Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Premium organic caffeine-free honeybush with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
OK, I have to admit that I was just a little bit weirded out by this flavor before I tried it. It’s been a difficult road to get me to embrace the idea of peanut and peanut butter flavored teas. I don’t know why it sounds so weird to me given all the weird flavors that I’ve tried up to this point but something about tea and peanut butter just didn’t sound all that appealing to me. And while I have come around from that way of thinking and I have enjoyed quite a few peanut and peanut butter flavored teas, the idea of a caramel peanut flavored ICED tea sounded weird. The peanut … worked OK as a hot tea but I was less convinced of an iced tea actually tasting good.
But this is really good. The caramel and peanut flavors work very well together, both accentuating each other in a really pleasant way, and the honeybush seems to elevate these flavors in a very tasty way. The natural nutty tones of the honeybush lend some depth to the peanut flavor while the sweet honey notes highlight the caramel notes.
To brew this, I used the “hot brew” method, bringing 1 quart of freshly filtered water to 195°F and steeping the sachet for 9 minutes. Then I repeated the process for the second quart, resteeping the sachet for 12 minutes. Then I chilled it overnight and now I have a pitcher full of ice-cold, naturally caffeine-free honeybush tea!
I’ve tried a few of the honeybush iced teas from SBT at this point and I think that this one is my favorite so far, which really surprises me because as I said in the first paragraph, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this blend. But this one definitely gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me.
Caramel Apple Flavored Honeybush Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Learn more about this iced tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to SBT’s tea of the week here.
Taster’s Review:
Before I tasted this iced tea, I found myself wondering if honeybush was the right base for the flavors. But then I thought about those yummy caramel apples that always catch my eye when I pass the bakery in my grocery store. Those great big apples covered with caramel and then rolled in chopped nuts. The naturally nutty flavor of the honeybush just might work with the caramel and apple flavors!
To brew this, I used the hot brew method and steeped the teabag in a quart of 195°F water for 9 minutes for the first quart. For the second quart, I used the same temperature but steeped the bag for 11 minutes. Because this is a honeybush blend, I don’t have to worry about bitterness. The tannins in honeybush is low so it doesn’t get bitter when it’s brewed for an extended period. I do find though, that a lower temperature means that I don’t experience that “sour wood” sort of flavor that I used to taste with rooibos and honeybush that I would brew at boiling temperatures. A slight decrease in temperature made a vast improvement on the flavor of the tisane.
And this is a tasty iced tea. I’m tasting more honeybush than I am apple or caramel, and that’s alright. The top notes are a honeyed sweetness with a warm nutty flavor. Then I start to pick up on the caramel notes and the apple comes in just beneath the caramel notes. The sweet-tart apple notes linger in the aftertaste.
I don’t know if it’s my favorite iced tea from Southern Boy Teas, but I’m enjoying it and it is certainly a welcome flavor for the season!
Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors. Each 14g teabag will make one 2-quart pitcher of DELICIOUS iced tea. Re-steep the teabag and you can get a full gallon out of each one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow!
The first thing that blew me away with this blend is the smell! The aroma of the dry sachet – it smells like a marshmallow treat! And the brewed tea smells like that too. The brewed tea smells a bit more like genmaicha than the dry sachet did, the dry sachet smells like a fresh batch of marshmallow treats. Mmm!
This is seriously good iced tea. If you liked the original Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha from 52Teas, you’re going to like this iced tea version from Southern Boy Teas. It’s sweet and tastes like the name suggests. It tastes like a marshmallow treat with a little bit of green tea flavor in there too.
Genmaicha is not usually a tea that I usually think of when I think “iced tea” because the toasted rice has a very warm flavor and it’s been something that I think tastes better when served hot. But, this really works well as an iced tea. It does have that delicious roasty-toasty flavor of the Genmaicha, along with the light, fresh green tea taste of the green tea. The rice of the genmaicha gives this just the right amount of warmth to give this marshmallow treat a “homemade” sort of taste (and homemade marshmallow treats taste better than those commercially packaged treats!)
To brew this, I heated a quart of water to 170°F and let the sachet steep for a 1 1/2 minutes. Then I strained the tea into my iced tea pitcher and resteeped the sachet in the second quart of water, adding 30 seconds onto the steep time. (Then I stashed the sachet in an airtight container and put it in the fridge so that I could steep it again for another pitcher of tea.)
Really, really good. I’m glad that this tea is now offered on the website (it was originally created as a “thank you” for the Kickstarter supporters) because I’m going to want more of this!
Strawberry Kiwi Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s tea of the week programs here.
Taster’s Review:
Over the last year or so, my iced tea consumption has definitely increased. A couple of years ago, iced tea was a summertime beverage. Period. I only brewed it during the hottest months of the year, because I preferred (and still do prefer) hot tea. But, I’ve found that it’s so nice having a pitcher of iced tea waiting in the fridge when I want something cold to drink and I want something cold to drink every day. I may not drink it as often as I drink hot tea and I do drink more iced tea in the warmer months than in the cold months. But I have reached a point where I’m drinking (and thoroughly enjoying!) iced tea on a daily basis.
So I have been enjoying exploring the teas from 52Teas/Zoomdweebies iced tea line: Southern Boy Teas. These teas are crafted with organic teas and flavoring and then bagged in large sachets to make brewing easier. Yeah, yeah, I do prefer loose leaf. However, when it comes to iced tea brewing, I have to admit that the convenience of the sachet/bag is one that is difficult to overlook. Yep, I’m just going to come right out and say it: I prefer a bagged or sacheted tea when it comes to iced tea brewing.
And what I like about these bags from SBT is that they’re large, unbleached bags. The tea leaves have plenty of room to expand and do their thing to produce a very flavorful tea. To brew this Strawberry Kiwi Green Tea, I heated 1 quart of freshly filtered water in the jug of my Breville One-Touch to 170°F and then I tossed the tea bag right into the jug of my tea maker and let it steep for 1 1/2 minutes. I poured the brewed tea into my favorite glass iced tea pitcher (I temper the glass first by filling the pitcher with hot water from the tap so that the glass isn’t “shocked” by the heat from the 170°F liquid!) Then I repeat the process, resteeping the tea bag but steeping it for 2 minutes with the second infusion and add this to the pitcher. Then I allow the tea to cool at room temperature a bit before I put the pitcher in the fridge. The next day, I have a pitcher full of tasty iced tea! (Oh, and I keep the tea bag for next time. I stash the tea bag into an airtight container and put it in the fridge, and then I resteep it again. The green teas are especially GREAT for maintaining their flavor for a second 1/2 gallon of iced tea.)
My first impression of this tea: Hmm … I couldn’t really taste strawberry and kiwi. I can taste the green tea and I can taste a fruity sweet element to this but did it really taste like strawberry and kiwi to me? No. I found myself having to think “OK, what tea did I brew last night?” The flavors of strawberry and/or kiwi were not immediately recognizable.
My second impression: My second glass … OK! Now I can taste more of the intended flavors! I can taste more distinct strawberry notes. The tea has a delicious strawberry sweetness and I’m getting that tart berry tingle in the aftertaste. As I’m drinking, I can taste the kiwi too. The kiwi is less discernible than the strawberry. And I can still taste the fresh green tea flavor too: sweet, slightly buttery and smooth.
The more I sipped on this tea, the more I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say that it’s my favorite tea from SBT but it is refreshing and I found myself guzzling it. Even in the beginning when I couldn’t really immediately pick up on the flavors of strawberry and kiwi, I was still gulping it down because it’s still a very good, thirst-quenching glass of iced tea.
And the second pitcher of iced tea from this sachet is even better than the first. The strawberry and kiwi flavors are much more focused in this pitcher. Tasty!
Cotton Candy Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors. Each 14g teabag will make one 2-quart pitcher of DELICIOUS iced tea. Re-steep the teabag and you can get a full gallon out of each one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! OK, it was pretty much a given that I’d LOVE this flavor of iced tea from Southern Boy Teas. I love the original 52Teas version of Cotton Candy, I loved the Cotton Candy with the White Tea Base. And of course, I loved the Cotton Candy Black Iced Tea from SBT which was part of their original series of iced tea pouches. So, I was really confident before I even poured the first glass of tea that I’d love this too.
And I do.
It is sweet and refreshing. The lighter base of green tea is perfect for the Cotton Candy flavors which tend to be on the delicate side. The Cotton Candy notes are able to shine through nicely. And the buttery notes of the green tea work really well with these flavors.
I find myself emptying the glass of iced tea almost as quickly as I can refill it! It just tastes so good, but even though it’s crafted as an homage to one of my favorite carnival treats, it doesn’t taste sickeningly, sticky sweet. It’s sweet, certainly, and those of you who don’t like sweet beverages might find this to be a bit cloying, but for those of you with a sweet tooth, this cold drink might be right up your alley.
To brew this, I hot brewed the sachet in 1 quart of freshly filtered water that was brought to 170°F. I steeped the sachet for 1 1/2 minutes, and then I poured the brewed tea into my iced tea pitcher. Then I repeated the process – same amount of water and the same temperature, but this time I steeped the sachet for 2 minutes. And what I LOVE about the green teas from Southern Boy Teas is that you can resteep it for another half gallon of tea! I just stash the sachet in the fridge in an airtight container, and then I resteep the sachet at the same temperature (170°F), 2 1/2 minutes for the first quart and 3 minutes for the second. I get a full gallon of delicious iced tea out of this.
It tastes fresh and light and it’s a very invigorating glass of refreshment. This one is definitely one I’ll be reordering in the future. With the next one I buy, I want to try cold-brewing the sachet to see how it fairs!
I like it a lot!