The thing I was originally going to write about this was “this tastes like the Hogwarts library.” I was going to talk about the vegetal green taste with the rich old spices, like herbology books being read by Neville Longbottom after a long day of academia. I had a variety of very interesting, seemingly novel ideas.
(NOVEL IDEAS? GET IT?)
Then I went to 52Teas’ own description which — I do not jest — literally says: “I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and have been for a lot of years so this year as my Halloween offering, I decided I wanted to celebrate my favorite books with a tribute to one of the wizarding world’s favorite juices: Pumpkin Juice!”
I don’t remember the words “pumpkin juice” being used in the Potterverse, but apparently the association was subliminal, because there I was, browsing the Hogwarts library’s forbidden section and trying not to get bitten by books with the best of them.
The tea itself tastes like pumpkin, pineapple, and spices. It’s a cool mix!
I’ve tried a bunch of Pumpkin Spice beverages this autumn, and this one stands out as the most original. It’s the only one that features green tea (!) and pineapples (!).
I suppose if you are a pumpkin spice classicist, you can drink your black pumpkin tea in your mundane Muggle life.
I, on the other hand, will be sharing this cup with Hagrid and Fang
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Flavored Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and have been for a lot of years so this year as my Halloween offering, I decided I wanted to celebrate my favorite books with a tribute to one of the wizarding world’s favorite juices: Pumpkin Juice!
Having never actually tasted pumpkin juice, I googled “pumpkin juice” for some ideas on recipes for it. There are a few different recipes online for pumpkin juice and each of them were a little different. Some were a combination of orange juice and pumpkin juice – which sounded interesting! Another included dried apricots instead of the orange juice – also interesting! Others were made with peach or pear juice. But the recipe that appealed to me most was one that combined pumpkin, apple juice, pineapple juice and spices. I thought that the apple would add some pleasant sweetness to the savory quality of the pumpkin and the pineapple juice would add some brightness to the overall flavor.
I started with a base of fair-trade, rainforest alliance certified Satemwa estate green teas (OP1 & Zomba Steamed) and added chunks of dried pumpkin, freeze-dried apples and pineapple, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and touch of freshly shaved nutmeg. The fruits do soften the flavor of the pumpkin somewhat however, the overall flavor is quite autumn-y and delicious.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Toffee Dragonwell from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies.
Tea Description:
This week’s tea of the week tastes like rich pumpkin pie with a crust made entirely of sweet, delicious toffee. I don’t know if anyone could really make a pie like that, but I would love to try one. In the meantime, I’m going to continue enjoying rich sips of this yummy tea. The Dragonwell green tea adds just the right notes of sweet nuttiness to compliment the toffee and contrast with the pumpkin. All in all, this is a really special treat you’ll love serving to your guests, if you’re generous enough to share.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
In honor of our LiberTEAs taking over 52Teas soon (can not wait!), I decided to crack this tea open and see what I thought.
After checking out the reviews on Steepster for this blend, I decided I needed to try this one both hot and cold brewed. I will be honest, brewed up hot, I really did not care for this one. I can’t really say what the tea tasted like but it was unpleasant. A real muddled tasting green tea is the best I can come up with. I ended up dumping the cuppa.
Switched to cold brewed. I dumped some tea leaves into my pitcher last night and this morning I was greeted with a delicious pumpkin toffee tea. Wowzer! I am impressed. Especially after the hot brewed method was such a failed (I’m going with that was user error somehow). I can taste the pumpkin, the toffee, and the Dragonwell base and the flavor is incredible. Creamy, smooth, hints of spice, and this richness that allows this ice tea to become this ridiculously amazing iced tea treat. I am in love! I do really like 52Teas tea bases and I am sure that Liberteas will follow suit. Frank at 52Teas has listed his last teas that he will create for 52Teas (including a Raspberry Birthday Cake Blend!!). From what his blog says, Zoomdweebie will be going dark by the end of the month. Check out the remaining blends and pick them up while you still can. You won’t regret it!
Unfortunately, this particular beauty of a tea is no longer available to purchase. I wish it was. I would pick up a ton of it. I can see this tea becoming a staple in my cupboard.
