Banana flavored teas are my favorite. I’m a huge banana fan and when I can get a banana flavored tea. . .it just makes me happy.
This particular banana flavored tea is black with pancake flavoring (and 52Teas’ pancake flavoring!) to boot. . I mean c’mon the only possible combo that could be better would be if this tea was a green tea. I’ve been holding this tea for a day where I could really treat myself and that day came over the weekend. (This tea was part of the Christmas special last year so I wanted to treat this tea right.)
This weekend we had a Scholastic Bowl Tournament for my kiddo and I knew this tea would give me the umph to get my day going. I prepared freshly boiled water, added a few scoops of this tea into my Libre Tumbler and set upon my day. I was a little afraid of using my Libre Tumbler since this is a black tea but I wanted that lovely banana pancake flavor so I took a chance.
And I am so glad I did. This tea gave me everything I could have asked for and more. Crisp banana flavors with a sweet pancake maple syrup finish. I eagerly and greedily gulped this tea with abandonment. I even had a few people ask me about my cool tumbler and when they got closer to me and smelled the tea, the conversation quickly turned to- did you just eat a pancake with a side of banana? I wish I could have captured their faces when I told them it was the tea I was drinking.
Delicious with flavors on point, this tea blend was destroyed this weekend. After I got back from the tournament, I actually did a cold brew with what was left of the tea and it was out of this world delicious. The flavors were about the same as when I brewed the tea hot. Just delicious banana flavor with that pancake-maple syrup finish.
As happy as I am that I was able to experience this tea, I’m also kind of sad. This tea was so delicious that I wish I could get more of it and hopefully in the future, this tea will be a reblend so I’ll be able to enjoy this banana flavored pancake tea again.
Thank you 52Teas for again going outside of the box for a flavor that was absolutely fabulous!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is on longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bananas! from 52Teas. . . .
Banana is a flavor that 52 Teas does well. Very well. So when I saw they had a new banana tea, Bananas!, I was itching to buy it. Lucky for me I did not have to since I won a Steepster giveaway and got this tasty sounding tea in a subscription box. Thank you, 52 Teas!
I brewed up this black tea per the recommended steeping parameters, 3 minutes at 200F. I let it cool as I read the ingredients and wrote a yelp review about a burger joint I tried the other day. The ingredient list is short and simple: single estate black tea, banana, and natural flavors.
Just like the list of ingredients, the flavor is simple too. Black tea with banana flavors. Neither in-your-face and both nicely balanced. This has a fresh banana flavor that is not too sweet and pairs nicely with the gentle malt of the black base. It is a flavored tea that is not so flavored you could grow tired of it quickly. A nice everyday sort of tea you can skip on while doing other things since it does not demand much attention.
Some of my favorite banana blends from 52 Teas have been Banana Pudding, Anne’s Gone Bananas…and a Little (Coco)Nuts, Buttered Banana Bread, Banana Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha….this list goes one. However, what this list has in common is that they are banana blends with a little something else. This tea is just bananas and while I definitely recommend it for purists who might want more simplicity, I think personally I prefer some of the other blends more.
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!
Lime Jello from 52Teas. . . .
A friend of mine won a giveaway hosted by 52 Teas awhile ago. The perk of my friend winning the giveaway is that I still got to try the teas she won without adding too much to my ever growing stash of teas. Among her winnings was this Lime Jello Green Tea.
Lime Jello Green Tea is made up of a blend of green teas, lime leaves, limes, pineapples, marshmallow root and natural flavors. It smells like…well, lime jello. Now I have never been the biggest jello fan but the smell of jello powder, with its artificial and candy-like fruit scents, has always appealed to me so this tea captured my nose and with that, my attention.
As I drink the tea, I definitely get lime candy though it is not as in-your-face pungent as the smell of the dry leaf would suggest. Then again, the taste of jello is never as strong as the smell of the powder so I can’t be too upset about that. In addition to the lime, I get a touch of bitterness from the green tea base that I feel keeps this grounded while the marshmallow root makes this come off light, like any jello-inspired tea should be.
One thing that surprised me about this blend is that there is a creaminess here that I wasn’t expecting. Even more surprising is how this tea manages to stay light even with the creamy element, which is much more commonly found in heavier/richer dessert teas.
Lime Jello is not something I would have ever thought I wanted made into a tea but now that I have had it, I will say that I approve. It is bright and fun and a great treat for warmer days.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
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!
12 Teas of Christmas 1-6 from 52Teas. . . .
52 Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 1-6 (SPOILERS) While I’m a huge fan of 52 Teas and their creative blends, I’ve never before ordered their ever-so-popular 12 Teas of Christmas countdown sampler. This year, I decided to treat myself! After a shipping snafu (anyone else find themselves ordering online goodies six months after moving and not until you’ve hit purchase do you go– “DANGIT, that’s being sent to my old address!” Just me? Cool.) that Anne and her team went above and beyond to fix for me, I was EXTRA pumped for these goodies to come my way. I’m going to break these mini-reviews into two, so you’ll get a 1-6 and then a 7-12 installment as I drink these tasty treats in real time! Now: let’s get sipping!
Day One: Foggy Coconut Black – Let’s just say I am… a less-than-enthusiastic earl grey drinker. I’ve recently been introduced to the concept of “blergamot” (i.e. bergamot in tea makes you go “blerg!”), which hit the nail on the head for me. But while I was skeptical when I opened this package, its delightful creaminess was intriguing. I’m so pleased to say that this is one Earl Grey I’ll be enthusiastically sipping! Like my favorite London Fog lattes, the creamy coconut and vanilla balance out the floral and blerg-y undertones of traditional earl greys, making this one a winner– especially as a latte!
Day Two: Candy Cane Marshmallow Green – Ever since becoming pregnant (baby tea lover, due June 2019!), I’ve been… off my tea drinking game. Most teas just haven’t been sounding good to me! But peppermint has totally been the one element that ALWAYS sounds good to me in this pregnancy, so I was thrilled to see this one in the mix. It’s a delightful, creamy Genmaicha, with light minty notes in the background. This preggy peppermint-lover would have adored the peppermint flavor to be more of a POW, but if you’re looking for a gentle, creamy mint holiday tea, this one is a winner.
Day Three: Raspberry Almond Cookie Honeybush – I opened this package, and was immediately sold by those tart, mouthwatering raspberry notes. Brewed, the raspberry loses some tartness, but is balanced really wonderfully by some beautiful, creamy marizipan-esque undertones. Delightful with cream!
Day Four: Ginger Cola Black – I was Skeptical-with-a-capital-S of this one (cola?! In my TEA?) but friends, it is KILLER on ice. I’ll admit I haven’t tried it hot yet (warm cola is not sounding great to this mama-to-be), but it’s spicy and cola-esque without all that syrupy sweetness. I can see why this one is a popular blend!
Day Five: BlackBerry Custard Tart Green – While some teas haven’t sounded great to me this pregnancy, berry teas have sounded delightful across the board. This one hit all its promised notes– fresh and fruity berries, creamy custard and flaky pastry. I (gasp!) served it with some milk and found it brought out ALL the flavors even further, while muting some of the green grassiness. Yum!
Day Six: Banana Pancake Black – I have shocked myself in recent months with a love for banana flavored teas. I’m pretty neutral on bananas themselves, and even more negatively-skewed on banana flavoring, but for whatever reason, I cannot get ENOUGH of them in tea lately. This blend delivers on the banana and bready, malty, maple-y pancake goodness of a breakfast treat, all whilst not being overtly banana-in-your-face (think banana bread, rather than banana candy). I served this one with a touch of maple syrup and cream, and had to stop myself from chugging the whole cup. Delightful!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
The majority of these 12 Teas of Christmas are sold out but some of them are still available below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Red, White, and Blue Black Tea from 52Teas
52Teas has some of the more creative tea flavors I’ve ever tasted, so when I saw my sample bag with a little American flag and a fun name like Red, White, and Blue Black Tea, I knew it had to come from 52Teas.
This blend features raspberries (red), coconut (white), and blueberries (blue), all mixed in with a black tea base. Even before brewing, the tea leaves were a colorful joy to look at. Brewed hot, the coconut and black tea were the most forward at first, very bold and buttery.
I used the 52Teas recommendation and let the tea cool for about 10 minutes before taking another sip. When I returned to my cup there was much more flavor from the berries. I tasted tart red raspberry and sweet dark blueberry, all swirled together with the lingering creaminess from the coconut.
Maybe I’m just thinking of patriotic summer days, but this blend would make an excellent cold brew. It has rich fruit flavors for natural sweetness, solid black tea backing for body and robustness, and a touch of tropical coconut to lighten the mood.
If you’re not an American tea drinker, don’t let the flag theme put you off this blend, it is a great berry coconut black tea that will be sure to add some spring to your step as a hot morning brew or an iced afternoon treat.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
This tea is no longer available but check back to see if the tea gets a reblend and what blends are available.
