52teas

Drinking this again- it really does taste like cinnamon raisin toast. I’ve been hearing a lot about rock sugar as the best way to sweeten tea. Is this just hype, a way to sell expensive sugar to people who don’t know any better? I ask because I am sweetening this with honey, and have tried agave nectar too, but I don’t think it does as much for the taste as sugar does.

I don’t usually like flavored black teas- I so much prefer to get my fix from flavored rooibos or honeybush… but this one smelled deliciously like raisins or even blueberries in the packet, so I was hopeful. Brewed, I definitely smelled the toast, but was a little wary because that’s pretty strange. Ok, sipping this I taste two things- the black tea, which is definitely there, and raisins- I can actually justify this on my palette as cinnamon raisin toast, which is bizarre. I’m not sure, though, if I would have come to this conclusion on the taste without the flavor suggestion on the packet. Trying to taste this without considering the name is hard, but I’m not sure I’d have liked it as much without preparing myself for something strange. With a little almond milk added I feel like the flavors even come out a bit more. I even tried a little agave nectar in this, because I have decided that a lot of flavored black teas need it… but it didn’t really change anything. I have to come down on the side of ‘this is just okay’. Thanks for hooking me up, K!

finished off the last of this right now sniff
it will be missed
it was delicious hot and iced
see prior notes for details

I woke up to MilitiaJim preparing me this tea the following way:
Breville One-Touch 6tsp tea, 1tsp rock sugar, 750ml water
White, Medium settings

DELICIOUS

frank this tea is wonderful hot and iced, thank you

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 2 zarafina cups filtered water
Tool: Zarafina white-loose-medium
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet and fruity (MilitiaJim confirms the fruity is current, I don’t know what currant smells like)
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, fruity, leafy
Flavor: slightly bitter, leafy, fruity
Body: Light
Aftertaste: bitter, fruity
Liquor: translucent yellow-green-brown

Per all the tasting notes on Steepster I should try this iced.

It smells better than it tastes to me. It is a good cup of tea but I don’t see myself craving it.

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: Zarafina white-loose-medium
less bitter than the first steep, a tad weaker

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/52teas-loose-leaf-white-tea-black.html

I brewed up the last I have of this blend for iced tea – and this honeybush is so much better iced than it is hot. I really enjoyed it hot – and maybe it’s just the heat talking now – but this is so refreshing when it is cold. I can really taste the ice-creamy flavors now. Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate – all represented here and this is so yummy.

Kinda makes me sad that I just brewed the last of it. But… I have a lot of teas to brew… so I can’t be too sad.

YUM!

I increased the rating on this one because it IS so much better iced… I’m loving it.

Having a cup of this – this time I did it latte style with a bit of warmed, frothed milk. It is so much better this way! The milk brings out the creamy flavor of the blend. Nice!

I am improving the rating on this one just a bit… because I can!

This arrived in today’s mail and I am so excited to try it.

It’s really good! Because it’s hot it’s difficult for me to say it “tastes like Neapolitan ice cream” but the flavors are all in there… I can taste the strawberry and the chocolate and even the vanilla. There is a creamy-ish taste to it too…

I like how the honeybush interacts with these flavors. Very good.

Made a gallon of this chilled for our weekend service trip in Milwaukee. Unfortunately I was the only one that tried it, but it is AHH…MAZING!!! I think the BEST cold tea I’ve EVER had- a bit better than hot and also a bit better than Adagio’s white cucumber- although I love the white tea base.

Decided to make this all to myself!

The aroma is quite strong, and a great balance of all 3 flavor components although the cucumber is the strongest. The liquor is a translucent greenish yellow typical of chinese senchas.

I’m not getting as much melon as I am in the 2nd infusion- more sweet. The cucumber and sencha base are solid though… like a cup of cucumber and spinach juice w/ a tinge of vinegar. Um… uh oh… Crap. As it cools it’s becoming quite bitter. :( Down goes the rating.

I made the 1st infusion for my mom so I can’t give a complete review of it, but I did want to write about my 2nd infusion. But 1st.

I think my bad shipping experiences might possibly be over after 2 packages that took over two weeks to get here and one got lost, my replacement matcha (and another package of this- I hadn’t yet recieved it so Frank wanted to make sure it didn’t get lost as well) only took 2 days and my original Cucumber Melon showed up today after “only” 9 days.

The 2nd infusion is still quite dark in color. A typical 3 min steeping color, green with gold and brownish tones. The flavor is quite surprisingly strong as well for a 2nd infusion. All 3 components are equally balanced.

Made the 1st infusion for my mom so I can’t review it yet.

This bag of tea is also almost gone. Only a few cups left. I had this tea an hour ago when I was sitting in a cozy chair reading a book. Perfect book reading tea.

I had a really frustrating day and needed a tried and true go-to tea. I went to make tea and grabbed this. Then I started thinking about how much I am drinking this tea lately and it made me realize that I need to up my rating. I mean seriously, I am drinking this all the time. It is definitely one of my favorites in the tea drawer at the moment. It has grown on me.

I really like this as an afternoon treat. Yesterday I sweetened it too much (which helped me to believe it’s ice cream label). Today I was careful to barely sweeten it. I still like it. Its good, not fantastic. But good.

I can’t believe I like this one, but I do. It is bizarre. It tastes like Neapolitan ice cream.

When I opened the bag and smelled it, I was really worried. It smelled weird, maybe even a little cough syrupy. But once brewed, more of the strawberry flavors came out. It definitely tastes like that mix of all three flavors of ice cream in the bottom of the bowl.

I sweetened it with a touch of agave nectar.

As I have mentioned before, my commute is annoyingly bad. It is now ten times worse because school is back in session and absolutely everyone is back at work – no more holidays or vacations and my commute has multiplied. I have rectified this by multiplying my tea consumption. I woke up this morning and made myself three separate vessels of tea. Each of the teas were different, therefore each one was constructed differently. The first tea was my Chocolate Pu-Erh from Numi organic (see other reviews). This was made for immediate consumption – hot, half and half, drank immediately. Delicious.

My second and third teas were made for my travel. The first of them was Jasmine Pearls by thepuritea (see other review). The third tea was for lunchtime consumption. I cold brewed my Coconut Cream Pie from 52Teas. I added a scoop of tea to the bottom of my travel mug with some German Rock Sugar (about ¼ teaspoon). Added enough hot water to cover the leaves and allow a dark liquor to start brewing. After about three minutes, I filled the remainder of the travel mug with cold water, sealed it and was on my way.

I am drinking this tea now, 6 hours later, and as expected, it is wonderful. It is cool and refreshing with a burst of sweetness, followed by a rich tea flavor and finished off with creamy smooth coconut. I kept the tea cold by adding it to the communal refrigerator. The liquor is not as dark as the starting hot brew was – it is a toasty golden honey color. I believe this tea could continue to be infused and could will continue to get better, but I should be honest, it will not last that long.

Walked outside to get the mail, not expecting anything, and I have a box…YAY! This box contained my Memorial Day 52 Teas order that I did not expect until tomorrow. In celebration, I brewed up a cup almost immediately.

This is the tin, and though I never received the pouch, the tin is FILLED to the brim and it is layered with big slices of coconut! The smell of the dried leaves is delicious: coconut, vanilla, black tea.

I did a quick brew in my in-cup basket, heaping scoop of tea, hot water, no additives, three minute infuse. The tea is a dark honey-amber liquor with aromas of fresh coconut and vanilla. The flavor is perfect, a slightly sweet blend of coconut and vanilla, a creaminess that you would expect from coconut cream pie and a blend of mind-blowing black tea with a little bite at the end to make sure you know it is there. Absolutely wonderful!

Finished off the last of my sample of this from Ricky (thank you!!) and I must say it was very good, probably one of the best from 52teas (that I have tried, at least).

The dried tea itself is what appears to be the typical black tea base with small and large flakes of coconut. The coconut smell coming out of this tea is fantastic, it smells like sweetened coconut milk, creamy, coconut-y and delicious. I brewed the tea a few different ways, and none of them were bad, they just varied.

The first way was hot, five minutes, no additives. When the hot water first hit the tea, the coconut fragrance liberated, as it infused, the tea aroma took over the coconut. Unfortunately, this actually smelled a little too astringent and strongly of black tea, that I was afraid I would hate it. That being said, I added some milk. The milk mellowed the punch from the black tea, and made an actual coconut cream flavor. It legitimately tasted like coconut milk, which one would associate with coconut cream pie. Very, very good.

As the pot cooled (because I do not have a cozy and sometimes take entirely too long in between cups) I noticed that the astringency went away. So this time, I enjoyed the cup with no additives. I have to say that it was not that strongly of black tea, there is still a creamy almost vanilla flavor incorporated with the coconut and black tea that does make this creamy without any cream. Fears vanquished, still very good.

The final way, and how I finished my sampling today, was hot, five minute infusion, a pinch of rock sugar and some milk. The sugar made it sweet, very sweet, almost heavy with sweetness, but not unenjoyable, kind of like ice cream, or dare I say it, coconut cream pie. The milk cuts the astringency again and helps to meld all of the flavors, the vanilla creaminess, the coconut flavor, the sweetness from the sugar and of course the black tea flavor into one very delicious cuppa.

Overall, very good tea, highly recommended that if you like coconuts and you like tea, you will probably like this tea. Enjoy!

Made on the stovetop with milk and sugar.

This is very good and very chocolate-y (unlike some other chocolate chai’s I’ve had where the chocolate just adds smoothness to the chai’s spices, in this one you can actually taste chocolate).

My mouth does feel dry after finishing the cup, probably from the chocolate. :-( That’s the only downside of this one. I’ll definitely buy it again.

Another tea from the amazing Doulton. I’m not nuts about rooibos, but I’ve always been hunting for a tea that really nails the apple flavor. I love apples. But I’ve never found a tea that really tastes like apples. So if this delivers, I’m willing to put my rooibos prejudice aside.

The color of the steeped tea actually looks a lot like apple cider. It smells like cinnamon and apples (which is a good sign). Upon sipping, I get cinnamon and spices right away. I also taste the tobacco-esque rooibos right away – not cool. I’m not punched in the face with apple, which is what I was really looking for. The apple is there, but just barely. I’m kind of disappointed. I’d say that this tastes like plain cider, not apple cider. The aftertaste is also lacking any trace of apple.

I do so love apples.

P.S: After 10 months of pounding the pavement, I finally got a job! And as an added bonus, I get to be around books all day!

Okay so….my new bag of Coconut Cream Pie came in. Unfortunately, I broke my french press while trying to wash it, so I had to make this in a tea ball. When I opened my bag, it smelled so strong and made me gag (I hate coconut usually…). What gives, CCP? Maybe the sample Ricky gave me lost some of its flavor/smell because it was older, or was a different batch, but this bag is too strong. The steeped tea tasted very strongly of coconut as well, in the bad way. Sigh.

Okay, okay. I know, I’m not supposed to like this. It’s coconut. It’s CTC black tea. It’s flavored. But oh, mah, gawh, this is soooo delicious with a good sized dash of milk and two heaping teaspoons of white sugar. Oh, my sweet, not-overwhelmingly-coconutty, creamy cup of dessert—I love you, I really do. And I’m sending happy thoughts to Ricky who sent me this sample, because there was no way in hell I’d buy this for myself (coconut and all). But seriously? I have a huge chest of tea that I need to finish before September, yet I went ahead and put through an order for this at 52teas because it is that good. Nom. 100 94 noms.