Happy Day of Eating Too Much everyone! I have spent my day being crafty (need to make sure my Melted Geek Shop is stocked for the holidays) and drinking teas while rocking out to 80s New Wave. In honor of my geeky inspiration I decided to review a tea that is inspired by a fandom that has been near and dear to my heart for years. I discovered Harry Potter when I was fifteen and the series helped keep magic alive in my heart when I was going through a really rough time in my life, so of course I wanted to try the Butterbeer tea!
Before I go much farther I should say, I have a very distinct idea of what Butterbeer is supposed to taste like in my head, I will try my best to be fair if it doesn’t taste the way I expect it to and review it as a tea and not as a fandom geek out. As a giant nerd this will be hard…I mean, don’t even get me started on a rant about a fandom I am a part of, it never ends well! Butterbeer by 52Teas is made from Black Tea, Licorice Root, Chicory Root, and natural flavors. The aroma is very strongly rootbeer. Pretty much the only thing I am picking up is the aroma of rootbeer, and maybe a hint of creaminess. I have a problem here, I absolutely loathe rootbeer, probably more than I loathe lemongrass which is saying something. So lets try steeping the tea, sometimes I get surprised.
Once steeping the aroma becomes creamier, definitely more like a rootbeer float rather than just soda. There are notes of earthiness from the chicory and also notes of malt and a touch sweet. It smells like a very bright tea. The liquid has notes of oak along with the strong notes of rootbeer and sweet cream. As I pull the cup away from my nose I notice a bit of a bitter root aroma.
Tasting time! I can certainly taste rootbeer, ugh. The tea is creamy and there is a touch of bitterness from the chicory but it is a little too much like rootbeer. Oddly the more I sip on the tea the more it is growing on me, I find that really amusing actually. The tea is naturally sweet, but only mildly, so I think I am going to add a bit of cream and sugar (my favorite way to drink flavored blacks). Ok, that is really tasty, it still has a bit of the rootbeer taste, but now I can taste a bit of malt, some earthiness, and a touch of oak. I don’t hate it, it is not a new favorite tea but it is not as bad as I was expecting it to be with that strong of a rootbeer aroma. However, I do not think it tastes anything like I expect Butterbeer to taste like, so my quest continues.
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/52teas-butterbeer-tea-review.html
