52teas

Thanks for this sample go to iHeartTeas for sending it to me and Frank (52teas) for emailing me brewing instructions on a tea that is 2 years old.

I decided right off the bat that I wasn’t going to rate this tea. I knew ahead of time how old my sample was and just assumed the quality may have suffered a little since it is so old. I did want to put my 2 cents in though.

Since the chances of coming across this tea again was unlikely I split my sample in two and steeped it two different ways.

First Batch (Frank’s instructions)
“I would steep it loose in a medium-large mixing cup full of boiling water for about three minutes, then pour it through a fine strainer or coffee filter into a gallon sized pitcher (or two 2qt pitchers), top with water and ice and serve.”

Since I divided my sample in two I followed the above instructions using half the amount of water, steeped in boiling water for 3 minutes, and poured though a coffee filter into my pitcher. I then topped with water and added a little bit of ice.

I thought this batch turned out a little watery, but then again, I like my iced tea on the strong side.

Second Batch (cold steep using aprox. 32oz of water)
I steeped this for about 4 hours before drinking it today. I like the way this turned out better using less water. Cutting the water in half gave me a much stronger tea which was more to my tastes. I never really did taste the plum, but that could just be due to the age of my sample. I did really enjoy the black tea base for this though.

Sipdown (298)
Although I admire Franks ingenuity, I’m usually not much for flavored teas. This one is strange, with a tobacco flavor to it, an aftertaste of carob, & my daughter Jess says it reminds her of clove cigarettes.
My initial reaction was, “No”. But it kind of grows on you a little.
This was sent to me from Alpha Kitty. Thanks!

Thank you CK for this sample!!!!!!

It’s pretty yummy. I didn’t get a French toast aroma or taste at first, smelled like cinnamon spice, tasted like a cinnamon tea with a subtle creaminess. As it cools the butter and bread starts to peek through. Then I added some maple syrup….. There it is! Now it tastes like a plate of French toast!

Someone texted me around 1pm about switching shifts at work tomorrow so now I don’t have to open 5 days in a row! I think maybe people felt bad for me. I really was scheduled for 3 in a row but took on two more to help people out so they could go visit family.

Also it just got randomly cold here, like I had to wear a hoodie to work (and should have yesterday) and just now when I went outside again. I took a nap in a fuzzy blanket and didn’t get all sweaty. It’s crazy. So now I can have tea to warm myself up early!

I’ve been wanting to give this one another shot and I finally did. A lower temperature REALLY helped out here. I heated my water to 190 and steeped for 3 minutes. It was supposed to be 2 1/2 but I got distracted, but 3 has worked perfectly.

I mostly taste maple syrup, cinnamon, and butter. I know I was missing butter last time. Not really getting too much toast still but I definitely like it how it is! If this one hasn’t worked for you, try a lower temp!

Finally got to try this last night. When I opened it, it was pretty strongly spiced…definitely not how I have French Toast.

I used 200 deg. water so that sounds like it may be a slight problem? I am trying to avoid sugar but I’ll gladly put brown sugar in here if it helps. I tried some maple syrup granules but it didn’t do much.

It just tasted like spices. No butter, no bread, I’ll try it again sooner or later.

I’ve decided if it’s going to be cool all day and rainy I’m going to have some fun with a puerh now and listen to Sebastian chirp like the weather doesn’t even matter. Last night I watched him duck under a bell and lift it up with the back of his head to shake it. My precious goofball.

Not digging this as I had hoped. Boo. I am picking up a little flavour, but not that much, honestly…typical for my 52teas experience. I’ll probably finish this sample from sil, but I don’t think this is one that I can’t live without. Butterbeer from IOA/WWOHP on the other hand, is so lovely, and I wish I could have it on demand here. I am gonna try the Butterbeer Starbucks custom blend/secret menu option:

http://starbuckssecretmenu.net/starbucks-secret-menu-butterbeer-frappuccino/

Hmmm. I think adding milk to this one ruined it, somehow, though one would think the milk would aid in the cream cheese danish aspect and enhance it. I got very little flavour at all from this tea this morning. I got pretty much a light black tea with a little sweetness, and maybe just a touch of blueberry. I have not had luck with any of the 52teas blends I have tried. This one was a sample from sil and the batch doesn’t say how old it is, though I have had teas over a year old and they still taste fine, so I don’t know if this is an age thing or a me and 52teas thing. I have some Butterbeer next to me, so I should see how that is once it is cool enough. There area few more 52teas in this sample box so we shall see…

Oh, what a sweet way to break up the day! After I dragged my husband around our local antique mall (no die-for teapots, sadly!) we needed something to perk ourselves back up with. This did the job perfectly. The first sip, sans additives, had me a little worried but a bit of sweetener and a dash of milk transformed it into a much richer treat. I don’t really taste the tang of cheesecake, but it does make for a creamy vanilla chai. Thank you, Short Sorceress, for the opportunity to try this great tea!

It seems it takes a little while for me to warm up to melon flavored teas. I can never resist trying it hot even though I know it will quite likely give me a case of the icky face, I mean hot watermelon…ugh. Needless to say (but I’m apparently saying it anyways) I was not at all a fan of this as a hot tea. Thankfully, it’s much better cold. The mango flavor seems a little subdued to me. I know the flavors develop a little better in 52teas blends when I let them sit for a while, so since I just got this in the mail recently, it’s probably not the best representation of what the flavor can truly do. I’ll wait to rate this on my next go-around, but so far, the watermelon is definitely there, but I was hoping that the mango would be equally (or even more) present.

My hubby qualified in all his training, and is flying home right now, as I type. Sadly, his grandfather passed away a couple of days ago, so his homecoming is going to be bittersweet. I better get going so I can prepare some comfort food- I’m sure he’s looking forward to a home cooked meal after pretty much 3 weeks of cafeteria food.

I’m on standby for work but I know I’ll be called in soon – it’s a matter of when, not if, in other words.

But until then, I figured I’d make a cup of tea. Audiobooks, card games, and tea. So much more fun than work!

I hadn’t done this one in a while and it’s not really a breakfast tea to me – much more of a dessert or afternoon black. I made it WAY too strong to have by itself though – so creamer went in to kind of tone down the bitter black tea-ness and it’s much more palatable, if a little sweet. It is like a buttery root beer float when made this way. Yum!

In its own way, this is a perfect pre-Halloween treat. And I have plenty to left so I’d better start drinking it while its in season!

Whenever I think of Butterbeer I think of the first time Harry had it – when he snuck down to the Three Broomsticks in his Invisibility cloak. I remember the way J.K. Rowling described it – the way it warmed him down to his toes on that cold night. She was so good with writing things in a way I could feel. I think that’s why I’ve never been able to do the movies – they just paled in comparison to the fully fleshed out story she gave me to play out in my head.

I say that because this particular cup, this morning (with milk and sugar as additives), really managed to capture that warmth and comforting feeling. It took me right back to the middle of book 3, and for a tea called Butterbeer there really can be no higher praise, can there?

I have the next few days off, and I’m thinking I really should do myself a favor and spend it rereading some of those books. For the umpteenth time. With plenty of tea by my side.

This is so good that I can only imagine what the Root Beer Float tea must have tasted like. Kicking myself for not ordering that. Meh.

Anyway, I kind of flaked on this one and accidentally underheated my water – the Breville was set at 180 without me realizing it. And then I oversteeped, too. But it still tastes good. I’m drinking it plain and I get the butter/sarsaparilla notes. The only thing it’s really missing is carbonation but there does seems to be a kind of effervescence in the background. I should make this iced with carbonated water next time and I bet I’d love it that way.

Heck, I love it this way. It makes me wish more of the Harry Potter-verse were real. :)

ARGH! I have had this twice already but it’s been days ago so this is kind of a faded tasting note x2.

Okay, I tacked this on to my French Toast black tea order out of a mild curiosity. I likely would not have placed an order specifically for this, even though I am a big Harry Potter fan and I have always had my own ideas of what butterbeer would taste like if it were an actual thing.

Steep notes: 1 tsp., 8 oz. water, below parameters. Some sugar, no creamer added.

Imagine rootbeer with a smoother buttery overtone and that’s this tea. I always felt like butterbeer was intended to be served hot based on a memory from the Goblet of Fire where Harry took a sip and felt the warmth spread down to his toes, so even though there’s rootbeer flavors, this works really well warm.

For an add on tea, this has been my favorite in the order so far. I’ll have to do another tasting note (while I’m actively drinking it, haha) to make sure I give a more thorough tasting review…that will probably be sooner rather than later!

I got this in the mail today and made a cup as my evening green. The first thing that struck me big time was the ginger. YUM!!! I don’t know about cake, but it’s a great green ginger tea. With added cinnamon and brown sugar notes. I’m really enjoying this and I’m on the second steep. I can see loving this during the cold season as well. The ginger/cinnamon spiciness is awesome. I hope this one is reblended over and over!

It’s so hot that I’ve been cold brewing teas that I have a lot of even though it kind of seems like I should not or at the least that it’s not like you would immediately think yes, this sounds like it would taste good cold. Not bad though, the pumpkin spicy taste is ok and it’s creamy so cheesecake like. I think that I actually like it better hot but it’s not horrible cold… But I don’t think I’ll be craving any more of this cold at least.

Thank you for the swap and sacrificing some of this to send me, Stephanie. The pineapple part smells just like the pineapple from 52teas Pineapple & Bacon. I brewed it hot first and didn’t really like it but cold brewed came out better. I can definitely taste the pineapple and coconut. I don’t really like the artificial pineapple smell or flavor I guess. It’s a nice sweet tea though.

Thanks Kittena :)

The black base here was nicer than other 52Teas I’ve had. The banana was a bit too fake for my liking, though it certainly wasn’t bad. I could taste both the banana and cinnamon clearly. I’m just steeping for a second round now.

Huh, I didn’t log this one either. This one I was so excited about but unfortunately I just couldn’t keep it. If I kept the taste of what it should taste like in my mind it did taste like it. It just wasn’t the treat I thought it would be. At the store, there was a butterbeer soda – very sweet, creamy and butterscotchy…. I think I thought it’d taste like that. Like someone said, the rootbeer is strong and not like the normal rootbeer you might normally drink but the real, crafted ones. The bite was too strong on this one so the rest after I tried it hot and cold went out for swaps. I do hate licorice so that may have contributed. Oh well, I had good swaps!

Thanks to momo for this one!

Really enjoyed this tea as I’m a fiend for strawberries. The strawberry taste was the most bold with a hint of maple syrup coming up the rear. I added some agave to this one and it brought out the flavours more. Can’t wait to fiddle around with this one more. I really want to try adding maple syrup to it to bring out the pancake flavour.