Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic caffeine-free honeybush with organic sweet, cakey, sugar cookie flavors. This is one of those teas that your family might end up squabbling over, so be sure to stock up on a few of these. Blends like these are a great alternative to sugary caffeinated sodas–we don’t let me daughter have much caffeine, but she LOVES these honeybush iced teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After having tried Christmas Cookie Shou Mei from 52Teas, I thought that this iced tea might be a lot like that blend, but it really isn’t.
This doesn’t have the same warm spice profile that the Christmas Cookie tea has. This is more of a sugar cookie. (Just like the name implies!) I like that it’s not overly sweet. I don’t get a heavy “sugar” cookie sugary taste, but I get that freshly baked shortbread-type of flavor. It’s sweet but not too sweet. This isn’t like a heavily iced sugar cookie that you’ll find in your grocery store bakery.
You know the cookies I’m talking about, right? They’re really colorful and they have trigger kind of names like “cotton candy” or “caramel apple” that lure you in and you have to try it, but then when you bite into it, it doesn’t taste like cotton candy or caramel apple, it tastes like sugar and shortening. It’s so cloying that a bite is all you can handle.
This is more like the homemade cookies that are rolled in sugar, so you get a even, consistent, sugary-sweet flavor, but as long as the cookies are made right, it isn’t too cloying. The dough is not overly sweet, more like a shortbread so balance is achieved.
I enjoyed this. I liked that despite the name “sugar cookie” this isn’t a too-sweet kind of drink. It’s really tasty!
Please take a moment to check out Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo Campaign – they’re looking to take their teas to new heights and could really use your support!
White Chocolate Raspberry Shou Mei from 52Teas
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.
Please take a moment to visit my Kickstarter Campaign to Take Over 52Teas! Please help me achieve my goal and make this dream of mine a reality!
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!
Please don’t forget about Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo Fundraiser! Help this small business grow! As little as $4 can help further their dream and you’ll get some really tasty tea in return!
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!
Candy Cane Flavored Iced White Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Don’t let the simplicity of this flavor fool you: this is a blend of our premium organic shou mei white tea fannings with organic peppermint candy cane flavors and it does not disappoint. Believe me when I say, you’ll have a hard time keeping this tea in your refrigerator.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After having tried the Candy Cane Iced Black Tea from SBT last year and loving it, I had really high expectations for this white tea version. Unfortunately, it fell a little short of the expectations I had.
Oh, this is still a really tasty iced tea. It’s just not as amazing as I remember the black tea version. Then again, it could be that my expectations were too high, so this was not going to reach those heights.
But this is – as I said – quite tasty. The white tea is light and I like the crisp, refreshing flavor. It has a sweet flavor that’s airy and hay-like and very fresh tasting.
This fresh taste melds well with the cool notes of the minty candy cane flavor. It’s not just “minty” – there is a light sweetness in there too so this tastes more like a white tea flavored with a candy cane than it does a white tea flavored with peppermint. There are hints of vanilla and a soft, almost ‘candy-like’ sweetness in there. I like that I’m getting this really delicious sweetness but it isn’t too sweet.
It’s a tasty tea. That said, if I’m going to be shopping for a candy cane iced tea, I’d probably be putting the black tea version in my cart before I’d grab the white tea version.
Please take a minute to check out Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo campaign and support this small business – help them take their business even further.