Southern Boy Iced Teas

Sipping on this as I watch a pretty bittersweet episode of Community. On the plus side, Dan Harmon is definitely back. On the down side, Donald Glover is gone and it was a sad goodbye.

My plan is to finish off the pitcher of this as I want to try at least couple other SBT teas this weekend so I know what to reorder. That is harder than it seems though given the cold temperatures and the surplus of other teas that I am dying to try as a hot brew. At least this tea is tasty!

I have been sipping on this throughout the day between cups of hot tea. It is really a good cup. I am sure when the weather warms up, I will be throwing this back very, very quickly. It is creamy, smooth, and has awesome Neapolitan flavor. This is definitely a win.

Mmmmm…this is tasty!

I cold brewed this for 16 hours and it is really good. It is Neapolitan ice cream through and through. Plus, it is the Neapolitan I like because it is heavy on the vanilla and strawberry and not so much of the chocolate. Moreover, the base is present but very muted, allowing the flavors to shine (although I tried it at 15 hours and the base was even more muted – I think next time I will stick to that time).

This will definitely be a repurchase.

Steepster just ate my tasting note, so let’s try this again…

I made a pitcher of this for dinner last night, and it was a hit. The strawberry flavor is excellent, and the hint of custard is nice. Given that the empty pitcher was sitting on the table when I walked into the kitchen this moring, I think my family agrees.

This really nicely captures all the elements of a blueberry cream cheese danish. Juicy blueberry taste, hint of a cream cheese tang, and a nice pastry flavor. All of it comes together wonderfully on the smooth black tea base. MMmmm…

And with this tea tried, I can now place my 52 teas order.

This was one of the Kickstarter created teas for SBT, so I added at least the tea and when Frank gets caught up on everything I’m sure he’ll be adding all of them with proper pictures and the like, and adding them to the site, which is when you will need to buy this flavor. It officially comes in behind Rainbow Sherbet for me. Really.

And that is why I had to post about it now, not whenever. I mean, I was drinking this iced even though it is so cold out.

I added some sugar as it steeped because I tend to like to with orange just in case it gets bitter, so I think that helped also boost creaminess too. My favorite thing about SBTs is that you get the flavor but it doesn’t overwhelm the tea itself, so it’s the best of both worlds. I think I drank this one in like 3 days whereas whatever had last been in the pitcher had been sitting too long to still be good.

Once I go through a lot more of these I definitely want to stock up on this one! Since I got the 12 Teas of Christmas I don’t want to order more just yet at all.

What am I doing wrong with these iced teas??

I cold steeped this for about 8 hours in the correct amount of water and it tastes like alcohol to me. The supposed flavours don’t transfer at all. Smells like alcohol too. Going to have to pour the whole thing out.

Not rating because I don’t know if it’s user error or not but I don’t have any more of this.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, SBT sent me this tea!

I liked this one. A good strawberry flavor, I think it could have a slightly stronger creamy/custard-y note, though. A nice strawberry aftertaste. I do prefer the 52Teas version of the Strawberry Zabaglione (and I can’t wait to try the strawberry zabaglione green tea!)

It’s yummy though. Here’s my full-length article: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/01/04/eleventh-day-christmas-southern-boy-teas-edition/

This is the tea that’s currently in the fridge. I cold-brewed it overnight. It’s a yummy tea – I find that I tend to favor the various lime teas that SBT offers, with my preference being for the Lime Cola or the Lime Jello. But this one is good too.

The flavor isn’t as strong as I’d like it to be with the cold-brew, but it is still tasty. The resteeping (tonight before I go to bed, I’ll resteep the pouch hot-brew method) will be even better.

On The Fourth Day of Christmas, SBT sent me this tea!

Having enjoyed the other lime offerings from SBT (Lime Jello and Lime Cola) I felt confident that I’d enjoy this too. And it’s yummy. I cold-brewed the first pitcher of this tea, and then I resteeped the pouch (hot-brewed) and to tell the truth, I found the hot-brewed resteeping of the pouch to be better than the first cold-brew. It’s more flavorful, I can taste more of the lime and cheesecake in the second pitcher than I did in the first cold-brewed pitcher.

In the cold-brewed pitcher, I noticed most of the flavor in the aftertaste.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/12/28/on-the-fourth-day-of-christmas-southern-boy-teas-edition/

I feel like I’m drinking blueberry juice!! With maybe a slight tang of the cream cheese flavor. Excellent! I only ordered one of each of the new SBT flavors on black friday and this one is on my reorder list.

Cold steeped in a gallon of h2o in fridge for two days.

On the Second Day of Christmas, SBT sent me this Tea!

A really yummy iced tea. Sweet-tart blueberry flavor with a hint of tangy cream cheese. I don’t get a lot of crust notes in the cold-brewed tea. I don’t know if hot-brewing will result in more flavors. If I really focus on the flavors, I can taste hints of buttery pastry but it’s not a strong presence.

Overall, a good iced tea. Here’s my full-length article: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/12/26/second-day-christmas-southern-boy-teas-edition/

Steeping the base hot, this smelled at first very chemical-y, kinda like chlorine, but then after I topped off the jug with cold water and it settled down a bit there was a kind of tangy key lime and cream cheese (! yes) scent going on. I know not to judge much based on the scent of the initial steep as it’s hyper-concentrated.

Today completely cold, this tastes mostly like plain black iced tea to me—refreshing and iced tea-y, but not too much other flavor. There is a sweet note, very very subtly lime-y, but I’m not sure I’d even detect it as such without the power of suggestion…

Wait a sec. Well, actually there’s more key lime in the lingering aftertaste…it sits on your lips and tongue and is in fact quite accurate, just light. This makes the lips tingle and get numb slightly too, not sure what that’s about. This is one that grows on you; unlike many Zoomdweebies/52teas offerings it’s not an upfront whammy of smell and flavor that recedes to let the tea taste come in at the end of the sip; it’s the opposite, where at first you just taste tea and then the cooling lime and cream cheese (yay, it’s in there!) and crust elements wander in gradually and grow fuller and louder with time. I do like this after all.

As usual, Sil is spot on in that this feels like it delivers what I was hoping Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish would—the dry and steeping smell has a distinct cream cheese pastry element that is scrumptious! I did this one per the proper instructions (though I couldn’t figure out how much boiling water to use…I guessed and did it half and half, 4 cups boiling steeped then added to 4 cups cold). It did have that slight edge traditionally brewed iced tea always seems to, that cold steeped doesn’t, and which I’m not crazy about, but it also, I’m guessing, had more overall flavor. Decisions, decisions! Anyway, I enjoyed it.

Wow, I’m impressed with these SBT’s! It really tastes like Neapolitan ice cream somehow. It has a nice creamy aftertaste and totally reminds me of those astronaut ice cream packs (which I love and try to buy whenever I see them).

I just received my latest 52teas order on Friday and I’ve already made another order. This is my third order from 52teas in 2 months. I think I have a problem:( I wanted to wait to see what tea Frank would come out with next week, but I just couldn’t wait and cotton candy black tea was down to 3 left! actually, I think drinking this tea made me super excited to make another order and I forgot that I wanted to wait until it was too late.

I am sick right now but have been drinking a lot of tea. I haven’t been writing any tasting notes because I can’t really taste anything. But, even through this cold, I can taste how delicious this ice tea is! I cant really taste the black base, but I can taste strawberry, and maybe some cream and some sort of pastry? Its hard to tell, the only thing im sure about is the strawberry and it is awesome! I’m hoping that my cold isn’t somehow making it taste better, because I ordered the regular version of this tea that was just reblended. I won’t rate until this 2 month long cold is gone! I think it was actually two separate colds, but i had a horrible cough that wouldn’t go away between the two:(

wow, WOW! this was an excellent bad idea. you know when you’re decently sure you’re executing a bad idea, but it makes you happy so just too-damn-bad? yup. that’s this.

it is 2:22 am, i haven’t had much sleep the last week…. we have new tenants moving in, i start school next tuesday and regular old life stress. it was a gonzo day, this is the first time i’ve had any time to myself and i wanted to try this awesome smelling iced tea!

the sensible part warred with the rebelious side of me:

-but it’s so late at night that it’s morning, james.
-your point?
-sleep is a good thing… this tea is a black base.
-iced cream in liquid form is a good thing, quit lecturing!
-i’m the one that listens to the griping when you make bad decisions like this….
-then stop up your ears!

it was the very best bad decision i’ve made this week. all three flavours are clear without being muddy. a simple syrup… 1/2 a cup of a 50/50 mix added to the 8 cups of tea. i’m convinced.

my compliments to frank and crew! and now to sleep…. ;0P

My first SBT. Hot brewed, poured over ice. It smells like strawberries and cream. First sip, I tasted strawberry with a hint of creamy chocolate which meshed pretty good with the black base. I then sweetened it with vanilla sugar and that made the Neapolitan Ice Cream pop. Very good iced tea, indeed. Leaving it overnight and will update tomorrow.

Update: Update from last night’s brewing. After letting it sit overnight in the refrigerator, the smell has further developed and has taken on the definite notes of Neapolitan Ice Cream. It retained it’s dark amber color reminiscent of a dark wild honey. Unsweetened, it has lost much of the strawberry leaving a more balanced and pleasing taste though the vanilla is there, it continues to remain elusive and difficult to taste. Sweetened with vanilla sugar, the tea blends nicely and draws the vanilla out from the shadows creating a richer and creamier drink. The flavor continues to play on your tongue long after your final sip. This is a tea I will be ordering again.

I brewed up a bunch of iced teas for a friend’s birthday bbq today. This ice tea was just ok. The base was nice, bright, and even malty, bit I didn’t love the flavors. I did taste chocolate and strawberry, but the chocolate was not the kind I like and the strawberry was a little week.

Going against popular opinion here, but I am not a fan of this iced tea. I prepared it as suggested, and on the plus side, it really does taste like Neapolitan Ice Cream. I can pick out each flavor in the tea, and there is still a strong black tea base. All of that makes for a great iced tea.

However, there is a starkly artificial, sickly sweet aftertaste with every sip of the tea, and that really ruins it for me. It sticks in my mouth to the point where I had to go brush my teeth to be rid of it. Because the ingredients list is so vague, I unfortunately have no idea what is creating that taste, so I can’t even avoid it in future teas. Maybe I got a bad batch, or maybe I am just sensitive to one of the flavorings, but I wouldn’t get this one again.

I’ve been meaning to write this since Monday since it was my National Iced Tea Day iced tea! In fact, I wanted to do it last night but right before 8pm the power went out after a massive storm blew through. I only got power back at 4:50am, and I only know this because my smoke detector’s first power source is electricity and it beeped twice when it came back on, scared me half to death. There are trees down all over the place, I can’t even get to my garden and I’m worried about one of my tomato plants since it already looked like it had too much water D:

So yes this tea, it is hard to pick a favorite SBT because they are all so good. This one though I’d say isn’t up there, but it’s still good. This time around, it seemed more chocolatey than the other flavors, but the strawberry and vanilla were still there. I love that it’s sweet enough I don’t have to add extras, and it tastes creamy even though it’s just water and tea.

I guess the other bag I had, I made at the Dragon. I don’t even remember that, oops!

I haven’t made any iced tea since I came back home to my apartment so I feel like today and right now might be the time to do that. I could have done it by flashlight last night but then I would have taken my bird’s only light source. Once I set up the flashlight by him like a lantern, he ate dinner haha.

I made a pitcher of this, figuring I might share it with people.

Let’s just say I am not sharing, as it’s half gone since last night. And of all compliments that can be bestowed upon a tea, my boyfriend took a sip and said it was good! Usually when I get him to take a sip the reaction makes me wonder why I bothered.

It’s not as strongly flavored as the Neapolitan Honeybush, but I imagine the different base also plays into that. It’s still super tasty, and you can taste all the flavors. The strawberry is kind of lacking compared to chocolate (strongest) and vanilla. It’s creamy, just sweet enough to be reminiscent of ice cream, and all around good. Though I think we already all realized that from all these other SBT blends.

I didn’t get a chance to save the second teabag for this one though. But I have been ordering more of these with every 52teas order so I do have another.

Anyway I must go comfort a super hungover boyfriend since I’ll probably have to drive him to lunch and then I want to drive on the road I came here for, so I’d like him to not throw up in my car.

Made a nice strong pitcher of this the usual way: 2 cups boiling water with some rock sugar and resteeped the bag in another cup of water and iced. Pretty tasty.

But you know what? I couldn’t help but put in a splash of half and half into my glass! I think I like it just a tad sweeter, but it tastes pretty close to liquified Neapolitan Ice Cream.

Definitely will do that again!