Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
One of our “YOU be the tea blender” blends, this is a premium Pettiagala Extra Long Leaf OP black tea from Sri Lanka blended with freeze-dried blueberries, lemon myrtle and organic blueberry, lemon and cookie dough flavors. Delicious and fun–like the flavors are having a pillow fight in your mouth!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
This Lemon Blueberry Cookie Dough Black Tea from 52Teas is pretty tasty. I don’t think I’ve had a lemon blueberry cookie before, but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to trying one – or the dough before one is baked! I love the flavor combination of lemon and berry!
I brewed this in my Breville One-Touch: I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket and poured 500ml of water into the kettle. The temperature was set for 205°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes.
I do wish I would have set the timer for only 2 minutes, because the black tea is a little on the astringent side. It’s not really what I’d call bitter, but together with the tart, lemony notes and the tea – I’m getting a fair amount of tangy astringency at the tail.
The black tea is a brisk, medium-bodied tea. I think I would have liked a maltier tea as the base to help bring out the ‘cookie dough’ flavors because I’m not getting a lot of that sweet dough-y flavor here.
I get plenty of lemon notes and hints of blueberry. As I continue to sip, the blueberry notes develop and by mid-cup, the blueberry is almost on even standing with the lemon. By the time I’ve reached the end of the cup, the two flavors are pretty nicely balanced. I really like the way these two flavors play together – the lemon and the blueberry are really quite compatible flavor companions.
There is an underlying sweetness to this cup, but, maybe the tartness of the lemon together with the tart notes of the berry overwhelm the sweeter notes of what should taste like cookie dough. By mid-cup, I do pick up on more flavors that could be cookie dough-ish.
After the tea cools significantly, I pick up on a lot more cookie dough taste – this tea is definitely better cold than it is hot. The astringency mellows a little, there is balance between the lemon and blueberry flavors, and the cookie dough flavor emerges a bit.
Overall, this is a tasty blend. It’s a fun flavor, a little on the tart side – if you like lemon, you’ll really enjoy this playful flavor.
Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic Iyerpadi black tea blended with organic apple, green apple and cinnamon flavors. This is a super refreshing iced tea. I may have created a few apple flavored teas lately, but the apple and cinnamon notes with this Iyerpadi black tea are just astounding.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I admit that my first thought was “another apple tea” but now that I’m tasting this, I don’t mind at all. This Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas is really good.
I hot brewed this iced tea, bringing 1 quart of water to a boil and then letting the tea bag steep for 2 minutes. Then I strained the tea into my favorite iced tea pitcher and brought another quart of water to a boil and resteeped the bag for 2 1/2 minutes. No, this doesn’t make the tea too strong for me, it’s strong, yes, but not too strong. Then again, I like my tea strong.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really like the Iyerpadi estate tea that Southern Boy Teas has been using for their black tea base. It’s got a pleasant flavor, it doesn’t have a bitter taste nor is it astringent. It’s smooth and even without tasting too weak. It’s really a delightful tea.
The apple flavor is coming through nicely. I found that with my first few sips, the apple flavor was less obvious than the cinnamon, which seemed to overpower. But, after the first few sips, the apple notes developed and the cinnamon waned just enough. Now, the cinnamon is still a strong presence, but the apple comes through and adds a pleasant sweet-tart note to contrast with the warm, zesty taste of the cinnamon.
Really tasty!
Sarsaparilla Float Honeybush Blend from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This here is some stunningly good stuff! We’ve blended organic honeybush with sarsaparilla root (who knew it was spelled that way? I mean, really, how do we get the common pronunciation from THAT spelling?), marshmallow root and organic flavors. This is delicious and refreshing. I dare you to get some and tell me I’m wrong.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After I brewed this Sarsaparilla Float Honeybush Blend from 52Teas and started sipping, I tried to figure out what I thought about it. Did I like it? I didn’t really have an immediate answer for that. But now, the cup is nearly finished and I’ve not even written a whole paragraph. So, I’m guessing that yeah … I do like it.
I’ve had the root beer blends that 52Teas has created in the past and quite enjoyed them. And when I think “sarsaparilla” – I think “root beer.” But this tastes different than the root beer blends I’ve had. It certainly has some similarities to the root beer teas of the past but this tastes somewhat earthier than the 52Teas I’ve had before. This almost tastes like something I might buy off one of those old-time medicine wagons or perhaps something I ordered at an old tavern filled with cowboys.
Not that I’ve ever bought anything off of one of those old-time medicine wagons or had anything to drink at an old tavern. I’ve never even seen an old-time medicine wagon except for on television and the only thing that would resemble an old tavern is the Western bar photography props at Knott’s Berry Farm. I spent a lot of time there as a kid growing up in California.
But let’s get back to this tisane. I’m definitely tasting a root beer like flavor here, although it is more earthy, as I said. I taste a woodsy note and a hint of the nutty, honey-esque notes from the honeybush. At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked the way the root beer-y, sarsaparilla notes played with the honeybush, but now, I think I do.
As the tea cools somewhat, the float-ish type flavors start to emerge more, I can taste the fluffy, creamy vanilla notes and it’s quite yummy.
So getting back to my original question. Yeah. Yeah I like this. It’s different than I was expecting, but I like it … and as I sip it, I kind of feel like I should be wearing a cowboy hat and boots with spurs on ’em. And knowing me, I’d trip over the spurs and hurt myself. So maybe I should just stick to my Vans. What can I say? I’ll always be a California girl at heart. And by feet, too, I guess.
Be sure to stay tuned for an announcement concerning 52Teas. My previous Kickstarter didn’t get fully funded, so I’ll be launching another Kickstarter soon! I hope you’ll help me take over 52Teas!
Cinnamon Apricot Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic caffeine-free honeybush with organic sweet cinnamon and apricot flavors. This is a tea the whole family will love. We made a similar rooibos blend with these flavors for a 52teas blend years ago. It was my wife’s favorite and received the name, “Sheri’s Blend”. One of our tea bar customers took one sip of that tea and exclaimed, “It takes just like Christmas!” Personally, I think this honeybush blend is even better.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I remember really liking the Sheri’s Blend from 52Teas which was a rooibos based blend with the same flavors of apricot and cinnamon. And as weird as it is for me to admit, I think I liked that blend better than I’m liking this Cinnamon Apricot Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas.
Maybe it’s the “iced” part, because I am of the firm belief that I prefer honeybush over rooibos so I don’t think that’s the issue with this. Then again, maybe it is the rooibos – maybe rooibos just goes better with the apricot and cinnamon flavors than the honeybush does. I don’t know.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like this tisane. It’s tasty. But its not as tasty as I remember Sheri’s Blend being. I remember tasting a good, strong flavor of apricot that tasted true to the fruit, and here, I’m having trouble finding much apricot flavor at all.
The cinnamon is really dominant in this blend. I taste mostly cinnamon and it seems to be masking the flavor of the apricot a bit. After drinking about 2/3 of the glass, I start to pick up on the apricot notes, but they’re still not as strong as I’d like them to be.
The cinnamon is the top note, with mid-notes of honeyed nutty flavors and a low note of apricot. It’s a tasty blend, but if you’re looking for a strong apricot flavor, this tea isn’t bringing that for me. But if you like a really nice cinnamon flavor that’s a little sweet and a little spicy – kind of like the cinnamon you’d sprinkle on your breakfast toast – this tea delivers!
Overall, a tasty iced tisane, but I’d like it better if the apricot were more pronounced.
Golden Monkey Champagne Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Here’s an awesome Golden Monkey black tea blended with marigold petals and organic champagne flavors. Not only that, each pouch contains a unique fortune for 2015. We are only making 70 of these, so get yours today.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve had a sip of champagne. As I’ve said before, I’m just not all that big on drinking alcohol. (I’m a TEA-totaler!) But this Golden Monkey Champagne Black Tea from 52Teas is a nice way to enjoy some ‘champagne!’
First of all, I have to mention the fortune! What a fun idea! I liked opening the pouch to discover what my fortune for 2015 will be. Here’s what mine said:
This year: someone will do something “for all the tea in China” and then have a monopoly on Chinese teas.
Yeah, it’s a little corny and silly, but it’s fun. It’s a little ‘out of the box’ and that’s what I’ve come to love about 52Teas – the whole concept is a little out of the box! A different tea every week? That’s a little crazy! But it’s crazy good!
And that’s why I want to keep 52Teas going. Check out my Kickstarter campaign and help me keep this company going – I need your support! Every little bit will help!
But, let’s talk more about THIS tea, shall we?
The base of this tea is a Golden Monkey, and it’s delicious! It’s rich, robust, and full-flavored. It has chocolate-y notes along with that earthy, leathery flavor that I’ve come to love about a Golden Monkey. A hint of smoke in the distance. Undertones of caramel. It’s very smooth and has a pleasant, thick texture to it. There is some astringency at the tail but it doesn’t disrupt from the enjoyment of the overall flavor. It’s not bitter. It’s just really, really LOVELY!
The champagne flavors have been added in a smart way – they don’t go overboard. They’re not too much. It has a light, champagne-y flavor that complements the overall tea. I can taste the champagne but more importantly, I taste the nuances of the Golden Monkey and when you have a tea like this Golden Monkey – you WANT to taste it! I like how the champagne is represented here, in a way that I can taste it (it’s especially noticeable in the aftertaste) but not so much so that it overpowers the excellent flavors of the tea itself.
This is a really enjoyable cuppa. I’m surprised that more people haven’t grabbed this one up! It’s a really lovely tea.