Your zest is but that of a fresh summer rain. The astringent label, given to you by sailors, is to be ‘savored’ only in the after taste. Liquid clear and cunning with golden hues so vibrant you would think they dipped the tea in gold.
Your fresh dry leaves, tightly rolled balls of love and affection, show the care your makers had in your processing. Wet leaves dance in the water and open up with beautiful hues of green. With a few over oxidized here and there that make them appear black. Aroma of wet leaves; a bitter scent with hints of earth.
If your nostalgia for summer has peaked to a depressive state, grab a cup of this tea and savor the thoughts of a sunny day with light rain showers.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Bare Leaves
Description:
Organic green tea from China. The leaves of this famous Chinese green tea are hand-rolled into pellets that resemble gunpowder. It produces a bolder flavor than most green teas.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
12 Teas of Christmas 1-6 from 52Teas. . . .
52 Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 1-6 (SPOILERS) While I’m a huge fan of 52 Teas and their creative blends, I’ve never before ordered their ever-so-popular 12 Teas of Christmas countdown sampler. This year, I decided to treat myself! After a shipping snafu (anyone else find themselves ordering online goodies six months after moving and not until you’ve hit purchase do you go– “DANGIT, that’s being sent to my old address!” Just me? Cool.) that Anne and her team went above and beyond to fix for me, I was EXTRA pumped for these goodies to come my way. I’m going to break these mini-reviews into two, so you’ll get a 1-6 and then a 7-12 installment as I drink these tasty treats in real time! Now: let’s get sipping!
Day One: Foggy Coconut Black – Let’s just say I am… a less-than-enthusiastic earl grey drinker. I’ve recently been introduced to the concept of “blergamot” (i.e. bergamot in tea makes you go “blerg!”), which hit the nail on the head for me. But while I was skeptical when I opened this package, its delightful creaminess was intriguing. I’m so pleased to say that this is one Earl Grey I’ll be enthusiastically sipping! Like my favorite London Fog lattes, the creamy coconut and vanilla balance out the floral and blerg-y undertones of traditional earl greys, making this one a winner– especially as a latte!
Day Two: Candy Cane Marshmallow Green – Ever since becoming pregnant (baby tea lover, due June 2019!), I’ve been… off my tea drinking game. Most teas just haven’t been sounding good to me! But peppermint has totally been the one element that ALWAYS sounds good to me in this pregnancy, so I was thrilled to see this one in the mix. It’s a delightful, creamy Genmaicha, with light minty notes in the background. This preggy peppermint-lover would have adored the peppermint flavor to be more of a POW, but if you’re looking for a gentle, creamy mint holiday tea, this one is a winner.
Day Three: Raspberry Almond Cookie Honeybush – I opened this package, and was immediately sold by those tart, mouthwatering raspberry notes. Brewed, the raspberry loses some tartness, but is balanced really wonderfully by some beautiful, creamy marizipan-esque undertones. Delightful with cream!
Day Four: Ginger Cola Black – I was Skeptical-with-a-capital-S of this one (cola?! In my TEA?) but friends, it is KILLER on ice. I’ll admit I haven’t tried it hot yet (warm cola is not sounding great to this mama-to-be), but it’s spicy and cola-esque without all that syrupy sweetness. I can see why this one is a popular blend!
Day Five: BlackBerry Custard Tart Green – While some teas haven’t sounded great to me this pregnancy, berry teas have sounded delightful across the board. This one hit all its promised notes– fresh and fruity berries, creamy custard and flaky pastry. I (gasp!) served it with some milk and found it brought out ALL the flavors even further, while muting some of the green grassiness. Yum!
Day Six: Banana Pancake Black – I have shocked myself in recent months with a love for banana flavored teas. I’m pretty neutral on bananas themselves, and even more negatively-skewed on banana flavoring, but for whatever reason, I cannot get ENOUGH of them in tea lately. This blend delivers on the banana and bready, malty, maple-y pancake goodness of a breakfast treat, all whilst not being overtly banana-in-your-face (think banana bread, rather than banana candy). I served this one with a touch of maple syrup and cream, and had to stop myself from chugging the whole cup. Delightful!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
The majority of these 12 Teas of Christmas are sold out but some of them are still available below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
52Teas’ the 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 10-Spoilers!
Day 10!
Day 10 and we are really getting festive now with Yunnan Eggnog.
I feel like eggnog gets a lot of love and hate over the holidays. I get it, it’s not for everyone. But I like a cup of lactose-free nog now and then over the holidays. It’s like a cross between milk and vanilla pudding. It’s weird, I know.
This Yunnan Eggnog tea has a very appealing scent in the dry leaf. There’s spice, but it is not the usual chai tea trio of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger; instead there’s something a little more unusual like nutmeg or allspice. There is a sweet peppery flavor that might be from the spice or the tea itself.
Brewed, the tea is both bold and mellow, with lots of raisin and fig flavors and an undertone of crushed leaves earthiness. Without milk, this blend focuses on yunnan and all of its golden caramelly goodness. Just a touch of spice reminds you this is a holiday blend, suitable for sipping while you deck the halls.
A splash of milk does wonders to bring out the eggnog part of this blend. The milk adds a thicker mouthfeel that is more similar to eggnog, and lets a little more of the spice peek through. Not to mention, you can enhance the whole experience by grating some fresh nutmeg into your mug and filling your kitchen with the scent of the holidays.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
Organic Royal Golden Yunnan infused with organic eggnog flavors, cinnamon chips, marigold petals and a touch of nutmeg. This long, tippy-leafed Yunan steeps a smooth cup with rich aroma and superb taste. The hints of creamy eggnog and spices just makes it an extra special treat.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vietnam Ha Giang Organic Black Tea from Simpson and Vail
Vietnam Ha Giang Organic Black Tea from Simpson & Vail – didn’t last long in my tea stash – that is for sure. Good problem for S&V…bad problem for me!
My own personal default for black tea is double the amount for a short time because I like it STRONG! End result was an dark amber cup with slightly smooth taste. But don’t assume by me saying this was smooth that it was lacking a nice rich flavor because that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The leaves were crispy and slightly tippy and just what I crave in the morning and what my body needs to kick the afternoon lull, too!
S&V’s Vietnam organic black tea comes from the Ha Giang province in northern Vietnam along the Tay Con Linh mountain range (at 1300, above sea level) – deep within the ancient forests of Shan tea that have been growing for hundreds of years. Shan tea is a specialty in this region and the investment helped farmers to preserve this tea. A nursery of seedlings was created and workers were taught how to use crop rotation, green manure and biological pest control to sustainably develop this tea. Monies were also put towards new production facilities to ensure a consistent, high quality leaf. The area went through an economic revival in 2010 with a serious investment in the community. The goal of the investment was to achieve a better, higher quality tea using modern production techniques coupled with organic farming practices. This investment has more than paid off and the people living in this area have seen steady increases in production, quality and pay.
Improvements like these really get me energized about the region, the product, and the people behind the leaves and the cuppa! I can’t wait to see and TASTE what other teas comes from Vietnam and how it continues to grow in the coming years!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
The black, slightly tippy, leaves of this Vietnam black tea brew up to an amber cup with a mild astringency and a smooth, slightly earthy taste. A delightful afternoon cup!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Passion Fruit de la Crème from 52Teas. . .
I iced this blend with dinner tonight. It was the perfect accompaniment to a summer salad. The vanilla and white hold hands as the background to a lovely fruity top layer. It’s a chilly, sweet cream flavor that sparkles.
This berry-and-sugar-tasting blend is the Wonder Woman of teas: quiet yet tough, feminine yet sturdy. And, like Wonder Woman, it’s a summer blockbuster that’s stolen my heart.
I realize that calling a tea “feminine” might turn people away from it, which isn’t a result I want. There’s a weird bias against men liking “girly” things that doesn’t apply to women liking “manly” things. Which I think is a bunch of hooey.
So implore the dudes out there: try this tea. Get in touch with your Softer Side. Let the creamy, fruity deliciousness wash over you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I’ve not done a passion fruit tea before – so I thought it was about time to change that! Because passion fruit tends to be a tart fruit, I thought the perfect tea base would be a sweet Bai Mu Dan from the Yunnan Province. Then I added some vanilla bean for some extra sweetness and a touch of creaminess.
This is really quite nice, I love the way the sweeter components soften the tart fruit just enough so I’m not puckering – but not so much that it obscures the flavor of the fruit. It’s going to make a really lovely summertime refresher!
