Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
The base of the tea is a blend of four black teas: two teas from Verdant Tea, a rich, malty Assam and a rose Congou. To that I added chocolate flavoring, cacao shells & nibs, mini vegan chocolate chips and vegan white chocolate chips. The result is a very chocolate-y tea with just a hint of rose that’s a perfectly romantic tea to give to that special someone this Valentine’s Day – or any day of the year that you want to tell someone you care!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to 52Teas tea of the week program here.
Taster’s Review:
I recently did a review for this tea on my own blog but thought that this blend need another review here!
This tea is one of the best chocolate teas I’ve ever tried. Seriously!
When you first open this pouch of tea, be prepared for the most lushest decadent chocolate aroma you have ever smelled. Seriously. The aroma coming from this tea made me feel like I was going to gain 10 pounds just by smelling it. Cacao nibs and shells, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, all mixed up with a black tea base and rose petals. Tea Heaven!
I brewed this tea up with fresh boiled water and my french press. I allowed the tea to steep for about 3 minutes before pushing down on the plunger. I allowed the tea to cool before I took a few minutes. As the tea was cooling, I was still getting all of those wonderful gorgeous chocolate aromas.
Now I will admit, chocolate teas are not my thing but 52Teas chocolate teas have been delicious so I just had to try this one. First sip in I was preparing myself for this overabundance of chocolate flavorings to hit me at once. The exact opposite. This tea is so delicate and gentle. The chocolate notes translate into a softer gentle flavor that mingles gorgeously with the black teas and rose petals, allowing each ingredient to sing their own song and make a brilliant cuppa.
The black tea provided a wonderful smoothness with a slight astringent note. The rose petals provided that sweetness that was needed to combat the slightly bitter cacao shells & nibs. The white chocolate was the most pronounced of the chocolate flavors I could really get a good tasting of and it was just heavenly!
Well done 52Teas. This as close to perfection as they come with chocolate teas for me! I have already devoured a few steepings and plan to brew up more! I believe this one is still available. I recommend everyone grab some while they can. Delicious!
San-Te-Ria from Lemon City Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lemon City Tea
Tea Description:
You forgot to make an offering to your orishas today? No wonder you’re feeling so tired. Have a cup of San-té-ria. This blend of premium black tea will get you so awake, it’ll seem like divine intervention..
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is sipdown #13 on my epic journey to sipping down my tea stash before I can buy more.
What a great tea too! This tea is very well done and is giving me the pep in my step for the rest of the afternoon. This tea can be bought as a loose leaf tea or tea bags. I had the tea bag variety which is lovely for when I’m at work. Boil some water and plop in the tea bag. A few minutes later, TADA! Lovely tea.
This particular tea is a blend of different black teas. From what I’m seeing on the back of the package this is Premium Whole Leaf Nilgiri Tea-Hand-Blended with Yunnan Golden Buds. Well, whatever it is blended with, it is good!
San-te-ria hits all the right notes that I like in my black teas. Not overly malty with a hint of dryness, but by no means overwhelming. A smooth sipping tea. This one definitely has those trademarks and more. I’m really liking it and before I knew it, the cuppa is gone. (Insert sad face here).
I can tell this tea would be amazing iced. I think I’ll try that with the next infusion. And if you wanted this to be more flavored like, I bet throwing in a vanilla bean would be amazing. This tea has that flavor profile of slightly woodsy. Just thinking of adding vanilla beans makes me crave cuppa.
This tea does its job. It has such a nice cleansing taste to it after drinking a few flavored teas. Gives my taste buds a nice break.
Black Tea from Naveya Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Naveya Tea
About Naveya Tea:
Our fitness tea select best 100% natural detox tea,using flowers and teas to heal your body and soul.We promise all of our ingredients are renowned for their positive effects on metabolism and detoxification.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I drank this tea the other day after having their Jasmine Tea which was very good and a solid green jasmine tea. I had high expectations for this one. This is a straight black tea. Their site that has recently been revamped to market their line of teas as Fitness Teas has quite a nice assortment of teas to choose from. I was glad they sent me this tea and the Jasmine Tea to try.
Brewed this up like a black tea but errored on the side of caution and went with a 2 min steeping time. I didn’t want to oversteep this one. The dry leaves of this tea had a very nice robust malty aroma that I didn’t want to turn bitter.
Let this cool for a few minutes and took my first sip. This tea was delicious and hit the spot. There is just the right amount of malty notes to company the full bodied taste that you get each and every sip. Even as this tea cooled in my traveler mug, I didn’t get any bitterness hitting me or even strong astringent notes. Each sip was a smooth refreshing almost silky like black tea that I found myself wanting more of.
Since my first experience with this tea, I’ve had it a few more times and each time this tea is spot on. So good! I really like this and I am one that likes to take a black tea with me along with my water bottle for my hour drive to take the kids to school and me to work.
My only issue is that they are marketing this as a fitness tea and that seems to be the new craze lately. I read in a Vogue article that we wold be seeing more and more of that this year. I don’t have a problem with companies marketing their teas as fitness teas at all. As long as there are disclaimers were they need to be. Like I said in my review of the jasmine tea. I just really liked the look of their older site with the beautiful floral arrangements and tea pots galore. Those kind of sites are what attract my attention. When I see the site now, it gives me two feelings. 1) I need to go work out and 2) Guilty for not working out. Again, no issue here with them marketing their teas however they want. I just think the tea enthusiasts out there would like the previous site just a bit better.
Regardless, they make some amazing teas!
The Full English from Twinings
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Twinings
Tea Description:
This tea is not available on the US Twinings website.
Learn more about Twinings Black Tea options for the US here
Taster’s Review:
I am on a quest. A quest to drink down some tea. My tea cupboard has gotten outrageously out of control. So I am now honor and duty bound to drink some up before this coming fall season when there will be pumpkin spice and apple pie teas tempting me to gobble and snatch them up!
The first one I grab is one that isn’t available in the US. This is something that I have always been confused about. Twinings has a US store and an international store. The international store has an amazing selection of teas that make me drool thinking about them. But alas,the same selection isn’t available on the US site. Eventually one of these days, I’ll order form the international store and deal with the higher shipper cost. For now, I’m happy I was able to try this one.
The Full English is a tea I believe I picked up from a Steepster member who was putting together some pretty amazing boxes from her travels. I couldn’t resist. I kept reading these amazing reviews from teas she had picked up from other Steepsterites and I wanted to be part of the club!
I say this with my head low but this is the first time I’ve even cracked into the box. I know! Shame on me. Like I said, my tea cupboard is getting out of control.
I brewed this up like a traditional black-212F-3 minutes and pulled the tea bag out. I didn’t want to leave this one in which turned out to be a good thing. At 3 minutes this tea was already turning bitter. The first few sips were just plain lovely black unadulterated black tea. Nothing fancy, just good. But as this starts to cool, the bitterness is swooping in.
For a tea at work, this one would do, but I would be afraid that I would constantly have an issue with the bitterness. This is definitely one you don’t want to forget about. I can just picture this one being lovely when at a tea party or enjoying a spot of milk in it along with a treat. Yum!
Signature Batch No 6 from Teakoe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teakoe
Tea Description:
Satisfy your palate with this perfectly crafted blend of estate grown teas. Our 6th batch achieved its signature status by balancing bold flavor with a smooth finish. The result… superior tasting iced tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ever made up a huge batch of tea only to be incredibly disappointed by the results? We’ve all been there. There are a few companies out there that make more of a gourmet style iced tea bag to share with others. In the past I’ve been so excited. I’ve prepped everything up per steeping instructions and poured myself a huge glass. Take one sip and I’m disappointed in the flavors either being fake tasting or just non existent. Even over dominating sometimes. This situation sound familiar at all?
Well, not to sound like a commercial for this particular tea or tea company, but seriously look no further!! Teakoe has some of the best iced teas I have ever tasted. They are now a family favorite and have been demanded by the fiance to be a staple in our house.
Teakoe creates their iced teas in small batches with love and care. You can tell. This one in particular may just be my favorite. I brewed this up to the steeping specifications, put ice in my cup, and poured myself a glass. Took a sip and I just sat there and enjoyed. This tea is a beautifully done and well crafted black tea. On the back of the package it reads Black Tea + Artistry + Brilliance. I whole hardheartedly agree. This tea is just simply a slightly flavored black tea that is smooth, rich, and well rounded. it says there is bergamot in the tea but I honestly can’t say I tasted that. I did pick up notes of a slight citrus kick but it was ever so slight and subtle, which I’m glad. I could see this tea getting off the tracks fast and being over thought or complicated. I think that is what I like the best about this tea, the simplicity of it.
I can’t recommend this tea enough and have literally made a note on the fridge to order more soon.