Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: New Mexico Tea Co.
Tea Description:
A full bodied tea that complements the coconut beautifully. A little milk helps bring out the coconut flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! Do you like coconut? If you do, you’ve GOT to try this tea.
Seriously, this is one of the best coconut flavored black teas I think I’ve ever tasted. The flavor is so very true to the fruit.
The aroma of the dry leaf does smell a little … artificial. It has a sort of coconut candy kind of scent to it, it is sweet and coconut-y smelling … it doesn’t really smell chemical or anything, but the sweet notes give it a more confectionery fragrance. But, I am glad that the artificial notes end with the aroma … because the flavor is sensational.
The black tea base is – according to the label on the package – an Organic Korakundah estate black tea which means it’s a Nilgiri base. A good choice, in my opinion, because the result is a rich, robust, full-flavored tea that offers a very enjoyable, solid background of flavor … but without being too intrusive on the flavor of the coconut. Instead, the rich, somewhat malty notes of the Nilgiri enhance the coconut tones, making it taste thicker and creamier.
The coconut flavor here is strong and very coconut-y. As I said before – it is very true to the fruit. This tastes like TRUE coconut. Sweet and creamy and very yummy.. It is sweet, but it doesn’t taste “candy sweet.” Quite simply, it tastes like coconut.
This is one of the better coconut teas that I’ve tasted, and one that I’d recommend to those looking for the ideal coconut tea.
Organic Korakundah from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
This green tea originates from the Korakundah Estate in Nilgiri, India and is grown at an elevation of 8,000 feet. Organic Korakundah is an FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe) grade. The Korakundah Estate is biodynamic, pesticide free, and socially responsible. This tea is very unique and almost difficult to describe. Notes of bitter greens and baby spinach are present with some smokiness. It is lightly astringent yet somewhat sweet.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this tea a couple of times now, and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s a refreshing change from the sweeter Chinese green teas that I’ve tasted. This has a sweet flavor to it too, but, it’s quite different from the sweeter, creamier type green teas that I so often review.
This tea has a very interesting balance between bitter and sweet. The flavor is quite vegetal, with notes of grass, smoked spinach and dandelion greens. Yes, that’s right, I said “smoked” spinach, rather than steamed spinach. It has that mild, sweet flavor that one would experience with steamed baby spinach, but there is a smoky tone to this too, so imagine if the baby spinach were smoked instead of steamed … what that might taste like. That’s what I taste with this tea.
I love the complexity of the “green” flavor of this tea – it doesn’t just taste “fresh” or “vegetative” … it has a palate-pleasing sweetness that contrasts nicely with bitter tones, and a hint of smoky flavor that is also quite “green” tasting. There is a smooth astringency at the tail that is quite different from the astringency in other teas too. I often suggest an astringency is “dry” or “tangy” … but this is different. It is smooth with a hint of sourness to it … almost tangy, but not quite. It leaves the palate feeling clean and very refreshed.
A lovely green tea – uniquely different from the Chinese and Japanese greens, but every bit as interesting.
Nilgiri Frost Oolong from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Nilgiri Frost Oolong originates from Nilgiri, in Southern India and is graded TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe). Since this tea is grown at a high elevation, the leaves are exposed to a light frost during some nights of the winter months. The long thin chocolate colored leaves are hand twisted and produce a weighty body. This smooth tea has notes of citrus, peach, pecan, and oak. There are many qualities similar to a Nilgiri black tea; however, the frost oolong is much gentler and sweeter. This tea is produced in very limited quantities due to the short harvest period and special conditions that must exist.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is not your average flowery Oolong! In fact, this is the Oolong I’d recommend to those who tend to shy away from Oolong teas because they find them to be too floral tasting or too delicate. This has a smoother, robust flavor that reminds me a bit of an masculine, aged bourbon that has been aged in an oak cask … but without that strong alcohol taste!
OK … so that is more of me imagining what a good, strong, aged bourbon might taste like, because I’m certainly no connoisseur, and hopefully, I didn’t come off sounding like I had no idea of what I was talking about. For all I know, bourbon doesn’t taste really masculine or woody or anything else. I’m just shooting from the hip here, imagining how this might compare to the flavor of a top-notch bourbon.
But, what I do experience – immediately – when I taste this tea is the peach tones. So distinct and sweet and yummy! There are also notes of citrus, just as the description above suggests. At first, the citrus notes revealed themselves to be the sweeter side of citrus, but, as I continue to sip, I notice a clear sour note that hits right before mid-sip, and just as quickly as it appears, it disappears. It seems to just drop in for a moment, to offer an interesting contrast.
Nutty flavors, yes, I get those too. Lovely woody notes as I mentioned earlier… and virtually no floral-y notes whatsoever. Even if this does not measure up to the bourbon qualities that I mentioned earlier, this is definitely masculine and absolutely fantastic. And , actually, I think it doesn’t HAVE to measure up, because I’d rather drink this than the finest, most expensive bourbon that’s out there!
This is definitely one of the best “darker” Oolong teas I’ve ever tasted! If you love Oolong like I do, you really MUST try this one.
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!
Southern Boy Teas Series, Part 5: Lime Jello 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 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.