52teas

I’m working my way through all the stuff that Ricky sent me. I was pretty excited for this one because I love apple pie.

This actually smelled like apple pie. I could smell cinnamon and other spices, as well as a pastry crust. I’m not entirely sure what vanilla ice cream smells like, but I could smell something in the tea that smelled like what I think it smells like. [Wow, talk about a run-on sentence. I hope you could follow that.]

I took this with some milk and sugar, but not too much of either. I tasted a lot of cinnamon and some buttery pastry crust. I got some vanilla on the back end, but not a ton of apple. I would have liked a lot more apple, because otherwise it could just taste like any kind of pie (in liquid form). This wasn’t a decadent tea, but I wanted it to be. It’s supposed to be modeled after a dessert, after all. The whole thing was sort of watered down, but still delicious.

What concerns me was the killer stomach ache I got right after drinking this. I half expected an alien to come bursting out of the center of my stomach, reaching out towards the ceiling in an effort to escape. My professor actually asked me if I needed to be excused since I was sweating and gasping and grabbing at my stomach [to stop the alien?]. Now, I understand that there could be many causes for this stomach ache. It could have been the mayo I had on my Subway sandwich for lunch, it could have been the Malted ChocoMate I had in the morning (although I sincerely hope not!), I could even just have a stomach bug. So this stomach ache is not going to detract from my rating; this was still a nice tea.

Again, I’d like to thank Ricky. I hope he’s enjoying the teas I sent him as much as I’m enjoying the ones that I have received!

I love the smell of this one. I opened my cupboard this morning and was hit in the face with chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. I couldn’t help but make a cup to bring to class with me. It’s like healthy hot chocolate, especially if you add milk and sugar like I do. Too bad it’s so hot out because I don’t think this will be good iced. Oh well, I guess I’ll just wait until next year to enjoy this again! It certainly was a winter favorite.

I love this one with sugar and milk. I had it in the afternoon for a little pick-me-up after a disastrous walk with my dog. It was so windy that she actually got blown over sideways and I felt terrible. I promised her I’d never bring her out when it was that windy ever again. My poor dog…!

Added some milk to this today. I still love it! I polished this off and ordered some more!

EDIT: Oh, and good news! When I had that upset stomach yesterday I was worried that it could have been caused by this, but I had it again today but no upset stomach! Hooray!

Another one from Ricky. Thanks!

I’ve never had Mate before, but I know it’s supposed to be a good energy rush without the caffeine crash, so what better day to try it than on the morning of my big history test? This is also my first time trying 52teas, and I’ve got to admit, I was really psyched and they totally lived up to my expectations! Well done 52teas!

This one smells very strong. I could smell the chocolate from inside the bag Ricky put it in, and then from inside the envelope he mailed it in as well! Talk about chocolaty! And I have to say, I’m enjoying this a lot! It is very chocolaty of course, but it isn’t sickeningly sweet. It’s smooth, creamy, and delicious. Next time I try this I’ll add milk, but it’s so creamy it doesn’t really need it. Some sweetener might benefit it though.

But anyway, I’m very happy with this! Thanks Ricky!!!

I wanted to get this note in before I pass out in my bed and let the ZzzZ’s begin so here we go.

Success! THANK YOU Cofftea for you’re lazy man’s Chai recipe.. it worked wonders! I put in a teaspoon of this blend in 4oz of heated water, steeped for 5 minutes and then added about 6 oz of milk. Reheated, and drank. DELICIOUS! Everything mixed so much better than my last tasting; very malty, chocolate was there and cayenne pepper was much less harsh. Definitely opt for less tea rather than more with this stuff as it can get really hot. Unless you digg that sort of thing. Regardless, I had an amazing latte. I plan on adding some sugar next time. I think that will bring it to the next level. Great. Now I want some more..

Got my order from 52 teas! Was excited to try this stuff after hearing alot of great things.

From the second I opened the package, I was overwhelmed by the spicyness of the cayenne pepper and the sweet smell of chocolate. It smelled AMAZING. I made 2 steeps of this, one with milk and one with just water. Let me say that I’m not rating this just yet because I don’t think I prepared it right at all (that’s where YOU get to help me!) but anyway, let me tell you what I did :) I attempted to make a latte for my girlfriend and I, in which I poured about 16oz of heated milk into about 2 heaping teaspoons of the chai mix. I let this steep for about 5 minutes before pouring. Yes, I realize this was not going to work well. I wasn’t sure how much water to add to the leaves, or whether or not I should have steeped the leaves in X amount of water and then added X amount of milk.. If anyone could give me numbers on these variables, much appreciated :) Regardless, I was able to get a little chocolate flavor in the milk blend, with a strong spicy aftertaste. Like really strong. After finishing these, I resteeped the leaves with water. The chocolate was almost non-existant and I REALLY tasted the pepper now. Sort of off topic but, one thing I will say is that this stuff will be great for anyone with a sore throat or congestion.

Not sure where I stand with this. I feel like my preparation resulted in a sub par experience. Help me! :)

Wishing this was Japanese sencha in base… does anyone else find that mango and papaya type fruits come off tasting strawberry/watermelony in tea? W/ the currant I was worried it’d taste like really watered down hot kool aid, but I can definitely taste the sencha.

This has been my least favorite from 52 teas i thought the butter taste was too strong when i tried it.

This is a good tea also but not one of my favorites.

Ah. Malted Genmaicha. Old reliable. Very exhausting weekend; I had to wake up at 7am Sat/Sun for rehearsals and a gig. Not a very fun weekend. And today, I spent my day doing absolutely nothing. Yay weekends.

Also, I need to get some more tea; I’m sick of the stuff I have now. I want to order from Rishi but they offer no samples and I don’t feel like throwing down 20$+ for teas without tasting. Samovar does it great with the samples, but I usually am forced to pay 10$ shipping. Oh what to do.. I do want to try some of the stuff Rishi has to offer however. Suggestions? :)

Hello Steepster!
Yeah so I had spring break last week which consisted of a week of doing absolutely nothing. Needless to say I kinda liked it a lot. But… now it’s back to the grind. I want summer to be here already! What gives! At least this malted Genmaicha is keeping me happy. And sane.

So I’m pretty addicted to the whole “malted” tea taste. It’s really bad honestly. But so good… SO good. I’m tempted to get some more malts from 52teas…

Threw in a packet of sugar into the mixed after steeping for about 3 minutes. Tasted good. I’m sort of losing the genmaicha taste now and getting a whole lot of malt. Maybe I’m just not tasting “hard” enough and just getting obsessed with the malt feel. I’ll put more into it later.

Mmmm. Made my own little malted latte tonight. Vveery noice. Steeped about a teaspoon and a half of tea in 4oz of water, then added about 6oz of milk and reheated. Mmm. Wunderbar. This is short and sweet. I apologize, however tis sleep time. GOODnight.

I’m proud to say this is the first tea I’ve given a rating of a 100! YES 52teas YOU’VE DONE IT!

But seriously, this stuff is awesome! If you are a fan of genmaicha I HIGHLY suggest you try this blend. It’s so different but so good.

And now for the analysis:
This stuff certainly passes the smell test. The maltiness is certainly there; not overpowering but there. It’s that, quite frankly, malt smelling quality to the smell of sencha and brown rice. And if you are a fan of milkshakes/malts like I am well, please, do indulge on this stuff. I steeped it for a good 3 minutes, throwing in about 2 teaspoons in about 16oz of water. The malty smell REALLY came out strong with the hot water added. De-c-i-lious.

Taste? This stuff is so milky and gets even more so as it cools. I LOVE IT. I will say that the maltiness is primarily the taste I got, followed by the brown rice and then sencha; in that order. The first flavor that hits your palette is the malt. It’s so milky. I was afraid that this tea was going to be all brown rice, since it is a pretty powerful flavor (or at least it was in Adagio’s Genmaicha), but I was surprised to find such a milky, malty flavor in every sip. Excuse me while I enjoy another cup. And go buy some. NOW.

Excellent tea and the mix of toffee and chocolate was perfect.

Needed something refreshing today. This certainly does the trick. I think having my next steeping over ice will make it even more so. Especially paired with my deliciously fruity poppyseed salad tonight. I’m loving this sunny weather! This tea can cure my blues on a cool and cloudy day, but I’d rather be sipping it on a warm and sunny day!

I’m quite surprised at how much I like this tea. Full leaf loose green teas still scare me a bit (the hay aroma), but this one brewed up quite nice. I brewed 1.5 tsp @ 170F for 2.5 minutes and got a beautiful pale greenish yellow liquor. This tea smells like champagne with a hint of spearmint. I was surprised at how well the tea matches the taste of a light bubbly champagne, the mojito minty ness is there, and I love it. I like this much better than a fresh mojito, something about mojitos just weren’t my thing, but this sure is my thing. Will brew more when I have more time to enjoy it and more time to do something other than ramble!

I had this friday night in a latte and it was delicious. Definately gonna have to add this to my collection if it doesn’t sell out first.

I love the gingerbread flavor in this tea. My favorite for a late evening cup or two.

YUMMMMM tastes exactly like a coconut cream pie. I want to try this one chilled too.

Great Tea.

Breville 750ml, 212, 7 min
2 tsp pineapple upside down, 2 tsp pina colada
1 tsp sugar per cup
smell: cherry pineapple, hints of coconut
taste: cherry, pineapple, hints of coconut, sweet
color translucent orange red

yummy, not really a vast improvement over each individually though

MilitiaJim couldn’t decide which to have, so I combined them