This countdown is a bit more difficult for a couple of reasons. First, it’s iced tea. I don’t drink a lot of iced tea, especially in the winter, although I certainly do drink some. But, drinking a whole half a gallon in a day? No, I don’t usually drink that much each day.
It’s also a little more difficult because it takes a little longer to produce a cold-brewed pitcher of iced tea. It needs to sit and brew for at least a few hours to get full flavor out of the tea when it’s cold-brewed, and I usually leave the tea in the fridge overnight. So, the difficulty becomes … waiting for the tea to brew.
Butter Beer Iced Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
When 52Teas/Southern Boy Teas first introduced this tea as an iced tea, I got very excited, because the original Butter Beer Tea from 52Teas is one of my FAVES from 52Teas. Partly because I asked Frank from 52Teas to create a butter beer-ish sort of tea (yeah, I’m a Harry Potter nerd), and part because it’s just so dang good. So, I was very happy that he decided to add this to his iced tea line.
Cold-brewed, the flavor is a little underwhelming with this tea. Perhaps the issue is that I loved the original Butter Beer Tea so much that maybe this just isn’t living up to that. But I remember that tea being so much more … Butter Beer-ish.
It’s still good, but, it’s a little less than what I envisioned. The black tea base tastes nicely round, and I can taste a butter-scotch-y sort of taste with the flavoring. I’m not getting a whole lot of the chicory notes that were in the original, and I don’t taste a lot of licorice either. I taste hints of root beer, but this tastes more like a cream soda flavored tea than the Butter Beer Tea that I remember.
The hot-brewed, re-steeped tea pouch produces a much more flavorful pitcher of iced tea than the cold-brewed first steep. This tells me that this particular flavor (just like the pink lemonade flavor) should be hot-brewed instead of cold-brewed. But, based on this re-steep, I would say that it’s certainly worth it. This is more of the Butter Beer flavor that I was looking for. I still don’t taste much of the chicory, but, I do get a lot of the butter-scotch-y notes and hints of root beer-ish notes. I find myself still looking for some licorice and the chicory.
When I get around to hot-brewing my second pouch of this tea, I’ll be sure to update you on how well that comes out. In the meantime, this one is good, but, I think that the original was better.
Inscape: A NOS4A2 Inspired Yerba Mate Blend from 52Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
But I suppose you want to know about the tea this week. Inscape is my attempt at an artistic interpretation of Joe Hill’s novel. It is dark and mysterious with a roasted South American yerba mate base blended with almond slivers, marshmallow root, licorice root and a touch of peppermint. It is largely flavored with organic marshmallow and maple flavors and the cup tastes mostly like a rich vanilla/maple mate with a whisper of licorice and peppermint–like the ghost of Christmas, unexpected and strangely haunting. This is MY inscape, my re-imagining of Joe Hill’s novel manifested in reality and poured out for you. I hope you like it.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been drinking this Inscape: A NOS4A2 Inspired Yerba Mate Blend from 52Teas for a couple of days now, but this is the first time that I’ve taken the time to sit down and actually write a review about it. I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t even think about writing about the tisane until it was gone! Ha! And since I like to be sipping on the tea/tisane as I’m writing the review so that I can provide as accurate a review on what I’m tasting as possible, I found myself saying a few times … “well, I guess I’ll just have to wait until I brew it again.”
I have not read any of Joe Hill’s books (sorry, Mr. Hill, if you’re reading this), but, I am really enjoying this tisane so much that it is making me curious about reading NOS4A2 to see how the book stands up to the tisane that inspired it.
Generally speaking, Yerba Mate is not my favorite tisane base … but I don’t hate the stuff the way I once did. There was a time when I found it way too earthy for my liking … but, now, I don’t mind it so much. I also think that it may have had something to do with the actual Yerba Mate I was drinking, perhaps the brand was just not a very good one. But this … this is really nice. It tastes earthy and roasted … and this particular blend … almost tastes like a flavored coffee but with less bitterness than a typical cup of java.
The maple is what won me over with this particular blend – it is so yummy and maple-y and just … GOOD. It’s like that first taste of real maple syrup after drizzling the syrup over a stack of pancakes … you know that little drop that remains on the lip of the bottle? You’ve gotta wipe that off with your finger and taste it, right? That delicious, maple-y goodness is what I experience with every sip of this tisane.
Then I notice the creamy vanilla tones – it’s light and fluffy tasting, like marshmallow cream. In the background, I notice hints of licorice. And there is a nuttiness to this as well, and I don’t know if I’m getting that from the actual almond slivers or if it’s from the Yerba Mate. It’s not a distinct almond-esque flavor, it’s just a sweet, nutty taste that really elevates the soft, marshmallow-y vanilla notes.
Surprisingly, I don’t notice a whole lot of the peppermint. What I do notice a sort of clean … crispness right up front, but it isn’t a distinguished minty taste. Toward the finish, I start to pick up more of the peppermint tones, and the aftertaste as a faint, mysterious hint of peppermint. This surprises me because peppermint does tend to be a rather aggressive herb in blends, and often overpowers everything else. But that didn’t happen here – this is very skillfully blended with just the right amount of peppermint that leaves the taster thinking: “what was that?” Like the way a faint breeze feels when you’re walking through some spooky woods as night falls, and it tickles across your back and it’s just enough of something to make you wonder if the woods are haunted and you just had an encounter with a ghost. But … it’s a lot less freaky and a whole lot more tasty!
I like this a lot. I like it so much that I just visited the 52Teas website with the intention of re-ordering some … but it appears it’s sold out. Hopefully it will be re-blended!
Bangkok Green Tea Blend from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
The rich flavors of Thailand are the inspiration for this tasty blend. It is a combination of green tea, lemongrass, vanilla, coconut and ginger.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea really surprised me. I expected a strong ginger flavor from it, and while I can definitely taste the ginger in this Bangkok Green Tea Blend from Harney & Sons, the ginger is remarkably subdued … it offers a slight peppery taste but, not at all what I expected!
I guess that’s because so often in blends with ginger in them, the ginger just takes over! But this blend has been masterfully crafted to provide just enough ginger to give it a gentle nudge of ginger but not enough for the full-on kick in the mouth that ginger is sometimes known to give.
I love the way the flavors come together here. The green tea has a soft, silky mouthfeel and a taste that is slightly buttery, sweet, and with a lovely vegetative note. The buttery tones are accentuated by the presence of lemongrass, which gives the cup a lovely citrus-y note that is especially noticeable in the aftertaste (I’m getting a slight citrus-y tartness in the aftertaste).
The vanilla gives the cup a creaminess but this certainly doesn’t taste overly “vanilla-y” … I notice just a little bit of vanilla’s sweetness and the creamy taste and texture of it, but not a profound vanilla note. And as I eluded to earlier, the ginger is just enough for a slight peppery note on the tongue …
I really enjoyed this. I like the way the flavors are all balanced together … I taste each of the components without any one of them overpowering the others. A surprisingly good cuppa!
Weeping Angel Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
So, I’m sure you are wondering, what exactly is a Weeping Angel tea? Well, what else could it be, but a tea flavored like my favorite Dr. Who snack? It’s a buttered toffee caramel corn flavored black tea, and it’s heavenly–amazing enough to make a weeping angel smile.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am not a Dr. Who fan … and I am sure that this is only because I’ve not taken the time to become one. But I am a fan of 52Teas, as many of you are probably well aware, and I’ve really enjoyed his popcorn flavored teas of the past. This Weeping Angel Tea from 52Teas, which promises a buttered toffee caramel corn flavor … well, I was pretty sure that this tea was going to earn a solid YUM from me.
And … oh man! I was right. This is seriously YUMMY!
This is one of those teas that I take a little sip of and as the flavors wash over my palate, my eyes roll back in delight. My first few sips, I enjoyed plain – with no additions – and it was absolutely sumptuous. Sweet and toffee-caramel-y delicious. But, I found myself missing something … where was the popcorn taste? Then I added about half a pinch of salt and the popcorn flavors emerged. Yeah, I know the idea of adding salt to tea may sound weird to some of you, but, with this tea, you’ve got to try it! As I said, I added about half a pinch, and this is enough salt to give it a hint salty-sweet taste and accentuate the popcorn notes without overwhelming the cup with salt. I have a large mug, I’d recommend even less than half a pinch if your teacup is smaller than 12 ounces.
The black tea is prominent – as it should be! – and it offers a pleasingly smooth flavor with hints of earthiness. I like the way the richness of the black tea complements the buttery rich toffee and caramel notes. The popcorn comes through nicely now that I’ve added the aforementioned salt, and it adds an interesting contrast to the sweetness of the toffee and caramel. It is a very enjoyable savory element.
But the real stars of this cup are the sweet toffee and caramel … I taste creamy butter and burnt sugar. It is sweet and very palate pleasing!
Yep … it’s a solid YUM from me on this one.
Red Peach Vineyard from Fusion Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Fusion Teas
Tea Description:
Red vineyard peach: an incomparable delicacy with a unique taste. Together with the strawberry it awakens the desire to visit the slopes of the beautiful vineyard regions where it is grown!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The sample packet that I have for this tea just says “Red Vineyard” not Red Peach Vineyard, but when I compared the ingredient list on my package to the online ingredient list, they are identical so I think I’m pretty safe in assuming that this tea that I’m sipping right now is indeed Red Peach Vineyard.
This is LOVELY!
I know I probably sound a bit like a broken record when I state that I’m not one to imbibe alcohol, but it’s true, and it always seems like a relevant fact when I encounter teas that are wine inspired. I don’t really care much for the taste of alcohol … every once in a while, I take a sip of something, but, I just don’t care for the taste of it. Even alcoholic beverages that supposedly have no taste, like vodka, I can taste something there, and I’m not fond of it. That doesn’t mean that I’m not tempted to try something every once in a while – I mean when I see something like “caramel flavored vodka” or “Almond Roca Wine,” I’m intrigued. But, I think that is more about my sweet tooth than about the actual alcoholic beverage. And I will on a very rare occasion indulge in a mixed cocktail that taste more of sweet fruit than of fermented spirits, but these occasions are indeed rare, and again, the sweeter they are (and the less like alcohol they taste) the better I like them.
But for whatever reason, I usually enjoy wine inspired or wine infused teas. And I don’t know if this tea is actually wine flavored, or if it’s just inspired by the idea of a California Vineyard (Strawberries make me think of California … peaches don’t, however, peaches do grow quite well in California!) Either way, I do taste a sort of wine-y element to this cup. Like a sweet red wine. Slightly grape-y flavor with a hint of fermentation and the slight astringency to this tea play to the wine-like characters of this tea.
The black tea has a very pleasing quality to it. It is a well-rounded tea, it is strong but not what I’d call “bold,” really, and it has a hint of flowery intonation and an undertone of earthiness that also play to the wine-y character of this tea.
But the real stars of this particular show are the flavors of peach and strawberry. I love this combination, and it is one that I think I’d like to see offered more often in tea blends. The sweet, luscious flavor of the peach complements the sweet berry very well, there is just a twinge of tartness to the cup from the berry, but overall, this is a sweet, fruity tea that is really quite enjoyable.
Another great cuppa from Fusion Teas!