Sipdown #4 on my sipdown/tea time journey for 2021 and what a sad sipdown it is.
52Teas is a beloved tea company to many tea enthusiasts. However, the both awesome and sad part about 52Teas is each of the teas are a limited edition in their own way and typically if you fall in love with a blend- you have to ration yourself or your tea loving heart might be broken. Reason is- 52Teas literally blends up a tea a week throughout the year so there is always new and fun teas to try but on the flip side- restocking on a blend that you adore doesn’t always happen.
That is why this is a sad sipdown. This blend may actually be my favorite 52Teas blend ever edging out Graveyard Mist ever so slightly, more than likely due to my new love of black teas. This blend literally has it all- a little sweet, a little spice, and a little sass. And no matter how you brew this gem, the flavors are always spot on.
Today for my “me tea time”, I prepped up water at 212F and allowed the tea to steep between 3-4 minutes and cool for a moment or two. This tea is just such oh sooo good.. The black tea notes hang in the background while the orange, dates and ginger mingle together in perfect harmony. There is a sweetness that I think is supposed to be the cake part but I’m getting more vanillaish notes than anything else. I paired this tea with a stroopwaffle and was truly enjoying my me moment today.
I’ve enjoyed several tea pots of this lovely and sadly, this is the last of this blend in my stash. I do spy with my little eye another cake blend currently available on 52Teas so I might just try that one out but if you ever hear of a reblend for this one, I encourage you to check it out. . .or maybe I don’t. . .more for me (haha).
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This blend is no longer available but click below for blends that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Grandma’s Apple Strudel from The NecessiTeas . . . .
My grandmother was more of an apple crumble lady herself. My dad’s grandmother, however, could apparently make a mean apple strudel. Now I never met his grandmother but I have gone to a Hungarian restaurant, Old Country Inn, with my Dad who has told me that the strudel there taste’s just like she used to make so that’s my basis of comparison here.
In order to recreate Grandma NecessiTea’s strudel, this tisane is a blend of apples, raisins, cinnamon, chicory, almonds, vanilla, and natural flavoring. I brewed this hot, steeping about 3 teaspoons of tea in 16 ounces of 200F water for 5 minutes.
The first thing this tea brought to mind was the Forever Nuts blend by DAVIDsTEA. Both teas have that warming and sweet nutty flavor to them that takes over. At first when I tried Forever Nuts, I loved the flavor but it is strong and I was quickly turned off of it to the point that even the smell was off-putting. However, whether it be the long time I went without a tea like this or the subtle differences between this and the DAVIDsTEA version, I don’t mind this so much.
The apple is definitely the foundation flavor of this blend, coating your tongue with its sweet and fresh cinnamon-apple note. At first it is a bit of light vanilla that sits atop the apple but that quickly is taken over by the heavier and nutty almond and chicory flavors. There is a baked good vibe here and though the different components all together sound like an apple strudel, I find in actuality this tea doesn’t come together quite how it should so instead it is a jumble of flavors. In fairness, that could be due to my negative experience of Forever Nuts and the similarity to that but as I sip, I just can’t help but think that this is not the Apple Strudel tea for me.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
This tea does not appear to be available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Peeps from the Necessiteas
Two of our Sisters recently reviewed My Peeps from The NecessiTeas. . .here is the first one!
Springtime is historically the season for Peeps: those iconic, yellow sugar-coated marshmallow chicks. The company behind Peeps has done quite a bit of branching out since those original Easter Sundays. Now Peeps come in every seasonal shape and color, pumpkins and frankenstein heads for fall, snowmen and gingerbread men for winter, and more flavors and kooky combinations than you can imagine.
I’m partial to marshmallows, whether big soft marshmallows in my hot cocoa, mini marshmallows in my Lucky Charms, or marshmallow-coated snowball cakes– you name it. And yes, I like Peeps too. The Necessiteas captured the sweet whimsy of marshmallow peeps in this delicious tea blend.
This decaf honeybush blend is super jam-packed with strong vanilla, almost caramel flavors. In both smell and taste, the foremost flavor in the blend is the beyond-vanilla buttercream frosting, meant to be ultra-reminiscent of marshmallows and marshmallow cream. It’s hard to imagine exactly what flavors make marshmallows so distinctive, but the sugary sweetness with clean vanilla are a close match. The honeybush is a great tea to use as a base, the leaves being gentle enough not to overpower the marshmallow flavoring.
Just in case the flavor alone wasn’t enough to entice you to try a cup of this brew, the loose leaf have mini marshmallows and pink sugar crystals to add sweetness and cuteness in equal measure.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: The Necessiteas
Easter just would’t be the same without peeps. In fact, you could say that peeps are to food what ugly Christmas sweaters are to clothing. You know whether you prefer chicks to bunnies, fresh to stale, or plain to chocolate-covered. I personally prefer slightly stale pink bunnies! When it comes to peeps, you either love them or you hate them. Their sugary, marshmallowy sweetness is enough to make your teeth ache, and I’m ok with that! I decided to make a healthier version of my favorite Easter treat by blending naturally sweet honeybush with mini marshmallows, pink sugar crystals and organic flavors. The outcome? Same sweet, marshmallowy goodness, minus the toothache!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Day 8 of the 52Teas Countdown to Christmas!
On the 8th Day of Christmas 52 Teas gave to me…Creamy Eggnog Dusted with Nutmeg Green Tea! (Every time I write that line, I totally sing it in my head) So, I feel like eggnog is one of those things that you either love or hate. However- I am one of those people who actually is a little in between. I don’t really drink a glass of eggnog, I feel like I’m drinking cream. I do, however, enjoy the actual taste of eggnog and eggnog-flavored desserts. For example- I’m pretty sure McDonalds comes out with an Eggnog Milkshake in the winter and I do like that. Another example is I just saw a recipe for Eggnog French Toast that looks really good and I’m actually planning on making it for my family on Christmas morning!
Now, back to tea! I love, love, love the green tea base here. It’s light and not overly-grassy or bitter. It has almost a buttery quality. This is the perfect green tea base. I steeped this for exactly 2 minutes to make sure it was not oversteeped. The eggnog flavor is delicate but present and it’s not overly sweet or in-your-face, which I really enjoy. The nutmeg gives a little twist, and I feel like it was also very necessary to this tea! I always sprinkle some extra nutmeg on whatever eggnog-flavored item I’m making! It’s not a holiday box without something eggnog, is it? I feel like people who are on the other side of the fence with the flavor of eggnog would probably enjoy this anyway, as it’s a festive and yummy blend!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On Wisconsin from A Quarter To Tea. . .
This tea caught my eye due to the description of cheesecake and honey. Doesn’t that sound heavenly? This is an Oolong blend and it contains REAL pieces of graham crackers. The Oolong itself is actually a little bit more floral than I would have thought. However, the floral aspect works well with the honey. The taste of cheesecake is not something I would have picked out initially, but thinking about it now I do taste it lingering once the sip is gone
Opposed to what you would think when hearing the description of this yummy blend, i’m not quite sure if I would classify it as a dessert blend. It isn’t overly sweet or anything. This is still one that could be drunk in the morning before work or for a quick pick-me-up during that mid-afternoon slump. My favorite part was definitely seeing the pieces of graham crackers in the blend, I think that that is the first time I’ve seen it! I also enjoyed how no one ingredient took over the entire cup, they all blended nicely and were subtle. I would definitely recommend to give this blend, and a plethora of other blends from A Quarter to Tea a try. I think all of their tea blends are well done and very creative! I haven’t met one that I truly dislike.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
A sweet and creamy jade oolong with sweet honey and cheesecake flavors and cow sprinkles straight from the dairy state.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
