576 Tasting Notes
Somehow this tisane isn’t weak at all, but strong, fragrant and uber citrus-y! I love anything lemon, unless it’s that Pledge/artificial lemon. (I don’t mind smelling that, but don’t want to consume it.) This tastes like I’ve added a squeeze of fresh lemon to an already energizing tisane. I definitely want to try this with other teas/tisanes – perhaps add mint, or strawberry. Yum!
This is quickly becoming my go-to AM tea, over the Chai blend from Teavana. {gasp} I’ll give you a moment to recover from that shocking news…
The reason is that the chai blend is a cup of autumn. Now, I do love that blend and the tribute to autumn, but right now I’m feeling warmer weather, the need for no coat, and vacations. So I don’t want to think about impending doom, I mean, winter.
This blend celebrates chocolate and mint – a refreshing blend, perfect to welcome spring and summer.
So chai blend, move over, please. Read My Lips is taking your spot! (Chai blend, I shall see you in September.)
Completely forgot I had this! Found it when re-organizing my tea cupboard. I’m giving it a higher rating than before, because I steeped it a bit longer than usual (about 5 mins) and was rewarded with a stronger cup. More tart blackberries and more sweet mint. It’s a nice combo.
I’ll have to try this iced; I wonder if it would taste like the blackberry/mint awesomeness at Macaroni Grill… food, no TEA, for thought! Has anyone tried this iced?
Just given a big assignment at work. “Read My Lips” – I need this tea! (Please see previous note)
I rec’d this as part of my HoppiTEA goody basket from the very sweet Alana237. Thanks! :) This is my first tea by this company and the first lychee tea I’ve ever had. Actually I only remember smelling lychee, so I’ve never tasted it before… it’s a day of many firsts! (OK, OK. I’ll confess. I entered “lychee” in wikipedia to see what came up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee)
As soon as I ripped open the package, the fragrant and floral lychee smell hit my nostrils…and instantly calmed me. Lychee is a unique scent – it smells very floral but with a twinge of berry. Tastes more berry than floral – which is good news for you anti-floral tea fans.
I don’t have anything to compare this to, but I really do enjoy the unique flavor profile. It’s different and for that reason, fun. And because it’s black tea, it’s helping to kick my butt in high gear for the afternoon!
I’m not sure about this one, honestly. Yes, it’s uber vanilla – which I always like – but there is a hint of flavor there I don’t care for. Now it’s possible that it’s an ice-creamy flavor. Since I can’t eat ice cream, whenever I taste anything like it my body imagines what will happen when I do eat ice cream (serious, serious chest, throat and mouth pain). So maybe that bias is constricting my enjoyment. But I don’t think I can really enjoy it. So I’m not going to rate it, I don’t think it would be fair to rate it.
I think I’ll sell it on tea trade so I can try to make some $$ back for my tea budget this month!
I could see a quasi-ice cream flavour. I get a vanilla flavour so strong sometimes that it reminds me of coconut (which I do NOT like). It’s a fine line… : )
yeah, i know what you mean… and yes, agreed on the coconut. I DO like coconut, but not when I’m opting for vanilla. :)
Could it be the hazelnut? Not sure why you think it wouldn’t be fair to rate it. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it.
Maybe it is the hazelnut… I just don’t want to rate something that I don’t like because I’m potentially biased against the flavor, thanks to my body thinking it will succumb to an allergic reaction…
Didn’t even know there was Hazelnut in it! D’oh..
I didn’t see hazelnut on the ingredients list. However, maybe it falls under the “flavors” category.
I have no idea where the hazelnut thing came from. There are no elements of hazelnut in the blend.
@Frank, French Vanilla = vanilla + a hint of hazelnut
Sorry, Cofftea.. From Wikipedia: “The term French vanilla is often used to designate preparations that have a strong vanilla aroma, and contain vanilla grains. The name originates from the French style of making ice cream custard base with vanilla pods, cream, and egg yolks. Inclusion of vanilla varietals from any of the former or current French dependencies noted for their exports may in fact be a part of the flavoring, though it may often be coincidental. Alternatively, French vanilla is taken to refer to a vanilla-custard flavor.15 Syrup labeled as French vanilla may include custard, caramel or butterscotch flavors in addition to vanilla.”
Oh good, I didn’t miss it…LOL
@52teas – thanks for the clarification. It’s NOT hazelnut but the vanilla-custard flavor. That is what I’m not exactly feeling. Thank you for clearing that up! Why I thought they tasted the same I don’t know…
@Cofftea – you learn something new everyday! :)
Hm well at least I’m not the only one wrong. Every single person I’ve talked to when the convo comes up (Steepsterites, bakers, baristas, etc) has said that. Can’t blame me from believing a huge group of people lol.
Sure I can. I blame you. It’s all your fault. :P
Got this from Rachel@iHeartTeas as part of the “Rescued from Retirement,” initiative between her newly formed company and 52teas.
The first sip is a blueberry explosion! So yummy! I feel like it’s a naughty dessert (or breakfast!) instead of a low-cal tea. I taste sweet, juicy blueberries and a bit of a vanilla or cream flavor, perhaps to get the “cream cheese” taste. So glad this was included in their inaugural run… it’s so delish!
Second steep: the tea bag is still HOT, which tells you how quickly I gulped this down. I upped the rating; this second steep tastes as good as the first. Not all blueberry teas can say that! So often the blueberry flavor is faint, or an afterthought. But this tea is blueberry-in-your-face, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
OMG! One sip of this is utter bliss! I’m not normally a banana fan (there was an Incident in CA with a spider that terrifies me to this day), but I do like banana bread and the flavor of banana, artificial and natural.
This is a natural flavor, pleasing and delicious! I taste buttery banana bread, just like Mom makes. It doesn’t beat Pancake Breakfast as my favorite 52teas black tea, but it’s definitely an any-time-of-day cuppa. Lip-smackin’ delish!
Did you try his banana matcha? Tasted exactly like eating banana runtz w/ matcha.
Cofftea – OK, I must get! Sounds awesome!
Spiders. ((shudder)) I’m terrified of them, too.
My favorite (flavoured) tea of all time I think…
@QG: it was under the nape of the banana bunch. I still have nightmares about it.
My awesome HoppiTEA, Alana237, sent this in my package so I am enjoying a fragrant cuppa right now.
This is the first tea I’ve tried from Golden Moon. I really enjoy the deep coconut flavor (and fragrance!), but the pouchong tea is what I’d write home about.
It’s grassy and mellow, light but not so much that the coconut overpowers the tea flavor. It’s a comforting, fragrant cup. Delish!
What do you mean by “somehow this tisane isn’t weak at all”?… it seems as if you’re saying you think all tisanes are weak. It’s definitely a good blender tisane. I haven’t tried any of the suggestions you’ve made, but I have tried black tea (Irish Breakfast) and matcha.
Most tisanes I’ve tried that are just one flavor, such as this, tend to be too plain – for me. But I’m all about spicy foods and super bold tea. Just a preference, I guess. I’ll definitely have to mix this with the new matcha – my first! -that I’ve ordered. Thanks for the idea! :)
Gotcha. Yeah this is definitely good hot or cold w/ matcha. You could also make a frozen lemonade using frozen unsweetened berries. I can see this even being good sweetened so it’s more like a matcha lemonade even though sweetening isn’t my thing.
I have the world’s largest sweet tooth! I’m 30 and still get excited to find new candies. ;) So I’ll have to try a matcha lemonade, although I’ll be “good” and opt for Splenda over sugar. I love blending up strawberry lemonade smoothies in the summer; if it works with matcha I’ll spread the word! :)
artificial junk… shivers lol. Raspberry’s my fave. YUM. :)