Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This tea was a suggestion from our friend LiberTEAs. Am I the only one who thought the white stuff in the peppermint patties was coconut? I really wish I had some of this with me right now, but it’s all at the office, I’m afraid.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Yep, you read that right … I suggested this flavor. So, needless to say, I had high hopes for this Coconut Peppermint Patty Flavored Black Tea from 52Teas when I brewed it. What inspired me to suggest this flavor is a chocolate bar that I received in my December Knoshy box. The candy bar was amazing, and I loved the flavor combination of peppermint, coconut and chocolate, that I wanted more of it. And what would be better than to enjoy those flavors with a cup of tea … or perhaps, in a cup of tea!
I’m not particularly fond of the dry leaf aroma. I can smell the coconut and mint and those two components smell nice, but there is also a slight chemical odor to the tea that I don’t find appealing. I could smell it while the tea brewed too. I overlooked it though, hoping that the brewed tea would smell – and more importantly taste! – better than what I was smelling as the tea brewed.
Thankfully, I don’t smell that chemical-y note now that the tea is brewed. It doesn’t have an especially strong scent at all, which I find kind of odd since it’s a supposed to have coconut and peppermint flavors and they tend to be aromatic (especially peppermint!) Oh, sure, I can smell the coconut and the peppermint (as well as notes of black tea and chocolate!) and it smells delectable … but it’s not a strong fragrance.
I waited a few minutes to allow the temperature of the tea to drop slightly (no need to burn the tongue!) and YUM! This is good. I’m happy to report that the tea doesn’t have the chemical flavor that I feared it might have when I smelled the dry leaf. I’m tasting chocolate, I’m tasting coconut and mint, and I’m tasting black tea!
Yay!
The black tea is a nice, solid base. Recently, there’s been a conversation on Steepster about 52Teas’ black tea base. I personally like this base, I think that the base that was utilized previously by 52Teas was a tad too harsh depending upon what it was blended with. Sometimes, the blend came together just right and the flavor was delicious, but sometimes, there was just a bit of harshness to the cup. I can’t say that I’ve experienced a similar “harsh” flavor from the newest blend of teas – a recipe that was created a couple of years ago that combines Keemun, Darjeeling and Assam. Personally, I like this blend, but, I think the base would be even better if 52Teas dropped the Darjeeling and added a Fujian black tea instead.
Anyway … as it is, I like this black tea base with this particular blend of flavors. The background flavor is flavorful and not overwhelming. The malty notes of the Assam work nicely with the creamy notes of the coconut and the chocolate.
And I love that I’m tasting chocolate. There is a nice level of chocolate here (although, as I’ve said before, more chocolate is always better. I’m telling you, if I ever move to Wichita and go to work at 52Teas, I’m going to be adding an extra scoop (or two) of cacao nibs to the chocolate blends. And, I’ll probably be accidentally adding cacao shells to the inventory and adding a few scoops of those to the chocolate blend too. Frank: cacao shells add an amazing chocolate flavor. 🙂
With the exception of a desire for more chocolate flavor in this blend, this is JUST what I was hoping for with the combination of these flavors. It’s very yum, and I’m loving it.
Raspberry Vanilla Mint Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
This vibrant blend combines a fresh Chinese Young Hyson green tea with peppermint leaves, raspberry and vanilla flavors. This refreshing and versatile green tea boasts fresh, intoxicating flavors that will keep you coming back for more. Perfect any time hot and exceptional iced with a touch of sweetener.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s NEW Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
Yay! My latest package from Simple Loose Leaf – which is my FIRST of their all new Selection Club subscription – just arrived! I’m so excited. This Raspberry Vanilla Mint Green tea is the first tea that I’m trying from this month’s box.
Let me explain a little how the Selection Club works (at least, this is my understanding of the program, I hope it makes sense when I explain it!): Every month, an email is sent out to subscribers. Here’s what my April email says:
Below we have selected 5 teas that we feel you will love. Please browse these teas and familiarize yourself with what they have to offer. At the bottom of the page there is a button that will take you to a form that you will enter your selections.
So, you choose from the five different teas which tea you’d like to receive for April. Or, if you prefer, you can get a sampling of all five! Me being a taster … that’s the option I chose. There is even an option to tell Simple Loose Leaf what your preferences are so that they can design the selection of five teas to the types of teas you drink most often. I didn’t fill out this preference form because … I want the variety!
So in the mail, I received a cute little box with five sample sized teas inside! In addition to this Raspberry Vanilla Mint Green tea, I also have Ti Kuan Yin, Winter White Chai, Gunpowder Green and Caravan Black. I also have a smaller sample from next month’s selections: Hazelberry Pu’er!
This is one seriously awesome tea of the month club! Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let me tell you about this Raspberry Vanilla Mint Green Tea:
This tea is so yum! I love that I can taste all four flavors that are promised in the name of the tea: I taste the mint, I taste the raspberry, the vanilla and the green tea. At the start of the sip, I notice the mint immediately as the menthol hits the back of my palate immediately before the liquid hits my tongue. Then I pick up on the soft, creamy notes of vanilla, and the sweet-tart flavors of berry.
The green tea is not as prominent as I think it should be. I’m usually of the belief that a tea – even a flavored tea – should first be about the tea, and I’m wanting that to be the case here. It isn’t. But that doesn’t mean that the green tea is absent. I taste the green tea. It’s sweet, lightly grassy with herbaceous undertones that meld well with the mint, with a buttery note that marries well with the creamy vanilla tones. And even though the green tea notes are not as strong as I think they should be, this is still a seriously tasty cup!
I found my cup emptied pretty quickly … and if the speed in which the tea disappeared from my cup is any indication, then I’d say that this tea is a winner!
If you’re interested in joining Simple Loose Leaf’s Monthly Selection Club, I can save you some money! Use this code: SISTERSELECTION25 and get a 25% discount when you sign up for the selection club. This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.
Spicy Anise Black Tea Blend from English Tea Shop
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: English Tea Shop
Tea Description:
Spicy Anise: Black tea, ginger pieces, cloves and star anise with ginger, mint and anise flavours.
Taster’s Review:
The ingredient list of this Spicy Anise Black Tea Blend from English Tea Shop shows a variety of spices that are reminiscent of a chai blend, however, the flavor is more like a warm, slightly spicy and minty tea rather than a chai. The anise is not as prevalent as I would like it to be, especially when considering the name of the tea. The name suggests to me that I’m going to have a strong anise-y tasting tea, but, the anise is not as dominant as the mint is in this blend.
The other spices – ginger and clove – are very subtle and offer a warm background note. The black tea base almost seems lost in the presence of the other flavors here. Oh, I can still taste the black tea, but it is a little too mellow in my opinion. I think a bold black tea base as well as a stronger presence of anise would make this a tea worthy of a name called “Spicy Anise.”
This is a bit disappointing, really. I was hoping for more from this blend.
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!
Casablanca Twist Green Tea Blend from Nuovo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Darjeeling
Where to Buy: Nuovo Tea
Tea Description:
An interesting twist on classic Moroccan Mint tea, which traditionally combines Gunpowder green tea from China with fresh mint. We kept the latter, and replaced the smoky notes of Gunpowder with the muscatel highlights of a Darjeeling from India. The result is very a refreshing cup, with bold, cool minty notes, smooth and relaxing texture and flavor. Very intriguing cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! I’m really liking this Casablanca Twist Green Tea Blend from Nuovo Tea! I don’t usually get all “wow-ed” by a mint tea like this one, but, this one is pretty darned good. Oh, sure, I like mint, and I do enjoy a minty tea every now and again. But I don’t often take a sip of a minty tea and exclaim “Wow!” like I did with this tea.
And what makes this more surprising is the mint level in this tea. This is very minty. I might even go so far as to say it’s too minty had it been with any other tea blend. But, because I am liking the way the peppermint marries with the Darjeeling base, where I can taste subtle tones of muscatel behind the strong mint notes … I have to admit that I like this blend just the way it is! I like the way the lighter, crisper Darjeeling notes play in the background as the cool, refreshing mint struts its stuff in the foreground. I like the change up here, using a Darjeeling tea.
Although, here is where I hit a wall of confusion: this tea is categorized as a “green” tea, but from what I could learn about this blend, the Sungma Summer Darjeeling is used for this blend and to my knowledge, that is considered a “black” Darjeeling.
However, since I steeped it as I would a green tea (180°F for 3 minutes), I find the flavor of the Darjeeling tasting even lighter than it probably would had I brewed it at a higher temperature. I don’t know.
What I do know is this: I like the way the fruity notes of the Darjeeling tea and the crisp peppermint taste together. I think that a tad less peppermint could make this even better, because some of the nuanced flavors of the Darjeeling could make their way forward. As it is though, this is an enjoyable blend – it tastes amazing with a thin slice of lemon!