Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Memories of the Copacabana Beach in Rio. Papaya pieces, sunflower petals and criminally exotic passion fruit notes infuse superior green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This Crime of Passion Green Tea from Culinary Teas takes me (or at least my taste buds!) on a tropical vacation! The sweet passion fruit and papaya flavors meld together with the lush, green tea to present a really tasty tea with tropical flair.
The green tea base is a Chinese Sencha, and it lends a sweet, buttery and slightly vegetal note to the cup. I’m not finding this to be overly vegetative or grassy. It’s a light “grassiness” – I find the buttery/creamy notes of this tea to be stronger than the grassy/vegetal tones to be. The texture of the buttery notes give this a very smooth mouthfeel.
The passion fruit and papaya are beautifully sweet. There are hints of tartness in there too, but mostly, I taste sweet tropical fruit. The fruit notes here are strong and are edging out the flavor of the green tea just a tad – that is to say that the flavor is stronger than the green tea – but it’s so tasty that I am finding it difficult to find fault with this, especially since I can taste the green tea. It just isn’t as strong as the fruit notes.
A really tasty tea. It tastes great served hot (and makes a nice mental va-cay during the cold winter when you want to think of warm tropical breezes, the sun and the surf!) but it’s even better iced. Very refreshing!
Whiskey & Cola Flavored Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said before, I don’t drink a lot of alcohol. There was a time though, that I drank my fair share (some might suggest it was more than my fair share), and one of my favorite beverages back then was Jack Daniels and Pepsi. So, I was excited to try this Whiskey & Cola Flavored Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas.
When I opened the package, I could definitely smell the cola notes. They were strong. The whisky was not quite as apparent, but I could pick up on softer whisky notes.
The same proved true once the tea was brewed and chilled. I can certainly taste the cola aspect here but I found the whisky notes a little more difficult to discern from the first couple of sips. Once I had consumed about half a glass of this iced tea, though, I started to pick up on the flavor of the Whisky.
The black tea is smooth and mellow, and melds really well with these flavors. It’s as if the three flavors are made for each other. The aftertaste I can definitely taste the flavor of Whisky and Cola. This is actually tastier than I remember my Jack Daniels and Pepsi from my younger days.
Overall, this is tasty and refreshing. Not my favorite from SBT, but certainly one I’d enjoy now and again.
Peppermint Bark Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
My wife has been hounding me to make a peppermint bark tea. She makes peppermint bark every year at Christmastime and it’s all gone now and we’re back on the diet bandwagon, so I agree, it’s time for a peppermint bark tea. This is a blend of our premium black teas, fresh cut peppermint and organic flavors. I realize that almond bark is not really white chocolate, but I used some organic white chocolate flavoring (along with a bit of marshmallow to sweeten it up) to approximate the flavor, and wow is it delicious! I went easy on the peppermint–there’s nothing worse than a tea that tastes like mouthwash–and I think I struck a pretty awesome balance.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened the pouch of this Peppermint Bark Black Tea from 52Teas, I was pretty surprised that I didn’t get a huge whiff of peppermint fragrance. I kind of expect that from a tea with mint, because mint tends to be an overpowering scent. But while I could absolutely smell the peppermint, it wasn’t a strong aroma. I mostly smelled black tea. I could also pick up a slight nutty note that reminded me of almonds and a hint of a alcohol-ish note that reminds me of the smell of extract.
The brewed tea smells a little bit minty, a little bit sweet and more than either of these two things, again, I’m smelling tea … and again, I’m surprised that the mint notes are not more prevalent. However, after reading the description, I think that is what Frank (the chief Zoomdweebie at 52Teas) was going for anyway. He didn’t want this to be a sip of mouthwash … and it isn’t (and definitely doesn’t smell like it either!)
The flavor is really nice! I taste mint, but I taste other things too. I taste the tea – It is a smooth, robust tasting black tea base. It’s not the strongest flavor that I taste … instead this cup is a compelling combination of flavors where everything sort of melds together deliciously to offer up a confectionery delight. I don’t know that what I’m tasting is white chocolate peppermint bark in a teacup, but, I like what I’m tasting.
I taste the nutty flavor of almond and I taste the sweet white chocolate. The white chocolate is actually the flavor I taste least, but it is elevated by the addition of marshmallow that adds a sweet, “fluffy” kind of taste that gives the cup the “confectionery” sort of flavor that I mentioned before.
As I said, I don’t know that I’m tasting peppermint bark. But, I like what I’m tasting, and if I were given a piece of candy that tasted like this, I’d be more than happy to devour it! It may not taste like the peppermint bark that I’m used to, but that said … I think I might like this better than the peppermint bark I’m used to! A very tasty cuppa!
Organic Mountain Indonesian Green Tea from Tea At Sea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea At Sea
Tea Description:
Grown in the Halimun Mountains of Indonesia at 800m above Sea-Level, this tea is treated with natural spring water and fresh mountain air. The lightly oxidized tea leaves have a seaweed aroma, slight fruity taste of superior freshness. Steep at 85°C and observe the leaves slowly unfolding to extract their natural flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve not tried a lot of teas from Indonesia, but I’ve had the good fortune to be able to try a few. This Organic Mountain Indonesian Green Tea from Tea At Sea is one of the most impressive teas I’ve tasted from the region.
The leaves of this are wound into pellets resembling a greener Oolong like Tie Guan Yin. This has a very fresh, uplifting flavor that is soft and smooth, with some buttery notes and a texture that is similar to butter too. There is a mild vegetative taste to this, and together with the buttery taste, it’s reminiscent of freshly steamed, lightly buttered spinach. There are floral mid-notes, and delicate nutty tones and fruit notes in the distance.
But mostly what I taste from this tea is sweetness! It’s a beautifully sweet green tea – no bitterness and next to no astringency. There is a hint of citrus-y taste toward the finish which is very, very lightly astringent.
These leaves barely opened in the first infusion. They are just begging me to infuse them again! I must comply!
The second infusion was even more flavorful than the first. I found stronger floral and vegetative notes, and the distant nutty tones started to become more distinct. This is still sweet and creamy. I am noticing a little more astringency with this cup.
I infused the leaves a third time, and found that the flavors began to wane with this cup. It’s still sweet but not as creamy. The flavors were more subdued with the third cup, but it still is a very pleasing cup – and it’s certainly worth the effort to infuse this tea at least three times (it could probably go a fourth!)
Tea At Sea is a new company, and this is my first time sampling one of their products – and this tea is definitely one worth exploring! I love this company’s thoughtful packaging – it’s very fun and has a definite nautical theme in keeping with the company name. The labels are tags (shown above!) that are tied onto the packages with white string and in my envelope of samples I also received a cute little cork ship! Neat!
Cherry Limeade Flavored Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I was really excited when Southern Boy Teas/52Teas announced this new flavor (as part of their kickstarter incentive program) because although I very rarely drink soda, one soda type drink that I do like to indulge in now and again are Cherry Limeade drinks (like you might get at Sonic), but the one thing I don’t like about those soft drinks is how sugary they are. This Cherry Limeade Flavored Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas seems to be a perfect solution to that – I get the flavor of the Cherry Limeade but I can control how much sweetener goes into the pitcher. I don’t like a sweet iced tea … or any drink that’s too sweet for that matter.
And this is pretty good. I’m a little disappointed, because the cherry and lime flavors are not quite as sharp as I’d like them to be. 52Teas usually offers masterful “soda” type drinks that taste effervescent, and I guess I was kind of hoping for some of that effervescence here. But while I do taste cherry and lime, neither of these flavors are really as strong as I’d like them to be, and I don’t taste much of a soda-ish type quality here either.
It’s still really good though. The cherry and lime flavors are there. This tastes more like … a limeade that’s been flavored with some cherry juice … rather than a Cherry Limeade drink that I might order from that drive-in soda shop. The cherry is sweet, the lime adds a bright tartness to the cup, and I like that I can taste the black tea flavor too. It’s a very refreshing glass of iced tea. Not my favorite from SBT, but it’s still tasty.