For Star Trek fans or just plain tea lovers alike, do yourself a favor and brew up a cup of Wake Me Up Scotty from 52Teas. This is based around a Scottish black tea, and gently sweetened with hints of butterscotch and a scattering of marshmallow root. The name of course, is in reference to the Star Trek phrase, Beam Me Up, Scotty. The tea got its name from all the ‘scotch and Scottish ingredients, and from the hearty caffeine dose of black tea.
I love a good Scottish breakfast blend first thing in the morning, though when I reach for a breakfast tea, I also want a little bit of tartness to make me feel fresh and awake. I was a little wary that the black tea in this blend would be hidden beneath its dessert flavors, but despite the candy-like inclusions, this tea preserves plenty of that crisp breakfast black tea taste.
This blend has it all: flavorful integrity of the black tea and a caress of caramel and cream flavors. You definitely taste the butterscotch and marshmallow, but not at the expense of the bright black tea. I take my tea without sugar or milk, but if you love the butterscotch notes, you can draw them forward by brewing this as a latte or by adding your favorite sweetener.
The caramel and marshmallow come across in this blend with almost the same nutty sweetness as honeyed breakfast cereal with mini marshmallows, which takes this whole idea of a breakfast tea to a new level. A delicious and balanced blend that I should keep on hand in my cabinet for any breakfast time brewing.
I applaud 52Teas for always being inventive in their flavors; they seek out new teas and flavor blends, and boldly go where no tea company has gone before!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
So this tea comes with a story – please bear with me . . .
I don’t usually go for teas that have already been blended. I usually want to do the blending myself. I also usually don’t go for CTC teas. But this tea presents us with an exception to that – because on a whim, I happened to sample an organic Scottish Breakfast Blend from a would-be supplier and I absolutely loved it. It was rich, rugged and malty and I immediately began to imagine what I might do with this tea.
So I ordered some of the tea to play around with it a bit and while playing around, I thought – hey, it’s a Scottish Breakfast Blend, I should try blending it with butterscotch. Not real creative, I know. But after my initial taste test of the blend flavored with butterscotch – I was hooked. I decided to lighten things up with some soft, creamy marshmallow. And my “Scotty Breakfast Blend” was born. Again – not a really creative name, right?
As I was sitting around with Mat and updating him with my tea studio happenings, he asked me why I called this one “Scotty Breakfast Blend.” And I told him something like: because it was made with a Scottish Breakfast Blend and I used ButterSCOTCH as the primary flavor component.
He mentioned I should call it “McBreakfast Blend” or something like that. Then I thought, what if McDonalds decides to slap a Cease and Desist on me for using their Mc. He told me that he didn’t think they could actually do that and they probably don’t lay claim to the prefix Mc. However, I wasn’t too keen on McBreakfast Blend … what about O’Scotty Breakfast Blend? During this exchange, I’m not sure who threw in “Beam Me Up, Scotty” into the mix . . . but I liked it. Not because I’m a big Star Trek fan because really, I’m not. I’m much more Harry Potter than Star Trek although I really liked Ricardo Montalbán’s portrayal as Khan.
But I digress.
I liked the idea that – for those of us who like to see different meanings in words – the “Beam Me Up” could be thought of as waking someone up or inspiring a sense of alertness which is what black tea (especially a rich CTC blend like this) does for me. At the end of my exchange with Mat, he said, just call it “Wake Me Up, Scotty!” because those who are Star Trek fans will appreciate the alluding to “Beam Me Up” without actually saying that – and those who wouldn’t get what I’m alluding to might still appreciate that this is a wake-me-up kind of tea with a Scottish Breakfast Blend base and a butterscotch flavor.
This a well-rounded black tea that on it’s own is pretty robust and stimulating – a fantastic first tea of the morning! The butterscotch and hint of marshmallow offer a pleasant sweetness to the cup. A delightful cuppa!
