Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This here is some stunningly good stuff! We’ve blended organic honeybush with sarsaparilla root (who knew it was spelled that way? I mean, really, how do we get the common pronunciation from THAT spelling?), marshmallow root and organic flavors. This is delicious and refreshing. I dare you to get some and tell me I’m wrong.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After I brewed this Sarsaparilla Float Honeybush Blend from 52Teas and started sipping, I tried to figure out what I thought about it. Did I like it? I didn’t really have an immediate answer for that. But now, the cup is nearly finished and I’ve not even written a whole paragraph. So, I’m guessing that yeah … I do like it.
I’ve had the root beer blends that 52Teas has created in the past and quite enjoyed them. And when I think “sarsaparilla” – I think “root beer.” But this tastes different than the root beer blends I’ve had. It certainly has some similarities to the root beer teas of the past but this tastes somewhat earthier than the 52Teas I’ve had before. This almost tastes like something I might buy off one of those old-time medicine wagons or perhaps something I ordered at an old tavern filled with cowboys.
Not that I’ve ever bought anything off of one of those old-time medicine wagons or had anything to drink at an old tavern. I’ve never even seen an old-time medicine wagon except for on television and the only thing that would resemble an old tavern is the Western bar photography props at Knott’s Berry Farm. I spent a lot of time there as a kid growing up in California.
But let’s get back to this tisane. I’m definitely tasting a root beer like flavor here, although it is more earthy, as I said. I taste a woodsy note and a hint of the nutty, honey-esque notes from the honeybush. At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked the way the root beer-y, sarsaparilla notes played with the honeybush, but now, I think I do.
As the tea cools somewhat, the float-ish type flavors start to emerge more, I can taste the fluffy, creamy vanilla notes and it’s quite yummy.
So getting back to my original question. Yeah. Yeah I like this. It’s different than I was expecting, but I like it … and as I sip it, I kind of feel like I should be wearing a cowboy hat and boots with spurs on ’em. And knowing me, I’d trip over the spurs and hurt myself. So maybe I should just stick to my Vans. What can I say? I’ll always be a California girl at heart. And by feet, too, I guess.
Be sure to stay tuned for an announcement concerning 52Teas. My previous Kickstarter didn’t get fully funded, so I’ll be launching another Kickstarter soon! I hope you’ll help me take over 52Teas!
Organic Chai from Twinings of London
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Twinings of London
Tea Description:
Select black tea from Assam expertly blended with sweet and savoury spices including cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and ginger to deliver a flavourful tea with a warm, soothing aroma and a fresh, spicy taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After trying two other rather lackluster teas from Twinings of London recently, I wasn’t sure what possessed me to actually try another today. But I tried to keep a positive outlook and without having too high of expectations, I brewed this cup of Organic Chai from Twinings of London.
My initial thoughts: this is better than both the two previous recent tastings of this company’s teas. I can taste the robust Assam tea beneath the bold spices. I like that all the flavors that I expected to taste are represented.
About now is where I might say something like “the flavor of the spices are well-balanced,” but I can’t really say that because they aren’t well balanced. I taste more clove than any other spice. I taste a hearty cinnamon flavor and in contrast, there is very little ginger flavor. The cardamom is tasted, but, it’s not as strong as the clove and cinnamon.
But! I do like the Assam here. It’s a rich and flavorful tea. It’s almost creamy because of its thick, malty texture and I find that very enjoyable.
Overall, it’s not a terrible chai. It’s certainly not great though. It’s not the tea that I’d keep stocked in the cabinet. There are so many great teas out there and this is simply average or perhaps even just slightly below.
Organic Avaata Supreme Nilgiri First Flush Green Tea from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
An exquisite green tea from the coveted organic Avaata Tea Estate in the Nilgiris in southern India. The perfectly manufactured leaves boast of a light green texture combined with opulent long silver tips. The liquor has a very pale green appearance in the cup. The flavour is extremely smooth and fairly sharp typical of non-fermented green teas but without any hint of bitterness. A sensation of fruits and flowers flush your mouth with every sip of this certified organic green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’m sitting here sipping this tea, I find myself mesmerized by how good it is. I then decided to do a search to see if I’ve ever tried a Nilgiri Green tea. And as it turns out, I’ve tried two green Nilgiri teas, one of which was more of a smoky tea (reminiscent of a Chinese gunpowder) and one was the base for a Chai. Neither were like this tea.
The dry leaf looks very much like a white tea, except that these are greener in color than most white teas I’ve encountered. The dry leaf also has a stronger ‘green’/vegetal scent than most white teas I’ve encountered. But the shape of the leaves – the appearance of the leaves – reminds me of a very high quality Bai Mu Dan.
So as you can imagine, it was a little more difficult to measure these leaves into the basket of my Kati tumbler. Rather than attempt to measure the leaves using my bamboo scoop, I eyeballed a measurement in the palm of my hand. Then I added 12 ounces of water heated to 175°F and let it steep for 2 minutes.
Delightful! This is a wonderful green tea! It has a delicate quality to it that reminds me of the aforementioned Bai Mu Dan, but it isn’t quite that delicate. The flavor is a lot less vegetal than I would have expected after the aroma I experienced with the dry leaf. In fact, those that tend to shy away from green teas because of that strong vegetal tone would probably find this green to be very much to their liking.
It’s light and crisp and very refreshing. Sweet with almost a sugar-like flavor. The texture is light yet creamy. It has a nice softness to it. There is no bitterness, but there is some astringency to this that is experienced primarily in the aftertaste, I can feel a dry, puckery sensation on the inside of my cheeks at the very end of the sip and into the aftertaste.
This is very CREAMY tasting. I like that while it has that creamy taste and texture, it isn’t a super heavy texture and the astringency seems to cleanse the palate somewhat so that my palate doesn’t feel overwhelmed by the creaminess.
Truly, a delightful green tea. This is one that should be on every tea drinker’s list to try because it’s so different from the green teas you’re probably familiar with. It’s so lovely!
Tulsi Green Indian Chai Tea from Teabox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea & Tulsi
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
This Organic Herbal Tulsi Green blend is one of the first products aimed at combining the health benefits of green tea with Tulsi (Holy basil) leaves.
A work of art and science as it is a classic India-style masala (spice) tea with the best of all worlds: Darjeeling tea, fresh Indian herbs and spices.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm … different. This Tulsi Green Indian Chai Tea from Teabox isn’t exactly what I think of when I think “chai” but it’s still pretty tasty.
The base is composed of a Darjeeling green tea and tulsi. I definitely taste the tulsi in this – it’s warm and has distinct peppery notes with notes of basil and whispers of crisp mint. The tulsi gives this cup a distinct herbal flavor.
I find that the green tea flavor is a little less discernible. It’s definitely there and I can taste it, but it’s not a strong presence and has a difficult time asserting itself in the presence of the tulsi which seems to really dominate the cup.
The same is true of the spices. I can taste warm spices but they’re difficult to really pick out and say, yep, I taste this or that spice. I can taste notes of clove. Every once in a while I taste a note that reminds me of cardamom and every once in a while my palate detects nutmeg. Because of the strong tulsi notes dominating the rest of the flavors, it’s difficult to determine with certainty what spices are in this blend and Teabox doesn’t mention on their website or on their ingredient list, which mentions only “green tea” and “tulsi.”
This is a warm and comforting blend though. It’s not particularly spicy – again, the tulsi is probably the ‘spiciest’ of the flavors that I taste. But it’s a cozy sort of blend with which to unwind. I do wish that the green tea was a little more assertive and the spices more expressive in this cup, but, as it is, I enjoyed what I drank.
Chocolate Marshmallow Spicy Chai from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Following the success of our Spicier Chai, one of our faithful customers requested a version with chocolate and marshmallow. How could we not do that?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! I’m loving this Chocolate Marshmallow Spicy Chai from 52Teas. It’s the perfect tea to enjoy on a cold, wet afternoon!
If you read this blog regularly, you’re probably well aware by this point that I’m trying to raise funds so that I can take over 52Teas. And if you aren’t yet aware of this, please check out my Kickstarter campaign by clicking right here. (Remember, every little bit helps!)
Anyway, after taking my first sip of this tea, my immediate thought was, “oh yeah, I have to reblend this one!” In fact, I just finished posting a comment on the campaign, stating that I nominate this for a reblend for the next vote!
Every time we reach another $2,000 in pledges, we vote on a new reblend. So far, we’ve reached on $2000 in pledges and the winner of that vote was the Raspberry Cream Cheese Danish Honeybush. If you want to get in on the next vote, you need to contribute and help me reach my goal!
So, yes, I guess you could say that I like this tea. I like it a lot!
The black tea base is rich and flavorful. That in itself is quite an accomplishment because the spices are spicy and the chocolate and marshmallow are both strong components to this cup too. To be able to be tasted beyond the bold spices and the strong flavors, that’s impressive to me.
I also appreciate that the black tea isn’t astringent or bitter. It’s smooth and robust, but not aggressively so. It stands strong amid the other strong flavor profiles in this cup without having to be too harsh tasting.
The spices are very reminiscent of the Spicier Chai blend that 52Teas introduced a few weeks back. And there’s a good reason for that. It would seem that the Spicier Chai was the inspiration behind the request for a Chocolate Marshmallow version. Genius. It sounds like something I’d think of. I didn’t. But, whoever did think of it, you’re a genius.
The spices are spicy! Peppery! Zesty and invigorating! It’s a good, strong, BOLDLY spiced chai. It not only warms you from the inside out but it’ll feel a little like someone started a tiny fire in the back of your throat. Yeah, it burns, but it burns SO good!
And then you have chocolate and marshmallow! I’m usually quick to say that more chocolate is better, but I really am enjoying the level of chocolate in this blend. It’s not SUPER chocolate-y but I think that more chocolate might have interfered with the spices a little bit and I like the balance as it is right now. Spicy and chocolate-y deliciousness.
And the marshmallow is light and fluffy.
What this tastes a bit like is that someone brewed up a cup of that Spicier Chai, and then added a scoop of hot cocoa powder to it and stirred it up, and then topped it with a marshmallow that is now melted into the beverage, making it creamy and sweet and delicious.
So, yeah … totally yum. Please help me save 52Teas so that I can reblend this one!!!