PeppermintPlant Send Message

OK, so. I saw this label, and knew that no matter what kind of tea it was for, I had to own it. It has an ADORABLE KITTEN on a bed of MARSHMALLOWS. With a slice of lemon for the sun. You guys. YOU GUYS.

So anyway, I was going to order it no matter what, but I did actually read the description and thought it sounded pretty good. I mean, I wasn’t really sure about the marshmallow with the lemon, but I have been dying to find a yummy, lemony green tea lately, so I was more than willing to give it a go.

And then it arrived — after my order of Butterbeer. And let me tell you, Steepster, I have finished an entire pouch of Butterbeer already. And I only gave a very small amount to my tea drinking pal because it was incredible and I didn’t want to share. So I haven’t really been drinking anything else at home, and I don’t do loose tea at work after my first attempt because of the mess factor.

So I didn’t try this tea until just now. Things to know:

1. It smells like dessert. I guess it’s the marshmallow pile adding even more yum to the lemon sunshine, but oh gosh does this smell great. And I can’t really separate the scent of the tea, but I can tell it’s there. I want to just, I don’t know, eat the leaves or something.

2. It tastes like dessert. It seriously lives up to the smell. The handful of lemony greens I’ve tried so far have been pretty unimpressive, so I was a bit nervous going into this, but it’s just the right lemon to tea ratio, and the marshmallow adds a sweet note that mellows the lemon’s sharpness a little and ties everything together beautifully.

3. I’m terrified to try more 52teas blends because WHAT IF THEY ARE ALL THIS DELICIOUS??? What if I have to start ordering all my tea in wholesale amounts!? I could drown and/or be buried in delicious tea — AND I’M OK WITH THAT.

But seriously, this blend is so amazing and I give it all of the thumbs up.

I’m really not sure how to feel about this tea. I got a sample on a whim, because I was curious to find out if I like coconut. I hate the texture of actual coconut, and I’ve never really had coconut-flavored anything. But I do like tea, ginger and lemongrass, so I figured there was a decent chance I would like Bangkok.

Scent-wise, I don’t care for the dry leaves. There’s just enough vanilla to be able to smell it, and I loathe the smell of vanilla. Once the water hits the leaves, though, the scent of everything mellows and I mostly smell the lemongrass, coconut and the tea, so it’s not bad.

I can taste lemongrass, grassy green tea notes, and a sort of rich, almost heavy sweetness I am assuming is the coconut. The vanilla is not very strong; it mostly seems to mellow the other flavors. I’m not tasting any ginger, but I have yet to drink a tea from Harney and Sons where you can actually detect the ginger, so that’s not surprising.

It’s a pretty interesting tea. I’m not really sure that I personally like the flavors. The vanilla is sort of ruining it for me, but again, I hate vanilla. However, it’s a complex tea and it would definitely go really well with some pad thai, so I’m going to rate it well anyway. And as much as I’m unsure about the flavor, I have to admit I’m more than willing to give it another go.

I have seen people giving rave reviews to 52teas.com all over Steepster, so I knew that the tea would be good, but I’ve been holding off because I have so much tea. But then Butterbeer.

I don’t think I can possibly explain how much of a Harry Potter fan I am. I started reading right before the Goblet of Fire came out and was addicted every since. I went to midnight release parties, I read every book with my two best friends and then we talked and laughed and cried over them together. I’ve written fanfiction (yes, I am admitting that). I got in on the Pottermore beta just to find out my house (Ravenclaw represent!). I don’t think I will ever outgrow these books, and I don’t even care.

So when I checked 52teas.com and found out that Butterbeer was an option, of course I had to order some.

This is how good it is. I got the package today, brewed it, took one sip and then immediately went and ordered another pouch. Now I’m sitting here sipping a second cup and munching on a pumpkin cookie (because Harry Potter!) and debating ordering a third pouch just in case I can’t live without it. Why didn’t I order two more?

Anyway, I guess I should actually get around to talking about the tea. It smells amazing, like a root beer float with some licorice aromas. And in fact, I can taste the root beery flavors when I drink it — along with very nice black tea, a hint of licorice and a smooth butteriness and that might not even be a word but it fits perfectly — and it FANTASTIC. Seriously, if every one of the teas from 52teas is even half this good, I can see why they are so popular.

I’m seriously considering never drinking any other tea ever again. No, really.

Found a bunch of tins of this for cheap at Home Goods, of all places. I have to admit, I only got this for the tin (same with its Wild Blueberry sister, as proven when I had to give all of it away because it has barley in it and I’m gluten-free). It appears to be discontinued — or at least, aside from the tin sitting on my desk at work, I cannot find proof it exists anywhere, including the company website.

That’s disappointing, because it’s really good. Like another tea I drank recently, it smells like orange soda when you open the tin. The scent is really, really strong — like burn your nose if you get too close strong — but still good.

Flavor-wise, it’s pretty tasty despite having hibiscus (I think; like I said, the tin’s at work, but there’s something that tastes an awful lot like hibiscus in it). It’s nice and sweet, but sort of tangy and citrusy at the same time. Somehow it makes you feel like it’s waking you up a little even though there’s no caffeine. It’s great in my cup toward the end of the night shift.

Well, this is interesting. I’m tasting a sort of smooth but unexciting black tea, and some light sweetness from the flower petals, and maaaaybe the barest hint of citrus fruit that’s so light I could just be fooling myself. But somehow it is working for me. Really, really working.

The weirdest part? It sort of smells, to me at least, like freshly polished wood. (Not like Lemon Pledge polished, but like that oil you use? I don’t know. It smells woodsy but not in a dusty, dry way.) It’s not strong, and it’s actually pretty nice, too.

Not really an exciting tea, and doesn’t really live up to the listed ingredients, but it is a nice one, and well worth the $3 I paid for a decent amount. (They didn’t have the amount printed on the bag, but I gave right around half to a friend and have maybe 1.5 ounces left.)

Got this in the tagalong sample. First off, this smells like orange soda tastes. It’s sort of wonderful. It doesn’t seem overpowering to me at all, but orange is one of my favorite scents.

The tea itself is a nice, smooth green, nothing special but a solid base for the flavoring. The orange is lovely, though I’d have liked it to be a little more tangy. It’s sort of sweet.

I don’t really have much else to say. It’s a nice tea, but even after all five sachets I’m undecided on whether I want to order more or not.

I’m actually sort of angry at Teavivre right now. Why does every single one of their teas have to be so amazing? Why can’t some of them just be mediocre? Then maybe I wouldn’t want to just give them my credit card and be like, “Send me one of everything!”

I ordered some of the premium dragon well to split with my fellow tea snob BFF, because, like everything from Teavivre, it was amazing. And with that order came four samples of this tea, which is also amazing. Maybe even more amazing. And I only get two of them, and I just restocked my tea cupboard and need to drink some of that before I can justify another order.

And now I can’t even be properly annoyed because this tea is so, so good. The flavor is strong enough to cover up the fact that I was too lazy to filter my water, but it still tastes light HOW DO THEY EVEN DO THAT??? It’s really sweet, almost floral, but somehow I am getting some really yummy oceany flavors and even though I can’t taste any mint, it leaves that same fresh feeling in the back of my throat. Such a complex, incredible flavor.

This tea is MAGIC somehow, there’s no other explanation. I AM CAPSLOCKING OVER IT.

Also the leaves are really pretty, all curly and green and white and I know this is a ridiculous thing to focus on but if I try to analyze how great this tastes anymore my head might explode.

Okay, obviously I can rhapsodize about this one forever, but I’m going to wrap it up, give this tea 100 points because that’s as far as the slider will go so I can’t give it 110, and go make another cup.

I meant to log this back when I started the box, but failed. Oh well.

It’s mostly pretty grassy, with a bit of butter. Steeps to a very pretty yellowy color. Oversteeping gives it a sharp note somehow, but I’m not sure how to describe it. Not bad, but not good enough that I am going to go buy another box, and I’m not really regretting having finished it. Still, I drank 15 cups of it, so it’s not like I really disliked it.

So anyway, I was in the vicinity of Peet’s on Saturday and, since I’ve been diligently drinking all my tea, stepped in to get some more (I am pretty sure I have gone beyond “refilling my cupboard” to “hey, I could open my own tea shop” and have instituted a buying ban on myself, but we won’t talk about that). I’ve been wanting to add something smoky and wonderful to my cupboard. Since this one smells almost acrid it is so smoky, I figured it was a good investment, especially for the price.

It’s pretty yum. I had no idea tea could taste dry like wine, but this one manages it. You know how when you go camping, you cook everything over the fire because you can and it all tastes like smoke and somehow that is fantastic? That is how this tea tastes. It’s actually pretty awesome.

Okay, so. I love cherries, a lot, and I’ve been wanting to try this tea forever. But there are no samples, and every time I place an order, I talk myself out of it because what if I hate it, right? Then I’m stuck with 19 sachets and I hate wasting tea, so I would have to drink it anyway if I couldn’t find someone who wanted it.

Until I made my last order, and I was running way low on work tea (i.e., tea in sachets or bags from anywhere) and went for it.

I thought for sure I had made a mistake when I opened the tin and got a face full of cherry cough syrup scent, so I decided to try one before I even bothered taking it to work.

I am so glad I did. It isn’t the very best tea I’ve had, but it’s still pretty darned good. The green tea is solid and very smooth, and there are definitely cherry notes. What I’m getting is CHERRY, mmm green tea, oh there’s the cherry again! It’s pretty nice, it doesn’t taste artificial (which was my worry when I smelled it). It’s not perfect, but for the price I’d definitely buy it again.

And it’s definitely tasty with the last of the fresh cherries I got over the weekend!