Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This is a blissful blend of premium Shou Mei white tea, freeze-dried raspberries, white chocolate chips and organic flavors. I’m pretty sure even the Grinch would like this one.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I brewed up a big pot of this tea for my daughter and I – she loves raspberry and white chocolate, so it was as if this tea was custom designed just for her. As for me, I’m not as crazy about white chocolate as I am about dark chocolate. But, I like it alright.
And her verdict? She really liked this one. When the tea is still quite hot, the white tea is difficult to detect. It’s very much a raspberry tea when the tea is fresh-from-the-teapot hot. But after the tea has had a little time to cool, the white chocolate starts to come into focus. It’s a creamy, sweet note, somewhat vanilla-y and soft.
That said, this is still very much a raspberry tea. The raspberry really comes through strong and is especially focused in the aftertaste when the tongue tingles from the sweet-tart notes of berry.
And you’d think that maybe with as strong a raspberry flavor that this tea has, that the delicate quality of the white tea would be overpowered, but no. I find that the white chocolate notes seem to enhance the Shou Mei. The Shou Mei seems stronger here than in many of 52Teas recent white tea offerings.
Overall, this is a pleasant cuppa.
I infused the leaves a second time and I drank a small cup of that tea hot and chilled the rest. I actually preferred the second infusion to the first. The raspberry notes have mellowed a bit with this second pot of tea, and the white tea notes are more balanced with the berry. And it surprises me to say this, but I think that this is even better as an iced tea than as a hot tea. I usually prefer my chocolate blends to be hot, but this is really good iced.
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Barb’s Breakfast Black Tea from White Two Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: White Two Tea
Tea Description:
The Barb’s breakfast black is an homage to my mother, who despite years of being baited with high-end Puer teas, still prefers to start her day with a heavily brewed pot of black tea in the morning. This Yunnan black tea blend is built to survive British style steeping as well as gongfu style brewing techniques. Well balanced daily drinking black tea with a classic style, versatile enough to enjoy with breakfast on the go or in a slow and quiet tea session.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about White Two Tea’s Tea Club Subscription here.
Taster’s Review:
A really lovely Yunnan!
This isn’t as robust as I expected it to be. Usually, I’m expecting a real wallop of flavor from a Yunnan tea, but this is more subdued. It’s like a mellow version of Yunnan – smooth, rich, flavorful, but without the gusto that I was expecting.
That’s not to say that this isn’t a really good tea – it is!
It’s just that with a Breakfast Blend moniker, I expected it to have the kind of kick that breakfast blends usually deliver. This is smoother and mellower, more like a gentle nudge awake rather than a swift kick in the pants.
I really love the smooth flavor of this. It’s nicely round. It has light notes of spice, like white pepper and hints of cinnamon. And I find that these gentle spice notes becoming more lovely with each sip. Not more intense, really, but more clearly defined.
I think that I’d be more likely to reach for this tea as a late morning tea or perhaps an early afternoon tea rather than my breakfast blend. For a breakfast blend, I prefer really strong teas with some edge, and this doesn’t have that kind of edgy flavor to it. This is more refined, like something you’d want after you’re already awake and alert, and now you want something to please the taste buds, because this tea certainly does that!
Rather than brewing this gongfu style as suggested in the above description, I brewed it in my Breville One-Touch. (I don’t like to brew black teas gongfu style, mostly because I don’t like to scorch the fingertips with the hot gaiwan.) I found it next to impossible to measure out a bamboo scoop of this tea because of the curly leaves, so instead, I poured the leaves into my hand and eyeballed a bamboo scoop measurement. I eyeballed two such measurements and put them both into the basket of the Breville, and then poured 500ml of water into the jug. The thermometer was set for 212°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes.
The result is a cup of perfection! Smooth with very little astringency. Flavorful with notes of earth, spice and leather. Hints of fruit in the background that continue to develop as I sip, and now that I’m more than halfway through my mug of tea, I taste a distinct plum-like note that is quite nice. I also taste distant notes of flower.
A really nice, complex cup of Yunnan!
French Lemon Creme Rooibos from Petali Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Tea Information:
Sometimes you just want a tea that’s bursting with fun flavour. We think it’s not too much to ask for that flavour punch to taste completely natural. Welcome French Lemon Creme with your luscious lemon and creamy vanilla sweetness. This is built on a green rooibos base, so the blend has extra health benefits from locking in the herb’s natural enzymes.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I want to start this review by saying: the aroma of this tea smells just like what the name promises: It’s lemon and cream. And it’s lovely!
I was happy to see that this rooibos blend is a green rooibos blend which is my preference when it comes to rooibos teas. I like the fruity element of the green rooibos rather than the woody/nutty and sometimes gentle smoke note of the red rooibos (the red rooibos is oxidized to achieve it’s color, while the green rooibos is not oxidized.)
To steep this tea, I used my Kati Tumbler. I measured out 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of the tisane into the basket of my tumbler and added 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F. Then I let it steep for 10 minutes. Rooibos doesn’t get bitter because it isn’t tannic like camellia sinensis, so go ahead and let it steep – the flavors will just intensify. Do be sure to keep the temperature below boiling though, because you may get a ‘sour’ taste from rooibos if you steep it too hot.
Mmm! This is good. The aroma of the brewed tisane is still quite lemon-y and because of that, when I raise the tumbler to my lips and inhale deeply, I smell the lemon. My palate’s reaction to this is to prepare itself for something sour. But the sip doesn’t start out that way! Instead I get a sweet, creamy lemon taste, similar to lemon curd.
It isn’t until mid-sip that I start to pick up on the tart notes of the lemon. They aren’t a pucker-y tart, but just enough tart to let you know that hey, you’re tasting lemon! The creamy vanilla notes are strong right at first, and then they subside to let some of the bright lemon notes shine through.
I really like the way these two flavors have come together in this. It’s sweet but there’s enough tart to keep it interesting and to keep it from becoming too sickeningly sweet! And the rooibos base melds beautifully with these flavors, adding sweetness without taking away from the sunny lemon and the luscious cream flavor.
A really awesome rooibos blend. I don’t often say that about a rooibos blend, but this one has earned that praise!
Cinnamon Chai Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
If you’ve never had an iced chai, you’re missing out. And this one, with it’s organic honeybush base, is exceptional. I think we found just the right balance of chai spice flavors to add to this one–some cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and a touch of clove.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I personally prefer my chai hot, but, it’s really nice to drink an iced chai now and then. This is really refreshing and flavorful.
If you’ve read any of my other SBT reviews, you’re probably familiar with how I brew these teas. The tea comes in a big sachet which is really convenient for iced tea brewing. You can cold brew it or hot brew it and because it’s in a sachet, you can stash the brewed sachet in the fridge to resteep it for a second pitcher of tea if you’re so inclined.
I don’t usually resteep honeybush teas because I find that they lose flavor quicker than say, a white or green tea. But I highly recommend resteeping the white and green tea varieties of Southern Boy Teas!
I heated 1 quart of water to 195°F and then I added the sachet to the pitcher and let it steep for 9 minutes (because it’s a honeybush base, there are no tannins – this won’t become bitter if you ‘oversteep’ it – so keep it steeping for maximum flavor!) Then I poured the tea into my favorite tea pitcher and I repeated the process with a second quart of water, resteeping the sachet for 12 minutes. This produced a full 1/2 gallon pitcher of iced tea. (Well, you gotta let it cool first! I usually brew the tea at night and in the morning, I have a pitcher full of refreshing iced tea.)
I like the honeyed sweetness from the honeybush. It’s a light, nutty taste that melds well with the chai spices. The spices are zesty but not overly spicy. The name of this chai is “Cinnamon Chai” so I expected a big burst of cinnamon flavor but that didn’t happen. It’s got the cinnamon flavor there, to be sure, but it’s not super cinnamon-y. It’s a gentle warmth and I’m getting that not just from the cinnamon but also the ginger, cardamom, pepper, and cloves.
It’s warm and zesty, but not what I’d call ‘spicy.’ Just a pleasant, warmly spiced tea. I like this one – it’s one I wouldn’t mind having on hand to enjoy regularly. It’s tasty!
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Eggnog Yunan Black Tea from 52Teas
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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic Royal Golden Yunnan infused with organic eggnog flavors, cinnamon chips, marigold petals and a touch of nutmeg. This long, tippy-leafed Yunan steeps a smooth cup with rich aroma and superb taste. The hints of creamy eggnog and spices just makes it an extra special treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After reading the various tasting notes on Steepster about this tea, I decided to let it cool a bit before I started to formulate my opinion about it.
The aroma of the tea wafting out of my teacup made the waiting difficult because it smells so good. I can smell notes of creamy eggnog with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. The fragrance of the cinnamon is especially praise-worthy in my opinion.
Cinnamon can sometimes come off as a very aggressive scent (and don’t get me wrong, I love the strong smell of cinnamon!) but here it’s so pleasantly delicate, reminiscent of what I might smell when I prepare snickerdoodle blondies. (Seriously, try that recipe, you’ll be glad you did.)
This is a really tasty tea. I like the Yunnan base. It’s a strong, robust tea and it has a really pleasing flavor. It’s an earthy, slightly peppery, rich tasting tea: a really good Yunnan – one that I’d be happy to drink as a pure tea.
Some would think that it’s wrong to flavor a tea like this, but I’m not one of them. I don’t agree that the only teas that should be flavored are the ones that aren’t good enough to be consumed as a pure tea. I think that if you start with better ingredients (including a better base tea), you’re going to have a better product. This is true of whatever you’re making, whether you’re making a soup or a batch of cookies or a cup of tea. You need quality ingredients to produce a quality product.
And I’m very happy with the quality of this Yunnan.
The flavoring is not quite as strong as I expected it to be. The eggnog flavor is definitely there but this isn’t as creamy as I would have expected it to be. I guess if I’m to offer a criticism about the tea, that would be it: it lacks a little in the creaminess department. When one pours a glass of eggnog, they are anticipating a very creamy drink. This just isn’t as creamy as the “Eggnog” part of the name of this tea would imply.
At the same time, I find it hard to actually complain about this because I think that if this were creamier or more eggnog-y, it would interfere with my enjoyment of the Yunnan tea and I really like the Yunnan!
The notes of spice are really nicely done here: accent notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Nothing overpowering. The spices are but a hint of flavor, just as it would be if you were to drink eggnog. The eggnog recipes that I know of don’t include cinnamon usually – usually nutmeg but not cinnamon – but I like that hint of cinnamon and I really like the way it plays with the natural spice notes of the Yunnan.
Overall, I enjoyed this tea. I found that adding a small amount of half & half (about half a teaspoon!) to the cup amplified the creaminess factor significantly without otherwise altering the flavor. I still got that really lovely Yunnan flavor, wonderfully warm hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and more eggnog flavor with the dash of dairy, so I highly recommend this addition to this tea!