Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s tea is a revisiting of our very popular (and just re-blended (again)) Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish, this time with a green tea base. We used premium Young Hyson and Chunmee green teas with freeze-dried blueberries and organic flavors to make this delicious tea.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I loved 52Teas’ Black Tea version of Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish tea, so, I was pretty sure I’d also enjoy this version with the green tea base from 52Teas. And I am enjoying it!
The first thing I noticed when I opened the pouch (aside from the delicious aroma of blueberries!) is that there are not as many big, plump, freeze-dried blueberries in my pouch this time around. That was one thing that blew me away about the black tea blend … so many blueberries in the blend. Of course, I realize that the freeze-dried fruit additions to teas like this do relatively little to the flavor of the actual brewed tea, I still found myself missing the blueberries.
But, the blueberry flavor is NOT missing in the tea! This is deliciously blueberry! The blueberry is the very first flavor that I notice when I take a sip, and the blueberry flavor remains throughout the sip and the aftertaste has that tart, tingly berry taste. There is no mistaking the blueberry in this tea.
The green tea base offers a lighter, more refreshing background flavor for this blend. I must admit that it has been a while since I’ve tasted the aforementioned Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish black tea blend, but it was a very memorable tea. The black tea gave the tea a good, robust background … here, I notice that the tea tastes crisp and fresh. This is a better tea for the afternoon … while I think that the black tea would be a good choice for a morning tea because it is a heartier tea.
The flavors of the “pastry” and the cream cheese take a little while to reveal themselves. I’m not sure if this is because my first few sips were when the tea was still quite warm and now the tea has cooled slightly (It’s still hot, but no longer piping hot), or if it’s because the flavors just needed a few sips to develop on my palate. Now that I’ve consumed about 1/3rd of the cup, I can taste a light, buttery pastry and a tangy cream cheese as well as the sweet-tart blueberries.
This is a really tasty dessert tea. I do think I preferred the black tea base over this green tea base, but I am still really enjoying this. It satisfies the sweet tooth, and it’s a lot less caloric and fattening than an actual blueberry cream cheese danish – which I would ordinarily turn away from because I don’t need all that. I like that 52Teas gives us tasty alternatives to the sweets that I crave, and this is definitely a crave-able sort of tea!
Gingerbread Coffeecake Flavored Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Our cakey- and gingerbread-flavors were getting mixed reviews in our black tea blends, so I decided to give it a try with a lighter base, and oh man, did that do the trick!
Here’s a light, refreshing Young Hyson green tea base blended with cinnamon, ginger and organic flavors like gingerbread, cake batter, butter and brown sugar.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s fundraising campaign to reopen the Tea Bar here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been looking forward to trying this Gingerbread Coffeecake Flavored Green Tea from 52Teas! I absolutely loved their Gingerbread Chai that they made for their Christmas blend a few years ago, and I was certain I’d enjoy this too.
And … this might even be BETTER than the Gingerbread Chai – and that’s saying something because I love chai! Of course, it could just be the fact that it’s been quite a while since I’ve had some Gingerbread Chai so I’m basing this all on memory … although I must say that was a very memorable chai! At the very least, I must also say that this Gingerbread Coffeecake is a very memorable flavored green tea!
The light Young Hyson green tea base is a perfect match for the buttery, cake-y, zesty ginger-y tastes of the flavors in this tea. I thought that the green tea would be overpowered by the flavors … but it isn’t. I taste the light, crisp flavor of the Young Hyson … with hints of grassy flavor that – oddly enough – really seem to complement the flavoring.
The gingerbread flavoring is perfection. This tastes like my favorite ginger cookies that have been liquefied and mixed with green tea. The flavors are nicely balanced. There is a peppery ZING from the ginger … not too much, but enough to let you know that there is ginger in this tea! I taste the buttery, cake-y tastes and the brown sugar. It is sweet and decadent and delicious. Truly a delight to drink!
I wanted to take a moment to mention that 52Teas/Zoomdweebies wants to reopen it’s tea bar in Wichita, Kansas, and is holding a “crowd-funding campaign” through Indiegogo. Please consider contributing to this fundraising event to help a small businessman. Every little bit helps … and it would be great to get Zoomdweebies BACK on the map, don’t you think?
Boo-Berry Cotton Candy from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Just in time for Halloween! We’ve blended Young Hyson and Gunpowder green teas, freeze-dried blueberries and organic flavors to create the most amazing blueberry cotton candy flavored green tea EVER. I will NOT be able to reblend this one right now, as this used up the last of my green teas for the moment, so don’t miss out!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It may seem a little weird to be reviewing a tea called “Boo-Berry” in December, especially for those of you who – like me – are fans of the General Mills Monster cereals that are re-released every year around Halloween. Yeah, I’m a bit behind on reviewing my 52Teas … but I am trying to get to them in order of their release, and I do like to wait a little while for the teas to have time to cure. Something that I learned from my days as a tea artist is that when you flavor and/or blend a tea, the flavors need time to develop. I found that three weeks is usually sufficient, but as I said before, I am a wee bit behind.
So that is why I am reviewing this tea now and scheduling it for December 9, two months after it’s release for the week of October 8.
But I am glad I did wait a while, because based on the review I read from my SororiTea Sister Azzrian, this tea seems a bit different from what she tasted back when she did her review of it. I can taste the flavors and they’re strong! The cotton candy shines through, as does the blueberry.
The combination of Hyson and Gunpowder give this tea a pleasing dimension of flavor that is sweet, slightly vegetative and what I want to call “perky.” Yes, I said Perky! By that I mean – it has a vibrant, invigorating and even uplifting kind of taste. I feel it perk me up as I sip it.
Of the two flavors, I taste the sweet, sugary notes of the cotton candy just ahead of the blueberry, and only the sweetest notes of the blueberry. I find that this does lack some of the tart, tingly notes that I’d expect from a blueberry, this tends to taste more like the candy-ish blueberry taste of Boo-Berry cereal, which seems appropriate since that’s what inspired this tea. I notice a tart note in the aftertaste only … and only after waiting about a minute into the aftertaste do I notice it. In other words, if you want that tart blueberry taste, finish the sip, and then wait about a minute, and you’ll feel the tingly berry note develop on your tongue.
But, don’t take that as a criticism or complaint, because it isn’t intended to be. I don’t want my cotton candy to taste sour or even very tart. And I’m glad this doesn’t. Overall, I’m really pleased with this cup, it’s certainly a very good representation of what I would think a Boo-Berry Cotton Candy would taste like.
Now, if you’re getting ready to rush over to the 52Teas website to purchase some of this tea for yourself, you’re going to be a bit disappointed to learn that this tea is now sold out. That happens a lot with 52Teas blends. He only blends a limited quantity of each blend, and since he does a new blend each week (hence the name 52Teas) … he couldn’t possibly keep all the teas in stock all the time. So, if you are fed up with wanting to order a tea from 52Teas that ends up sold out before you can get to it, here’s what I recommend doing: Subscribe to their tea of the week or monthly tea package program. That’s what I do. That’s how I’m able to try each and every tea that they offer. Now, I’m not going to lie and say that I fall head over heels in love with every single tea that they create. I don’t. But, I do at least enjoy most of the teas that they create, and there’s never been one that I just do not like. And occasionally, there is one that I’m crazy about. And best of all: I never have to worry about the teas selling out before I have a chance to snag a pouch for myself.
PS: The subscriptions also make killer gifts!