The word I’d use to describe this blend is “tangy.”
It’s a pleasing mix of tart and sweet. You can taste the bite of the citrus, the dance of the raspberry, and the wink of the rooibos. All of this flavor, none of the tireless, tedious bed-flipping evenings that come as a consequence of caffeine.
This reminds me of something moxie-bright I might have chugged as a child. It is sunshine and playing tag, bottled. It’s like Van Gogh’s brushstrokes have swirled this flavor profile into being.
All in all, this is a charming companion to sit by your bedside as you drift off to dreamland.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos/Herbal
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Wake Me Up, Scotty! From 52Teas
For Star Trek fans or just plain tea lovers alike, do yourself a favor and brew up a cup of Wake Me Up Scotty from 52Teas. This is based around a Scottish black tea, and gently sweetened with hints of butterscotch and a scattering of marshmallow root. The name of course, is in reference to the Star Trek phrase, Beam Me Up, Scotty. The tea got its name from all the ‘scotch and Scottish ingredients, and from the hearty caffeine dose of black tea.
I love a good Scottish breakfast blend first thing in the morning, though when I reach for a breakfast tea, I also want a little bit of tartness to make me feel fresh and awake. I was a little wary that the black tea in this blend would be hidden beneath its dessert flavors, but despite the candy-like inclusions, this tea preserves plenty of that crisp breakfast black tea taste.
This blend has it all: flavorful integrity of the black tea and a caress of caramel and cream flavors. You definitely taste the butterscotch and marshmallow, but not at the expense of the bright black tea. I take my tea without sugar or milk, but if you love the butterscotch notes, you can draw them forward by brewing this as a latte or by adding your favorite sweetener.
The caramel and marshmallow come across in this blend with almost the same nutty sweetness as honeyed breakfast cereal with mini marshmallows, which takes this whole idea of a breakfast tea to a new level. A delicious and balanced blend that I should keep on hand in my cabinet for any breakfast time brewing.
I applaud 52Teas for always being inventive in their flavors; they seek out new teas and flavor blends, and boldly go where no tea company has gone before!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
So this tea comes with a story – please bear with me . . .
I don’t usually go for teas that have already been blended. I usually want to do the blending myself. I also usually don’t go for CTC teas. But this tea presents us with an exception to that – because on a whim, I happened to sample an organic Scottish Breakfast Blend from a would-be supplier and I absolutely loved it. It was rich, rugged and malty and I immediately began to imagine what I might do with this tea.
So I ordered some of the tea to play around with it a bit and while playing around, I thought – hey, it’s a Scottish Breakfast Blend, I should try blending it with butterscotch. Not real creative, I know. But after my initial taste test of the blend flavored with butterscotch – I was hooked. I decided to lighten things up with some soft, creamy marshmallow. And my “Scotty Breakfast Blend” was born. Again – not a really creative name, right?
As I was sitting around with Mat and updating him with my tea studio happenings, he asked me why I called this one “Scotty Breakfast Blend.” And I told him something like: because it was made with a Scottish Breakfast Blend and I used ButterSCOTCH as the primary flavor component.
He mentioned I should call it “McBreakfast Blend” or something like that. Then I thought, what if McDonalds decides to slap a Cease and Desist on me for using their Mc. He told me that he didn’t think they could actually do that and they probably don’t lay claim to the prefix Mc. However, I wasn’t too keen on McBreakfast Blend … what about O’Scotty Breakfast Blend? During this exchange, I’m not sure who threw in “Beam Me Up, Scotty” into the mix . . . but I liked it. Not because I’m a big Star Trek fan because really, I’m not. I’m much more Harry Potter than Star Trek although I really liked Ricardo Montalbán’s portrayal as Khan.
But I digress.
I liked the idea that – for those of us who like to see different meanings in words – the “Beam Me Up” could be thought of as waking someone up or inspiring a sense of alertness which is what black tea (especially a rich CTC blend like this) does for me. At the end of my exchange with Mat, he said, just call it “Wake Me Up, Scotty!” because those who are Star Trek fans will appreciate the alluding to “Beam Me Up” without actually saying that – and those who wouldn’t get what I’m alluding to might still appreciate that this is a wake-me-up kind of tea with a Scottish Breakfast Blend base and a butterscotch flavor.
This a well-rounded black tea that on it’s own is pretty robust and stimulating – a fantastic first tea of the morning! The butterscotch and hint of marshmallow offer a pleasant sweetness to the cup. A delightful cuppa!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Cupcake from 52Teas. . . .
A tea friend won this in a contest and was very kind and shared with me. I am really grateful given it is a tea that immediately called to me but also one that gave me pause before I would consider purchasing. The issue with this tea, Earl Grey Cupcake by 52 Teas, is that I can almost never resist cupcake teas and yet I almost always avoid Earl Greys. Hence the conundrum here but luckily my problem was resolved by the generosity of a friend.
As much as I don’t always love the flavor of Earl Greys, the smell really is quite relaxing and this tea in particular smells mouth-wateringly delicious.
It also tastes delicious. The bergamot of the earl grey is strong but smooth and it is kept in check by the vanilla beans which add a gentle cream note.The base teas contribute a breadiness and body that combines with the rest of the tea to help really capture the cupcake concept. The cute little star sprinkles also give this tea a festive touch and just a hint of cupcake sweetness.
Despite my unease with bergamot, I did enjoy this one. I can see Earl fans really loving this and for those that maybe aren’t as familiar with the Earl, this could be a nice tea to make his acquaintance. I could also see this being one yummy latte.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Carrot Cake Pancakes from 52Teas
I am a carrot cake fiend. I also love me some pancakes. And before I found this magical tea hybrid of the two, I found actual carrot cake pancakes…or perhaps it was pancakes carrot cake? Basically it was a cake sold in a deli in Montreal that looked like 20 pancakes stacked, with cream cheese icing in between the layers. It always fascinated me but I never got to try it so this tea is my chance to give it a go.
The first thing I noticed while drinking this tea is that it has the nice spice that I love in a good carrot cake. The cinnamon is definitely strong, though smooth, with a touch of nutmeg and a dash of allspice. It is a nice rounded spice flavor that is kept in check by the sweetness of the carrot. With that said, the black tea has a touch of thickness in the mouthfeel that is bringing to mind a denser pancake as opposed to a fluffy/light cake.
At first when I finished the cup I was sad that there was no semblance of a cream cheese icing. With that said, I can definitely see this as carrot cake pancakes, as in pancakes inspired by a carrot cake recipe as opposed to the carrot cake that looked like 20 stacked pancakes layered with icing. So no cream cheese icing but this does taste like a pancake with carrot cake spices and some carrot sweetness. If you want carrot cake, this is not the tea to go with but if you want carrot cake pancakes, then give this a try.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
White Christmas from 52Teas. . . .
Imagine a jar of rainbow gumdrops. These sweets could go one of two ways: fruity, gumdrops, or seasonal spice drops. Is the dark purple candy grape or anise? Are the red ones cinnamon or cherry? Peppermint or pineapple? Orange or clove? If you’re not into these herbal-flavored treats, spice drops must be the bane of your existence. Sassafras instead of lemon?! Fooled again!
I like both kinds of candy drops, for different reasons. But the one reason I love White Christmas Tea from 52Teas is that it smells and tastes just like a sweet spearmint spice drop. The dry leaves are strongly fragrant with mint and vanilla, and the tea brews up with the same scents. The blend smells so sweet and perfectly creamy and minty, you can almost feel the spice drop sugar crystals on your tongue already.
This blend doesn’t feature the icy harshness of pure peppermint, but the gentler more herbal tone of spearmint. The natural creaminess of the spearmint is complimented by the vanilla notes from marshmallow root, bringing additional sweetness to the blend. A touch of cocoa and the black tea leaves add robustness to these candy-cane flavors, making the blend strong enough for any cold winter night.
52Teas is known to change their inventory on a regular basis, so I am not sure if this blend is in stock at the moment, but keep an eye out if it pops up in the future.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
Here’s our premium black teas blended with peppermint, marshmallow root and organic flavors. I know we’ve done a few marshmallow/mint blends this year, but this might just be the crowning jewel. As a few of our 12 Teas of Christmas sampler purchasers have already commented, the black tea lends a faint chocolate note to the mixture of mint and marshmallow.