Day 4!
This tea has a great name and great flavor: Ginger Cola Black Tea. This tea is meant to reference the old timey soda shoppe flavor of ginger cola. Not to be confused with ginger ale, there is plenty of dark caramel cola taste and the sweet buzz of ginger. I think flavor comes from a time where sodas had more spice, like the New England Moxie soda, or even the cherry and spice flavors of Dr. Pepper.
Enough about soda, getting back to tea. I’m not sure what kind of tea is used as the base in this blend, but the leaves are a little longer and more tightly rolled than the typical black tea base, so they were chosen specially for this blend.
This tea smells and tastes remarkably like cola but in such a way that it’s spice still suits the tea. A touch of cloves and the caramel cola taste are balanced with the warm heat of candied ginger. The spices makes this appealing as a hot beverage but the cola flavors do make it promising as an iced tea too if you are so inclined.
As a fan of both ginger tea and ginger cola, this has been one of my favorite blends so far in the set. Hope I get a chance to order more!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
I have a confession. I have been cheating on tea with a cola. Not like all the time – not even every day . . . but every once in a while, I’ll crack open a can of the ginger cola that’s made by one of the 2 big cola giants. I’m not going to name names because I don’t want to get a ‘cease and desist’ order – but it’s in a slender, tall, bright copper-orange can and it’s sold by individual cans rather than by the 6 or 12 pack.
Anyway, I originally only bought one can of this stuff – you know – just to try it. Curiosity. But I was hooked after my first sip. It’s so good – that little touch of ginger cuts through the syrup-y sweetness that usually turns me off when it comes to soda.
I happen to like the cola flavored teas (in most cases, more than I like cola itself) so I decided I should try to craft a ginger cola black tea to get me over my affair with the cola because I like it better when tea is the main beverage in my life.
So I started with a base of black teas from China (Golden Yunnan, Fujian & Assamica grown in the Jing Mai Mountains) and added ginger as well as some candied (sugared) ginger and some cola essence. And WOWZA! I’m loving it! This is tasty as a hot tea but it excels as an iced tea!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies
Just because the holiday season is behind us doesn’t mean that the time for holiday-themed teas is over! In the spirit of keeping the good holiday vibes going, I brewed up a cup of Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies. I don’t see this flavor listed on the PaperBoxGoodies Etsy shop so I’m not sure of the ingredients, but it looks to be an herbal blend with mint, chocolate chips, and licorice root.
I was excited about the herbal nature of this blend. I love candy cane teas, but they all seem to have a black tea base which makes it hard to drink when I don’t need all the caffeine. Having an herbal decaf option was just the tea I needed when relaxing and recovering from the busy end of the year.
Brewed, this blend is smooth, sweet, and minty. The dry crispness of the mint is lessened by the licorice root. Any herbal harshness that sometimes comes with pure mint teas is lessened by the rich chocolate chips. Minty candy cane is the main flavor, followed by a mild cocoa aftertaste. The licorice root doesn’t impart a specific flavor, but adds a natural sweetness and a smooth mouthfeel.
This is one of those teas that would benefit from a strong brewing and then made into a latte with whipped cream. I didn’t quite have enough in my sample to go the whole latte route, so I’ll have to try it next time.
Overall this was a great decaf candy cane blend that I would try again next holiday season.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: herbal
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Perfect for Valentine’s Eve: An Evening with Eros from Banff Tea Co.
Just like a good Valentine’s date, An Evening with Eros tea blend comes bearing roses and chocolate.
There’s enough of both ingredients that you can see chocolate chips and petals scattered throughout the dry leaf. The namesake of this blend is Eros, the Greek god of love, and since this is a decaf rooibos blend, it’s the perfect brew for a late night out or a cozy evening in.
The vanilla rooibos is the star player in this blend, coupled with gentle swirls of chocolate and flowers. Raisins and elderberries bring additional sweetness and play well with the natural woody and caramel notes of the rooibos.
This blend is easy and drinkable, though not the most unusual blend I’ve tried. I think this tea is best for its novelty for a romantic occasion.
With Valentine’s Day on my mind, I find myself reaching for An Evening with Eros to help treat myself to something festive and to keep me warm on a February night.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:Roobios
Where to Buy: Banff Tea Co.
Description:
Blended exclusively for Valentine’s Day as a romantic treat, this rooibos based concoction will add a little love at any time of the year (or day…or night!)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Holiday Blend Alert! Snowball from Bluebird Tea Co.
I love Hostess Sno-Ball cakes. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the Sno-Ball was a chocolate cake, filled with cream, covered in marshmallow, and crusted in coconut. Yeah, I know, it’s a lot to take in. Not to mention the cakes were dyed different colors for the holidays (orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, pink for whatever). As a kid, these cakes were the nectar of the gods. Into adulthood, we entered the dark ages when Hostess filed for bankruptcy and the snacks were no longer being manufactured. To help me cope with the loss, I took a stab at designing my own chocolate-coconut tea blend (it turned out pretty good). Since then, the Hostess recipes have been acquired by new companies and I can now find those tasty marshmallow cakes back on the shelves.
With all this in mind, it was an easy choice to order up a bag of Snowball tea from Bluebird Tea Co. I love this blend, it is no surprise to me that it has even won awards for its taste. Rich coconut and sweet chocolate are really pushed over the top with mini marshmallows. There’s a hot-chocolate coziness to this tea, made all the more decadent by the creamy coconut and cocoa shells. I take my tea black, without sugar or milk, but this is just the kind of tea that would make a fantastic dessert late with milk and whipped cream. I look forward to ordering more of Snowball tea from Bluebird Tea Co. to drink and to share before the season is over.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Description:
The chocolatey, marshmallow, coconut goodness of a gooey Snowball is one of the best sweet treats of Christmas and this year it is award-winning too! Our most famous Christmas tea blend scooped a Great Taste Award this year for it’s chocolate chips in plenty, coconut flakes in tons and a sprinkle of mini marshmallows to finish it off- The perfect Christmas Snowball.
This tea is no longer on the site but click below for what teas are
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the 12th Day of Christmas 52Teas Sent To Me (Spoilers!)
So its finally here. The last tea in the set of the 12 Teas of Christmas from 52Teas. This is actually my first time enjoying this popular advent style calendar and I have to say I will be getting this next year for sure. From the fun way you scratch off the sticker each day to not really knowing what the tea is going to be, it just brings a bit more festive love into your daily tea. At least it did for me!
Again, if you are following along and haven’t scratched off your 12th Day of Christmas tea. . . .you’ve been warned. I’m about to spill the beans on what the tea is. . .so without further ado. . the 12th Day of Christmas tea is. . . Winter’s Treat Oolong.
From the first whiff of this tea, you are greeted with this amazing array of flavors. I picked up hints of cinnamon, pineapple (maybe?) caramel, banana and those gorgeous oolong notes that I adore. I’ve asked Anne what exactly this tea is and I have a feeling its a play on Bananas Foster Oolong. If that’s the case, this little pouch isn’t going to do me justice! I’ll need more of this one!
Brewed up per the instructions on the pouch, this tea is a treat for sure. The flavors don’t come out as identifiable flavors but more or less one gorgeous layer of a sweetness with a subtle oolong flavor and a caramel after taste. At least that’s what I’m picking up. If that is large chunks of banana, I have a feeling I just didn’t shake my pouch up enough before scooping out my serving.
Regardless, this tea is simply heavenly. I’ll definitely be sad when I have to throw away the leaves because I’m just enjoying this one so much. Such a lovely silky sweet flavor that keeps giving and I just can’t stop enjoying it!
Here is the official description of the tea for those interested, looks like I was pretty close with my Bananas Foster comparison!
A Winter Treat!
Tea Description: I started out with a very special base – a charcoal baked TieGuanYin Oolong! Then I added bananas, a touch of cinnamon, some marshmallow root and essence of butter rum and cream! And seriously – I know I say this often when describing my teas but seriously! – this is totally YUM!
I’m not sure exactly where I got the inspiration behind this flavor – but I’m glad that the inspiration struck when it did because this tea is really good. It may just be one of my newest favorite flavors. The banana and butter rum work together phenomenally. The cinnamon is warm but not overwhelming. The creaminess of the TieGuanYin plays to the cream notes and the gentle smokiness of the tea along with the marshmallow root give a faint toasted marshmallow-y type of flavor that is SO GOOD that it becomes difficult to come up with words to describe it – it makes me just want to say Mmmmmmmm!!!
organic ingredients: bananas, cinnamon, marshmallow root & natural flavors
ingredients: charcoal baked tieguanyin oolong tea
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
This tea is a seasonal offering but click below to see what is currently available.
