Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
My wife and I have a favorite Chinese restaurant here in Wichita (if you live here or plan to visit, you HAVE to check out Oh Yeah; It really is awesome. Tell Shu that Frank sent you). Anyway, the food there is amazing, but I think my wife’s favorite part is the Mango ice cream. It does strike me as the perfect, sweet, creamy ending to a fabulous meal. Anyway, it inspired me to make this week’s Tea of the Week. I hope you enjoy it.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Every once in a while, Frank from 52Teas puts out a tea that kind of makes me go “eh, that sounds alright.” I don’t get tremendously excited over it, but, at the same time I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.
This is one such tea. I wasn’t all that excited … it seems like everyone has a mango flavored tea these days. The ice cream aspect, yeah, that changes it up a little bit, but, it’s still basically mango. But, I like mango, and I’ve loved the other ice cream flavored teas that Frank has developed so I was pretty sure I’d enjoy this. But this wasn’t something I was super eager to try … I knew I’d like it, but, it wasn’t all that exciting to me.
But then, WHAM! I taste it, and it blows me away! This is amazing!
I am sure that Frank’s new black tea base has a little something to do with my enjoyment of this tea – it tastes rich and bold. He developed a new black tea base back in May, I think. And it is big improvement over the standard go-to base he was using for most of his black teas. It is slightly astringent, not too much. No real bitter notes. Just smooth, pleasant tasting black tea that melds well with the creamy notes and the sweetness of the Mango.
The mango is strong and tastes true to the fruit, deliciously sweet with just a hint of tart. And the creaminess of the ice cream flavor tastes so smooth and rich. I find that this particular tea tastes best when it’s cool (this tea is MADE for iced tea!) but, if you just can’t wait until the tea cools off before you try it, do allow it to cool slightly in your cup for a few moments before you taste it. I found that if I let it sit for just three or four minutes, the flavor is infinitely better than my initial first couple of sips just after I poured the cup. It tastes creamier, more mango-y, and just … moreish! (And I have a feeling that if I were to try the mango ice cream that inspired this tea, I’d have moreish feelings about it too!)
A really delightful cup of tea, and a surprising one, too. I love it when a tea surprises me like this!
Southern Boy Teas Series, Part 7: Neapolitan Ice Cream 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 Neapolitan ice cream finish.
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
YUM!
I am nearly finished with this series of teas (just one more flavor to try – Bubblegum!), and I’ve really enjoyed them all so far. Each one has been deliciously unique – revamping the idea of boring iced tea, transforming it into a very exciting way to enjoy cool, summertime refreshment.
The original “Neapolitan Ice Cream” tea from 52Teas was actually a flavored honeybush that I quite enjoyed, although I didn’t really drink a whole lot of it. My oldest daughter went through a honeybush phase where she would have honeybush tisane every morning, and this was one of her favorites (Her #1 favorite, though, was the Coconut Cheesecake Honeybush) Anyway, my pouch of this vanished pretty quickly during her honeybush phase, so I have to admit that I was pretty excited to try this new black tea version of the dynamic flavor.
Before brewing it last night (I cold-brewed this the same way I did the other six Southern Boy Teas before it), I smelled the teabag, and I could smell each of the flavors: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, although the strongest fragrance came from the strawberry. It almost overpowered the other notes, with a subtle vanilla/creamy note coming through and mere hints of chocolate.
This translates into the brewed tea as well. The strawberry is the strongest flavor – in fact, with the first few sips, all I could taste, really was the strawberry and the black tea. By about the third sip, I began to notice some creaminess coming through, and by the time I was nearly finished with my first glass, the chocolate was coming through … and it was really weird because it wasn’t really like “boom! and now, here is the chocolate” … “it was more like hello! I was here all the time, I just wanted to let the strawberry have its time in the spotlight.”
Now that I’m nearly finished with my second glass (goodness this tea disappears quickly!), all three flavors are shining through. I get a sweet yet tart note from the strawberry, complete with the tickle of berry in the aftertaste. I get a smooth, rich chocolate note that is nicely complemented by the creamy, sweet vanilla notes. These three flavors together give it all a very ice-cream-y kind of flavor that is really delectable!
But what I think I like even better than the flavors of this tea is how well the black tea performs with these flavors. It comes through very pleasantly strong, with delicious malty notes and a nice amount of astringency that I find to be very refreshing.
Another winner in this set of iced teas! I’m loving it!
Caramel Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
For those with an unrepentant and unwavering sweet tooth, there is no better tea than sweet caramel matcha. This fine tea blends the eastern traditions of matcha with the modern caramel flavor to brew a delectable tea that is sweet to take as a mid-morning snack, before lunch aperitif or after dinner relaxing drink. The toned-down caramel matcha is ideal for those who need a sweet tea without adding any extra sugar.
Learn more about this Matcha here.
Taster’s Review:
Have I mentioned lately how much I adore Matcha and how much I LOVE Red Leaf Tea’s huge selection of flavored Matcha. But even more than that, what I really love is that Red Leaf Tea allows you to completely customize the Matcha! You can choose how much flavoring you want AND whether you a higher grade of Matcha.
And I have to tell you that this Caramel Matcha is so incredibly, decadently DELICIOUS! I chose the basic Matcha (while I would generally prefer a higher grade of Matcha for pure Matcha, when it comes to flavored Matcha, I find that the basic grade works well for me) with a distinctive level of flavoring, and I am in caramel heaven! So sweet and deliciously creamy. All that’s missing, really, is that chewy texture of a piece of caramel, and the sticky teeth. And to be very honest, I don’t really miss the sticky teeth…
This would make an excellent dessert substitution that tastes so good, that you’ll forget that you’re drinking something that’s actually quite healthy!
The caramel has a deep, rich flavor – it tastes smooth and creamy and decadent. As I sit here and savor this (and my chawan is nearly empty … it sure did disappear quickly!) my mind starts to wonder with thoughts of other ways to enjoy this Matcha. For example, I find myself wondering how this might taste with a pinch of sea salt in the bowl (I do love salted caramels!) Or maybe it might be delicious added as a flavoring for homemade ice cream (or even just sprinkled over some vanilla ice cream!)
But what I like best about this Matcha … is that even though the caramel flavor is good and strong, I can still taste the Matcha! Matcha seems like a perfect pairing with the caramel flavor, both are sweet and creamy and rich… they complement each other very well. The flavor of the Matcha seems to add some depth to the flavor of the caramel by lending a hint of vegetative earthiness to the cup (bowl), making this even more interesting and delicious.
If you love caramel and matcha – this Caramel Matcha from Red Leaf Tea is sure to be a hit!
Cherry Garcia Flavored Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I’m hoping this is a good idea and doesn’t just get me into a lot of trouble. It will probably just get me into trouble. I seem to attract it. Anyway, you might want to snap this up before we get sued.
[A brief plea to the good folks at Ben & Jerry’s: Please don’t sue us. We don’t have any money. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you know.]
I’m not going to say anything more–no sense in giving the lawyers any more ammunition.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very excited to try this tea. Cherry Garcia is one of my favorite teas from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, and I love the idea of a Cherry Garcia inspired tea.
The aroma of the dry leaf is scrumptious! Cherries and chocolate and a hint of cream along with the black tea notes. My mouth began watering! I brewed this with eager anticipation and happy thoughts of yummy ice cream flavors dancing around in my head!
The dry leaf looks different from most of 52Teas black tea blends. And it is different. Instead of the usual black tea blend of Assam and Nilgiri teas that 52Teas uses in most of its black tea blends, this is a blend of the Assam and Nilgiri plus some CTC (also Nilgiri?) to add some body to the cup. When you get your pouch and open it and see the small tea bits in there, I don’t want you to be concerned that your tea got smashed in transit!
OK… now that some of the business is out of the way, let’s get on to the tea … my taste buds cannot wait!
My first sip was a bit of a disappointment. There is a strong black tea flavor, but very little chocolate and cherry flavor. Where’s my Cherry Garcia? Then I allowed the tea to cool a bit to see if this would give the flavors some time to develop.
Yes! This is a tea that definitely needs some cooling time. It doesn’t have to be cold; I would say that the cup sitting in front of me is probably about 140°F – not what I’d call lukewarm or tepid, but, not piping hot.
Now the flavors are there. I can taste the cherry and the chocolate, and there is a delicious creaminess that washes over the palate throughout the sip, like melted ice cream. YUM!
The black tea is still quite strong, too, but this IS a tea … if you want the ice cream, go to the store and get some! This is supposed to be tea so I’m glad that the tea flavor is there, and it does, indeed have a rich, satisfying body to it. The aftertaste is definitely cherry, with a sweet cherry taste with a hint of tartness that tingles in the mouth. There is some astringency, but I notice that it gets smoother with each sip.
And that’s the best part about this tea: it keeps getting better and better with each sip. I’ve consumed more than half my cup now (I have a large tea mug!) and it becomes creamier, and sweeter and more delicious with each sip. Very nicely done, 52Teas!
On the 11th Day of Christmas … from 52Teas
Today is Christmas Eve… and I still haven’t finished all the holiday preparations. I still have presents to buy!
Yeah… I’m not the most organized individual you’re likely to meet. That’s putting it mildly!
It may not appear so by just reading these words, but … I’m about to have a panic attack! Good thing I have some tea to help soothe my nerves!
And the tea that I’m enjoying today is …
NEAPOLITAN HONEYBUSH
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Our caffeine-free African Honeybush (If you are still not familiar with honeybush, it is very similar to Rooibos, but a bit sweeter and without the woody aftertaste that rooibos frequently has) blended with organic vanilla beans, organic cacao nibs, freeze-dried strawberry pieces and all natural flavors. This is a real treat hot or iced!
Taster’s Review:
I can’t believe that I haven’t yet written a review for this tea!
Well, no time like the present, eh? This is a tea that I’ve had on hand for some time now. I am not going to say its my favorite tisane from 52Teas, because it isn’t, but, I do like it quite a bit! I think I like it even more now than I did when I first tasted it.
For those of you that have one, I recommend brewing this in a Libre Tea Glass (or similar type vessel). I put the leaf into the main chamber of the glass, screw on the straining lid, and sip the tisane through the strainer. This enables me to keep the honeybush in the liquid as I sip it, and the flavor continues to intensify. This tea just keeps getting better and better the longer it steeps!
After steeping just six minutes, my first few sips were delicious. I could taste a good combination of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, together with the somewhat nutty/honey sweet taste of the honeybush. But now, after continuing to steep some additional 15 or 20 minutes after those first couple of sips, the flavor is even better. The chocolate – RICH! The strawberry – SWEET! The vanilla – CREAMY! I think I actually like this tisane better than the ice cream after which it was created!
The flavor is really smooth and creamy, just like ice cream. The only real difference is the temperature and the slightly nutty taste that comes from the honeybush. I have tasted this tea hot and iced, and it is really tasty either way. I found it to be very refreshing this past summer when I iced it. Right now, I’m finding it to be particularly soothing on the nervous tension I’m experiencing due to my shopping dilemma.
This tea is such a wonderful treat!