Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Premium Indian CTC black teas blended with organic flavoring. Amazing tea with a great lime Jello finish.
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve got to tell you, I am absolutely loving the iced tea series from 52Teas this year. Last year, there were some pretty unique flavors and I loved that, but, what I think I really like about this year (and this may come as a surprise to some!) is the fact that they’re bagged! Yes, you read that correctly.
At first, I disliked that these were bagged because I had planned to hot-brew the lot, but, after getting my new glass iced tea pitcher and started cold-brewing these teas, I am loving the how easy it is to cold-brew, especially since these teas are bagged, I wouldn’t enjoy having to strain the teas the next morning. But even more than the simplicity, I really enjoy the flavor that comes from the cold-brew process. The flavors seem smoother and sweeter with the cold-brew process.
When I drink a tea hot, I enjoy having all the “precise” flavors of the cup, but, when it’s iced, I prefer the tea to be smooth and easy-drinking. And the cold-brewing process really encourages a softer, smoother tea.
This Lime Jello flavor of the Southern Boy Teas series is quite nice: lots of sweet-tart lime flavor, a hint of marshmallow, and there also seems to be another fruit in there … pineapple? The overall taste is very refreshing. The black tea is not overwhelmed by the flavors, everything is really balanced well.
I must admit to preferring the Lime Jello Salad Green Tea from 52Teas that was released around Thanksgiving of last year. I think that the green tea melded beautifully with these particular flavors, and produced a very memorable tea indeed. But, I am enjoying this one as well, and glad that 52Teas re-fashioned the flavor for their iced tea series this year.
Southern Boy Teas Series, Part 3: Razzleberry from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Premium Indian CTC black teas blended with organic flavoring. Amazing tea with a great razzleberry (raspberry/blackberry) finish.
Learn more about all the Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I cold-brewed this tea overnight, and it is so yummy! I have already finished half of the the 2 quart pitcher (in other words, I’ve already polished off a quart of it), and I can’t seem to stop sipping!
The berry flavors are bright and refreshing, with a good, solid berry flavor. It starts out with a distinct blackberry flavor that remains throughout the sip, and by about mid-sip, I notice the raspberry notes start to come through. The raspberry is especially noticeable in the aftertaste. It is here, in the aftertaste, where all I taste is fresh, juicy raspberry! Sweet with just a hint of berry tartness.
The black tea seems to have a mellower taste when infused using the cold-brew method, it is very smooth and there is very little astringency and absolutely no bitterness. It is strong enough to offer an ample base flavor to the glass without overwhelming the delicious berry flavor.
I used to be a hot-brewed iced tea kind of girl, but, lately, I’ve been preferring the cold-brew method, especially when it comes to these great tea bags from 52Teas. The bags are large enough to accommodate the tea leaves in their expanded (brewed) form and then some. And it’s so easy to brew them using the cold-brew method – just filter the water, fill the pitcher, and add the tea bag. No timers. No standing over the teapot waiting for the tea to finish steeping. And because these are in the large tea bag, there is nothing to clean up – just remove the tea bag.
Watch for my reviews of the other iced tea offerings from “Southern Boy Teas!”
Southern Boys Teas Series, Part 2: Monkey Fart from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
Before writing this review, I searched for my review of the Monkey Fart Honeybush from My Sweet Honeybush. But I couldn’t find it – I guess I never wrote one! I guess that means I’m going to have to procure another pouch of said honeybush! (Yes, I realize I’m merely justifying my tea shopping, but, whatever works, right?)
Anyway, I have tried the Monkey Fart Honeybush on several occasions, and I enjoyed it, but it became a big hit with my oldest daughter who really loves the stuff. So, I was confident I’d enjoy the black iced tea version of it.
And I do. It is sweet, banana-y, and very refreshing. It reminds me a little bit of the Banana Fanta Slurpees from 7-11. This has a similar sweet-banana kind of taste, almost “candy-like”. Now that I think about it, what this really tastes like to me is banana cotton candy! It’s got that light, wispy kind of sweetness the way cotton candy does.
The banana is distinct, but the black tea is not just sitting off in the background. It is a strong, vibrant flavor, and melds well with the banana flavoring.
This first tasting is the result of cold-brewing the tea bag (I love the size of these teabags. They’re HUGE! Certainly roomy enough to accommodate the tea’s expansion, and there is still room to spare, no worries about the tea not having enough room in this bag!), and I’m really loving these Southern Boy Teas for cold-brewing. But I thought I’d do a little experiment and try hot-brewing the bag this evening for tomorrow’s iced tea and see how the second infusion turns out.
And as it turns out, the hot-brew resteep turned out pretty darned good too. It’s not quite as strong or flavorful as the first cold-brew infusion, but, it is still very tasty and refreshing… which means that you can double the amount of tea and the value of the purchase price of these teas! Definitely take the time to resteep!
Southern Boy Teas Series, Part 1: Rainbow Sherbet from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
About the Southern Boy Tea Line of Iced Tea:
While I thoroughly enjoy crafting a new blend every week for 52teas, and while I realize that my customer base is comprised largely of enlightened individuals who appreciate loose leaf teas, I also know that there are scads more iced tea drinkers out there who have no desire to be bothered with the intricacies of anything that’s not already packaged in a tea bag.
For that reason, we are now launching a new brand, Southern Boy Teas, devoted entirely to premium iced teas in tea bags. Someday, we would like to be the Jones Soda of iced tea, offering truly unique flavors and premium teas. To begin, we’ve created eight blends of unique and amazing teas, all crafted with the finest ingredients we could find.
Learn more about Southern Boy Iced Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I ordered one of each of the new flavors to the Southern Boy Teas line, except for this one. This one I ordered two, because I wanted to experiment with hot-brewing vs. cold-brewing, and as this was one of my very favorite flavors from 52Teas, I knew I wouldn’t mind tasting this one twice!
The first time I brewed it, I brewed it hot, using a quart of boiling water, and steeping for 3 minutes. I then removed the teabag, poured the hot tea into my pitcher, and added another quart of fresh water, and chilled it overnight. The next day, I had a pitcher full of delicious iced tea that was refreshing and tasted almost like the Rainbow Sherbet tea from last year. Almost… but not quite. The original was definitely much more memorable … but I wasn’t disappointed, because this was still very good, and it got me to wondering how good the cold-brewed batch would be.
Cold-brewing is even simpler than hot-brewing with this tea, because 52Teas put them into large tea bags. These tea bags are very roomy – lots of space for the tea to expand so there’s no worry about loss of flavor. I dropped the teabag into my new glass iced tea pitcher and added 2 quarts of freshly filtered water, sealed the lid and stashed it in the refrigerator overnight.
The result: PURE awesomeness! THIS is the Rainbow Sherbet tea I remember from last year. Sweet and fruity, with a touch of creaminess… just as if I had dropped a scoop of rainbow sherbet into my tea and it melted.
Seriously, iced tea doesn’t get much better than this!
Sada Chai from The Tao of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Product Description:
Assam is the largest black tea growing region in the world. CTC refers to “Cut, Tear, Curl” a process that tends to turn tea leaves into small pellets. The CTC grade is the most common tea grade used in India to make Chai, as it is very conducive to boiling.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know that there are some who would take one look at this tea and dismiss it because of the size and shape of the leaves. They certainly do not look like tea leaves, they look more like large grains of sand or perhaps small pebbles.
But, the CTC grade (which, as you can read above, refers to the Cut, Tear, Curl process) is actually a very popular grade of tea, especially with those who enjoy spiced Chai blends. It offers a strong, delicious flavor, and when paired with the robust spices of a typical spiced chai blend, it can withstand the strength of the spices without losing its flavor within the blend.
And that is certainly true of this CTC grade Sada Chai from The Tao of Tea. Don’t let the name trick you, this isn’t a spiced chai blend that many of us here in the United States immediately think of when we see the word “chai.” Chai here refers to the Hindu word for tea. And this is a deliciously rich Assam chai (or tea), one that could certainly hold its own when blended with a combination of strong spices.
The flavor is very rich and malty! It has a sweet, caramel-y undertone, and there is no bitterness to this cup. Of course, I did take special care to avoid bitterness, and allowed it to steep just 2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch. But that turned out to be perfect, because I’m enjoying a full-flavored, well-rounded cup of tea. The astringency is lighter than I’d expect from an Assam (which may or may not have something to do with the short steep time), but there is some astringency to it.
This is one of the maltiest Assam teas that I’ve encountered… if you’ve ever wondered what “malty” tastes like, this is the tea to try!