52teas

No notes on this one? Really? Well mine went poof when the power decided to go away. So from what i recall, this one wasn’t half bad. It came across as really light – not very blergy at all. crowkettle provided this one and overall impressions since i lost my detailed notes were that this one was missing something…like oomph or something. Not a bad tea but really light…not really an intense flavour. mild. though i did get notes of the alcohol like vibe from it.

I didn’t realize until I was steeping this one that it is a lot like my favorite no-caff blend (carrot, pineapple, coconut… plus and minus a few things) and this one is just as tasty especially when I oversteeped the second cup the next night. But there is no oversteeping here, only lovely fuller flavor, with the coconut, carrot and pineapple blending together even better. MMM. And the pieces of everything are huge! There is a really nice balance between the three. I only taste a tiny bit of cinnamon aftertaste and the honeybush and rooibos base is perfect for this one. It really helps give the cup that orange color to go with that carrot. This blend is my thing!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// few minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // many minute steep

Edited to add: Just got a call at 2 in the morning that Dad was taken to the hospital with brain bleeding from the stroke he had two weeks ago. He is still ten hours away because he was taking antibiotics for the infection and was seemingly doing well. I am scared to death now and have to wait for his surgery to be done.

The base is a pretty high quality black. Malty, honey, cocoa, delicious tannins typical in blacks. No bitterness at all, even in a longer steep (6 min, boiling water).

A hint of vanilla, lots of rich cocoa/dark chocolate. I was hoping for more vanilla, but this is still tasty. The sunflower seeds are nutty, but I find their flavour a bit musty (although allergen free). It wasn’t the marshmallow treat I hoped, but I did enjoy my cup this morning.

Citrus? check
Anise? check
Lemony chamomile? check

Yup, exactly as I hoped. The anise is fantastic for licorice lovers like me who don’t like metallic, sickly sweet licorice root in teas. I maybe could have gone for a touch more sweetness, but I did coldbrew it. Honeybush really doesn’t shine unless it gets brewed near-boiling.

My 52Teas order finally came in. Turns out, the reason it took so long to get delivered is because customs held it, openeed the package, and then proceeded to fine me $12.34 in import fees for the package containing undeclared spices. lol whatever you say CBSA…pretty sure it is clearly tea (consider the fact that the labels list teas as ingredients, the exporter is called 52Teas, and if you open the package it is obviously tea.)

Anyway, I tried the two herbals I ordered, one of which is this. The honeybush is somewhat sweet and tastes like typical honeybush, although I personally thing some oatmeal flavouring or rooibos would have improved it. There were some interesting fruits. The mango was distinct, although a bit tart. I couldn’t make out a ton of blueberry, but it was there. Overall, it wasn’t as good as I hoped, however it wasn’t bad either. I was hoping for something more desserty (oatmeal, brown sugar, maple syrup, that kind of thing).

I don’t want to be too hard on this because I have yet to find a chocolate tea that comes close to being actually chocolatey. This one is no exception, but it only fails in the way they all fail. The richness of chocolate just does not translate into tea, in my opinion. The strongest note in here is actually the sunflower seeds. It’s not bad, it’s just not as robust as some of 52Teas’ other black teas.

See my full review on Sororitea Sisters:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/04/02/glazed-donut-from-52teas/

See my full review on Sororitea Sisters:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/03/30/bonfire-in-a-cup-smoky-spice-from-52teas/

See my full review on Sororitea Sisters:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/03/03/smoky-coconut-packs-a-punch/

After my relative success with Maple Marshmallow, and being slightly leery of pouring boiling water on a large bag of green tea to make a concentrate, I decided to cold brew this one. It got around 10 hours overnight in the fridge, in 2 litres of cold water. Like Maple Marshmallow, the base is just a little more prominent than I’d like it to be. I think that’s my fault for not taking the bag out soon enough, but it takes me a while to get going on a morning, and slightly over-steeped tea (cold or otherwise) is a price I’m usually willing to pay. On the plus side, it’s not bitter or astringent – it’s just really obvious that it’s green tea, and maybe a little too vegetal for the otherwise sweet flavour profile.

I have to say, though, the cotton candy is good. It’s pretty much spot-on in flavour terms, although it doesn’t sit entirely happily with the green base. They’re just two flavours that I don’t think work together all that well. Cotton Candy black is more my thing, and that’s the one I’d repurchase if repurchasing was possible. Sadly, it’s not. I’d be willing to try a Cotton Candy white – that I can see working.

Still. It’s tea, it’s cold, and it’s a hot day. It’s tasty, and that’s good enough for me. There’s not much to say about the flavour, I don’t think, it’s sweet and sugary, as you’d expect, maybe slightly strawberry-ish. It’s good stuff, and I’m sad SBT is no more.

Mostly cinnamon and nutmeg is what I get from this genmaicha. The squash comes through more as this cools but I’m failing to pick up any vanilla or marshmallow. Add that toasty base into the mix—which I’m enjoying the most, really—and this reminds me of of a savoury dish than a creamy, sweet pumpkin spice latte. It’s reminiscent of a chilly pre-Halloween autumn day when I’m baking butternut squash in the oven, it browns on the edges, and the cinnamon and nutmeg I’ve sprinkled on top toasts up a bit.

The end of the story leaves me with a faint cellar aftertaste in the mouth, likely from the pumpkin.

First cold brew of the year! Usually, I prepare my SBTs using a hot concentrate, in that I leave the bag in 1/4 litre of boiling water for about 3 minutes, and then top up to 2 litres with cold. I’ve had mixed results with this method, though, so I decided to try this one cold brewed. I left the bag in two litres of water for around 10 hours overnight, and I’m pretty pleased with the result. My only complaint is that the black tea base is a little too prominent, and it’s bordering on bitter, but that sometimes happens with the hot prep method too. Otherwise, this is good – marshmallow is the strongest flavour, but it’s swiftly followed by maple and somehow (somehow) that seems to help round things out. I thought, initially, it was going to be too sweet, but the maple cuts through that and brings it back to a level I’m confortable with. It’s not that the maple isn’t sweet, either, because it is…it’s just a different kind of sweetness. Maybe because it’s got more of a defined flavour than marshmallow has? Maybe because it’s richer? I’m aware that this doesn’t make much sense, but it’s hard to explain. Despite maple and marshmallow being two very sweet things to my mind, they actually seem to work well together and one balances the other out.

Is this my favourite SBT? No. I’d like a base that’s just a bit less obvious, and a touch less sweetness. Maple on its own would have been just fine with me. This is where you need to be if you’ve got a sweet tooth, though. Or maybe that should be needed, since I think Southern Boy Teas are now no more.

I spent a good part of yesterday at a silent meditation retreat in the city. This is the tea that I picked as the first one of the day to set me in motion. The rest of the day I spent with various oolongs.

My experience with 52Teas berried black teas has been that there hasn’t been enough berry. 52Teas appears to be remedying this issue here with this tea. Hurray for the tea to berry balance! The raspberry flavour is true and real and comes through with good proportion to the lovely black base.

Even though I had given the bag a good shake to distribute all things, I am not really detecting the piquant element here. Even if I squint.

Maybe the next cup or the one after that will be the spicy one.

I have considered that a bit of cream here would not go amiss. And vanilla cream, even better.

That said, a very enjoyable cup, nonetheless. I am starting this day off with another cup with similar results. Lovely.

Now if the neighbour with the tile cutter machinery would come to his senses and realize that it is Sunday and that construction noise is against the law. People, *&^%!

This tea has so many ingredients that don’t sound like they’d go together, but they really do.

It’s fruity and sweet, and the marshmallow and vanilla add a lovely comforting touch. The black tea base is so smooth and yet it is robust enough to still be present despite all the other ingredients. I’ve had it both hot and iced, and it’s lovely both ways. I prefer it iced, but, as of late, it’s also been consistently well over 90°F in the shade here in south Texas.

It’s a lovely tea to have as an afternoon pick-me-up while at work. It’s got some caffeine to get me through the afternoon and it’s sweet enough to keep me from raiding the office kitchen.

Another really nice flavored black tea blend from 52Teas.

52 Teas’ oolongs always tend to hit the right spot for me.

“The tea’s gestalt is like maple dressing on a really tasty salad. And if maple salad dressing does not exist, I would like to claim credit for the idea and become a zillionaire off it.

(leaves) (returns) I just used Google. Someone’s already thought of it."

Full review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/01/17/maple-cheesecake-tie-guan-yin-from-52teas/

“If you hadn’t told me about the habanero, I might have thought the tingling was schizophrenia. It sneaks up on you, getting more intense as you drink down. (Does it, like sink? Scientists?) The first time I drank this, I thought I was going crazy.

Or drinking the tea too hot.

Which I always do. I want to drink my tea the instant it comes out of the steeper. I do not want to wait. I want it in my face immediately. So I’m constantly singeing the roof of my mouth. Then probing the destroyed tissue with my tongue, thwarting the healing process."

Full review, including how bad I still am at drinking tea, here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/12/29/mango-pineapple-habanero-black-tea-from-52teas/

Found a wee bit of this, thankfully. It’s been a challenging week and yes, I know it is only Tuesday. You know, like when the universe decides to pour. Thank goodness for meditation. Seriously.

Not quite sure what wasn’t working for others with this one, possibly that it is not overly mango or overly sweet. For me, it is just perfect as is. Nothing missing. Nothing over the top.

I enjoyed this one a lot, and wanted to right up a nice note about it. Unfortunately, I seem to have inhaled my whole package on the way out the door.

All I can say is that it was good, the description is spot on, and I kind of miss it. Also, it’s slightly better than hot buttered spiced rum because I can’t actually taste dark rum (definitely not my favourite hard liquor, except in elaborate cocktail form, where it then becomes lovely).

Now that it’s gone I guess I’ll just have to make due with actual hot buttered rum; the weather here is almost perfect for it (why, overcast rain).

While superficially reminiscent of the old Fantasy Island blend from David’s Tea, this blend is boozier, brighter, and more acidic (thanks, Bergy). There’s also no coconut, but it makes up for that in vanilla marshmallow, and even more berries.

It’s surprisingly juicy, with all the sweet-tart dimensions that blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries bring to the table. It’s a refreshing cuppa, even when consumed hot, without milk. The vanilla and the woody fluff textural quality of the marshmallow root gives it that desirable berry dessert vibe. The bergamot is actually not that blatant, merely complimenting the lush berry flavours with its floral/citrus profile.

If you love Bluebird’s Vicky’s Spongecake, DT’s Fantasy Island, or AQTT’s Black Cherries in Sweet Cream you’d probably enjoy this too.

This sample was generously provided by 52Teas. Thank you!

So, I’ve been putting off trying this tea because I was kind of scared about the degree of spice it might have – I’ve had a Frank era 52Teas blends with OBSCENE amounts of Spice (Napalm Ferret, anyone) and I definitely wasn’t in the mood for that…

But…

- This had very mild overall spice, which was surprising
- Does sort of have the light back of the throat tickle peppercorn teas have to me though
- I like the strawberry; it reminds me of the strawberry in Strawberry Genmaicha
- Has a roundness to it
- Really mellow, soft tea overall;
- Enjoyed it even though it was very UNLIKE the description

And yes – I DID shake up the package first. I just didn’t find this one all that impactful.

As I mentioned in my tasting note of the Dragon – this is the first week of our Anniversary Month (we took over 52Teas in June of 2015!) so for this week, I decided to make not just one but TWO teas for the Tea of the Week – this is one of those teas (the Dragon is the other).

I hot-brewed this and then let it cool for iced tea. I did the hot brew mostly because I forgot to set it to cold brew last night and rather than waiting a few hours to let it cold-brew today, I decided to let the Breville do the work for me.

This tea is really delightful iced. The mango & berry combination offers a lovely sweetness and the vanilla/marshmallow notes give the tea a layer of softness. I usually prefer iced teas to be made with green tea because I often find black teas to be too ‘heavy’ for something I want to be light and refreshing – but the way the flavors come together here, it doesn’t come across as too dense. It has a nice balance – it’s really quite perfect as an iced tea. Sweet and smooth.