I’ll be honest, tea friends– rooibos still gives me pause. Every time a red rooibos tea shows up at my front door, I’m skeptical– will it taste woodsy? Will it have that distinct rooibos… tang (?) that I’m just so very not-fond of? I’m not a total anti-rooibos crusader, but I am exceptionally picky about the red teas that I’ll let into my cuppa.
When this one showed up in a recent sample package, I was… skeptical, to say the least. But lo! Chocolate? Ginger? Turmeric? Those are three of my favorite things! Would they be enough to place this offering solidly in the “win” category? The answer, I’m so pleased to say– is YES.
This herbal is perfect for turmeric lovers– both the flavor AND that omnipresent, don’t-spill-on-your-cheap-apartment-countertops-for-fear-they-will-be-yellowed-forever signature color are here in spades. Balanced by a tiny hint of ginger and cinnamon spice lingering in the background and rounded out not necessarily by saccharine sweet chocolate, but rather nutty, dark notes from the cocoa shell– this blend is a winner. I’ve been particularly loving it with just a touch of frothed coconut milk on top, no sweetner needed– in a season that is often punctuated by stress, it’s been the perfect, caffeine-free treat for both slow mornings and nightly wind-downs alike. Fellow rooibos skeptics, give this one a try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tiesta Tea
Description
The perfect trifecta. When an ache or ailment comes creeping in, ginger and turmeric team up to kick it to the curb while chocolate follows closely behind to smooth everything over. With this unrivaled trio on your side, you’ll be invincible.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the 6th Day of Christmas, 52Teas sent to me. . .
On the 6th Day of Christmas 52 Teas gave to me…. Brownie Batter with Nut Butter Swirl Black Tea! I have a feeling this one will get a lot of swoons from you readers! The name is pretty irresistible, and so is the smell of the dry leaf. Even I did a little happy dance when I smelled it. In fact, I’m pretty sure over the next week I’ll be googling a recipe for brownies with a nut butter swirl because it sounds pretty amazing.
I had my baby shower a few weeks ago and my mom made my cake. It is this secret recipe for a from-scratch chocolate cake that actually has a brownie-batter frosting in between the layers. It is divine…seriously. I don’t know how she did it, she won’t even give me the recipe! I could eat that cake every single day, but that would be really bad for my health. Thankfully, we have companies like 52 Teas that can take our favorite desserts and put them into the form of tea….and, it is virtually calorie-free! Yay!
This one smells like brownies and almonds to me. Two of my favorite things! On taste, the chocolate is light and not syrupy or artificial. Ie: it doesn’t taste like watery hot cocoa, which is how some chocolate teas end up tasting. No, this one is really well done! It has an underlying flavor of buttery almond and maybe a little pecan…definitely a “nut” flavor. The combo of brownie batter and nut butter really is so, so good! I now must find a recipe to combine the two into an actual dessert. Great idea for a hostess gift at your Christmas party. :)Enjoy!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Peanut Butter Cup from The NecessiTeas. . . .
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a true gift to the world. My brother-in-law is deathly allergic to peanut butter but we are a peanut butter family and peanut butter cups are at the top of the list of best ways to eat peanut butter. In fact, we have had fights over which peanut butter cups are the best. My brother is a purist who goes for the original cups. I am a bit of a chocolate fiend who loves the minis. And my sister, well my sister will take her peanut butter cups anyway she can get them on the days her husband is working at the Firehall. Those are the days she gets her peanut butter fix without worrying about killing her husband. Oh and one thing we all agree on is that Reese’s Pieces just don’t measure up to a peanut butter cup.
This tea smells just like a peanut butter cup. A promising start. However, with this tea being made up of apple, cocoa, almonds, caramel pieces, and natural flavors, I am hoping the taste of this tea reflects the smell as opposed to tasting like Forever Nuts by DAVIDsTEA, which has a similar listing of ingredients.
I made this as both a hot tea and a latte, each steeped for 5 minutes in 200 degree water. I worried the caramel pieces might make for a murky brew but this is as clear as day and a rich golden brown-yellow. The hot tea is surprisingly light for the ingredients but still delivers a great deal of nutty flavor. I don’t get much in the way of chocolate despite the generous cocoa husks in the filter, so I wouldn’t go as far as to say this accurately captures the flavor of a peanut butter cup. Instead it reminds me more of all-natural peanut butter, with no sugar added. I’m not one for sweetening my teas but I could see a bit of sugar going a long way here to really pull the flavors together.
Now, I may not sweeten my teas but I’m all for lattes. With this tea, it not only adds a much needed creaminess to the blend but it also does make everything just a bit sweeter. I think it takes the cocoa husks from the earthy nuttiness they had in the hot cup and brings them closer to a milk chocolate note, though there is still a ways to go in that regard so I still don’t think we’ve hit peanut butter cup yet. This is definitely closer to its namesake though. Now instead of just natural peanut butter, this is more akin to the peanut butter found inside a Reese’s. I just wish there was more to the chocolatey coating.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Favored Tisane
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
This blend is seriously addicting, over the top yummy and double-delicious. It’s quite amazing and tastes just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup! To sweeten the deal, this chocolate peanut butter bliss is completely guilt-free!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the Third Day of Christmas 52Teas sent to me. . .
On the third day of Christmas 52 Teas gave to me….Chocolate Hazelnut Strawberry Honeybush tea! When I scratched the label off of this one and started to be able to make out the name, you should have seen my face! I didn’t get a chance to try this blend back whenever it was available at 52 Teas because I don’t believe I had heard of the company yet. The other day I saw someone mention it on Steepster and I was really interested in trying it and wondered if I would ever get the chance. Imagine my shock when I saw it as Day 3’s blend!
I don’t think I mentioned yet in these reviews, but I’m currently pregnant with my second daughter. I’m due in February! Because of my pregnancy, whenever I see a tisane (herbal, honeybush, rooibos, or fruit infusion) blend, I’m always really psyched because that means I can drink it as much as I want, whenever I want, being as they are naturally caffeine-free! So, I am very happy that this beautiful myriad of flavors are part of a honeybush base.
Now, I am not usually a fan of chocolate in tea, but something that 52 Teas does is use cacao nibs and shells instead of actual chocolate chips, so I am not as afraid of their chocolate blends as I am with other companies. The chocolate is light here, not overpowering or artificial tasting. The strawberry and hazelnut are light, too. No one ingredient overpowers the other. Instead, there is just a little hint of everything combined with the sweet and herbal taste of honeybush. It’s really enjoyable, even though since I am a huge hazelnut-lover I wouldn’t mind if the hazelnut flavor was a little stronger. Other than that though, this is definitely something I would choose to drink again. I have been really happy with all the teas in this holiday countdown box and I have no doubt the fun will continue!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush
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!
Smores from Citizen Tea. . . .
I have had this tea for quite sometime and though I had it before and enjoyed it, I kept looking over it when trying to pick something to drink. Well today I decided that it was about time I get to drinking this and I am certainly glad I did.
I had just enough leaf left to make a small latte. I steeped the tea for 3 minutes at 200F as per the recommendations on the package. I topped that with frothed milk and the end result is one tasty treat.
First and foremost is the gooey marshmallow flavor that takes over, boosted by the creaminess of the latte preparation. It could be in my head but I swear there is a wisp of smoke dancing on top of the marshmallow. Lingering at the bottom, and nearing the end of the sip is just a touch of chocolate nuttiness which brings back memories of the chocolate and graham crackers one would expect in a smores tea. If I had a complaint, it would be I want a bit more of the other smore components but as this is, it hits marshmallow right on the head.
I am not sure why I ignored this for so long. It certainly is a good tea, especially when prepared as a latte. I would call it more a marshmallow tea than a smores tea but there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that, at least not in my books.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/White/Oolong
Where to Buy: Citizen Tea
Description
Nothing triggers our nostalgia more than Smores! Our favourite nighttime treat and the smoky smell of campfire are sure to bring back the fondest of childhood memories (like that time you flung a flaming marshmallow at the back of Uncle Bob’s head. No? Just us?) A black tea with sweet chocolate drops and toasted marshmallow make for the perfect campfire favourite. Take a walk down memory lane with our Smores blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!