Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Learn more about this iced tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to SBT’s tea of the week here.
Taster’s Review:
Before I tasted this iced tea, I found myself wondering if honeybush was the right base for the flavors. But then I thought about those yummy caramel apples that always catch my eye when I pass the bakery in my grocery store. Those great big apples covered with caramel and then rolled in chopped nuts. The naturally nutty flavor of the honeybush just might work with the caramel and apple flavors!
To brew this, I used the hot brew method and steeped the teabag in a quart of 195°F water for 9 minutes for the first quart. For the second quart, I used the same temperature but steeped the bag for 11 minutes. Because this is a honeybush blend, I don’t have to worry about bitterness. The tannins in honeybush is low so it doesn’t get bitter when it’s brewed for an extended period. I do find though, that a lower temperature means that I don’t experience that “sour wood” sort of flavor that I used to taste with rooibos and honeybush that I would brew at boiling temperatures. A slight decrease in temperature made a vast improvement on the flavor of the tisane.
And this is a tasty iced tea. I’m tasting more honeybush than I am apple or caramel, and that’s alright. The top notes are a honeyed sweetness with a warm nutty flavor. Then I start to pick up on the caramel notes and the apple comes in just beneath the caramel notes. The sweet-tart apple notes linger in the aftertaste.
I don’t know if it’s my favorite iced tea from Southern Boy Teas, but I’m enjoying it and it is certainly a welcome flavor for the season!
Green Detox Tea from Monarch Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Monarch Tea Co. or Monarch Tea Co. on Etsy
Tea Description:
The powerful duo of lemon and green tea combine in this refreshing and detoxifying blend. Detox and refresh while boosting your metabolism through the power of green tea.
Ingredients: green tea, lemongrass, dried lemon.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea looks a lot different than I expected it to. The green tea looks almost like a CTC black tea. The leaves are very small and darker in color than most green teas that I’ve encountered. I studied them before brewing and again after brewing to see if the teensy tiny leaves would “open” – if these were in fact very small gunpowder green tea leaves that have been rolled into pellets that are the size of a small grain of sand or if they’re just very finely chopped leaves. The wet leaves do not appear to have “opened” at all so I think that these are just very finely chopped leaves.
Tossed with these tiny bits of green tea leaves (that look more like black tea leaves than green!) are pieces of lemongrass and very small bits of dried lemon. The aroma is earthy and vegetal. Like green tea. I don’t smell much from the lemon or lemongrass.
To brew this, I used my Breville One-Touch tea maker and put about 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket. Because this is such a fine CTC tea, you want to measure out a little less than you normally would because there is more surface area to be exposed to the water and because more tea actually fits in the scoop with such a fine cut. Using more tea would have resulted in a very strong tea. I found that the 1 1/2 scoops made a very tasty tea with 500ml of water, 175°F and 2 minutes brew time.
The brewed tea is light greenish-yellow and smells a bit more lemon-y than the dry leaf did. The lemon notes are still rather subdued, I smell more “green tea” than I do lemon.
And this remains true for the taste: the lemon flavor is delicate. I taste more of the lemon in the aftertaste than I do in the actual sip. During the sip, there is a very subtle note of lemon. It’s tart but softened somewhat by the presence of the buttery lemongrass. The aftertaste is tart and tingly.
The green tea is the real focus of this blend. It’s a sweet, refreshing green tea flavor that’s very lightly vegetal. It’s more earthy than vegetal, and it has a gentle smoky quality to it. It’s got some drying astringency toward the tail and I find that this dry sensation accentuates the aforementioned tartness of the lemon in the aftertaste.
As for the “detox” part, I am not sure how true that is. I don’t generally drink tea to detox. I drink tea for enjoyment and I find that this tea is quite enjoyable to drink. The lemon-y notes are not fake or artificial tasting, rather, it tastes as though I added a thin slice of lemon to my cup of green tea. It’s pleasant. It’s an uplifting drink.
Pumpkin Chai Blend from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
This week’s tea is a new blend of Indian, Ceylon and Chinese whole leaf teas with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black peppercorns, cloves, and organic pumpkin flavors. If this doesn’t get you in the mood for fall, nothing will.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I know that 52Teas was planning on working on a new black tea base to use with their black tea blends – I wonder if this is the blend? It’s a little difficult to judge a black tea blend when it’s in a chai because the spices tend to be the star of the show, so it will be difficult to give you a clear idea of what I think of this “new blend,” but I’ll do my best!
This is actually a really tasty cup. The black tea base is strong, smooth and robust. There is some astringency to it, but I’m not finding it to be overly astringent. It’s got a rich, full flavor.
But as I said in the first paragraph, the spices tend to be the star of the show when it comes to a chai and that’s certainly true here. I like the way the spices come through here – it’s spicy and warm. There’s a good balance of spice flavors: I taste all the components. I guess if I could change anything about the spices that have been used in this blend, I’d want just a tad more pepper. Maybe instead of using “whole peppercorns” – crack them so that more of the peppery aspect comes through. But, I like that there isn’t too much cinnamon or ginger. I like that I can taste the cardamom and cloves. Overall, I’m enjoying the way the spices present themselves in this blend.
And I like that I’m tasting pumpkin too! The pumpkin tastes sweet and has a certain savory element to it too, and I like the way the pumpkin and spices taste together.
This is good served straight but even better when served with a dollop of honey to bring out the flavor of the spices. If you want to go for a serious yum factor: go latte – the creaminess of the dairy adds something to the pumpkin to make it more pumpkin pie-ish.
Hojicha Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.
Tea Description:
Green tea from Japan that is rendered brown by roasting Bancha (a summer crop tea, harvested after Sencha) tea leaves. Comes with a toasty nutty flavor and slightly mesquite note. Earthy and warm quality, soothing, clean finish.
Ingredients: Roasted Bancha Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op program here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! I think that Hojicha is one tea type that I don’t offer enough praise to but I should! I love that roasty-toasty flavor of Hojicha, it’s so warm and cozy and it’s the perfect drink for autumn evenings. It’s not quite as caffeinated as some other teas – well, actually, I don’t know if that’s true or not. I’m not an expert when it comes to how much caffeine is (or isn’t) in a tea. What I do know is that after I’ve consumed Hojicha, I don’t feel as stimulated as I do after consuming an Assam black tea, for example.
So, what I’m driving at is that because I don’t feel as “charged with caffeine” after drinking Hojicha as I do after I’ve had black tea, I am of the opinion that Hojicha is a ‘safe’ evening tea.
Anyway, the warm, toasty flavor of a Hojicha has a very autumnal feel to it. The texture of the tea is smooth and light. And while Hojicha is a “green tea” it tastes quite different from just about any other green tea that’s out there because the roasting process of the bancha tea changes the characteristics of the tea.
So, instead of tasting “vegetal” … it tastes nutty and sweet. Like freshly roasted nuts. There is a delicate creaminess to it. It’s “comfort” tea much the same way that mashed potatoes or homemade macaroni and cheese (not that stuff from the box) is comfort food. It’s something that I turn to when I want a “hug”. This tea gives me a great big hug and makes me feel better about the world.
So – THANK YOU to Simple Loose Leaf for this hug!
Kiwi Cheesecake Flavored Oolong Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Here’s a special treat–Fujian oolong blended with real freeze-dried kiwi, marigold petals and organic kiwi- and cheesecake flavors. A little tart, a little tangy, a little sweet, and all delicious!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I can’t say that I’ve ever had a kiwi cheesecake. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a kiwi cheesecake except for the photo on the label. But I love kiwi (and it’s a fruit flavor that is not often used in a tea!) and I love cheesecake … and I love Oolong so I felt fairly confident that I’d enjoy the tea created for the week of August 25.
The aroma that filled the kitchen when I opened the pouch was a sweet, fruity scent. I could smell the kiwi and I could smell the sweet, creamy notes. To brew this, I didn’t grab my gaiwan as I normally would with an Oolong because I figured I didn’t really need it with a flavored Oolong. Instead, I used my Kati tumbler. I measured out 1 bamboo scoop of tea into the basket and heated the water to 180°F. I debated with myself on whether or not I should do a rinse, ultimately, I decided to go ahead and try rinsing the tea for 15 seconds and then discarded the liquid. Then I steeped the tea for 3 minutes.
The brewed tea has a much softer scent than the dry leaf. I barely smell the kiwi and I worried for a moment that maybe the rinse rinsed the flavor right off the leaves! Fortunately, it didn’t! I may not be able to pick up on a strong kiwi fragrance but I can definitely taste the kiwi.
I can also taste the cheesecake! There is a creaminess to it which is probably not just because of the flavor but because of the natural creamy notes of the Oolong tea. I get a light, tangy cream cheese flavor. The only thing I find myself missing here is a note of pastry or graham cracker crust. There is a light buttery tone but I attribute that to the Oolong and not so much to the flavor of the pastry. I find myself searching – in vain – for the crust of the cheesecake. Normally, when I am trying one of 52Teas’ cheesecake blends, I can pick up on that crust taste. This one, I’m not.
Perhaps it’s because I did the rinse. Next time I brew this, I think I’ll try it without the rinse and find out if that improves the overall cheesecake-y-ness of this tea.
But really, the flavors of creamy, sweet, tangy cheesecake and sweet-tart kiwi are both represented very well here, and I like that while I do taste these flavors, the flavor of the Oolong is not lost. It’s a sweet and smooth Oolong. I am picking up on light floral notes from the Oolong and I like the way these delicate flowery tones play in the cup. The Oolong seems to add depth to the kiwi notes and it was the right choice for the base for this blend.
This is a really unusual but very enjoyable cup of tea.