Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Shamrock = Peppermint, spearmint and a HINT of vanilla Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
I’ve had this Shamrock Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas for a little while now, but I held off trying it until it was closer to St. Patrick’s Day for a couple of reasons: 1) when I originally planned to write a review of it, I saw it was out of stock and I thought I’d wait to see if they restock it, which they did; and 2) I thought it would be cool to wait until St. Patrick’s Day.
This is a chilled glass of YUM. The green tea is light and buttery. The minty notes are crisp. The vanilla is smooth and creamy. Together, the three components create a tea that tastes fresh and sweet and delicious.
To brew this, I heated 1 quart of water to 170°F and steeped the tea bag for 1 1/2 minutes. Then I heat a second quart of water and resteeped the tea bag for 2 minutes. I combined both of these quarts into my favorite 1/2 gallon iced tea pitcher and then I put the tea bag into a airtight container and put both in the fridge. (I can resteep the bag for another 1/2 gallon of tea later!)
This is a really refreshing iced tea. I really love the green teas that Southern Boy Teas is coming out with – and I’m looking forward to the Banana Peach one … I hope that will come out soon!!!
Cherry Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha from 52Teas
Please check out my Kickstarter Campaign to Take Over 52Teas!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Following the popularity of our other marshmallow treat genmaicha blends, we’ve created a special one for Valentine’s Day, with real freeze-dried cherries, marshmallow root and organic marshmallow and maraschino cherry flavors. This is a treat for your sweet tooth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After tasting a couple of cherry flavored teas lately that tasted more of cough syrup than tea, I cringed just a little (just a little!) when I read the announcement for the tea of the week of February 9th. But I was hopeful that this Cherry Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha from 52Teas wouldn’t go the same route as some of the other cherry teas I’ve tasted consumed in the past weeks. I hoped that this would taste as wonderful as it sounded, because the idea of having a cherry flavored marshmallow treat sounds delightful!
In fact, it sounds so delightful that before I brewed the tea, I asked my youngest daughter if she might be interested in trying the tea with me. She apparently thought it sounded yummy too, because she said yes. So, I brewed the whole 1/2 ounce package in my Breville One-Touch, using 1000ml of water. I set the temperature for 175°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes. These smaller 1/2 ounce pouches are just the right size for a teapot to share with a friend (or daughter!)
After allowing the tea to cool for a few minutes, I took my first sip. Mmm! I’m happy to say that while I taste cherry, I don’t taste cough syrup. This cherry flavor seems to have just the right balance between sweet and tart cherry flavors, because I’m getting a little bit of sweet and a little bit of tart. The tart tickles my taste buds in the aftertaste.
The genmaicha has a light, slightly grassy taste and adds a nice, toasty flavor and the rice notes add a rice cereal kind of flavor. The marshmallow adds a little bit of fluffy, creamy taste but I find myself wanting just a tad more marshmallow in this.
Overall, this is really tasty. My daughter enjoyed it too. I still favor the “Original” Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha – which I’ll be reblending when I take over 52Teas! Please take a moment to stop over at my campaign and support my efforts to save this small business while creating fantastic teas!
Cucumber Melon White Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic shou mei fannings white tea blended with organic cucumber and melon flavors. This is a seriously refreshing glass of yum. Don’t miss your chance to nab one of these.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! I’m really LOVING this Cucumber Melon White Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas! It’s so refreshing!
Having previously enjoyed the original 52Teas version of Cucumber Melon White tea and to a lesser extent, the SBT Cucumber Melon Black Iced Tea, I was excited to try SBT’s version of these flavors with a white tea base. I really think that the delicate qualities of the cucumber and melon are better suited for the softer white tea base!
To brew this, I tried something just a tad different. I hot brewed it (as usual) – heating 1 quart of water to 160°F and letting the teabag steep for 1 1/2 minute and then straining that tea into my glass tea pitcher. But for the second quart, instead of steeping it for 2 minutes (I usually add 30 seconds onto the resteep time), I only steeped the bag for 1 minute with the resteep. And the flavor is PERFECT.
I’m getting a strong melon flavor with notes of cucumber. It’s sweet with a hint of savory and the white tea base comes through nicely without overpowering the soft flavors of the cucumber and melon. A really delightful balance has been achieved here and I daresay that this is just as good as the original 52Teas version!
Lemon Blueberry Cookie Dough Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
One of our “YOU be the tea blender” blends, this is a premium Pettiagala Extra Long Leaf OP black tea from Sri Lanka blended with freeze-dried blueberries, lemon myrtle and organic blueberry, lemon and cookie dough flavors. Delicious and fun–like the flavors are having a pillow fight in your mouth!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
This Lemon Blueberry Cookie Dough Black Tea from 52Teas is pretty tasty. I don’t think I’ve had a lemon blueberry cookie before, but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to trying one – or the dough before one is baked! I love the flavor combination of lemon and berry!
I brewed this in my Breville One-Touch: I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket and poured 500ml of water into the kettle. The temperature was set for 205°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes.
I do wish I would have set the timer for only 2 minutes, because the black tea is a little on the astringent side. It’s not really what I’d call bitter, but together with the tart, lemony notes and the tea – I’m getting a fair amount of tangy astringency at the tail.
The black tea is a brisk, medium-bodied tea. I think I would have liked a maltier tea as the base to help bring out the ‘cookie dough’ flavors because I’m not getting a lot of that sweet dough-y flavor here.
I get plenty of lemon notes and hints of blueberry. As I continue to sip, the blueberry notes develop and by mid-cup, the blueberry is almost on even standing with the lemon. By the time I’ve reached the end of the cup, the two flavors are pretty nicely balanced. I really like the way these two flavors play together – the lemon and the blueberry are really quite compatible flavor companions.
There is an underlying sweetness to this cup, but, maybe the tartness of the lemon together with the tart notes of the berry overwhelm the sweeter notes of what should taste like cookie dough. By mid-cup, I do pick up on more flavors that could be cookie dough-ish.
After the tea cools significantly, I pick up on a lot more cookie dough taste – this tea is definitely better cold than it is hot. The astringency mellows a little, there is balance between the lemon and blueberry flavors, and the cookie dough flavor emerges a bit.
Overall, this is a tasty blend. It’s a fun flavor, a little on the tart side – if you like lemon, you’ll really enjoy this playful flavor.
Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic Iyerpadi black tea blended with organic apple, green apple and cinnamon flavors. This is a super refreshing iced tea. I may have created a few apple flavored teas lately, but the apple and cinnamon notes with this Iyerpadi black tea are just astounding.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I admit that my first thought was “another apple tea” but now that I’m tasting this, I don’t mind at all. This Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas is really good.
I hot brewed this iced tea, bringing 1 quart of water to a boil and then letting the tea bag steep for 2 minutes. Then I strained the tea into my favorite iced tea pitcher and brought another quart of water to a boil and resteeped the bag for 2 1/2 minutes. No, this doesn’t make the tea too strong for me, it’s strong, yes, but not too strong. Then again, I like my tea strong.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really like the Iyerpadi estate tea that Southern Boy Teas has been using for their black tea base. It’s got a pleasant flavor, it doesn’t have a bitter taste nor is it astringent. It’s smooth and even without tasting too weak. It’s really a delightful tea.
The apple flavor is coming through nicely. I found that with my first few sips, the apple flavor was less obvious than the cinnamon, which seemed to overpower. But, after the first few sips, the apple notes developed and the cinnamon waned just enough. Now, the cinnamon is still a strong presence, but the apple comes through and adds a pleasant sweet-tart note to contrast with the warm, zesty taste of the cinnamon.
Really tasty!