This isn’t a review but an advertisement (sorry guys!) No, we don’t usually advertise here on this site – this is an anomaly – but because one of the founding SororiTea Sisters is now the Mad Tea Artist behind 52Teas, she gets the privilege of deviating from the norm.
And 52Teas has a Holiday Pre-Sale going on right now on Kickstarter! This isn’t a typical “fundraising” Kickstarter campaign, instead, this is a chance for you to get some Christmas shopping done early while it helps us keep things just a little more organized by keeping our pre-sales separate from our day-to-day sales activity.
52Teas is offering 5 unique, limited edition teas for this promotion – these teas will be available only during the season and once they’re sold out, they won’t be reblended until next Christmas!
Here’s the specs on those five VITs (Very Important Teas):
- Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire – This is a special blend of black teas with a hint of Lapsang Souchong to give it that smoky touch that you’d experience from an open fire. Flavored with chestnut and caramel and just a hint of spice to give it that winter-y kind of appeal.
- Gingerbread Houjicha – I love the flavor of gingerbread and I think that the roasty-toasty, nutty flavor of houjicha would offer a delightful base to these flavors.
- Eggnog Chai – A Chai blend (black tea with a touch of honeybush) flavored with notes of custard-y eggnog with an extra dash of nutmeg to enliven the cup. This would make a great latte to serve Santa on Christmas Eve!
- Cranberry Orange Cider – A blend of red and green rooibos that’s been flavored with cranberry, orange and apple with a medley of holiday spices.
- Peppermint Marshmallow Melting in Hot Chocolate – For this blend, I chose a special black tea blend (crafted with teas from our friends at Verdant Tea) for the base that has a rich, natural cacao flavor with hints of malt. Peppermint, marshmallow and even more chocolate-y flavor to create a deliciously delightful cuppa.
YUM! So please take a moment to visit the 52Teas Kickstarter Holiday Pre-Sale and get some of that early Christmas shopping done early! The campaign closes on October 27th so your card won’t be charged until that date, and the teas will be shipped in plenty of time for gift giving!
Thanks for taking a moment to read this . . . now let’s get back to the reviews!
Lapsang Souchong Crocodile Black from Dammann Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Tea Description:
A black tea with a more smoky flavour than that of its Chinese counterparts. A great smoked tea from the Island of Formosa ; merits discovering.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The ‘Crocodile’ in the name of this tea is certainly intimidating; I picture it snapping at you when you take a sip. Almost like getting whiplash from the intense smoke I suspect I’ll be tasting. The smell of the dry leaf certainly seems to support my theory; however some very quick research seems to indicate the name comes more from the fact this is a Formosa Lapsang Souchong, and less because it’s gonna bite me.
This is actually really good though it’s a little less naturally sweet than some of the other Lapsang Souchong blends I’ve been enjoying lately. It’s got a very brisk black base, and the smoky notes are indeed biting, but in a way that stimulates taste rather than assaults it. Maybe it’s because it’s summer and finally BBQ season but I’m picking up flavor notes that resemble the smell of burning hamburgers on a grill. The finish reminds me a little bit of molasses or those ‘tar candies’ that are sometimes given out around Halloween.
I enjoyed this one best when it was lukewarm; but the entire cuppa was pleasant. I don’t think I could call it any better or worse than another Lapsang Souchong though. It’s certainly very smoky; so if you like your Lapsang light I’d veer away from this blend.
Happily Headless (Custom Blend) from Adagio Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black/Green
Where to Buy: Adagio
Tea Description:
You’ll lose your head over your loyalty to this kingly brew!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
WARNING: POTENTIAL GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS
(But really this is season one so if you’re not aware of this you might be living under a rock…)
I have to say, I’m quite happy I watched enough GoT to understand the character reference here! I’ve really only seen the first two seasons and part of the third. I think the ingredients picked out by this blender are pretty well thought out too; though I do think there might just be a bit more “Fire” than “Ice” – although to be fair there certainly are a lot of very visable candy cane pieces in the dry leaf. Aun-Juli Riddle is a pretty good blender; in particular her Doctor Who blends tend to be pretty good and well thought out.
This is essentially a Chai, though an unconventional one, so I wasn’t the most excited about this blend because I’m not a Chai fan myself, but it came out pretty tasty! The clove is easily the strongest flavour here, and since that’s the one ‘conventional’ Chai spice that I personally feel you can never have too much of that works very well in my favor.
The rest of the flavour is pretty nice too; there’s an even dispersal of ginger, cardamom and cinnamon with just the faintest little touch of smoke from the Lapsang. It’s not enough smoke for people who are fearful of Lapsang to be worried about, though. The candy cane isn’t as strong as I expected given how much I could see in the leaf and the fact that this is inspired by Ned Stark which obviously ties into the whole “Winter Is Coming”/Ice thing. It is present, but subtly so and it’s more acting as a sweetener than really contributing any strong mint flavour. The finish is a little bit peppery, with maybe a touch too much cardamom.
Overall I think this is better than most Adagio fan blends though; they tend to get pretty muddled because blenders pick out ingredients that are either too similar so there’s no contrast or playing off one another or they pick ingredients that fit the ‘character’ but clash with one another/don’t compliment each flavour. This kind of avoids that for the most part, while still being fairly thoughtful.
I definitely wanted more “ice” – but maybe it’s poetic irony that the “fire” was the most dominant thing…
Caravan Triad Tea from Brooklyn Tea Blends Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Brooklyn Tea Blends Co.
Tea Description:
BROOKLYN TEA BLENDS CARAVAN TRIAD is a perfect marriage of three black teas. Blended together to achieve a memorizing complex but smooth taste. Richly and malty yet with great harmony of spices, fruits and wealth of smolderingly smoky aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited when I heard about Caravan Triad Tea from Brooklyn Tea Blends Co. Not necessarily because it’s a caravan tea which to me means ‘smoky’ and I’ve mentioned more than once that I’m not a huge fan of smoky teas, but because it was a new to me tea crafted by a new to me tea company!
So I contacted them immediately and they sent me a sample. You can also get a sample (a very generous sized sample!) of this tea for a limited time (the website says that the samples will be available through May 2015).
And while this is indeed a smoky tea that is composed of 60% Lapsang Souchong, I like that when I opened the pouch, I wasn’t overwhelmed with smoke. And now that I sit here with a cup of the brewed tea in front of me, I’m not being overwhelmed with a smoky aroma wafting out of the cup. There are some smoky notes, yes, but they don’t overpower the cup. I also smell some really lovely fruit notes to this cup and I like the way those notes mingle with the smoke.
I’m loving the flavor of this tea! Yes, the smoke is a dominant flavor profile, but, there are so many lovely layers to this Caravan Triad! It doesn’t impart a heavy smoky taste on the palate and I don’t experience a residual smoky aftertaste, which I really like.
I am picking up on a strong fruity essence to this. Notes of plum! And just as I enjoyed how the aroma of smoke and fruit mingled, I am also enjoying how the smoky flavor mingles with the plum notes. It evokes thoughts of a plum that’s been smoked over a plank of pine wood.
Unlike some other ‘smoky’ teas, I appreciate that the pine notes don’t taste ‘burnt’ or ‘charcoal-y.’ The pine adds a certain crispness that is similar to a minty crispness but without the mint overtones. This is nicely round with sweet and savory notes.
This is a tea I’d recommend for late morning or afternoon sipping. This isn’t the kind of tea that I’d want to reach for first thing in the morning. It doesn’t have that same ‘gusto’ that I want for my first cup. This is more of a contemplative type of tea, something that you want to take a moment and sit back and take the time to explore the dimensions of flavor. There are so many delicate nuances to this tea that are just waiting to be discovered!
This is definitely one of the nicer smoky blends that I’ve tried, mostly because the smoke is gentle and unassuming here. It doesn’t aggressively assert itself into my tea drinking experience the way Lapsang Souchong can do. It allows me to sit back and enjoy subtle notes of smoke as well as the many other delicious layers of flavor. I highly recommend this tea to anyone who would typically shy away from a ‘smoky’ tea because they find it too overbearing. This tea will surprise you in a very good way!
Lapsang Souchong Black Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our Lapsang Souchong is a black tea smoked to perfection. This tea is savory, smoky, slightly cool with a hint of menthol. Look for a crisp sweet pine flavor as you are vrewing this excellent black tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
When I received this month’s Co-Op package from Simple Loose Leaf and found this Lapsang Souchong Black Tea among the five teas inside, I thought that I had already tried (and reviewed) it, but as it turns out, the tea I’m remembering is the Russian Caravan from Simple Loose Leaf. I knew I recalled tasting a smoky tea from them! (And I’m relieved that my memory is better than I thought it was.)
And this is definitely smokier than I remember the Russian Caravan being. This is a very heavily smoked Lapsang Souchong, so if you’re one of those who enjoy a very strong, smoky Lapsang Souchong – this is the tea for you.
Me, I’m not so much into the smoky notes, although I’m still enjoying this.
To brew this tea, I used my Kati Tumbler. One bamboo scoop of tea goes into the basket of my tumbler and 12 ounces of boiling water is poured over it. After 15 seconds, I discarded the liquid and poured a fresh 12 ounces of boiling water over the partially infused leaves.
The rinse! I find that this step is crucial for me because it helps to eliminate some of that smoke so it doesn’t overwhelm me. I’d find this far less enjoyable without the rinse.
After the rinse, I infused the leaves for 2 1/2 minutes in 12 ounces of boiling water. The result is a smoky cup – but not so overpoweringly smoky that I’m not able to bring the cup up to my lips to take a sip.
Actually, this is quite enjoyable. The smoke is strong, but the rinse really helps. For anyone who finds the smoky notes to be off-putting in a Lapsang Souchong, I strongly recommend doing the rinse of the leaves. It turns an otherwise undrinkable tea (for me) into quite a lovely tea experience and had I not discovered just how valuable a good rinsing of the leaves is to certain teas, I’d be missing out on a whole lot of tea enjoyment!
It’s got some lovely sweet notes to it. I taste notes of sweet plum and I love the way the plum and the smoke mingle. It’s very interesting and quite pleasant. I taste notes of honey too, and again, I like the way the honey and smoke flavors mingle. Imagine a plum, drizzled with honey, and then smoked over a smoldering fire. Yeah. That’s what I’m tasting.
It’s a remarkably smooth tea – I’m not tasting bitterness and while there is some astringency to this, it’s very slight.
It’s wonderful to curl up to on a chilly afternoon. (We’re not really experiencing a lot of ‘chilly’ at the moment, but it’s chilly enough to make me want the heater on, so I find this to be quite a cozy, comforting tea.) This one gets a thumbs up from me!