52teas

Enjoying with milk, sugar and a dash of cardamom. :)

Last night I had a little too much fun. It started with wine tasting and then my boyfriend and I walked to the bar down the street since we haven’t been able to go out for ages.
This morning I woke up with a muscle in my back ACHING. It’s still killing me. I have no idea what I did. Is there a masseuse in the house? Ugh!
On the positive side, I opened the mailbox and had a nice surprise! The best part of wakin’ up is new tea in your mail box! My two bags of Caramel Vanilla Chai from 52 Teas! I really enjoyed the Decaf Extra Bold Masala Chai, and caramel and vanilla flavors are my weakness, so I had to drop some dough on those puppies quick.

I was kind of surprised to see that the dry leaves were not really leaves at all but actually resembled soil. Dried out soil with tiny bits of dried out leaves and bark. Very ground up. Hmmmm.
The aroma was very bold clovy chai with apparent notes of caramel and vanilla.
Steeped 1 tsp per 8 ounces at 205 degrees in my Breville for 3 minutes.
Eek. I have never had a tea escape the Breville infuser THIS much… I took a picture to show the sediment that slipped through using only 2 teaspoons of tea – http://i55.tinypic.com/2zom8bb.png
o_O
The little pieces that didnt’ escape got stuck in the holes of the infuser. First time that’s ever happened with a tea in the Breville, also.
I don’t know if I should lower the score more for that? But the tea ended up tasting pretty darn good, especially with a spoon of brown sugar and a spoon of vanilla icecream, (I was out of coconut milk, but icecream works great as creamer!) Totally representative of the name. Caramel Vanilla Chai goodness. A pretty bold chai at that. I’m starting to learn I like my chais a little more heavy than this on the other spices..especially cardamom. This tea is pretty predominately clove and cinnamon. But overall, yeah.. I think it’s pretty good. I’ll have to see if my opinion changes after I have it again. (Although I’m really not looking forward to dealing with the small bits of tea again :/ )

This is SO bomb. I love you rooibos. You never get bitter. At first, I wasn’t sure about your flava, but you pair nicely with everything! And guess what, you’ve never turned bitter on me!

This sample came with the iced teas I purchased. Strong and syrupy. Sweet and lightly spiced.

Backlog …

On the Third Day of Christmas … this is the tea 52Teas sent to me!

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/12/16/on-the-third-day-of-christmas-52teas-sent-to-me/

I hot-brewed this last night for iced tea today. I’ve been sipping on it all day today. Very delicious. Light in flavor, sweet, tart. It is a little more flavorful when it’s hot, but, so refreshing and cooling when its iced.

This is really awesome. I almost didn’t order it because it was kind of … ordinary. But, I’m glad I did, because it tastes really great. It is light, sweet, and tart.

Kudos to Frank for not adding hibiscus to this blend for the sake of a reddish colored liquor. I like the lighter taste and texture of this, and that is something that would have been lost if hibiscus was blended in this.

This is totally yum. Drinking it hot right now, but will be brewing some for iced tea soon.

This has got to be the best tea I have ever tried as an iced latte. This is the one I always order when Zoomdweebie’s was still open. It’s just wonderful :).

This tea tasted just as it smelled, like fresh sweet coconut, which is very rare to me. Usually teas smell really good to me but don’t taste that wonderful, so this was a very spectacular tea to me!

I gave it to my friend. She told me it tasted like a band-aid.

LittleMewBrew order came today!

The smell is… off-putting to me. Smells like grape medicine. I don’t wanna take the syrup!

I added sugar and cream out of fear. Lots of it.

It tastes like medicine. I’m sorry! I want to love it! I’ve enjoyed these teas so much! I must have been grape traumatized as a child.

Got this in a swap and am so thankful I sent my unloved tea away in exchange for this. Brewed it three teaspoons strong in my perfect teapot at 200 degrees for just over 4 minutes (I was busy packaging up my lunch). Since it was a swap it was only a partial bag and I really should have just dumped the whole thing in since I love my tea STRONG! So my only complaint is that it’s a bit weak for my tastes, but I love the mellow quality to the chai that comes from adding the chocolate. Great balance.

Added a little of my stand-by: brown sugar splenda and I’m a happy camper this morning.

This tea is pretty good! Has a fresh strawberry taste that is very refreshing. I am also picking up on that slight buttery-brown sugar taste. It’s definitely a nice undertone that comes out in the finish. Overall, it does not overpower the strawberry taste, but instead brings out the flavor nicely. Let’s just say it’s sweet and soothing enough to keep me working on my dissertation :)

Hey guys guess what? It’s another ASHLEY TEA!

This is a better time for honeybush. Busy work night, followed by a nice swim. I’m health nutting like nuts. My face looks thin but dag nabbit I’m too sissy to jump on the scale!

Steeping steeping. Smells wonderful! Strong strawberries. Dark dark brew. Waiting for it to cool is the worstest part! I’m getting a lot of cinnamon in here. Not as buttery/crust-ish as the Coconut Cheesecake, but It’s still yummy. As I’m getting to the bottom I’m tasting more strawberry, but it isn’t overwhelming. All in all I liked it! Might not be something I’d buy, but It’s just what I needed before bed. Goodnight everyone!

Awesomely delicious!

The coconut is rich and creamy and yummy. The black tea is strong and melds perfectly with the coconut – like they were made for each other. So lip-smacking, thirst-quenching good.

PS: Rachel, if you’re reading this, you should definitely get some of the coconut – if there is still some available!

:( But why is the rum gone? :(

Every steep is better and better!

Brewing now! Smells like Banana Laffy Taffy. Strange… usually gives me a headache. First few sips I can’t taste butter or bread. Sweet on its own. No need for sugar. Might need some creamer. On its own I’d give it a 75….

But there we go! That’s all it needed! Bump that business UP! Terribly tasty. I can taste the butter now. It mellowed out the laffy taffy sweetness. This is much less of a headache. Thanks ASHLEY for the sample!

This came as a free sample with an order of some 52teas iced teas.

The tea itself smells like straight cocoa nibs, and honestly looks like it too – I’m not sure why I was expecting to see all three Neapolitan colors, but I was vaguely (and irrationally) disappointed not to. Threw it in the ingenuitea and poured boiling water over it and the tea released a deliciously sweet scent. Not overpowering by any means, but definitely noticeable.

The liquor was as dark as expected from the leaves, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the tea doesn’t taste as purely chocolate as the appearance had me expecting. In fact, all three flavors are distinctly present! This is an impressive blend just for that; now, flavor wizardry aside, I can’t say I’d order a bag of this on its own. But it’s really cool to be able to detect all three parts separately and equally.

I’d like to see this company try a spumoni, maybe.
-Cash

Thanks to Ashley! Her samples came today ;)

I silhouetted expected this tea to taste like sprite… but let me tell you, I taste only one thing….. KEY LIME PIE! I can taste the crust, and the tangy filling. I just don’t taste the cheesecake. It’s nummy though.

This is the first cherry flavored ANYTHING that I’ve had….that doesn’t taste like cough syrup! Bonus!!! The flavor is light and sweet. Thanks ASHLEY!!!!

I’ve never rated a tea at 100……. This is beautiful. I can taste the icing. I can taste the cinnamon. The sugar… the….. Carbs! As a fatty pants on a diet, and a carboholic, I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Ashley, you’re an angel for sending me yours sample. Frank is a God for making this.

No cream. Pinch of sugar. I’m all smiles over here. This NEEDS to be permanent. I’ve never bought a pound of tea… I’d buy a pound of this… maybe two.

I feel bad for not having posted about this sooner. I’ve been smitten with this tea since I placed my order back in …April? I was incredibly fortunate in that my sister had ordered some as well and decided it wasn’t for her. I’ve been on a not-so-sweet tea kick the last couple of months involving some unflavored assam and ceylon, but this has still been making my drink hard with a vengeance list despite it’s clear inclination toward being a sweeter tea. I distinctly pick up more of the the “buttery” notes than the maple, though while the maple somewhat tries to sneak away in flavor, it’s present and accounted for in the fragrance. Ooh the fragrance! The fragrance is wonderful. It’s a Sunday morning breakfast over newspapers with orange juice and the works. Slightly malty, slightly savory and slightly sweet, it’s been great for when I can’t make up my mind and not burning out on something stronger while pulling all-nighters for school.