Man Teas

I like seeing people’s faces when I mention this blend, but it works. The bacon is hearty and the maple makes an appearance in the aftertaste.

For me, this is a good “go-to” blend when I’m feeling stressed out.

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 teaspoons
Water: 750ml @ 212°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell:
AmazonV: it smells like chocolate peppermint
MilitiaJim: they started with chocolate, then added bacon and then it got weeeird.
Steeped Tea Smell:
AmazonV: chocolate, mint smell then a slight toasty black tea finish
MilitiaJim: There is that weird mintiness
Flavor:
AmazonV: roasty tea, hints of chocolate and smoke
MilitiaJim: the flavor of chocolate, then something trying to be bacon but it is mint
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: mint, smoke
Liquor: translucent dark orange

I wish I could give this tea a higher rating but the odd mint (perhaps cross-contamination?) is throwing it off, plus most bacon items are not as marvelous as I imagine. I did stop half way through for a glass of orange juice and bacon.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/11/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-chocolate.html

I am finishing off the last that I have on hand of this blend, and I didn’t quite have enough for the pot so I added just a few leaves of Lapsang Souchong, and that is something I’ve wanted to try for a while now, as my own experiment. I know that Man Teas also has their smoky bacon blend, but, that one scares me just a little because I’m not a huge Lapsang Souchong fan … although I’m finding that I’m acquiring a taste for it, little by little.

OK… THIS IS AWESOME. Frank, if you’re reading, and you probably are … Here’s what you need to do, take the original maple bacon, add a bit more maple flavor to it (as I added a little bit of maple syrup to the cup), and just a little bit of lapsang souchong to the blend. Kind of the way you did my LiberTeas Tomato, Basil and Black Pepper blend. Oh… that reminds me, I meant to try the bacon with the tomato basil and black pepper blend… to see how a PBBT would taste (peppered bacon, basil and tomato).

I may have to break down and order another pouch of the maple bacon tea.

I have Paul Tracy to thank for sending me some of this tea. I had tried it when it was released as a 52Teas tea of the week. But I really liked it so I didn’t mind receiving it again.

Paul had mentioned to me that he didn’t know why he wasn’t getting the same flavors out of this tea that others have been so excited about, so first, I shall post the URL to my full-length review of this tea:
http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=8262

My first tasting of this tea, I thought it was ok, but, I didn’t get a lot of maple flavoring (but then, when I eat maple bacon, I don’t get a LOT of maple in that either, it is more of an enhancement than a pronounced flavor). But what I really wasn’t getting was BACON. Frank had commented on that review and said that one of his regular customers had suggested adding just a pinch of salt to the cup. (I use Kosher salt, in case you’re wondering)

This does the trick. It really brings out the bacon flavor. I also add just a drizzle of agave nectar, or if you really want to enhance the maple-y flavor, add a little bit of real maple syrup. The sweetener highlights the overall flavors to the cup while the salt brings out the bacon flavor.

This is actually really good. It represents the first of many purchases I’ve made from 52Teas/zoomdweebies/mysweethoneybush/manteas, so there are some fond memories attached to this one. In fact, I am sure that if we were to combine the purchases that I’ve made with them since that time, I’ve probably made a mortgage payment or two for Frank. :)

Paul… I hope this helps you find more enjoyment from this tea.

I’ll admit to being a bit nervous trying this tea. After all, bacon isn’t something I eat on a regular basis, and I’ve never had it coated in chocolate before (having a mild pork allergy doesn’t help). So really, there’s nothing that I’ve had to compare this tea to.

It’s very smoky (is the base tea a Lapsang Souchong or something similar?), and the bacon flavoring isn’t as strong as I expected it would be; meaning, it didn’t smack me in the mouth and send me crying for mama. Chocolate is very subtle, but seems to become stronger as the tea cools. I do think it’s rather salty as well (I’m going to assume from the bacon bits). The more I sip, the more I like, and though I don’t think it’ll become one of my daily go-tos, it’s definitely not going to be sitting idle in my tea cabinet.

Well-done, Frank! Have you ever thought of a chocolate-covered potato chip tea?

Count me as another person who couldn’t resist 52teas’ recent 4 for 3 deal. I console myself with the fact that 2 of the pouches are in fact going to my brother. That’s right! I managed to sell Mr. Monocle on the idea of Earl Grey Cheesecake! Go me! (doubt I had anything to do with it honestly, think he just read all the reviews that said that the cheesecake part wasn’t too ostentatious).

So he chose two, and I chose the last and I get to keep the free pouch because I may not have told him about the deal and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, mwahahahahahahahahaha.

Now, when choosing my one was torn between this tea and the blueberry cream cheese danish, but then I thought about it, and between coconut cream pie, cheesecake chai, and earl grey cheesecake, I kind of have enough creamy/cheesy teas for the moment. In fact, I could do with a tea that wasn’t pretending to be a dessert…a more MACHO tea. Also, the blurb (which consists solely of “yes, really.”) amused me, and I’d been wanting to try something from the Man Teas line. Also, also, any time I asked someone for their input on the matter they told me I was insane for even considering Chocolate Bacon and there is generally no better way to get me to try/do something than to tell me that I am insane for trying/doing it.

Now, not being male, I am obviously not really the target demographic for this tea, but I will do my best to be objective! It is…very interesting, particularly as the base tea is quite smooth. Smoother, I’d say than some of the other 52teas blacks that I’ve tried. I only get hints of chocolate and the bacon was, at first, only discernible as a faint hint of smoke but the more I drank, the more of it I was getting – there are even hints of saltiness about it, which, while certainly novel also kind of makes me more thirsty rather than less. Which is somewhat irritating because once I finish it I need to make MORE tea to stop being thirsty…well-played, sir, well-played.

The flavor of the chocolate comes out more as the tea cools, which is a recurring theme, I’ve found, with chocolate flavored teas, with the exception, perhaps, of the inimitable Florence.

This tea is certainly different from any other tea I own, so I am quite pleased. I think it will be excellent for those times when I want something different but can’t quite put my finger on what.

I finished off the last of what I had of this. I didn’t quite have enough for one steeping, so I also added a bit of the Maple Bacon Tea from Man Teas, and it turned out pretty good. This was something I had been meaning to try for a while (the combination of the two) because I wanted to see what would happen with more bacon flavor.

Yummy, but this is one that I won’t need to reorder, which is good, since most of my tea budget goes to 52Teas as it is!

We are heading out to run a few errands in just a moment, but, I thought I’d sit down and enjoy a quick cup of tea first. Delicious bacon flavor that I’ve enhanced with a pinch of sea salt. I do wish there was a bit more chocolate flavor… but then, that is a frequent issue with me and chocolate!

I think I’m enjoying this cup better than the previous attempts that I’ve had with this tea. I can taste the chocolate and bacon much better today.

Quite yummy.

I am absolutely astonished at how quickly my order from 52Teas (aka ManTeas) has arrived. I couldn’t resist their buy 3 get 1 free offer, and I was very pleased that they happened to send me a tea that I hadn’t tried yet, wasn’t peanut butter flavored, and wasn’t pu-erh. Frank must love me!

I had to order this one because not only do I love chocolate covered bacon (way yummy), but, I also really did enjoy their maple bacon tea.

Very interesting! I can taste the chocolate (although it could use more) and I can taste the bacon (this is enhanced by adding just a pinch of salt to the brewed cup), the black tea is smooth. Quite tasty… a bit odd… but tasty!

I once dropped in for a cup of this tea when running on no sleep for 24 hrs straight. It did the trick quite well indeed. Sometimes I cannot handle coffee as it does not sit well with me when I am not feeling all that great. This tea leaves one feeling energized but not jittery.

Thank you Doulton for this tea. I have been curious about it for some time. :-)

This one really scared me. If you smelled it you would have been scared too. However, it isn’t bad. As a matter of fact this was a little sweet and the beer flavor was slight and mellow. Not bad, nothing I would purchased but definaetly happy to have tried and surprised to find it was better than expected.

Upon waking, I ran out to the kitchen like a little kid on Christmas morning. I just received a bag of this tea in the mail yesterday and I was looking forward to having it with breakfast.

Based on the merchant’s description and other tasting notes here, I had expected the tea to be slightly smokey (not to lapsang level, but something discernible) and slightly sweet from the maple.

What I got is a bag of black tea with what looks like red plastic chips. (these are the fake-on bits) Opening the bag, there was nothing that set this aside from any non-flavored black tea. Upon brewing, again, nothing different; no smokiness, no mapley goodness.

From a flavor standpoint, this was simply a so-so black tea. For a guy, I have pretty well developed taste-buds and I couldn’t pick up even the most subtle enhancement to the tea.

One other note regarding appearance; prior to decanting into my cup, the product was fairly disgusting looking. The bacon bits had softened and returned to their mushy, pink flesh-like appearance and floated at the top.

I was disappointed. (Sort of like the kid with the favorite toy that broke after 20 minutes on Christmas morning.)

There certainly is a hint of beer flavor here. Basically I would call it a decent, strong black tea with a certain creaminess and a bit of maltiness. But I’ve had maltier blacks and creamier blacks and yeastier blacks. I don’t regret the purchase, however, but it just did not rock my socks off (on this barefoot day).

It’s a better than average black tea but not an astounding one.

I was having late night salty snack cravings (well not really “late night”—it’s only 9:15pm here but I try not to eat after 7pm) so I brewed this up and it’s helping immensely. It’s deliciously smoky and almost salty like soy sauce. I do taste the bacon—there’s this “meaty” taste. But, I’m really appreciating the savoriness of this tea, right now.

Thanks Man Teas! :)

Oh lovely, lovely bacon!!! :)

I think this is more authentically bacon-y than Maple Bacon—the smokiness makes all the difference. Lapsang and bacon are perfect partners! This tastes like grilled Canadian Bacon. Grilled over mesquite in the middle of a pine forest.

Maple Bacon is for breakfast with pancakes. Smoky Bacon is good enough for dinner with a hefty meat course.

In one word: Delicious!

Yep, this is a bacon-y tea alright!

The aroma is spot on bacon with dribbles of maple syrup. But if I linger on it too long, I actually feel a little nauseous because the scent seems to get “oily”! I think I’m just imagining lard congealing on a plate.

I think the taste is more akin to beef jerky than pork. Or like meat marinated in soy sauce. It tastes very “meaty”. And there’s that sweet edge to it—like barbeque sauce with molasses.

Upon cooldown, subsequent sips remind me of the taste of tea eggs.

All in all, I like this very much. It doesn’t disappoint. It seems satisfyingly bacon-y, meaty and protein-rich (all with a dose of sugar)!

And yet it’s tea. Amazing! ;)

The nose is raw, under-ripe green pepper. No heat of the jalapeño. The heat comes in with a sip, and the raw pepper goes away. The black tea doesn’t hold up. Interesting to try, but not something I’d regularly drink.

Hmm. Jalapeno is there. How much I liked this varied from one sip to the next. I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve had it a few more times. I think it needs to steep a bit longer.

TTB sample!

“Nothing beats the taste sensation when maple syrup loud handclap collides with ham!”
—-Special Agent Dale Cooper

Ham, this isn’t. But smoked ham and smoked bacon are close enough (well, before they’re cooked, and leaving arguments over back bacon and streaky bacon aside), I say it counts! ;)

Moving onward: In the tin, it smells very, very smoky. With a hint of salt. Kind of like the rub you put on bacon as you’re preparing to cure it (minus the cold, greasy hands).

As it brews, there’s a hit of maple in the scent. The taste is much more of a smoked bacon affair, but the maple lingers in the scent. If you want to amp the maple, try pouring a little maple syrup in.

If you’re an anti-carb person but miss BLTs, wrap some lettuce around some juicy, ripe tomato slices and munch it with a mug of this. No bacony mouthfeel, but still very tasty! (I won’t be held responsible if you decide to use mayonnaise as an additive, though. ;) )

It’s surprisingly good. I felt compelled to try it, just by virtue of its existence. I’d probably not want to drink it at night…but then, I don’t usually go in for heavy black teas at night anyway. :)

I love the idea of the tea. It was cool that it bubbled when you poured it. The taste was a pretty average assam and since I was expecting a beer flavor I thought it really lacked. If you tried hard to get the taste then it was subtle, but it was not a strong beer flavor.