Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic shou mei fannings white tea blended with organic cucumber and melon flavors. This is a seriously refreshing glass of yum. Don’t miss your chance to nab one of these.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! I’m really LOVING this Cucumber Melon White Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas! It’s so refreshing!
Having previously enjoyed the original 52Teas version of Cucumber Melon White tea and to a lesser extent, the SBT Cucumber Melon Black Iced Tea, I was excited to try SBT’s version of these flavors with a white tea base. I really think that the delicate qualities of the cucumber and melon are better suited for the softer white tea base!
To brew this, I tried something just a tad different. I hot brewed it (as usual) – heating 1 quart of water to 160°F and letting the teabag steep for 1 1/2 minute and then straining that tea into my glass tea pitcher. But for the second quart, instead of steeping it for 2 minutes (I usually add 30 seconds onto the resteep time), I only steeped the bag for 1 minute with the resteep. And the flavor is PERFECT.
I’m getting a strong melon flavor with notes of cucumber. It’s sweet with a hint of savory and the white tea base comes through nicely without overpowering the soft flavors of the cucumber and melon. A really delightful balance has been achieved here and I daresay that this is just as good as the original 52Teas version!
Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic Iyerpadi black tea blended with organic apple, green apple and cinnamon flavors. This is a super refreshing iced tea. I may have created a few apple flavored teas lately, but the apple and cinnamon notes with this Iyerpadi black tea are just astounding.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I admit that my first thought was “another apple tea” but now that I’m tasting this, I don’t mind at all. This Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas is really good.
I hot brewed this iced tea, bringing 1 quart of water to a boil and then letting the tea bag steep for 2 minutes. Then I strained the tea into my favorite iced tea pitcher and brought another quart of water to a boil and resteeped the bag for 2 1/2 minutes. No, this doesn’t make the tea too strong for me, it’s strong, yes, but not too strong. Then again, I like my tea strong.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really like the Iyerpadi estate tea that Southern Boy Teas has been using for their black tea base. It’s got a pleasant flavor, it doesn’t have a bitter taste nor is it astringent. It’s smooth and even without tasting too weak. It’s really a delightful tea.
The apple flavor is coming through nicely. I found that with my first few sips, the apple flavor was less obvious than the cinnamon, which seemed to overpower. But, after the first few sips, the apple notes developed and the cinnamon waned just enough. Now, the cinnamon is still a strong presence, but the apple comes through and adds a pleasant sweet-tart note to contrast with the warm, zesty taste of the cinnamon.
Really tasty!
Cinnamon Apricot Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic caffeine-free honeybush with organic sweet cinnamon and apricot flavors. This is a tea the whole family will love. We made a similar rooibos blend with these flavors for a 52teas blend years ago. It was my wife’s favorite and received the name, “Sheri’s Blend”. One of our tea bar customers took one sip of that tea and exclaimed, “It takes just like Christmas!” Personally, I think this honeybush blend is even better.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I remember really liking the Sheri’s Blend from 52Teas which was a rooibos based blend with the same flavors of apricot and cinnamon. And as weird as it is for me to admit, I think I liked that blend better than I’m liking this Cinnamon Apricot Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas.
Maybe it’s the “iced” part, because I am of the firm belief that I prefer honeybush over rooibos so I don’t think that’s the issue with this. Then again, maybe it is the rooibos – maybe rooibos just goes better with the apricot and cinnamon flavors than the honeybush does. I don’t know.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like this tisane. It’s tasty. But its not as tasty as I remember Sheri’s Blend being. I remember tasting a good, strong flavor of apricot that tasted true to the fruit, and here, I’m having trouble finding much apricot flavor at all.
The cinnamon is really dominant in this blend. I taste mostly cinnamon and it seems to be masking the flavor of the apricot a bit. After drinking about 2/3 of the glass, I start to pick up on the apricot notes, but they’re still not as strong as I’d like them to be.
The cinnamon is the top note, with mid-notes of honeyed nutty flavors and a low note of apricot. It’s a tasty blend, but if you’re looking for a strong apricot flavor, this tea isn’t bringing that for me. But if you like a really nice cinnamon flavor that’s a little sweet and a little spicy – kind of like the cinnamon you’d sprinkle on your breakfast toast – this tea delivers!
Overall, a tasty iced tisane, but I’d like it better if the apricot were more pronounced.
Ginger Ale Iced White Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our amazing organic shou mei fannings blended with the organic flavors of ginger and bergamot. We think it makes the ultimate tribute to ginger ale. But what do you think?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been back and forth with this Ginger Ale Iced White Tea from Southern Boy Teas. I like it … but I find myself not as happy with it as I was with the original Ginger Ale. I don’t know if it’s because that tea was crafted with Bai Mu Dan and this is Shou Mei.
Or maybe it’s because since having tried that Ginger Ale tea, I’ve been exposed to a few really awesome ginger ale sodas that have knocked my socks off and perhaps my expectations of ginger ale are higher now. Perhaps those experiences have raised the bar for me.
That’s not to say that I’m not enjoying this. I find it tasty and very refreshing. We’ve had some rather warm weather here lately (sorry for those of you who aren’t getting that same warm weather!) and this is really nice for when I need something cold and tasty that will quench the thirst.
Still, I find myself tasting a little more bergamot than ginger and I’m wishing that the ginger had just a wee bit more bite to it. I guess it goes back to what I was saying before, some of the ‘gourmet’ ginger ale sodas that I’ve tried in the last few years have been absolutely outstanding and I find myself wanting that kind of flavor.
Overall, though, if you enjoyed the first Ginger Ale tea from 52Teas, I think you’d enjoy this. It’s tasty. I found that I enjoyed the second half gallon pitcher of the tea more than the first – so, this is one you definitely want to resteep!
This review will publish at the very tail end of Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo Campaign to raise funds to build the brand. Support this small business and help it grow!
Lime Gelatin Salad Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Grandma’s Jello!
Okay, but seriously, This is a tea that combines all of the goodness of lime gelatin, pineapple and marshmallow without forcing you to stare down the quivering mass that looks like something from outer space. When these flavors combine with our sweet, buttery Chinese sencha fannings, well, trust me, this is a tea that will blow you away.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! Lime Jello was one of my all time favorite teas from 52Teas, and I loved Southern Boy Teas’ black tea version of the Lime Jello too. So, I felt very confident that I’d love this Lime Gelatin Salad Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas too.
And it is YUMMY! I have to admit that it isn’t quite as tasty as I remember the original Lime Jello tasting. It’s still really good though. Very refreshing. The flavors are delightful with bright notes of lime that’s sweet with just enough tart to keep it from tasting too sweet.
I also taste a little bit of marshmallow in there. The pineapple is a little more difficult to pick out. It doesn’t just jump right out and say “hello, I’m pineapple.” But you taste something a little different, something that’s fruity but not quite lime and after a while, my taste buds start to recognize it as pineapple.
This is a really enjoyable iced tea. I like that it’s sweet without adding anything to it – you don’t need to add sugar or other sweetener to this tea. It’s really enjoyable as it is.
And what I really LOVE about the green teas (and white teas) from SBT is that you can resteep the bag with no loss in flavor. Actually, I find that the second pitcher is even tastier than the first!
Please take a moment to check out Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo Campaign – they’re looking to take their teas to new heights and could really use your support!