread hits the palate next. I notice a balance of sweet and spicy here. Warm, peppery ginger and a sweet, slightly buttery, cake-like flavor. Then I notice the smoke from the Lapsang Souchong. I like the way the Lapsang Souchong is blended here — there is just enough of a smoky note to let you know that there is some Lapsang Souchong in the blend of teas, but not enough to overpower the balance of flavors.
The smoke adds just enough interest to the cup to make it a not-so-ordinary cuppa … which is exactly what I’ve come to expect from 52Teas!
Time is running out for the fundraising efforts to revive Zoomdweebies. If you haven’t yet contributed … please consider doing so! Check out what I’m talking about here.
Gingerbread Coffeecake Flavored Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Our cakey- and gingerbread-flavors were getting mixed reviews in our black tea blends, so I decided to give it a try with a lighter base, and oh man, did that do the trick!
Here’s a light, refreshing Young Hyson green tea base blended with cinnamon, ginger and organic flavors like gingerbread, cake batter, butter and brown sugar.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s fundraising campaign to reopen the Tea Bar here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been looking forward to trying this Gingerbread Coffeecake Flavored Green Tea from 52Teas! I absolutely loved their Gingerbread Chai that they made for their Christmas blend a few years ago, and I was certain I’d enjoy this too.
And … this might even be BETTER than the Gingerbread Chai – and that’s saying something because I love chai! Of course, it could just be the fact that it’s been quite a while since I’ve had some Gingerbread Chai so I’m basing this all on memory … although I must say that was a very memorable chai! At the very least, I must also say that this Gingerbread Coffeecake is a very memorable flavored green tea!
The light Young Hyson green tea base is a perfect match for the buttery, cake-y, zesty ginger-y tastes of the flavors in this tea. I thought that the green tea would be overpowered by the flavors … but it isn’t. I taste the light, crisp flavor of the Young Hyson … with hints of grassy flavor that – oddly enough – really seem to complement the flavoring.
The gingerbread flavoring is perfection. This tastes like my favorite ginger cookies that have been liquefied and mixed with green tea. The flavors are nicely balanced. There is a peppery ZING from the ginger … not too much, but enough to let you know that there is ginger in this tea! I taste the buttery, cake-y tastes and the brown sugar. It is sweet and decadent and delicious. Truly a delight to drink!
I wanted to take a moment to mention that 52Teas/Zoomdweebies wants to reopen it’s tea bar in Wichita, Kansas, and is holding a “crowd-funding campaign” through Indiegogo. Please consider contributing to this fundraising event to help a small businessman. Every little bit helps … and it would be great to get Zoomdweebies BACK on the map, don’t you think?
Gingerbread Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
The highly intoxicating taste of gingerbread when mellowed by Matcha produces a treat that is both compelling and delicious. The pungent aroma of Gingerbread Matcha is enough to attract curious and adventurous takers to partake of its wonderful delights. This minty treat is perfect for any audience who want to feel alive and fresh in every sense in their body. It is an exceptional cold weather drink that brings back the pep that the cold has numbed out. It is also great for its cooling effect when the weather is too hot for comfort. Its spicy undertones makes this delectable snack stand in a class of its own.
Learn more about this flavored Matcha here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! Gingerbread!
Is there any cookie (baked good? Bread? Cake?) that says Christmas more than gingerbread? To be honest, I didn’t eat gingerbread as a kid. My gramma would bake a huge assortment of different cookies at Christmastime, and she’d even make sugar cookies in the shape of gingerbread men. But she never really made gingerbread – or at least, I don’t recall her doing so.
So I don’t remember ever really eating gingerbread as a kid. I remember eating gingersnaps though, and I loved those! And this Matcha has a gingersnap-pish kind of appeal to it – YUM!
With my first few sips, though, I was not really all that impressed with what I was tasting. It tasted ginger-y, sure, and I could taste cinnamon and maybe a hint of molasses. But I didn’t taste that bake-y, bready, cookie kind of taste that I wanted from something called “gingerbread.” So I thought for a moment, and decided to add a splash of milk to my chawan … this did the trick! The milk brought out all the delightful bake-y flavors that I craved, and desired, from this Gingerbread Matcha.
The flavor is strongly ginger, but it isn’t a super hot or peppery kind of ginger, it is a sweeter ginger. I also taste cinnamon, as I mentioned, and a molasses-y kind of sweetness (if you want to enhance this, try adding a bit of brown sugar to your chawan). And with the milk, this becomes a delightful Gingerbread Matcha Latte that would rival the gingerbread lattes from the local coffee shops. Sure, those are made with coffee and this with green tea, but, this has that same creamy, delicious, gingerbread-y taste that you’d expect from a gingerbread latte. And it’s not as heavily sugared as most of those lattes from the coffee shop … even if you do add a little bit of brown sugar to it!
And even though the flavor of the “gingerbread” is strong here (I opted for the distinctive level of flavoring for this batch of Matcha, along with the classic grade of Matcha), the flavor of the Matcha is not overwhelmed. I taste the vegetative notes here, although they are not as strong in some of the other flavored Matcha that I’ve tried from Red Leaf Tea. So that is to say that the ginger and other spices do play a certain role here in muting out a little of the Matcha flavor, but, certainly not all of it. The vegetative tones are more like butter here than grassy or vegetable, but there are faint vegetal notes as well. The buttery tones meld perfectly with the aforementioned bake-y flavors, giving this gingerbread a rich, buttery undertone.
A really delightful treat!