Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Passion fruit and cheesecake? Does it get more decadent than that? Well, yes, actually it does, when we combine the organic flavors of passion fruit and cheesecake with our premium organic Iyerpadi black tea to make an iced tea from heaven!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I made a half-gallon pitcher full of this Passion Fruit Cheesecake Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas last night, and now (less than 24 hours later and I’ve only been drinking this for about 3 of those 24 hours!) the pitcher is nearly empty. I think I have one glass of this tea left in the fridge!
In other words: this stuff is so tasty that I don’t want to stop drinking it!
The black tea base is a very harmonious flavor with the added flavors of passion fruit and cheesecake. The natural fruity notes of the Iyerpadi single estate black tea marries well with these flavors, allowing the flavors to come alive in my glass of iced tea while still managing to maintain its own presence there. It tastes brisk and refreshing. It’s strong without being aggressive or overwhelming. It’s not astringent or bitter. Just really, really lovely.
The passion fruit is a very well-defined flavor here. The cheesecake is less pronounced but it adds a really lusciously smooth and creamy taste to the sip. The tangy note of the cheesecake is there too, it’s a subtle little note that hits about mid-sip. A slight contrast from the sweet and creamy that is quite welcome and keeps the tea from becoming cloying.
Every once in a while, I also pick up on light buttery/pastry type of notes. This buttery/pastry flavor seem to mostly be hidden within the ubiquitous cheesecake note, not really standing on it’s own so much as being part of the collective ‘cheesecake’ but every once in a while, I taste a little more of that flavor, as if it is trying to stand up and shout: “Hello, I’m here too!”
So I guess if I were to offer any sort of criticism at all about this tea, that would be it. I might like just a tad more of that buttery/pastry flavor here. But as I mentioned at the start, I’ve nearly polished off an entire half-gallon of this magical liquid in fewer than four hours.
I think I’m going to be needing more of this.
Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qui Hao from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Mount Wuyi, in Fujian China is primarily known for oolongs, but this rare black tea is harvested only a short time each year. It is naturally low in tannins, giving it an exquisitely smooth finish which, combined with its natural chocolate notes, earned it the nickname “Black Silk”. We’ve upped the ante by adding some organic chocolate and marshmallow flavors, cacao nibs and marshmallow root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read my SororiTea Sister Nichole’s review of this Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qui Hao from 52Teas, I was eager to try the tea out for myself! If you’re a frequent reader of our little blog here, you may have picked up on the fact that I’m a little bit of a chocolate freak! So this tea is right up my alley!
Mmm! The Qui Hao black tea is a delightful choice for the base of this tea. It is a rich, satisfying, well-rounded tea and it compliments the flavor of the chocolate notes. There is a creaminess from the marshmallow but it seems a little subtle. But that’s alright, because for me, this tea is about the chocolate.
The combination of the rich, malty Qui Hao and the chocolate flavors creates a dark chocolate type of flavor and the hint of marshmallow enhances the overall sweetness of it. I don’t usually add milk to my teas these days, but after sipping on this for a while, I decided I’d see how it tasted with a splash of milk.
I have to say that I think that this is even better with the addition of dairy. It brings the marshmallow notes forward a little bit without obscuring the chocolate notes. It adds just a hint of the milk chocolate flavors that I think that this particular tea needed because I wasn’t really getting “chocolate milk” until I added the dairy. The milk just brought it all together very nicely.
Overall, a really pleasing chocolate tea. If you’re a chocoholic tea lover – you should definitely give this one a try!
Lemon Meringue Mao Zhen Hair Needle Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea 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!
Streusel Topping Iced White Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Ever get one of those giant packaged muffins with the crumbly streusel topping, and find that the lower half of the muffin isn’t nearly as good as the top half? Here’s our premium organic shou mei white tea fannings blended with organic cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and pastry flavors to make it taste like a muffin top without giving you one!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! This Streusel Topping Iced White Tea from Southern Boy Teas tastes so much like a muffin top, all that’s missing is the blueberries (or whatever muffin you might be eating). But I’m not missing blueberries because this is so tasty that I forget that I generally take my muffins with blueberries.
But since there are no blueberries in my muffin top, I might suggest that this tastes a bit more like a crumb doughnut. You know the mini doughnuts that come in packages of six? I taste top notes of brown sugar, and those notes almost taste caramelized. The cinnamon isn’t overpowering. And I get just enough of the butter and cake-like flavors to make this glass of iced tea taste like something other than just another cinnamon tea.
The Shou Mei base is an ideal choice for the flavors of cinnamon, brown sugar, and buttery, cake-y pastry. The white tea is delicate enough to allow these flavors to be experienced but not so light in flavor that I can’t taste the tea. Southern Boy Teas has achieved a delicious balance with this blend.
It’s a really refreshing iced tea and a very cooling beverage to drink, which is especially nice as the weather gets warmer.
Cantaloupe & Berries Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
This super refreshing and delicious iced tea will definitely get you in the mood for spring. We’ve blended our sweet organic Chinese sencha fannings green tea with organic cantaloupe, strawberry, blackberry and blueberry flavors. Be warned, this will disappear out of your fridge really fast!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I love cantaloupe. At family gatherings, my mom and I fight over the last piece on the fruit plate. My sons will yell at me if I come home from the grocery store without one. Thank goodness my grandpa is a farmer. He supplies us with the most amazing fresh cantaloupe (and other fruits and vegetables) throughout the summer months. He is 80 years old and still goes out in the fields and hand picks everything while drinking his coffee from the thermos. Even in the crazy hot days of summer!
This tea reminds me of him and hanging out with him in the fields during summer break. Brings back so many fantastic memories of my childhood. I love it when a tea gives you what I call “Warm Fuzzies” and takes you back to happy times.
I didn’t brew this up per the packaging. Since I am the only one that drinks tea in my house, I break the larger pouch into smaller tea bags so I can enjoy them on the go or at my office. I’ve tried to brew up a pitcher all at once, but I wasn’t able to drink the tea fast enough. This way works for me and from what I can tell, it doesn’t affect the outcome of the tea at all.
This is a perfect spring/summer tea. The cantaloupe flavor is the first that hits your taste buds. The green tea gives the tea a rich buttery feel. You can taste it more after you’ve had a sip or two, adding in a slight grassy note. Very slight. Its more of an after thought. I’m not picking up any of the berries or even a hint of them. Which is fine with me. I’m good with an iced cantaloupe green tea. Overall, I really dig this one. I wish I could taste more of the berries and I’m hoping additional steeps will bring those flavors out.
