Who didn’t love the last Sherlock season? So good! I loved each episode and can’t wait for the next season. . .if there is a next season.
Sherlock is one of those shows that my stepsons even enjoy. We actually love this show so much that we (and I really should say I) decided to name our dog Benedict, after Benedict Cumberbatch-who plays Sherlock in the series. The show is clever and cunning, always keeps you wondering what is coming next.
So it goes without saying that when I saw that there were several Sherlock inspired teas offered in the Fandom Blend section of Adagio Teas, I had to find one that fit my tastebuds. Most of the blends were either smoky or heavy into earl greys so to find one that had a fruity tart twist, I was giddy.
Starlight and Crime Scenes is a mix of green gunpowder tea, blood orange herbal inclusions, earl grey moonlight, and hibiscus. The earl grey moonlight is a creamy version of an earl grey and to me- doesn’t seem to have those heavy bergamot oil flavors.
Since this is a combination of green tea, black tea and herbals, I decided to keep my brewing parameters to 190F and allowed the tea to steep for 4 minutes. Within just a minute or two, my water turned into this lovely orange-red brew that reminded me there was hibiscus in the blend. But I’m quite happy to report that the hibiscus flavors work so well with this tea.
With this being a twist on earl grey, the first flavors you do get are creamy vanilla bergamot but they have a tart citrus twist. One of those teas that the more you drink it, the more you find you like it. At first I thought for sure this tea would get heavy but that hasn’t happened this steeping at all. The fruity flavors with the creamy notes really deliver a welcomed contrast to the strong beramot flavors that I’m not a huge fan of.
I will say, drink this tea hot or cold brew. As the tea cools, the tartness does start to overwhelm just a tad. But with a touch of honey, you are back in business!
For me this tea delivers a spot on Sherlock inspired blend. Perfectly balanced with the fruity tones and a more creamy sophisticated earl grey flavor. This is one of those teas that I’m going to crave more of and one that I could definitely see picking up the bigger size bag of.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green/Black Tea
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Based off The Paradox Series by wordstrings – The cup is full of Sherlock’s grey moods, blood and gunpowder from crime scenes, and some starlight. What else are we to live on? It’s the only tea you’ll ever want anymore.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange Cranberry Yum. . A Custom Blend from BlendBee
Custom blending tea can either turn out amazing or not so much. I’ve used a few different custom blending tea companies but this was the first time I used BlendBee to create my own unique designs.
For Christmas I received a little extra spending money so I decided I would put those dollars to good use. I emailed Jamah at BlendBee and asked her a few tips and tricks on how to properly blend a tea and viola! Orange Cranberry Yum was born. (Yes, I named the tea too. I’m not so clever when it comes to naming tea it seems)
With being a part of the SororiTea Sisters, I’ve been given the amazing privilege of trying to many different flavored teas, but the one flavor that I don’t seem to get a chance to try often is a really solid orange tea. A lot of times, orange teas are cinnamon spiced and I have to be in the right mood to enjoy one of those teas. For this custom tea of mine, I wanted more of an orange cranberry dessert flavor. This tea was inspired by the Fiber One Orange Cranberry Scone bars that I’ve fallen in love with.
To create your own tea with Blend Bee all you need to do is check mark what you want. Check mark the base you want, inclusions, spices, extracts and a few other options to develop your own tea blend. I wanted this tea to be a buttery rich tea, so I went with a green tea base, more specifically I picked Young Hyson Green Tea.
To give the tea the orange and cranberry flavor, I picked Cranberry, Custard & Orange Extract. For some of the inclusions, I went with some herbals to give the tea a healthy aspect, named the tea, and that was it. Jamah emailed me a few other questions, because she is the mixing expert) and gave her advice on a few different ways to finish the tea off and we were all set.
For 10 cups or 1 oz of this tea, it is $9.95. From previous BlendBee blends I’ve had, I know that I will be able to get at least 20 cups out of this pouch. BlendBee’s teas are perfect for infusing a few different times.
So today, happily, this tea with the other teas I custom blended, arrived at my door. Orange Cranberry Yum (I know, such a terrible name) was the first one I had to try. So I brewed up my tea with water prepped for green tea and allowed the tea to steep for about 4 minutes. The water slowly turned to a gorgeous pink-lilac color (from some of the inclusions).
While this tea was steeping, a delicious creamy orange flavor was drifting in the air. I mean I’m talking creamsicle flavor. I couldn’t have been happier and was hoping the flavors would translate into a similiar flavor.
And those flavors absolutely did! This tea is a lovely lush silky orange delight with a hint of a tartness here and there. The overall feel is just this smooth flavor that makes you squeal. I honestly can’t say I’ve had a tastier creamy orange tea before. The flavors are so light and airy. But not so light and airy they don’t deliver a good flavor. The flavor is spot on.
I’m currently on my second infusion of this tea and the flavor is still there. I’m thinking I may even be able to get a third steeping. Delicious, quality, and flavors that are spot on.
I couldn’t be happier with this tea and am so excited to see what other flavors I can come up with. The custard flavor is what I love the most out of these tea and the flavor that is bringing the rest of them together to make this more of a dessert tea.
So the moral of the story. . .if you are craving a tea flavor that you can’t find anywhere. . .check out BlendBee’s custom option. Can’t wait to check out my other teas I made!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
The Blending Station allows you to create custom tea blends. Choose from all natural teas (ie. black, green, or herbal teas), spices, herbs, flowers and flavors that suit your fancy.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragon’s Palm Tree from Adagio Teas. . .A Signature Blend
What a light, sweet, darling delight of a tea! This white/peach/strawberry/apricot delight is the tea equivalent of that coral color all the cool kids are wearing these days. Almost pastel, but with that punch of color.
Every time I sip it, I’m a little surprised. I feel like I’m getting POW!ed in the face by a cartoon character. Like those old Batman onomatopoeia typographic masterpieces:
Robin would be like “Holy unexpected flavor blast, Batman! This dragon tea is fierce!” And Batman would say, “not NOW, Robin! Get the Bat Shark Repellent!” Robin would say, “Will that work on dragons?” Batman would say, “It’s all we have in the Bat-Copter, Boy Wonder!” And you would say, “Bat Shark Repellent?” And I would say, “It literally happened. You need to watch the 1960s movie again.”
And you would say, “You’ve talked about Batman a LOT on Sororitea sisters.” And I would say, “I’ve tried many bright, vivid, cartoon-like teas. And they’re delicious. Get on board.”
Sweet, fruity teas really are great. Give this one a go!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
White Monkey, White Peach, with a hint of Wild Strawberry
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Coconut Honeybush-Rooibos Blends from 52Teas
When I first discovered 52Teas I got a sampler pack and among it was a Strawberry Pie Honeybush blend. I instantly fell in love. Something about the way 52Teas does strawberry honeybush is just so right. So, when I saw this blend in the teas CuppaGeek sent my way, I was really intrigued.
As per 52Teas recommendations, I brewed this low and slow and let it cool before giving it a taste. With the very first sip, I was taking a trip down memory lane. The familiar strawberry honeybush deliciousness was back. Sweet but sharp and true to the delightful berry. But what’s that? A creaminess? Must be the coconut. All of this floating on the rooibos-honeybush base that provides a solid foundation for the flavors to stand on.
This tea is sweet, but not too sweet and the perfect to end off the evening. Though if you are in the mood for something a little sweeter, this also makes for an awesome tea smoothie. I blended this up with some frozen strawberries and bananas, a little chocolate pudding, some milk, and two teaspoons of a banana, bourbon & vanilla bean jam from a local jam shop, Kitten and the Bear. It’s a mason jar full of liquid dessert. The coconut helps elevate the overall creaminess of the blend and mixes perfectly with the vanilla bean of the jam. The strawberry, just as it was in the hot cup of tea, is the true star here though. Juicy and ripe and dipped in milk chocolate is the berry flavor the smoothie is highlighting. Amazing!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I had originally planned for this to be just a honeybush blend – but when I got to my tea studio, I realized that I didn’t have enough honeybush in stock so it became a honeybush-rooibos blend. I actually think I like it better as a blend because I really like how honeybush and rooibos complement each other. They seem to bring out the best in each other!
So here is a naturally caffeine free blend of organic honeybush and rooibos – together they create a sweet, nutty, slightly honeyed tasting base to support the flavors of a sweet-tart strawberry and creamy, delectable coconut. The brewed tea is sweet, smooth and delicious with a finish that’s offers a tingly berry tartness – evoking thoughts of fresh berries!
Taster size is approximately 1/2 ounce
organic ingredients: honeybush, rooibos, coconut, freeze-dried strawberries and natural flavors
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
pssst!……..Who Farted? Tea from Adagio Signature Blends #VeganMoFo 2016
Here at the SororiTEA Sisters a few of us may not be very ‘Lady Like’ so when I saw pssst!……..Who Farted? Tea from Adagio Signature Blends by Jeffrey McWhirter I was a little TOO EXCITED to try it!
The product description of this tea – is as follows – When a Pumpkin passes gas it smells like warm orange-pumpkin bread. This fun blend consist of pumpkin spice, cream black tea with honeybush orange(with apples,orange peels and cranberry accents).
Today’s Vegan MoFo prompt is Silly Fun Day! How could I NOT tie in pssst!……..Who Farted? Tea from Adagio Signature Blends by Jeffrey McWhirter? I mean…c’mon. The name alone screams silliness!
This tea base is made up of black tea and honeybush and contains cinnamon bark, natural pumpkin spice flavor, orange peels, cloves, ginger root, natural creme flavor, natural orange flavor, marigold flowers, cardamom. It’s accented with apple pieces, cranberry, and orange peels, too! What’s REALLY cool is that Adagio’s Cream is dairy-free!
I’ve always enjoyed flavored teas that lean more toward baked goods this fall and holiday season instead! pssst!……..Who Farted? Tea from Adagio Signature Blends by Jeffrey McWhirter is a good flavored tea to start with! The sweet of the honeybush, the black tea base I know and love, the pumpkin, orange, and cranberry flavors you seek in a holiday bread, and the spices, fruit, and creaminess on to the aftertaste. There is so much going on here and so many layers of flavor but everything works so well together and I have to say it’s pretty amazing to see, smell, and taste! It’s so festive, so funny, so silly and so FUN!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea Blend
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
When a Pumpkin passes gas it smells like warm orange-pumpkin bread. Lol This fun blend consist of pumpkin spice, cream black tea with honeybush orange.(with apples,orange peels and cranberry accents) I use milk and sweetener to bring out the distinct flavors of this blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
