Spring and summer are my favorite time for drinking floral teas, complementing the flowers blooming outside of my teacup. So this seemed like the perfect time to try a cup of Rose City Rooibos from Beach House Teas.
This is the first tea I’ve tried from Beach House Teas so I took a look at their website. Family-run business in the Pacific Northwest with a focus on organic and wild ingredients, producing hand-blended teas. They also have an Etsy shop, if that’s more your style. They even offer herb-infused sugar for cooking, and herb infused salts and bath bombs for the bath.
Let’s get back to the tea at hand, Rose City Rooibos. Like many tea blends on Beach House Teas, this blend looks great in the dry leaf with beautiful curled rose blossoms in pink and cream, and the rich russet tones of the red rooibos.
Brewed, this tea is smooth and simple, with the nutty, caramel tones of the red rooibos with gentle floral overtones. The ingredients list says there is peppermint in this blend as well, but the mint gets lost under all the rooibos taste and rose scent. I wouldn’t mind more peppermint in the next batch to help add more dimension to the flavor set of this blend. I usually favor teas with a bit more punch to their flavors, so I might not brew this one again. Overall this was very simple and comforting.
This tea’s description calls this a “liquid spa” and I won’t deny that the floral notes are relaxing, and the rose petals are captivating to look at. A good tea for when you need some relaxing aromatherapy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Beach House Teas
Description:
Rose City Rooibos is 100% organic loose leaf tea blended with red rooibos tea, rose petals, peppermint, and pure extract. This floral elixir is all about beauty and what better way to surround yourself in beauty than rose petals and rooibos that’s like a liquid spa?
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pancake Breakfast from 52Teas. . . . .
I’m really excited to be reviewing a tea that is part of 52 Teas’ permanent collection! Its nice that they started this because I like having options that aren’t always Limited Edition. I never tried their Pancake Breakfast Black Tea before, but when I saw it I had to grab a sample pouch because anything that involves pancakes or waffles always peaks my curiosity.
Smelling the dry leaf of this smooth black tea blend I could definitely smell the maple syrup. Now- something that happens with a lot of teas that are created after a pancake or waffle usually end up tasting like maple. It’s hard to capture the taste of a pancake or waffle. I mean, it’s only tea after all and there are only so many options when it comes to flavoring them.
That said, if I did not know that this was called “Pancake Breakfast” I probably would have thought that it was a maple flavored black tea. However, when I think real hard while sipping I can almost taste the pancakes towards the end of the sip on the tip of my tongue. Is it really there or is it my imagination? You can decide that for yourself!
Either way, it is quite delicious and its the perfect tea for breakfast time…which as we all know, is any time you feel like it!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
Because the love for this tea is so strong, we stuck closely to the original recipe.
One difference is that we’re utilizing different teas in our black tea base. I think you’ll notice the difference and I’m confident you’ll feel this was a change for the better! We’ve made a really yummy thing even better!
Ingredients: Organic Black Teas, organic marigold petals and all-natural, organic flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Cider from 52Teas. . . .
The Earl and I have been buddies for a long time. He’s begun, gradually, over time, to let his guard down. This weekend, in fact, he invited me out camping.
“There’s going to be cider,” he said. “I’m going full Johnny Appleseed on this.”
“That’s rustic!” I said.
“The castle’s a little stuffy. I’m branching out,” he said.
“BRANCHING?” I said.
“I LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE GETS MY PUNS,” he said.
After a long day of hiking around a charming English forest, we set up our tents for the night.
The following morning, he slow-simmered some tea over a small fire. He threw lemon peel into it, apple bits, and a tiny bit of bourbon extract (no alcohol!).
“What do you think?” he asked as I sipped. He was slouched forward, hands clasped. He looked nervous. I could see his knuckles standing out white against his clenched skin.
“I ADORE IT,” I said.
He settled back against a tree, smiling.
“The lemons! The bourbon! Who would have thought you could take your classic recipe and do something so new with it? This is rich, and sweet, but the original is still there, too. It’s like you dropped a sweet, sweet remix on that beat!” I cried.
He blushed.
“You took the tea less traveled — and that has made all the difference!” I said.
“Speaking of which, we are really lost,” he said. “And I hate the woods.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “It’s 2017. We have GPS now.”
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is not currently available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
George Daddy from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
If you know that there’s always money in the banana stand, you’ll likely understand this tea.
If you don’t? I mean, it’s still a delicious chocolate-banana-graham tea, but you’re probably gonna be a little weirded out by the name.
I’ll be honest: though so many of my fellow Sororitea Sister have proclaimed their love for banana teas, I’ve been skeptical. I like bananas. I don’t OMG LOVE them. I really like frozen, chocolate dipped bananas– does that count? But I am decidedly NOT a fan of fake banana flavor– banana runts? No thanks. Banana gum? Gag.
So you can bet I was a skoosh skeptical when I sniffed this tea right in the bag– it is pretty powerfully banana-flavor-scented. But the lingering background chocolate notes intrigued me, and the large chunks of chocolate graham cracker was enough to set me over the edge. Brewed, this one is a bit murky-golden, with a little visible oily-film on the top. The scent is still pretty strongly faux-banana, but I was pleased to find the taste to be more authentic. This needed no sweetness added, it was the perfect balance of flavors without any bitterness. I wish I had enough of this one to try it iced just to see how Bluth-family-banana-stand authentic the flavors actually were, but I still slurped up the whole hot cup, regardless. Would I repurchase? Maybe not– as human who’s fairly meh about bananas, I don’t know that I need it in my cabinet. But for a banana lover– or a Bluth? This one needs to live in your banana stand (er… tea cabinet).
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for the limited teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Snickerdoodle from 52Teas. . . .
I am a fan of dessert blends, regardless of what the tea base is. Whether it’s caffeinated or not, I always tend to prefer something sweet & unique. 52 Teas definitely has some unique blends so they are usually my go-to. This particular tea, Snickerdoodle, is a Honeybush/Rooibos blend which means that it is caffeine free and perfect for a guilt-free after-dinner treat to warm you up on a cold rainy evening!
Smelling the dry leaf on this one, the cinnamon and cookies really shines through. Even more so once the tea has been steeped. Snickerdoodles are not my favorite cookie, i’m more into hot chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the over with a cold glass of milk! However, the flavors involved in a Snickerdoodle (cinnamon & sugar) make for an excellent cup of tea. Not only is this warm, cinnamon-sugary, and comforting but there is an actual “cookie” flavor to the cup. The Honeybush/Rooibos blend is subtle and smooth so if you tend to dislike rooibos you should still give this one a try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush/Rooibos
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available. Click below for teas that are.