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As promised, I cold brewed this last night. I hate wasting leaves from limited/expensive teas, and doing a hot then cold brew also has the benefit of offering up slightly different flavor profiles. And let me tell you, the differences between this tea hot with milk & cream and cold unsweetened are pretty drastic! And while I am a rabid fan of cold brewing, I think I might actually like this one a little better hot.

What’s really lost in the cold brew is that lovely strong black base. It’s still there, but not as upfront and brisk as it is hot. It’s more mellow, like the base in a nice sweet tea. The mango is about as prominent—both ways this isn’t really a super mango-y tea though. The flavor is there for sure, but it’s quite subtle. In fact, mango ice cream is usually pretty softly flavored so I suppose it’s fitting! The cream aspect is what really stands out this way—it’s even creamier, milkier, richer. If I had my eyes closed I could swear there was cream in the glass. It’s almost silky, not just a taste but a mouthfeel. Kind of surprising, I expected the mango to pop and the cream to be subtler while the opposite is true!

I didn’t really know what to expect from this tea before I took the first sip. In the bag it smells like alcohol, no joke! It’s very strange. Brewed it smells like a particularly strong Irish Breakfast, no mango or cream to be found. Thankfully it’s quite different on the tongue, and kind of amazingly balanced. I always expect great things from 52teas and I suppose my expectations are sometimes a little too lofty, but boy did they deliver on this one!

There are 3 components, and each of them really stands out. The black base is fantastic, I think a bit stronger than some of their others (even though it’s the same blend, maybe this batch is a bit heavier on the assam?). It’s really brisk! The ice cream part is really, well, cream, and is totally divine. It adds a glorious, rich smoothness to the cup that really balances out the maltiness of the base. Then there’s the mango, which at first I thought was a little hidden but it really comes in bright and loud at the end of the sip. Fresh, sweet, almost juicy!

Everything fits together so well, working in perfect harmony. It’s great without additions but I am feeling naughty tonight so I put in a heap of sugar and actual cream. Oooooh lord, this is amazing. I bet it’d be even better iced, so I am going to cold brew the rest of these leaves!

I decided to try this two ways before rating it. Mostly because when I made it hot last night, it wasn’t exactly a winner. It was okay, but far more fruity than cheesecake-y. In fact, it didn’t really have much in the way of creaminess even since the apricot totally overwhelmed everything (including the shou mei). I was a bit disappointed, but decided to cold-brew the leaves I’d just steeped.

Cold, it’s a totally different animal! It’s crisp and refreshing, and the apricot is more subdued. It’s still quite fruity (perhaps more than I was expecting), but it’s more harmonious cold. The shou mei is bright, and adds another layer of fruitness and sweetness. The cheesecake is interesting here: unlike some people, I’ve found it quite prominent in their black/green teas. Here it’s… well, not nearly as cheesecake-y as I expected it to be. There’s a definite creaminess, along with a soft tanginess that really plays well with the apricot. It doesn’t really scream “cheesecake” though, while I found the flavor easily identifiable in their EG Cheesecake and the Cherry Cheesecake Genmaicha. It does come up more as the cup “warms” to room temperature—this is one that definitely doesn’t benefit from being ice-cold (unlike, say Cotton Candy).

I think this came off a bit more negative than intended. It’s a very nice tea, and I love the play of crisp white, sweet apricot and tangy cheesecake. I think the flavors were a bit different than I expected is all, stronger on the apricot and weaker on the cheesecake. However, the spoonful I used had a LOT of apricot bits, so next time I’ll try to weed some of ’em out and see if the cheesecake is a bit stronger.

I’ve decided that I have too much tea, and that baking and cooking are the best way to reduce my stash in a reasonable amount of time. I’ve been successful with tea-infused english toffee, and ice cream was next up! There are tons of recipes out there, but I went with my tried and true custard-base instead. Steeped the cream/milk mixture with about 2 tablespoons of EGC for ~20 minutes, strained, and then did the whole temper the eggs, stir for forever until it thickens jazz.

The worst thing about ice cream is how darn long it takes. After making the base you have to chill it for 3 hours, then put it in the ice cream maker then freeze for 3+ hours so it firms up. I tasted the base during all the steps, but it’s really hard to tell how the final product is going to be. Well, it’s finally done, and it is AH-MA-ZING. Earl Grey ice cream is nice and all, but using an EGC boosted it to a whole other level of amazing. Combine it with a rich, creamy custard base and dear lord, I could eat it all tonight.

I’ve been pretty much drinking the same few teas in rotation the past few days. I haven’t been to my apartment in a week and a half, I just know there are at least 3 boxes of tea there and it’s torture not being able to open them ;~; To make myself feel better, I just ordered some tea to come to my parents’ house, which of course is not the best solution but hey, I want new tea! I maaaay have a problem.

I’ve had this a few times before, but always the same way—hot, with milk & sugar. I’ve found that I really like floral teas cold, so I iced this one with a pinch of sugar and it’s fabulous! Light, sweet, the bergamot seems to come through more this way as it’s bright and citrusy with a floral undercurrent. Iced Earl Greys are quite nice, more so than I expected. Sadly this tea isn’t mine, it’s my mom’s, and I think she’d get annoyed if I burned through her whole stash while I am here!

I decided to give this one another shot. It was so fruity iced, but I wanted more of that apple cobbler feel, so I hot brewed it with a pinch of cinnamon and added brown sugar to the cup. It’s not like an in-your-face baked good, but definitely better with a bit of sprucing up—I am thinking of mixing the rest of my sample 50/50 with Brioche for the real pastry feel.

Had this today cold brewed with a pinch of brown sugar. I think I actually like it best iced, since it brings out the soda-y vibe the most. It’s also slightly creamy this way, and the earthy flavors of the guranse pop. Sooo good!

I love rose earl greys, and I’ve tried quite a few but this just happened to be the one I brought with me while at my parents’ house. Honestly, I just kind of grabbed a bunch of samples and threw them in a bag together! Good thing, since it seems like I am going to be here for a while so I’m well stocked on tea. This is from my box from LiberTEAS I believe!

This is a nicely balanced rose EG, with a strong black base and soft cirtus notes from the bergamot. The rose is subtle and not overpowering, and a lot less strong than I thought it would be. I really like strong rose flavors, so this didn’t entirely deliver on that front but it was still a lovely cup!

I am pretty sure I got this in *Emilie*’s sale boxes, but I’m honestly not 100% sure. This is a clear sign that I have too many samples to go through! Yet I am jonesing for more swaps, sigh.

I cold brewed this, since I don’t really tend to like strawberry hot (unless it’s with some other flavors) and, well, it’s summer, the perfect time for iced tea! Though of course it was 75 and rainy all day. This tea has a nice, fresh strawberry flavor, and there’s something tropical going on too in the background. The ingredients list says pineapple but the description says papaya, curious! Either way, I think it adds a little something special to what might otherwise be a run-of-the-mill strawberry green. The sencha base is also very buttery, and has a very rich mouthfeel! I like this one a lot more than I thought I would, and for the ridiculous price of $5.99 for 4oz I think this might be making its way into my cupboard…

In the sample bag this smells like a cobbler—heaven! There’s fruit, spices, maybe even some bake-y notes. Surprisingly, it’s a totally different tea when steeped. I tried this hot and cold brewed, and both times it was very very fruity. The peach and apple are quite natural tasting, but strong, to the point where the black base is kind of hanging out in the background. There are some nice malty notes and I think they picked some pretty strong teas to go with these flavors, which is good otherwise they’d be lost entirely.

There are no cinnamon or bake-y flavors at all in the brew, so it’s definitely not the tea I was expecting. Iced, though, it’s really lovely, fruity and bright. Great with a slice of lemon while watching summer storms! Sometimes a tea doesn’t meet your expectations but surprises you in other ways, which this one definitely did.