52teas

Lovely as always! Having this as my morning brew today. Added some Italian Cream coffee creamer and ice to one cup this morning for a “Latte” like drink. OH YUM! Now enjoying it straight! Always a pleasure to indulge in this one!

I just can’t say how happy this tea makes me to even smell it. I often go open it up just to get a whiff then back to whatever I need to accomplish! Brewing up some right now and I know it will make me quite happy. Its like a legal drug or harmless sin. I hope that 52Teas never stops making this one!

Having this iced right now – my daughter is on her second glass for the day. We cold infused it in the fridge over night and just WOW! Its quite different cold. It tastes so much like trix cereal. There is another familiar flavor I am getting as well. You know nestle quick strawberry milk mix? It tastes like that! The creamy flavor of this tea with the strawberry fruit flavor reminds me of childhood having my strawberry milk. :)
Fun times. Loving this iced!

My daughter made a milk tea with boba (bubble tea) with this and it is DELICIOUS!

This is yummy!
No fake strawberry flavor which in my experience thus far is hard to find!
Creamy, no nasty aftertaste.
Just the right amount of sweet.
Its also amazingly light – what a guilt free way to have dessert!
Love it!

I knew going in with this one that it would be an offshot for me to like it. It was almost a tea-dare for me to try it.

And yeah, I got burnt lemon ass. No, I don’t mean lemongrass. Dry and brewed the smell almost turned my stomach and now . . . not so much.

This is another sample generously shared with my by Ninavampi! I will admit, I’m a huge coconut fan but the honeybush aspect of this? Makes me a bit nervous. But I enjoy Teas Etc’s Coconut Custard, so maybe it won’t be as bad as I fear.

Gotta say, the smell of the unleaf isn’t exactly calming my fears. It’s okay, but I don’t get coconut at all. More like… vanilla flavored Greek yogurt. Post-steeping, though, that’s got me really worried. I smell tart-sour like unripened berries and cough syrup and hamster bedding (wood shavings, basically, but a little sweeter).

Hold me. I’m scared. sip

Uhm. Okay. Not as bad as I was fearing but I had gone pretty far down the fear road because the smell is so rooibos-y (aka sour wood). But the taste… is okay.

I mean, I’m not really getting coconut, but there is something vaguely creamy going on. I keep thinking of cream cheese. Kind of bland and white and creamy and smooth and coating. So yeah, I’m going to go with this tastes like cream cheese.

That is, underneath the icky wet and slightly rotting wood.

Honeybush is better than rooibos for me because it doesn’t seem quite so rotten, but yeah, this is wet, squishy wood, like a fallen tree that’s been rained on for the past three days and it’s started swelling and going soft. (Rooibos is more like that tree fell into a pond three months ago and grew things on it.) Theoretically, it is possible that there is some coconut in here and it is a more nutty, woodsy style coconut that is just blending into (and being dominated by) the wood from the honeybush.

I’m going to go with a big ole “not for me” with this one. Cream cheese tea is interesting and thumbs up to 52Teas for getting that taste right (cause I figure cream cheese is just one step from cheesecake) but the flavor is too dominated by icky honeybush for me to deal well. But at least I got to try it!

I am having this iced again. It is even better than I remember it before. Much more chocolatey. And, the astringency that I noted before is barely there and really complements the taste. Tastes like milky, creamy chocolate cookies. I really like this one.

So, I started this week off with a pitcher of Milk & Cookies iced and unsweetened. I prefer iced tea over hot tea in general because I hate waiting for hot tea to cool enough to drink. And, in particular, the teas from 52 Teas are almost always better iced in my opinion. The flavors are just better and the black tea astringency becomes an asset rather than a distraction. I don’t normally like or drink plain black tea because of the bitterness and astringency. In fact, the ones from 52 Teas are nearly the only ones that I’ve really liked.

Like every tea I’ve had from 52 Teas, I’m amazed at the flavor of this one. It tastes like creamy chocolate chip cookies. There is chocolate and and a baked taste. The slight astringency helps lend a baking soda aspect. There is even a creamy milk component. Most flavors are more prevalent in the forefront, the creamy note is more prevalent in the aftertaste. The smell of the tea leaves is also really delicious and mouth watering. I’m really enjoying this iced.

The aroma of the dry leaf smells just like cherry cheesecake to me. I can even smell the graham cracker crust! The brewed tea offers very little fragrance, only hints of what I smelled before steeping.

I like this, but, it is a bit different than what I expected. This doesn’t really taste like cherry cheesecake. I mean, I taste the elements: I taste the cherry, I taste the tangy cheese, I even taste a buttery note that unifies with the toasty rice flavor of the genmaicha to form a crust-like flavor. And, then, of course, I taste the fresh, light notes of the green tea. But, somehow, these flavors don’t come together in a way that my palate identifies it as cherry cheesecake.

It is a very enjoyable tea – delicious even. But, just a little different than I’d thought it would be.

This one yields two infusions, with the second one tasting just as good as (if not better than) the first.

I’m so excited to try this tea!! I suggested a flavor combination to Frank recently (maple pecan granola), and this is pretty close to that! Plus, I love maple and brown sugar oatmeal. It’s my favorite kind of oatmeal, and almost the only kind I eat.

I do have to say though, I’m not sure the picture on the package is adequate for this blend. It looks kind of…unappetizing. But this is uncharacteristic for 52teas. Usually Frank’s pictures are mouthwatering and make me go over my allotted tea budget. But clearly, the picture made little difference in my decision to buy it.

Anyway, the dry leaves smell really good! It’s hard to describe why, but I’ll try. It smells very similar to the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie blend, but minus the raisin. So, what’s left? This wonderful oatmeal, black tea, sugary sweet fragrance.

The funny thing is the brewed tea has a completely different aroma! It still smells amazing, but so different. I think the black tea itself is more pronounced now and masks that overwhelming sweetness. I can still make out faint traces of oat, but it’s softer now. As for the maple? I didn’t forget. I just can’t find much of it in the aroma. Hopefully, it will be there in the taste.

Mmmmm, the taste is wonderful! There’s none of that tannic bitterness common to black teas sans additions. I’m not sure how much it matches the description, but it tastes wonderful regardless! It’s not nearly as sweet as the aroma makes it out to be.

I added a tiny bit of unsweetened almond milk and a little brown sugar too. It’s still very good. I think I like it about the same with or without additions. Unfortunately, I’m still missing that maple syrup aspect. I wish that were significantly stronger. But like I said, it’s a delicious tea nonetheless! So, if you happen to not like maple and brown sugar oatmeal, give this blend a try anyway! You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks to Ninavampi for a chance to try this one! I’ve only had one 52teas experience before and it was… not good. So I’m excited to have some more chances!

The dry leaf smells fun – very strawberry-like, though with a hint of Jello strawberry-ness. I don’t get any of the lemonade until post-pouring when I smelled the leaves in the pot. Then it is pretty much full-on lemon. It’s faintly Pledge-like but with a woodsier/deeper note to it. I like. The liquor has a more balanced smell with a hint of tart lemon and a sweet dash of (Jello) strawberry.

The taste isn’t bad. We’re kind of fighting an uphill battle though since I don’t really have much of an appreciation for Bai Mu Dan. And I can taste the vegetal, thick, lima bean notes of the BMD which, even though I’m not a fan, actually tasting a tea underneath flavoring is a nice thing. I can also pick up lemon(ade?) which is a nice, natural feeling flavor. I think the lemon(ade) with the BMD alone might be something I heartily approve of since the fresh/tart/sweet of the lemon lightens the heave BMD.

The strawberry, though, is a little eh for me. Half the time it’s very nice – sweet and dessert like with a bit of creamy bit to it. Super yum. But other times, I get warm Jello and that throws me a bit and I just have to wrinkle my nose at it.

Honestly, I’m not wild about this one (a combo of the BMD and the Jello bit) but it’s totally drinkable and a lot better than I feared when I saw that it was a flavored white. Nothing I’ll buy but then, I don’t really buy many whites (or flavored non-blacks) anyway.

Backlogging. 9 days ago. Thursday late night.

The February Backlog: From the 1st to today.

Still enjoying the longer steeping time on honeybushes. Yum! Enjoyed both steeps of this one.

Backlogging. 2 days ago. Late Friday night.

Another 10 minutes steep, and it was so v good again. =)

So I’ve had this tea for awhile now and I’ve liked it but only so so. For I don’t know why reason, I’d been trying my honeybushes at 7 minutes 30 seconds lately instead of my usually 5 minutes. This came out really good that way. So I decided to try it at 10 minutes tonight. Again, really good like this. A stronger raspberry, a more muted banana, less candy-like overall.

Steep time: 10 mins

Backlog. 9 days ago – Tuesday night.

So I’m still finding that I tend to have a hard time finishing cups of this, even though I definitely like it. I think it’s something about the change in temperature changing the way it tastes.

2nd steep: 12 mins.

Thanks to LiberTeas for sending me a sample of this…

I decided to steep this for 3 minutes instead of the recommended five because I just don’t steep white teas for that length of time. I might need to give it a bit of a longer run next time.

I am finding this to be nice and fruity but I’m not sure I’m digging the tequila flavoring some how, it seems to be obfuscating my experience of this blend… This is pretty decent but I appreciated the mango papaya bai mu dan a bit more yesterday. Then again, it’s been ages since I had a margarita and tequila was never my favorite booze. I might need to cold steep the rest of this to see what happens!

I appreciate Frank’s creativity and can hardly wait to see what he comes up with every week!

Oh my goodness!! This tea literally tastes like Pina Colada! I can taste the pineapple and the coconut in this,

Im really glad that this is a honeybush tea, I couldn’t imagine trying this as a black tea, somehow, I really wanted to put this tea in a tall glass, with tons of ice cubes and a cherry on top with a little umbrella.. perfect! :D I like the crisp texture in this tea, I just don’t know why I’m screaming for it to have some cherries in!!

the only thing is that I’ve no more of this left :( I really really want some more!! it’s so sad.

Sipdown! This stuff is really tasty and I shall miss it.

I think I am finally getting my mojo back after months of feeling angry at a certain person who is no longer in my life to bring me down & here’s a song by Sheryl Crow to celebrate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TliNP5zQu9s

Let’s hope the upswing continues!

Lunch time tea!

I think I got this last year and it still seems good to me and very flavorful. The mango/papaya combination is very juicy and sweet. Nom, nom!

Today I have the right to be who I am without criticism and judgment.

Tea of the afternoon here…
I’ve had this for a while but am trying to finish it off soon. This still tastes good to me, the mango/papaya is great with the white tea. See previous notes for more info.

I took this to work today and made iced tea with it, I like it this way. Very refreshing for my afternoon beverage. See previous notes for more info.

I am having a stressful afternoon so when this arrived in the mail I immediately wanted to try it (and oh yeah, I’m a tea junkie, but anyway…)

This tea has a very nice fruity smell in the bag and I love mangos and papayas so I was thinking I’d really like this blend and I do. The white tea gives it a light and subtle sweetness and the mango and papaya flavors are present, but a bit gentle. Most importantly, the flavor does not seem overly fake or cloying to me which is a definite plus. I’m really glad this isn’t too sweet (although you could add your own sweetener). This will make a great iced tea too, I am sure….

Quite relaxing and refreshing for my afternoon cuppa, really enjoyed this one.

Note: Also resteeps well but the second cup is a bit lighter in fruit flavor & more prominent in white tea flavor, both are good.

I finally solved the mystery of my travel mug, but I still think I’d rather have a different style. I don’t like sticking my nose into this weird…nose space area in order to take a drink. However it now doesn’t spill everywhere AND it opens! Maybe smashing it with a hammer was all it needed.

This was my chosen tea for this grumpy looking day. I wish I had thought to sweeten it but I was nearly late as is thanks to a massive traffic jam (accident too maybe? still have no idea) and I had to go one station north. It was definitely lacking the maple, but that’s okay…it made up for it in brown sugar.

Stayed warm all afternoon, tasted amazing, and I think it really doesn’t have that oatmeal flavor to it anymore, and I kind of like it better. It seems less heavy to drink.

Also just picked up my first CSA box! I got a soup and salad one that’s probably overpriced but whatever. Problem is, they didn’t include the recipes like it said so I’m kind of stuck on how cilantro, 4 pounds of sweet potatoes, and a couple oranges becomes soup. If anyone has a recipe for sweet potato soup that they swear by, let me know! I hope I can make it work with what I have on hand, don’t worry about the cilantro or orange aspects.