Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Premium shou mei white tea with cornflowers and organic flavors.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s fundraising campaign to reopen the Tea Bar here.
Taster’s Review:
I LOVE this Cotton Candy White Tea from 52Teas! Oh my goodness! It is so good!
Of course, I had no doubt whatsoever that I would … after all, I loved the Cotton Candy Black Tea that 52Teas created way back when, as well as the Cotton Candy Black Iced Tea from the Southern Boy Teas collection, so I was confident that I’d like this one too, and part of me was thinking that I’d probably even like this one better, because the delicate quality of the white tea will allow for more of the delicious cotton candy flavor to come through … and YES it definitely does just that.
The aroma of the dry leaf is interesting. I smell notes of bubble gum, flowers, and an earthy essence. It smells a bit like the cotton candy cart at the fairgrounds … imagine that the fairgrounds is downwind from a flowery field, and a gust of gentle wind rustles over the flowers and brings that fragrance to your nostrils, and you also notice hints of hay from the fairgrounds … and of course the cotton candy as it’s spinning!
The cotton candy flavor comes through so nicely here. The white tea tastes very light, and yes, I can still taste it. In fact, it isn’t at all overpowered by the flavors, instead, the flavors and the sweet, hay-like notes of the white tea meld beautifully together … like they were made for each other. This tastes just like a freshly spun puff of cotton candy at the county fair, where the scent of hay fragrances the air. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum! There is an aftertaste that is vaguely reminiscent of a berry-like taste, and I find that quite enjoyable too, it’s sweet with a hint of tart, and I like the way it adds a different element for the palate to enjoy.
It is sweet but not cloying. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re not a fan of sweeter beverages, this is probably not going to be to your liking, but, it’s not as sickeningly sweet as a fountain soda. The earthiness of the white tea cuts through the sweetness just enough so that this doesn’t feel like a mouthful of sticky cotton candy (and really, that’s all that this is lacking is the sticky texture of the cotton candy … otherwise, this is like liquefied cotton candy that has been added to a cup of Shou Mei!)
It has that slightly caramelized note of the cooked and spun sugar floss, and just a hint of bubble-gummy kind of flavor that I guess kind of is interchangeable with “cotton candy” flavor. I mean, really, how does one distinguish one from another. They’re both sweet and candy-like, right?
Absolutely delicious – and a perfect tea for someone with a sweet tooth!
PS: the deadline is approaching for the fundraising campaign to help Zoomdweebies come back! Please consider contributing what you can to help, and if you can’t contribute, please help by spreading the word!
Strawberry Mint Julep White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s tea is a sweet blend of hay-like shou mei, freeze-dried strawberries and fresh cut peppermint and spearmint along with organic strawberry, mint and bourbon flavors. It reminds me oddly of my grandmother’s house, where she kept a small garden of mint and strawberries on the side of the house.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s fundraising campaign to reopen the Tea Bar here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This Strawberry Mint Julep White Tea from 52Teas is really tasty! The delicate flavor of the Shou Mei works really well with the sweet-tart taste of the berries and the crisp, refreshing flavor of the mint notes.
The white tea is sweet and has a vegetative hay-like taste to it. There is also a light, crisp taste to the tea that works really nicely with the fresh minty notes of the spearmint and peppermint.
The mint is probably the most pronounced flavor of this cup, but, I like that it’s not dominating to the point of overpowering the other flavors. The strawberry notes come through, as does the subtle tones of the white tea and just a hint of bourbon also reveals itself in each sip.
And while I’m not generally a big fan of alcohol, I do like that this tastes a bit like a cocktail. I actually like that I can taste the booze (without feeling the effects of it!) because the bourbon flavor works well here. Perhaps that’s because it’s not an aggressive taste … it is sort of off in the background, allowing me to enjoy the other flavors while not letting me forget that it’s there.
This is nice served hot (let it cool off for just a couple of minutes after pouring the tea) but as I type this, I’m also in the process of brewing up a half gallon pitcher of it so that I can have this iced tomorrow afternoon. I find that this tea gets better as it cools. I’m liking it better and better with each sip!
I know that I’ve been talking a lot about the 52Teas fundraising effort to reopen the doors of the Zoomdweebies tea bar … but, let me say it again … if you can, please help out this small business! We can always use more places to enjoy tea!
Banana Grape Flavored Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
What’s the matter? You never heard of Granana?
Well, okay, me either. But it sounded like fun and so here it is. Premium shou mei white tea blended with freeze-dried grapes and bananas, and organic flavors. A little sweet, a little tart; a little smooth, a little piquant… One thing I can almost guarantee is that you won’t find this blend any where else. It’s up for you to tell me whether that’s a good thing or not. =)
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened the package of this Banana Grape Flavored Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas, my first thought was this smells like candy. It was the scent I might experience if I were to open a package of chewy Runts or a package of Nerds. It smells sweet – sugary sweet – and fruity.
And my first thought after my first sip was very much the same experience. It tastes a lot like fruit flavored candy. Unfortunately, we’re dealing with my two least favorite candy flavors. Sure … I like bananas and some of the banana flavored teas that I’ve tasted are some of my favorite teas of all time! I even like grape, although here I’m a lot more particular. I like grapes – as in the fruit. I’m not always so wild over grape flavored beverages, although I have tried a few grape flavored teas and really enjoyed them. But … I don’t like banana or grape flavored candies. Especially grape flavored candies. They taste too much like sweet candy and not enough like the fruit.
But here we are, dealing with one of my least anticipated tea flavors that 52Teas has ever produced. (Sorry, Frank!)
All that said … this isn’t too bad. It certainly isn’t my favorite tea that 52Teas has ever created, so I’m not about to tell you that it is. However, I don’t hate it either. The Shou Mei lends a certain earthy quality to the cup that helps “ground” the sweet, fruity flavor of the banana and grape. As I continue to sip, I start to notice the sweeter tones begin to subside and I notice more of the true fruit notes. Surprisingly, what I’m liking best about this is the way the grape notes and the natural flavors of the Shou Mei meld together.
Overall, this is a fair representation of both banana and grape flavors, and the white tea is not overpowered by the sweetness of the fruit notes. It’s a decent tasting tea that is better served iced than hot. Not bad, but not great either. It’s alright, but I don’t think I’ll be chomping at the bit to order more.
Cucumber Mango Flavored Shou Mei from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Yeah, I’m guilty. I got a little mango crazy this month, but this is the last one (for now). I kept thinking about those yummy cucumber mango salsas and it occurred to me that a nice white tea with some mango and cucumber would make a super refreshing iced tea.
I do tend to think in terms of iced teas most of the time, but I know I’m not alone now that the weather is getting warmer.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this Cucumber Mango Flavored Shou Mei from 52Teas smells absolutely INCREDIBLE! It smells so good that I almost want to pour the whole pouch into a bowl and put it out as potpourri.
But, I won’t do that, because, I’d rather drink it!
When this tea was announced for the week of May 20th, I was instantly intrigued. I really enjoyed the other cucumber blends that 52Teas has created, and I wanted to see how well the flavors of Cucumber and Mango stood up against such rivals as Cucumber Strawberry (just to name one of several cucumber blends that 52Teas has come out with!)
And I’d like to say that this is definitely a tasty addition to 52Teas cucumber collection. The Shou Mei is sweet, vegetative (in a hay-like sort of way) and earthy, and I like the way this tea showcases the delicate flavor of the cucumber, which has a crisp, vegetal, and sweet flavor.
The mango is the strongest component of this combination of flavors. It tastes sweet and juicy, and even though it IS the strongest flavor here, it is not so strong that it overwhelms the entire cup. I taste the other flavors. I like that.
This is really refreshing. I am sipping it hot at the moment, but I can hardly wait for my iced tea pitcher to be empty again so that I can brew some of this for iced tea! YUM!
Pomegranate Blackberry Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s very tardy blend is a shou mei white tea base with real freeze-dried pomegranate arils, freeze-dried blackberries and organic flavors, and it is delicious.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
YUM! This Pomegranate Blackberry Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas tastes amazing! I love this!
I love that 52Teas is using Shou Mei more now rather than Bai Mu Dan. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Bai Mu Dan, but, I think that because the Shou Mei has a stronger flavor than a typical Bai Mu Dan … that the flavor of the white tea comes through more clearly in these flavored teas from 52Teas. And the sweet, earthy flavor of the Shou Mei comes together quite nicely with these fruit flavors.
The blackberry tastes sweet. Blackberries are one of my favorite berries, and as a current Pacific Northwest resident, I think that I can say that they ARE my favorite fruit now. While living in California, my favorite berry is, hands down, the strawberry, but, the flavor of the strawberries up here just doesn’t compare to the flavor of the strawberries that have been grown in the California sun. It rains up here too much to get good strawberry growth. BUT … blackberries are plentiful! So plentiful, in fact, that there are blackberry bushes growing wild all over the place! And the blackberries up here are Ah-may-ZING!
And the pomegranate adds just the right amount of tartness to the cup. Not a lot … but, just enough to keep the flavor dancing on the palate. It keeps it from getting sickeningly sweet. And I love the way everything just works together in this cup. The pomegranate melds beautifully with the blackberry … and the two fruits perfectly complement the Shou Mei.
Another winner from 52Teas!