I’m not going to lie, we are on the 9th Dy of this amazing promotion and I’m quiet sad! We are almost done. I’ve loved this daily special treat and it honestly did make the countdown to the holidays.
So if you are following along, scratch off your 9th Tea sticker and lets uncover the surprise!
Coconut Cream Pie Black Tea
EEEKKK!!!! I’m am so excited! I think this is a reblend that I missed the first go around so this is super exciting. (FYI, I’m writing this review while drinking the tea). While my water is prepping I can’t keep my nose out of the pouch. This blend smells like a heavy calorie dessert that needs to be devoured instantly and that is exactly what I plan to do with this tea.
Rich creamy pudding like notes of coconut swirl the palette as a lovely rich sweetness that I think is possibly vanilla (?) that really sets this coconut based tea apart from others. I can’t put my finger on it but I also am getting a slight graham cracker like feel.
An amazing treat for sure and one that is curving this sweet tooth I’ve got. What I almost love more than the flavor of this tea is the texture and feel you get from it. There is such a lush decadence with every sip. This tea is one of those that you hoard like a mad fiend and are not open to sharing with anybody.
Highly recommended and if you have a chance to get your hands on some, do! You’ll be like me. . .sitting in the corner, unwillingly to share the amazing tea! It really is dessert in a cuppa at it’s finest!
Here is the official description and Mad Musings for this tea.
Coconut Cream Pie Black Tea!
Tea Description: I was pretty excited when people asked that this tea be included in the vote for the 2016 12 Teas of Christmas, and even happier when this tea turned out to be one of the top vote getters. This has been one of the more memorable 52Teas blends for me – I love coconut! – so I was really happy to have the opportunity to reblend it.
The original description of this tea said:
Our Coconut Cream Pie flavored black tea has been one of our bestsellers here at Zoomdweebie’s since we opened. In addition to the pouches of this tea that we’ve sold, we sell a LOT of beverages made from this tea, in particular, this is probably our all time bestselling iced tea latte, one sip of which has led people to exclaim, “That’s like coconut cream pie in a glass!” I’ve also been frequently challenged on our assertion that our tea lattes are all fat-free, particularly with this tea.
It is simply so decadent, so wonderfully sweet and satisfying, that people cannot believe that we didn’t just liquefy a slice of coconut cream pie and serve it to them in a glass.
For the 52teas version of this tea, we are adding some honking-big flakes of unsweetened coconut to our premium black tea blend along with coconut and vanilla flavors.
So, obviously, I needed to change up the recipe somewhat because the black tea that I use is different from the ones utilized by Frank. I started with my black tea base of organic Indian and Chinese teas. I did use some “honking-big flakes of unsweetened coconut” as well as some vanilla beans and calendula petals.
This is very coconut-y, very creamy and oh-so-yummy! It’s been a while since I’ve had some of Frank’s version of this tea, but I’d say that I did pretty well with this blend! If my review of this tea is any indication – I think my black tea might be a bit stronger than the original version – but the other flavors are on point!
organic ingredients: black teas, coconut, calendula petals, vanilla beans and natural flavors.
So yummy!
As I said in the description, it’s been a long while since I’ve had some of Frank’s version of this tea. But, I have to say that I’m loving my recreation of this blend! The black tea is a good, solid black tea flavor – robust enough to get your day off to a strong start if you decided you wanted a little bit of coconut cream pie for breakfast. (Try this as a latte – seriously – it’s so darned tasty!)
The coconut is strong with this tea! It’s smooth and creamy. Sweet! I can taste that creamy custard-y filling of the coconut cream pie – and I even get an occasional note of pastry to this. The pastry is more of a distant flavor – but really, I don’t want to tweak with this and change the flavors because it’s really awesome the way it is. I don’t want to sacrifice any of the yummy coconut and custard flavors to bring out the pastry more. I guess, for me what it came down to was this question: When you eat pie, do you eat it for the crust or for the filling?
The filling wins every time! Oh sure, I want a tasty crust too, but I can’t remember eating the crust and leaving the filling of any pie – while I can remember doing the opposite as a kid!
Anyway – I’m really happy with this – I hope those of you who were fans of the original blend are just as happy with my recreation of it!
To brew: Use a rounded teaspoon of tea (give it a good shake before you measure it to redistribute any ingredients. There is vanilla bean in this blend – and they will settle to the bottom!) to 12 ounces of boiling water. Let steep for 2 1/2 minutes. Strain and cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
No sugar needed for this (unless you want it!) I found it plenty sweet and satisfying without! But you will want to try it as a latte because it becomes even more decadent!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Flavored Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but these are!
On the 3rd Day of Christmas 52Teas Sent to Me (Spoilers!!)
If you are following along with me in drinking and revealing the 12 Teas of Christmas, grab the 3rd Day of Christmas pouch and lets see what tea we have in store for us.
The 3rd Day of Christmas is . . . . . . .
Snickerdoodle Reimagined
For me, this is a flavor that is really hard to nail. I’m quite picky with my Snickerdoodle cookies and that same level of snobbiness exists when you talk about teas that are supposed to be like anything Snickerdoodle related. Either the spices are too strong or too weak.
But not in this blend. . .
This Snickerdoodle blend is the perfect marriage between those cinnamon spices and a baked good vanilla warmth through each and every sip. I couldn’t put my cup down. I found myself re steeping the leaves several times over to get that soul soothing warmth again and again. This tea is that delicious.
What I loved most was how you could tell that was some serious thought into this tea. The black tea gave you that breaded baked good tone while the cinnamon and vanilla flavors really sold you on the Snickerdoodle flavor.
Again, I have to report that I completely took this pouch down in no time at all. With the weather turning ridiculously cold, icy, and snowy on us, this tea really spoke to me and gave me all the love I needed, infusion after infusion, pot after pot. I can’t tell you have many times I resteeped the leaves.
Another fabulous tea from this 12 Teas of Christmas! I can’t tell you how impressed I am with this year’s offering three teas in. I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings!
Here is the official description of this tea. Please note that I write my review before seeing the description.
Happy 3rd Day of our Christmas Tea Countdown, everyone!
I was really happy that this tea did so well in the poll. While it was a reblend – it was one that I took a great deal of liberTEA with when I recreated it – and so I was happy to know that people enjoyed my reinterpretation of this classic favorite!
Snickerdoodle – Reimagined Black Tea!
Tea Description: I was just going to go with my previously composed tea description for this tea, but my recipe changed slightly from my first reblend. My original description went like this:
This tea was reblended to fulfill one of the “You Choose the Reblend” rewards purchased on our start-up Kickstarter. The backer had mentioned to me that she wished that the original blend had more of a cookie-like flavor and when I agreed with her, she asked if I could maybe reblend it but add some cookie-ness to the tea, I said I’d give it a try.
I used my go-to black tea base of Chinese and Indian teas and added pieces of cinnamon and minced vanilla bean and all-natural flavors. The result is a yummy tea with prevalent notes of cinnamon and vanilla and a delicious cookie flavor. You’ve gotta try it!
Since I was looking to enhance the cookie note even further from my first attempt at this blend, I added some organic Vietnamese black tea to the blend (this rounded out the flavor of the base just a little more) and changed the recipe slightly to bring out the cookie flavor. By offering a smoother, more rounded tea base, the cookie notes seemed to pop a little more! The result is more yum with every sip!
All Organic Ingredients: Black Teas, Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean and Natural Flavors.
After I reblended this tea last year, I called it “Snickerdoodle – Reimagined” because I took some creative license with the recrafting of this tea. Instead of going with the simple, straightforward combination of vanilla and cinnamon that the original tea was, I wanted to give the tea a freshly baked cookie taste because when I think Snickerdoodle, I think cookie. I heard from a few tea drinkers that they weren’t really getting a whole lot of cookie-ness to my first reblend of this tea so when it was a high vote getter in the poll, I saw that as an opportunity to work on that cookie flavor.
And while I did taste some cookie flavor in the previous reblend – I taste more now – so here’s hoping that you guys taste it too!
To that end, it is important to give this tea a little bit of cooling time. Really, this is important of all the teas I create. The flavorings that are used begin to emerge when the temperature of the tea drops a little. That’s not to say that the tea needs to be chilled – but let the temperature cool to a drinkable temperature. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes (or even 15 minutes) before you start sipping. This will encourage those flavors to come forward.
The black tea has a really nice, well-rounded flavor. It’s invigorating and bold but not aggressive. I’m not getting bitterness. I’m not getting a lot of astringency either. Just a strong yet smooth black tea flavor. The cinnamon isn’t overpowering (cinnamon has a tendency to get that way!) There’s a nice vanilla note that softens the cinnamon note. The cinnamon and vanilla are the two most prominent flavors in this cup but I am also getting a background of cookie.
To brew: Don’t overleaf this one (I find that with too much leaf, the tea becomes astringent.) A slightly rounded teaspoon of tea to 12 ounces of boiling water – and let it steep for 2 1/2 minutes. Strain and let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Good without sweetener but a teensy bit of sugar will enhance the overall ‘cookie’ taste.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea – as well as the others from the 12 Teas of Christmas box – will be available on the website on December 28th!
Learn even more about this tea company here!
Cassis & Blueberry from Lupicia
I’ve been ‘sitting on this’ review for a while. Not because I didn’t LOVE the tea – because I clearly DID – it’s because I didn’t want to throw the empty bag away. Seriously!
Cassis & Blueberry from Lupicia is a heavily flavored black tea. It’s flavored with Blueberry and Cassis…in case you don’t know what Cassis is…it’s usually a liquor made from black currants.
This flavored black tea is sweet and tart and my FAVORITE PART is that the sweet and tart come from the blueberry and currants and NOT hibiscus! Woot! NO hibiscus! I’ll say it again…NO HIBISCUS!
You can genuinely taste the fruity flavor. But with the black tea base it’s like the BEST of both worlds…a true black tea with yummy fruit. It’s not overly tart – just the right amount of tart. The tart that is present is counteracted nicely by the sweet. The flavor ratios are perfect!
This fruit flavored black tea is right up my alley…can’t they all be like this? I guess not…but I’m glad this one is! Cassis & Blueberry from Lupicia is a HIT with me! YUM!
And just for our readers, mention SororiTea Sisters when you check out from Lupicia and they will throw in a special treat!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
CASSIS & BLUEBERRY is a fruit-flavored black tea blended with cassis and blueberries.Rich cassis and sweet-and-tart blueberries create a clean, harmonious blend. This tea has a mature flavor; it can be a good introductory fruit-flavored tea, and a great gift for those who normally do not drink fruity tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Glazed Donut from 52Teas
My fiancé (a donut aficionado) was ecstatic to see this tea in my review pile– so much so that we set out to brew this one together one Saturday morning while we lazed around the house.
As much as we’d like them to be, actual donuts aren’t as frequent in our breakfast rotation, but this tea seemed like the perfect weekend cup to fill that glazed, cake-y void.
First things first– the dry leaf smells INCREDIBLE. Like vanilla sugar icing, straight out of the tub. The cake-like notes are a bit more subtle here, but the creamy vanilla was strong in this one. Upon brewing, we got a beautifully smooth, golden-brown cup with some of those same wisps of flavor in each sip.
A splash of cream really brought out that donut-esque creaminess, and while we didn’t have any pastries on hand to dunk, I bet this tea would be the perfect vehicle to do so. Overall, a great Saturday morning treat.
Not overtly sweet, and not abundantly-donut-y, but creamy and smooth, the perfect companion cup to a relaxing, weekend morning!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description: No Longer Available
See what unique teas are available from 52Teas here!
Strawberry Coconut Honeybush-Rooibos Blends from 52Teas
When I first discovered 52Teas I got a sampler pack and among it was a Strawberry Pie Honeybush blend. I instantly fell in love. Something about the way 52Teas does strawberry honeybush is just so right. So, when I saw this blend in the teas CuppaGeek sent my way, I was really intrigued.
As per 52Teas recommendations, I brewed this low and slow and let it cool before giving it a taste. With the very first sip, I was taking a trip down memory lane. The familiar strawberry honeybush deliciousness was back. Sweet but sharp and true to the delightful berry. But what’s that? A creaminess? Must be the coconut. All of this floating on the rooibos-honeybush base that provides a solid foundation for the flavors to stand on.
This tea is sweet, but not too sweet and the perfect to end off the evening. Though if you are in the mood for something a little sweeter, this also makes for an awesome tea smoothie. I blended this up with some frozen strawberries and bananas, a little chocolate pudding, some milk, and two teaspoons of a banana, bourbon & vanilla bean jam from a local jam shop, Kitten and the Bear. It’s a mason jar full of liquid dessert. The coconut helps elevate the overall creaminess of the blend and mixes perfectly with the vanilla bean of the jam. The strawberry, just as it was in the hot cup of tea, is the true star here though. Juicy and ripe and dipped in milk chocolate is the berry flavor the smoothie is highlighting. Amazing!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I had originally planned for this to be just a honeybush blend – but when I got to my tea studio, I realized that I didn’t have enough honeybush in stock so it became a honeybush-rooibos blend. I actually think I like it better as a blend because I really like how honeybush and rooibos complement each other. They seem to bring out the best in each other!
So here is a naturally caffeine free blend of organic honeybush and rooibos – together they create a sweet, nutty, slightly honeyed tasting base to support the flavors of a sweet-tart strawberry and creamy, delectable coconut. The brewed tea is sweet, smooth and delicious with a finish that’s offers a tingly berry tartness – evoking thoughts of fresh berries!
Taster size is approximately 1/2 ounce
organic ingredients: honeybush, rooibos, coconut, freeze-dried strawberries and natural flavors
