Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
If this doesn’t put you in the mood for fall, I can’t help you. This awesome iced tea is a blend of organic southern Indian black teas and organic red delicious and granny smith apple flavors. It’s a bit sweet, a bit tart and all refreshing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been drinking this periodically throughout the day, and when I was pouring past the half-way point of the pitcher of tea, I realized that I better sit down and write about it before I have an empty pitcher of tea and no tea left to write about!
That is to say, it’s tasty. I like that it’s sweet but not cloying. When I focus on what I taste, I can recognize the apple notes. When I’m casually sipping, I don’t immediately notice that “hey, I’m drinking an apple tea.” I just notice that “hey, this tastes really good.” But then when I reach the bottom of the glass of tea, my last gulp is very obviously apple.
The apple notes and the black tea notes work together extremely well. The black tea tastes smoother. It’s a medium-bodied black tea base that’s very pleasant to drink. It has a certain “invigorating” quality to it without being even the slightest bit aggressive, bitter or astringent. It is smooth and silky and very refreshing.
The apple tastes sweet and there’s just enough tartness to the apple to add a balancing contrast to the flavor. It’s not an overly flavored tea – this is a tea first and an apple-y tasting tea second.
I have to admit that when this tea was announced on the week of October 13, I wasn’t all that excited about it. I mean, it sounded good and if I wasn’t already a subscriber, I probably would have ordered the tea to try it. But, was I dancing the happy dance over the idea of Apple Harvest Iced Tea? No, no I wasn’t. But now, I’m dancing that happy dance. Because this tea is really good! I ended up liking this much more than I thought I would. Yum!
Chocolate Toffee Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Here’s our premium black teas blended with cacao nibs, marigold petals and organic chocolate and toffee flavors. This is a rich, decadent treat.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yum! Yum, yum, yum!
Well, I had no doubt whatsoever that I’d enjoy this blend. Chocolate and Toffee in a tea? Oh, yes, please! And I’m happy to say that the chocoholic in me is even satisfied with the level of chocolate-y-ness in this blend. Oh, sure, more chocolate WOULD be better but I’m quite happy with what I’m tasting.
I brewed this in my Breville One-Touch, measuring 2 bamboo scoops into the basket and adding 500ml of water to the jug. Then I set the temperature for 205°F and the time for 2 1/2 minutes. This produced a very delicious cup – well, actually, I fill my favorite mug twice with the 500ml of brewed tea – and bonus! The Breville keeps the tea warm for me. No tea cozy needed.
The black tea base is prominent and that just may be why I find this tea so enjoyable. I like it when I taste the tea base of a blend (especially when it’s actually TEA and not rooibos or honeybush.) The black tea here is a solid, full-flavored tea. It tastes rich and there is a hint of malt to it and this complements the toffee notes. This is a bold enough tea that this would make a really nice first cup of the day. (A little treat for breakfast?) There is some astringency to this, but I’m not finding it to be a strong astringency. It falls somewhere between very mild and moderate.
The chocolate notes are really nice here. As I said, I’d love to have more chocolate, but I find that the level of chocolate to be good here. I think that’s because there is a really good proportion of flavors. The black tea is the most prominent flavor, with the chocolate and toffee notes standing at about equal levels – maybe just a little more chocolate than toffee.
The toffee is sweet and buttery. The combination of the chocolate and the toffee here is incredibly decadent. This may just be one of Frank’s best “confectionery” type of teas yet. This is really yum. It reminds me a lot of a gourmet chocolate toffee candy like these from Valerie Confections, all that’s missing is that crunch. And these might even be a little bit BETTER because there’s also tea. And tea always makes things better.
Strawberry Pina Colada Flavored Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Premium Organic black tea with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
As one who doesn’t drink a lot of alcohol, I can’t say that I’ve ever tasted a Strawberry Pina Colada. But this flavor combination – in a black tea! – is tasty.
The aroma of the dry tea smells strongly of strawberry and coconut. The pineapple is noticeable as well. I could even detect just a hint of rum. The brewed tea doesn’t have as strong a scent as the dry tea, but I can still smell coconut notes and hints of strawberry.
The strawberry really comes through in the flavor. I can taste the strawberry right from the beginning of the sip, and that flavor remains throughout the sip and into the aftertaste. I get that familiar berry tingle on the tongue in the aftertaste.
The coconut is the next flavor I really notice. It adds a delicious creamy flavor to the tea. The pineapple is probably the least noticeable of the fruit flavors in this, but, I taste it at mid-sip and I pick up more pineapple-y notes toward the finish.
As for the rum notes, I can taste them but I find them to be rather faint. I find them to be most noticeable when I focus on the flavors.
Overall, a really tasty iced tea. It’s sweet, but there are some interesting contrasts to keep it from being cloying. I am enjoying this.
Black Currant Flavored Iced White Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Now THIS is the good stuff. Don’t let the uncomplicated, single flavor of this tea give you the impression that is is some humdrum tea. This is a BEAUTIFUL blend of premium shou mei fannings with organic black currant flavors. This is a crowd-pleaser and a thirst-quencher. You’re going to want a few of these, trust me.
Learn more about this iced tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to SBT’s tea of the week here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I was so excited to try the first White Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas. And it looks like SBT chose one of my favorite white tea creations from 52Teas to work with, the Black Currant Bai Mu Dan! The 52Teas blend tasted amazing iced and this does too!
Of course, this Black Currant White Iced Tea was made with a Shou Mei base rather than a Bai Mu Dan so it’s a little different right from the off. But this is still every bit as refreshing as I remember that tea tasting. Tart black currant flavor that contrasts with the sweet white tea base. These two components were made for one another!
The Shou Mei is also a stronger tasting tea than a typical Bai Mu Dan. It’s sweet and hay-like. I like the crisp, airy flavor that reminds me of the way the air tastes after a hay cutting. You have to be out where they cut hay to experience that, of course. I grew up in such a place. Or, if you don’t want to take a drive out to the country, you can just brew a pitcher of this iced tea and get some of that same flavor in a glass.
Actually, I think that the iced tea is better than the air in the country. The air in the country can sometimes also smell a bit like the cows and horses that eat the hay. And that’s not my favorite smell.
To brew this tea, I went with the hot brew method. I heated 1 quart of water in the kettle of my tea maker to 160°F and then dropped the sachet into the water and let it steep for 2 1/2 minutes. The parameters on the package suggest “not more than 90 seconds” but 90 seconds just didn’t seem long enough for me at such a low temperature. So I made the decision to go with a little more time and I’m glad I did. I’m really happy with the resulting flavor! For the second quart, I resteeped the sachet for 3 minutes. I combined both quarts in my iced tea pitcher and stashed it in the ice box.
After several hours of cool time, I am left with a pitcher full of yummy black currant iced tea. I love the white tea base. It’s crisp and refreshing. I look forward to the other white tea creations that SBT comes up with!
Buttercream Toffee Shou Mei from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
As I was thinking about fall teas to create, it occurred to me that white tea sometimes gets the short shrift when it comes to richer-flavored, non-fruit flavored teas. This really bugs me because I think a nice, subtle, hay-like shou mei has the potential to be more than just the sort of sorbet of the tea world. So, I decided to experiment this month and I think I’ve found a winner. This is a delicious shou mei white tea with rich organic buttercream and toffee flavors and some buttery yellow marigold petals for color.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn how to subscribe to 52Teas’ Tea of the Week program here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh my goodness! Yum, yum, yum!
On Steepster, I was noticing that a few of the people there had issues with the flavor of the tea. That is to say, they couldn’t really taste the buttercream or toffee flavors. I was a little surprised, because I can taste the buttercream and toffee flavors very well.
Maybe it’s all in the brewing? I don’t usually use my Breville One Touch tea maker for white tea but I was feeling a little lazy this evening so I used the Breville today. I measured out 3 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket (I use a little more leaf with white teas because of the bulky size of the leaf) and 500ml of water into the jug, set the parameters for 4 minutes and 170°F and let the machine do it’s thing.
The result is a mug full of yummy. The Shou Mei white tea is a delicate base, but it’s not as delicate as say a Bai Mu Dan white tea or a Silver Needle white tea would be. And even though it’s rather delicate, I can taste the white tea notes. The light, airy, hay-like flavor shines through. And while I wouldn’t dream of wanting “hay-like” flavors on top of my cupcake, somehow, the hay-esque notes work with the creamy buttercream frosting and toffee notes.
The buttercream and toffee flavors are on the delicate side. They aren’t in your face. But I don’ t think that they should be. We’re drinking tea here. And the tea that we’re drinking is white tea and it tends to be a more subtle taste and therefore the flavoring should be subtle as well so it doesn’t overpower the base. These flavors don’t overpower the base but they aren’t absent. I’m getting a strong flavor from both (well, strong considering that we’re dealing with a white tea).
It’s creamy and sweet and luscious! After I poured myself a cup and took a sip, I decided to pour another cup for my youngest daughter to get her thoughts on it. She took one sip and said, “Mmm, it’s GOOD!” This one is a winner!