52teas

I pulled this out to cold brew last night, and decided to have a cup hot at the same time. I probably don’t have enough leaf left to cold brew in bulk again, so it seemed a sensible option at the time. Predictably enough, though, this isn’t all that great hot. There’s just a fundamental wrongness about hot soda flavoured things, somehow. It’s not that it’s bad — I can taste a mild cola flavour and a hint of rum — it’s just weird. The base seems too prominent when this is brewed hot, too. Bitter and slightly astringent. I think I’ve tried this hot with sugar previously, and it’s better like that, but I’m trying to avoid using too much sugar if I can help it. Probably that means I should stick to cold brewing this one!

I’ve been drinking this iced pretty often this summer, but it’s getting a bit cold for that now. Part of me wanted to try it hot, so I decided to give it a go while there’s still some left. 3 minutes in boiling water, no milk.

It’s actually not as odd as I thought it’d be. It tastes of cola – albeit flat – with a twist of lime, and maybe something rum-like hanging about in the background. It’s a tiny bit astringent, but nothing terrible. It smells pretty spot-on, too.

I definitely prefer this cold, and that’s probably how I’ll finish the pouch. It’s not bad hot, though, just a bit strange. The flavour comes out better as it starts to cool, as you might expect. Worth a try, but nowhere near as good as it is iced.

Cold-brewed tea of choice for my first day back at work. I think I may have underleafed a touch on this, as it’s a little weak tasting. Not bad for a first attempt, though. I can taste cola, a hint of lime, and maybe the slightest touch of rum. It certainly smells the part dry. When I first opened the packet it was overwhelmingly strong, so I’m pleased it’s not quite so pungent brewed. There’s just enough flavour to keep me happy, but I’ll attempt a bit more leaf and maybe slightly longer in the fridge next time. A perverse part of me would actually like to try this hot, but I think it’s really meant to be cold. Maybe in the winter (or maybe not, if I see sense before then!). It’s a perfect iced tea for the summer, though. I’d never cold-brewed a black tea before today, so I’m pleased with how this worked out. I did wonder if it would become astringent after 8 hours or so in the fridge, but it hasn’t at all. It’s smooth, and actually a pretty perfect base for the flavours. Definitely one I’ll be drinking again very soon!

cold brewed this overnight. Was excellent iced tea! Needed no sweetener.

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Water: ~500ml at 212°F
Tool: make your own paper teabag
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes https://www.teaity.com/
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strong berry
Steeped Tea Smell: wood, berry
Flavor: sweet, berry, a little woody finish
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: citrus
Liquor: not sure in this blue cup

I like the way this melds together

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/08/28/52teas-loose-leaf-rooibos-tisane-earl-pink/

I figured now that I’m on a huge tea drinking kick and accustomed to being well-caffeinated, this would be a great time to burn through as many samples as I can.

So thanks to momo for this one!

There’s a lovely earthy grassiness here from the mix of mates and guayasa. It’s very fresh and lemony without being chemical or tasting like cleaning agents. The lemon also a nice sweetness (I guess I’d call it lemon bar sweetness) from the mrytle… and is that pineapple I’m picking up? The aftertaste is very much guayasa-heavy and I’m getting hints of peach.

I’m excited to see how this stands up to cold steeping.

Mixed feelings here. I’m glad I’m going through my obscene amounts of tea, but it sucks when I come to an end of a tea that I am going to miss. I dumped the rest of this tea in a mason jar with some sugar and let it cold brew in the fridge for a few days. SO. DAMN. GOOD. It was a little grainy since all the dust from the bottom of the bag was in the jar and didn’t filter out, but I don’t care. I get the gemaicha taste very clearly, but the cherry is a little hard to pick out as cherry in this cup. It is definitely a fruity flavor, but the distinction of cherry is escaping me today. Genmaicha is amazingly refreshing cold! Kinda blows my mind.

I tried steeping this in hot water and pouring it over ice because I was too impatient to cold steep and it was quite a fail. It tasted genmaicha like, but there was no cherry or cheesecake and it was quite sad. Cold steeping and planning ahead is the way to go with this tea. I’m going to put some in the fridge right now and do it right!

I have been drinking this stuff cold brewed in a mason jar and it is fantastic! I try to let it sit for a few days before I drink it, but the wait is difficult. The genmaicha is surprisingly refreshing when cold. I have been sweetening it lightly and it really goes well with the cherry. I still have a hard time picking out the cheesecake aspect of cheesecake flavored teas. Is it just a creaminess to it I wonder? Either way, I need to slow down on this so I don’t plow through the whole bag in one week.

Smaug again this afternoon. Still good but I may have needed a little bit more caffeine….Zzzzz…

Yay! I finally got to try Smaug! Thanks RogersCK :D

I’ve been sampling a lot of cinnamon teas lately, it seems. This is the very first green tea with cinnamon though! I really appreciate the uniqueness of it. Everyone else’s tasting notes made me expect it to be a lot spicier than it actually is. So, if you haven’t tried it yet, don’t be scared! He’s a pretty friendly dragon :)

Even though I’ve been tasting a lot of FANCY cinnamon teas lately I think my favorite is still Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice! That stuff is IN YOUR FACE cinnamon! This is a refreshing change though. I love the hint of cayenne in it.

This smells of berries, and citrus. Oh, there’s rum? The rum isn’t gone, it’s in my tea. I don’t usually have my cocktails this warm, but this is good. There is a nice daquiri flavour, and I like the strawbeery.

I did not get that much sleep, and my head feels like it’s in a fog, so I pulled this favourite from my prized hoard. And it was wonderful for a hot 30 seconds before I immediately knocked it over with my laptop (I got three sips in). I am so numb. The end (but not really, because I’m definitely resteeping this precious beverage. Ugh).

Edit – Steep Count: 2. YAY!

Also I “rediscovered” the curry leftovers from yesterday. Now I’m comfortably numb.

This is the most delicious of elixirs for late night caffeine consumption (necessary evil for doing battle with the essay readings).

I wish this one was a 52teas staple. Flavoured Mate is hard to come by and I have yet to find a worthy substitute for the earthy chocolate malt ball goodness. Also, it resteeps well once or twice (+8 minutes).

Backlog. Lots of running around lately, doing that summer end, everything-decides-to-break-now, thing. Uhaul Victoria could be a little better at things.

Anyways, I’m loving Incendaire’s sample envelope. Everything is just the right size and makes it easy to choose something quick. I dumped this one into a David’s perfect mug, not expecting much and looking for a quick steep fix.

It was surprisingly nice to get something with such a syrupy, chocolatey finish. As it cooled the dessert-like sweetness increased. Not a bad flavoured maté at all! Thanks Incendaire!

Another one from Rachel’s sale! Thank you! One teaspoon for a few minutes and mmmm. I love the strawberry flavor with this one and there is plenty. I can definitely imagine a very glazey strawberry pie, especially since there is also a slight pie crust flavor. The ingredients list for this one is nice but my sample might be a bit older, since I wish some of those flavors were more present.

After reading the reviews, I opted for a short steep and was careful on how much leaf I used. I didn’t find it too lemony or tart at all. The milk may have dulled that. I did taste the chai part though. I’m interested to see how it steeps up in the future. I got a nice size sample from CrowKettle from the Vancouver meetup earlier in the week. I may see how this one is without milk, though I tend to like chai with milk, so maybe I’ll try the stovetop method also.

Cold steeped this one today for work. It tasted like genmaicha, but something was odd about it. I think I read somewhere of a metallic smell or taste, and that’s probably the best description too. Something chemical or artificial. I don’t know if this was over-leafing or the cold steeping, but I do intend on having more hot with an eye on the amount I use.

This was from CrowKettle. I’ve been wanting to try this one for a long time. I’m hoping subsequent steeps are better.

I’ve been drinking this a lot lately. It actually has quite a rootbeery/chicory kick to it; I get some of the same notes from this that I do the 52Teas’ Butterbeer tea. It definitely has just a bit of a tart berry backdrop, but for me that’s not the dominant note. And in my cups of this stuff I haven’t tasted much mint either.

I live in the American south, and I love me a minty cocktail… I’m just not sure this tastes like one. That said, I am enjoying it. It reminds me a bit of a champagney themed tea 52Teas made a while back, in addition to the rootbeery thing it’s got going on.

Not a re-order one for me, but it’s a decent tea.

Backlog! When I woke up this morning I could have sworn I smelled chai tea so I made this for breakfast and enjoyed it! I think I even got a little more lemon flavor in this cup.

Decided to have this with cream and sugar. It’s one of those days and I need something sweet. Really sweet. This is nice. It has a good amount of spice and sweetness. The lemon pops out a bit more with the cream and sugar. This is really nice. It’s comforting on this day that I really, really, REALLY don’t want to go to work.