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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
A certain someone who shall remain nameless *ahem, LiberTEAs* keeps telling me that our chocolate blends need MORE chocolate. More chocolate, she insists, more, more, more. So, I decided to see just how chocolatey a blend I can make: and here it is. This is our premium organic, caffeine-free honeybush blended with organic cacao nibs AND chocolate chips and organic flavors of brownie batter and extra chocolate. =) Do I need to say more?
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
So I was quite pleased with myself when I read the above description because it’s nice to see that people listen to me when I say that more chocolate = better. Sometimes I think I say these things just to hear my fingers tap on the keyboard.
But no. Frank from 52Teas heard me. And so he created this Brownie Batter Honeybush tea.
To brew this, I used my Breville One Touch, adding the whole 1/2 ounce to the basket (I usually like a little extra leaf when it comes to honeybush tisanes). Then I poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug of my tea maker. I set the temperature for 195°F and the timer for 10 minutes. Since honeybush doesn’t have the tannin content that Camellia Sinensis does, it won’t get bitter like tea when steeped an extended length of time. And by lowering the temperature to just below boiling, I find that it eliminates that funky ‘sour wood’ taste that is often noted in both rooibos and honeybush.
My first two sips were a little muddied because the cup was still quite hot. After allowing it to cool to a drinkable temperature, the flavors really come forward.
The flavor is really chocolate-y. The honeybush flavors come through too, and the nutty flavor of the honeybush really ties in well with the idea of brownie batter. I find that the flavors develop as I continue to sip – now that I’m nearly finished with this huge mug of tea, I’m experiencing more chocolate with each sip than I did at the start.
Very yummy. If you’re a chocolate fan, you’ll like this one. The chocoholic in me is quite satisfied with this drink!
Prickly Pear Black Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Description:
Prickly Pear is a cactus fruit native to Mexico and the Southwest Desert of the United States. Its succulent flavor compliments our Indian black Nilgiri tea to create an astoundingly rich and delicious regional tea. This tea serves wonderfully hot and creates a beautiful iced tea to sip on those warm, Southwestern afternoons.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
I received this Prickly Pear Black Tea from Simple Loose Leaf some time ago but I put off reviewing it in favor of the teas in their subscription program. As I was going through my stash of teas, I found the unopened, still sealed package of tea so I decided that NOW was the time! I apologize to Simple Loose Leaf for the length of time it took me to get to reviewing this tea!
And now that I’m tasting this tea, I’m really sorry that I put off trying it until now – this is fabulous!
There’s a really pleasing balance between tart, savory and sweet. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a prickly pear tastes like, it has a sweet-tart taste that reminds me of a raspberry. More accurately, it tastes like a combination of raspberry and melon, so it’s a little sweeter than a typical raspberry and a little more tart than a typical melon. And this tea has captured the flavor of prickly pear quite well!
The sip starts out sweet and fruity. As the sip progresses to mid-sip, I pick up on some of the robust flavors of the Nilgiri black tea base. It’s a sweet, malty tasting tea. It’s smooth with very little astringency, and what astringency I do experience at the tail plays really well with the tartier notes of the prickly pear flavor. It’s not bitter. It has an invigorating quality to it but it’s not overly aggressive.
As the sip approaches the finish, I taste more of the sweetness of the cactus fruit. At the finish, I get some of the tart notes. The aftertaste is tart and tingly, sort of like what I’d experience if I ate a raspberry: that tingly sensation on the tongue.
As the above description suggests, this tea tastes great served hot or cold. I had a glass of it over ice with dinner and found it very refreshing and thirst quenching. For a mid-day cup of tea, I enjoyed this hot and found that the flavor was much more defined served hot. So for a more pronounced flavor, serve it hot – for a sweet, delightful glass of refreshment, serve it iced!
This is a tea that Simple Loose Leaf isn’t carrying at the moment, I do hope they’ll bring it back because I’d love for my readers to get an opportunity to try it! It’s really tasty!
Shamrock Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Shamrock = Peppermint, spearmint and a HINT of vanilla Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
I’ve had this Shamrock Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas for a little while now, but I held off trying it until it was closer to St. Patrick’s Day for a couple of reasons: 1) when I originally planned to write a review of it, I saw it was out of stock and I thought I’d wait to see if they restock it, which they did; and 2) I thought it would be cool to wait until St. Patrick’s Day.
This is a chilled glass of YUM. The green tea is light and buttery. The minty notes are crisp. The vanilla is smooth and creamy. Together, the three components create a tea that tastes fresh and sweet and delicious.
To brew this, I heated 1 quart of water to 170°F and steeped the tea bag for 1 1/2 minutes. Then I heat a second quart of water and resteeped the tea bag for 2 minutes. I combined both of these quarts into my favorite 1/2 gallon iced tea pitcher and then I put the tea bag into a airtight container and put both in the fridge. (I can resteep the bag for another 1/2 gallon of tea later!)
This is a really refreshing iced tea. I really love the green teas that Southern Boy Teas is coming out with – and I’m looking forward to the Banana Peach one … I hope that will come out soon!!!
Cherry Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha from 52Teas
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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Following the popularity of our other marshmallow treat genmaicha blends, we’ve created a special one for Valentine’s Day, with real freeze-dried cherries, marshmallow root and organic marshmallow and maraschino cherry flavors. This is a treat for your sweet tooth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After tasting a couple of cherry flavored teas lately that tasted more of cough syrup than tea, I cringed just a little (just a little!) when I read the announcement for the tea of the week of February 9th. But I was hopeful that this Cherry Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha from 52Teas wouldn’t go the same route as some of the other cherry teas I’ve tasted consumed in the past weeks. I hoped that this would taste as wonderful as it sounded, because the idea of having a cherry flavored marshmallow treat sounds delightful!
In fact, it sounds so delightful that before I brewed the tea, I asked my youngest daughter if she might be interested in trying the tea with me. She apparently thought it sounded yummy too, because she said yes. So, I brewed the whole 1/2 ounce package in my Breville One-Touch, using 1000ml of water. I set the temperature for 175°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes. These smaller 1/2 ounce pouches are just the right size for a teapot to share with a friend (or daughter!)
After allowing the tea to cool for a few minutes, I took my first sip. Mmm! I’m happy to say that while I taste cherry, I don’t taste cough syrup. This cherry flavor seems to have just the right balance between sweet and tart cherry flavors, because I’m getting a little bit of sweet and a little bit of tart. The tart tickles my taste buds in the aftertaste.
The genmaicha has a light, slightly grassy taste and adds a nice, toasty flavor and the rice notes add a rice cereal kind of flavor. The marshmallow adds a little bit of fluffy, creamy taste but I find myself wanting just a tad more marshmallow in this.
Overall, this is really tasty. My daughter enjoyed it too. I still favor the “Original” Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha – which I’ll be reblending when I take over 52Teas! Please take a moment to stop over at my campaign and support my efforts to save this small business while creating fantastic teas!
Cucumber Melon White Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic shou mei fannings white tea blended with organic cucumber and melon flavors. This is a seriously refreshing glass of yum. Don’t miss your chance to nab one of these.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! I’m really LOVING this Cucumber Melon White Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas! It’s so refreshing!
Having previously enjoyed the original 52Teas version of Cucumber Melon White tea and to a lesser extent, the SBT Cucumber Melon Black Iced Tea, I was excited to try SBT’s version of these flavors with a white tea base. I really think that the delicate qualities of the cucumber and melon are better suited for the softer white tea base!
To brew this, I tried something just a tad different. I hot brewed it (as usual) – heating 1 quart of water to 160°F and letting the teabag steep for 1 1/2 minute and then straining that tea into my glass tea pitcher. But for the second quart, instead of steeping it for 2 minutes (I usually add 30 seconds onto the resteep time), I only steeped the bag for 1 minute with the resteep. And the flavor is PERFECT.
I’m getting a strong melon flavor with notes of cucumber. It’s sweet with a hint of savory and the white tea base comes through nicely without overpowering the soft flavors of the cucumber and melon. A really delightful balance has been achieved here and I daresay that this is just as good as the original 52Teas version!