Lemon Meringue Mao Zhen Hair Needle Green Tea from 52Teas

Lemon-Meringue-Mao-ZhenTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tea Description:

Wow, that’s a mouthful. And this tea is a mouthful of deliciousness. This organic Chinese green tea is sweet with just a hint of almost salmon-like butteriness. I’ve paired it with lemon verbena, marshmallow roots and lemon-, marshmallow- and pastry- organic flavors. Be prepared to have your socks knocked off with this one..

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I was excited when I saw the announcement for this Lemon Meringue Mao Zhen Hair Needle Green Tea as the tea of the week for March 23rd from 52Teas!  I love Lemon Meringue Pie!  And I got even more excited after I read our SororiTea Sister Nichole’s review of this tea.  I really couldn’t wait until I was able to find the time to sit back and enjoy this tea!

My first sip or two of this tea were not as impressive as the rest of the cup for me.  I took those first couple of sips when the tea was still very hot because to be honest, I couldn’t wait to try it.  I mean, hello?  Lemon Meringue?  I want!

But the tea hadn’t cooled enough yet for the flavors to really emerge the way they began to after a few more minutes of cool time.  After about six or seven minutes, the flavors really began to establish themselves in the cup.  Now I can taste the tangy lemon notes – imagine lemon curd but not the lemon curd you’d buy on the grocery store shelves!  Think to a homemade lemon curd or even to your (insert name of baking relative here)’s lemony filling for their lemon meringue pie.  That’s the lemon flavor I’m talking about!  It’s bright and sunny and vibrantly lemon-y, but not so tart that I’m puckering.  There’s enough sweetness to the ‘filling’ taste that I’m getting a strong, assertive lemon-y flavor but I’m not puckering as if I just bit into a lemon wedge.

After the lemon note, I taste the fluffy marshmallow notes that mimic the sweet, creamy meringue flavor and even a hint of buttery pie pastry.  Delicious!

And I’m happy to say that the green tea flavor isn’t lost in this tea.  I taste grassy, vegetal notes from the green tea.  Instead of “melding” or “marrying” with the lemon meringue pie flavors to create a unified flavor, this tea tastes very much to me like lemon meringue pie + green tea.  It tastes like a nice balance of the two and I like the way I’m getting a slightly savory flavor from the green tea that contrasts with the sweet, dessert-like flavor of the lemon meringue pie.

The second infusion was even nicer than the first, because the lemon tones down just a little (still a very lemon-y tea!) and the green tea has become a silkier, smoother taste with a hint of creaminess that works beautifully with the marshmallow notes.

A really delightful tea.  I think this particular tea is best served hot.  Not piping hot like my first couple of sips were, but after it’s cooled a few minutes so that the flavors can develop but before it becomes cold to the point that it’s like iced tea.  I find that the flavors become a little more muddied when the tea becomes cold.  So drink it while it’s hot and it’ll be like you’re eating a piece of your favorite lemon meringue pie but without the fat and calories!

Lemon Meringue Mao Zhen Hair Needle from 52Teas

Lemon-Meringue-Mao-ZhenTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy: 52Teas

Tea Description:

Wow, that’s a mouthful. And this tea is a mouthful of deliciousness. This organic Chinese green tea is sweet with just a hint of almost salmon-like butteriness. I’ve paired it with lemon verbena, marshmallow roots and lemon-, marshmallow- and pastry- organic flavors. Be prepared to have your socks knocked off with this one..

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Lemon Meringue in a cup. . sign me up! I adore this tea.  It really tastes like a slice of lemon meringue pie.  I loved it so much I actually just picked up 3 more packs.  When I first saw this one the site, I knew I would like it and automatically added it into my cart, just didn’t realize how much I would love it.

The dry leaf smells exactly like a homemade slice of lemon meringue pie times ten.  The smell is almost overwhelming but amazing. I  had people stopping by my desk and asking me if I had a lemon candle on my desk while the tea was brewing. The green tea is there and provides a fantastic richness.  I think I’m going to have to order some Mao Zhen Hair Needle on its own and see what that tastes like.  I think its the first time I’ve had this particular green tea and am wondering what all it is adding to the flavor.

I’m loving this one and will be sad when my stash is gone. Reminds me of my mom’s amazing lemon meringue pie.  So Good! And crazy helpful for when I’m craving something pastry like while I’m on this diet of mine.

Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Tea

tealemonmeringueTisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos & Honeybush

Where to Buy:  Trail Lodge Tea

Tisane Description:

This is truly a classic tea!  It makes a great hot or iced tea. We have finally found the perfect lemon tea. This one has a mild and smooth lemon flavor with a hint of creaminess, reminiscent of lemon meringue pie. It is naturally caffeine free. Ingredients: Rooibos, Green Rooibos, Honeybush, Lemon Bits, Calendula and Cornflower Petals, and Flavoring.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

This Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Teas is easily one of the better Lemon Meringue Pie teas/tisanes that I’ve tasted.  It’s totally YUM!

The base is a combination of red (or oxidized) rooibos, green (or non-oxidized) rooibos, and honeybush.  I think that this is a winning combination.  I’m not big on rooibos, but, when they’re combined with the honeybush, this seems to soften that sometimes “funky” taste that goes along with rooibos.  And since green rooibos is much better tasting than red rooibos … this brings out the fruity character to the rooibos rather than that woodsy/nutty flavor.  Nice!  The honeybush still offers some of that sweet honey-esque tone and just a hint of nutty taste that accentuates the “pie-like” quality of this tisane.

The lemon is a softer, sweeter lemon, much like the creamy curd filling of a lemon meringue pie.  I taste notes of vanilla too, and this brings a meringue-like quality to the cup.  And every once in a while, I could swear I taste just a hint of butter that seems to imitate a pie crust like flavor together with the nutty tones of the honeybush.

This blend works together so well.  Sweet, lemon-y goodness!  A nice dessert-y treat that you can enjoy any time of the day … you can even make it a late night snack since it’s naturally caffeine free!

Lemon Meringue Chai from 52Teas

LemonMeringueChai

Chai Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Chai Description:

As for this blend, well, it’s just a bit of heaven in a cup. Our house blended masala chai with lemon myrtle, lemon peel, marshmallow root and all organic flavors. It’s chai with a sweet pucker.

Anybody who thinks chai is just for wintertime hasn’t had a chai like this before. I’m pretty sure this will be a major crowd pleaser. Make it as an iced tea latte for a real special treat.

Learn more about this chai here.

Taster’s Review:

It may come as no big surprise to anyone reading this right now that I’m a subscriber to 52Teas Teas of the Month program.  Once a month, I get an envelope full of teas from 52Teas.  When April’s envelope arrived, THIS was the tea I was most excited to try.  I love chai … and I LOVE lemon meringue pie.  I was sure this would be a winner for me.

And while this Lemon Meringue Chai from 52Teas IS a tasty chai, I’m finding myself a wee bit disappointed.  First of all, the tea base is a straight up Assam, and while I do love Assam tea, I don’t know what it is about the Assam teas that 52Teas acquires but they just seem to work better in blends than they do straight.  The Assam teas from 52Teas tend to be on the harsh side when used on their own (that is, not part of a black tea blend) and I’m noticing some harshness with this tea (I only steeped it for 2 1/2 minutes too!)  Of course, I’m about to contradict myself here … because one of my all-time favorite teas from 52Teas is the French Vanilla Assam … but somehow the Assam worked well with the french vanilla notes but not so much with the lemon meringue chai flavors.

I like the spice blend just fine, it’s got a nice level of spice … not so spicy as to overpower the cup, but spicy enough to remind the drinker that this is a CHAI. I like the lemon-y note as well but, I’m finding myself wishing that there was just a touch of vanilla in this to make the lemon notes a little creamier … you know, like a lemon-y curd kind of taste … that’s the kind of lemon note I was looking for here but didn’t find.

The marshmallow root is a pleasing touch but it’s almost overwhelmed by the rest of the flavors of this cup … in particular, the Assam.  As I reach mid-cup to the last few sips of the cup, the marshmallow root starts to emerge more, and this is a delightful surprise, but, I do wish there was a tad more … marshmallow-y goodness to this … that may make up for the lack of vanilla-y notes for the lemon.

Overall, this is alright.  Not the worst cuppa I’ve ever had, certainly, but also not my favorite from 52Teas.  I think I like the idea of a Lemon Meringue Chai blend better than the actual execution of it.  It does make a tasty iced tea, though (It definitely gets better as it cools!) … and it is certainly worth a try, and I’m glad I did try it.

Lemon-Lime Meringue Flavored Kukicha from 52Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Product Description:

This is an extremely limited edition blend. We have enough for twenty 2oz. pouches of this blend, then it’s gone. This is a Kukicha green tea blended with lemon myrtle and natural flavors.

We’ve managed to capture the essence of a slice of lemon-lime meringue pie, with a light touch of pastry-like crust, lemon and lime and of course, the meringue. Those of you who have the opportunity to try this are going to be blown away by it. Don’t delay, it’s not going to last long.

Taster’s Review:

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten lemon-lime meringue pie before … but my dear gramma made the best lemon meringue pie ever.  The meringue was light, fluffy, creamy and sweet … the way you might imagine a cloud tasting in those dreamy moments when you’re cloud-watching.  The lemon filling was slightly tart, but more sweet than tart.  It was smooth and rich and creamy.  And while I have known some people to just eat the filling out of a pie, with my gramma’s pie, you want to eat the crust, because it was always so perfect … she had a knack for pie baking.

And Frank from 52Teas has a knack for making unusual yet amazingly delicious flavored tea blends.

This particular flavored green Kukicha blend was not one of his “teas of the week” but, rather, a limited-edition V.I.T. (Very Important Tea) and what an important tea it is.  This tea has managed to take me back to the memories of my gramma’s lemon meringue pies.  It is smooth and creamy and fluffy … tasting like a bite of lemon custard (with just a hint of lime in there too), sweet meringue and buttery pie crust.  It even imparts such a sublime texture on the palate, that I feel like I just ate a bite of pie!  It is silky smooth and sumptuous.

This is DEFINITELY one of Frank’s best teas to date (I know I’ve said that more than once about teas prior to this review), and it just goes to show why you should subscribe to his newsletter (the subscription sign up is on the right side of the screen), as it will send you an email whenever a new tea like this one is introduced, so that you might avoid missing out on any of his Very Important Teas … this tea may have sold out, but maybe you can get in on his next amazing blend.