Sweet Zhang

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Butter, Cocoa, Cookie, Floral, Malt, Silky, Smooth, Sweet, Tannin, Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Bittersweet, Cream, Nutty
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by 52Teas
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 11 oz / 325 ml

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16 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I’m in Vanilla tea comparison mode along with chai mode this fall. I wanted to try this one for a little bit, and got sample of Panetonne and the Raspberry Coconut Hojicha blend. All of them are...” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “Currently sipping this lovely tea. I only have a few more pouches of this one available as part of the fundraiser event. Thank you to everyone who participated in the fundraiser – I truly...” Read full tasting note
  • “Sipdown I had this yesterday with Ashman and finished the last bit today on my own. Every time we drink it, Ashman asks me if there is chocolate in it, and I tell him there is only vanilla. It is...” Read full tasting note
  • “AJRimmer Advent Day 25 This was an exceptionally good end to a delightful Advent calendar! I’m not usually a big fan of chocolate-flavored teas, but the quality on this one is a step above. The...” Read full tasting note
    95

From 52teas

Crafted from a single estate Chinese black tea grown in the Gu Zhang region & vanilla beans & extract. The natural cocoa notes of this black tea play so nicely with the vanilla notes. YUM!

Back for a Limited Time as a Special Fundraiser!

When I originally obtained this amazing Gu Zhang black tea, I had planned on something completely different with it – so I’m not exactly sure what inspired me to choose it as a base for the next vanilla tea. But I’m glad I did.

I didn’t add a lot of extra stuff to this blend. That is to say that I didn’t add marshmallow root like I usually do with my vanilla and/or marshmallow blends. I only added vanilla bean & extract, plus some pink, blue & yellow petals (amaranth, cornflower & calendula, respectively) for a touch of pretty. I refrained from my usual additions because I really enjoy the way the natural cocoa notes & hints of floral & berry play with the added vanilla. The vanilla adds a touch of sweet creaminess to the cup – giving a taste that reminds me a lot of chocolate milk. Or, if you’re drinking it hot like I am right now, I guess it would taste like hot chocolate but without the thickness in texture. Not quite as creamy thick – instead, I think I’d call the creaminess here “silky”.

The overall flavor is sweet, rich & yummy. Creamy. It reminds me a bit of chocolate milk.

So, it may be an unusual addition to our “vanilla” black tea category, but, it still is technically a vanilla tea. It’s not only delicious, it’s vegan, gluten-free, allergen-free & all natural!

I love this tea.

ingredients: black tea, organic amaranth petals, organic cornflower petals, organic vanilla beans & organic natural flavors

to brew: shake the pouch to redistribute the ingredients. Those vanilla beans are tiny, tiny, tiny! They will settle to the bottom of the pouch. Use 2 ½ grams of leaf to 12oz of nearly boiling water (205°F) & steep for 3 minutes. Strain & allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Enjoy!

If you have a gaiwan, I would highly recommend using it to steep this tea!

serving suggestion: I like this one served without addition quite fine, but it’s also lovely with milk & sugar as a breakfast or afternoon tea. Really nice with milk & honey too.

About 52teas View company

At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.

16 Tasting Notes

90
1725 tasting notes

I’m in Vanilla tea comparison mode along with chai mode this fall. I wanted to try this one for a little bit, and got sample of Panetonne and the Raspberry Coconut Hojicha blend. All of them are pretty good, though I’ll admit the Hojicha blend was my favorite. This one, however, was very satisfying. The black tea base was rich but not too heavy and immensely cocoa-chocolatey in tea categories. The vanilla with it made it rich and silky. There’s a little bit of tannin hints more in line with the tannins I get from dark chocolate in a bittersweet aftertaste. It’s just the right amount of bitterness for my preference anyway since it has a very forgiving black tea base. The body was thin every once in a while, but I got about two good cups with a solid third rebrewing it. It reminds me of the flavoring you see in some Mandarin Silk oolong blends, but way better with a balanced black base. I wondered if it was a Laoshan black, but I double checked and it’s clearly identified. Definitely a tea snobs version of a vanilla black.

Flavors: Butter, Cocoa, Cookie, Floral, Malt, Silky, Smooth, Sweet, Tannin, Vanilla

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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293 tasting notes

Currently sipping this lovely tea. I only have a few more pouches of this one available as part of the fundraiser event. Thank you to everyone who participated in the fundraiser – I truly appreciate your help!

I absolutely love this tea. The tea has a natural chocolate-y note which marries beautifully with the vanilla notes. So good!

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3420 tasting notes

Sipdown

I had this yesterday with Ashman and finished the last bit today on my own. Every time we drink it, Ashman asks me if there is chocolate in it, and I tell him there is only vanilla. It is very rich so I see where he gets that from the combination of the natural flavor notes with the vanilla.

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95
972 tasting notes

AJRimmer Advent Day 25

This was an exceptionally good end to a delightful Advent calendar! I’m not usually a big fan of chocolate-flavored teas, but the quality on this one is a step above. The base tea is amazingly rich and complex and the chocolate and vanilla flavoring layered on top marry seamlessly with the notes in the black tea itself. I’m always a tiny bit upset when I find a new favorite from 52Teas, since it’s anyone’s guess if/when it will be reblended. But even if this was a one-time treat, I’m so glad I got to sample it. A huge thank you to Devon Bartholomew for getting the ball rolling on this year’s Advent swap and to AJRimmer for organizing the swap and being my swap partner. It was so much fun (as always!) and I’m already looking forward to next year!

Flavors: Dark Chocolate, Vanilla

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Michelle

Yes, thanks for organizing AJRimmer, and thanks to all who posted about their advents, it was fun reading!

Shae

It’s on the website for sale now!

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86
2500 tasting notes

This tea gets incredible reviews, so when I didn’t really enjoy my first cup of it, I knew I should try it again before reviewing it. It tastes strongly of bittersweet chocolate, like a hot chocolate without any sugar. The black tea is very strong, almost bitter, but not bitter. You can tell that it tastes the way it means to taste. I added some spray cream to the last of my cup, which made it pretty decadent. I underleafed my second cup of it and was super careful with the steep time, and I enjoyed it a lot like that. It tastes so high quality and different from other black teas I’ve tried. The resteep tastes excellent too. The hype was justified with this one.

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6444 tasting notes

Made this earlier and I didn’t pay super close attention but remember chocolate.

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95
6112 tasting notes

(52teas (Anne) 2022: already recorded)

Delicious. Rich and just subtly flavoured. When I was sorting through all my teas to find those that had gone astray, I also nabbed a whole bunch that I want to drink again, so now my “drink soon” basket is stuffed, ahahaha.

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81
15386 tasting notes

Sipdown on this one and it’s sad. I really adored this one, and honestly would have contemplated picking up more if it hadn’t sold out of the large pouches in 5 seconds flat lol. All good though, as i’m glad i got to enjoy it. Just a really nice vanilla blend

ashmanra

I missed the large but snagged a small! Can’t wait to try it!

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88
1445 tasting notes

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge, March 2022: A tea that makes you happy
Also falls under “a discontinued/otherwise unavailable-for-purchase tea”, and I’m incredibly sad about that.

This tea is magical chocolate pastry goodness. It smells like fresh, hot carnival funnel cake goodness and exquisite cream-filled chocolate éclairs. It tastes like velvety dark chocolate woven with delicate threads of vanilla and amaranth. It has no justification for being this good (or this unavailable to me), and so I’m mad at it.

Also, it’s a shame that this tea doesn’t have a photo, because it’s a super pretty blend of tightly curled black tea with a spread of red and blue petals. I meant to take a photo, but every time I went to look at it I became distracted by the aroma and ended up making a cup instead (resulting in this speedy, mournful sipdown).

Fans of Laoshan Black-like and Whispering Pines “Vanilla Dreams” teas would find a lot of common ground to love here. I hope it gets reblended at some point in the future.

P.S. – all tea makes me happy, even the ones I don’t love (English Breakfast makes me happy 10/10). This is a free space.

Flavors: Bittersweet, Cream, Dark Chocolate, Malt, Nutty, Smooth, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Kittenna

Oh, I’m excited! I believe I picked up a large of this.

Crowkettle

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

tea-sipper

haha. “free space” for this prompt. I agree.

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100
1908 tasting notes

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge: a discontinued/otherwise unavailable-for-purchase tea

My intention was to count this towards a different category. But, I started drinking my first cup and immediately rushed to the 52Teas site, hoping a few more pouches would be available. Alas…

This is SO GOOD. I haven’t gotten really excited about a tea in awhile, and this one really did it for me. It’s the perfect vanilla black tea, and reminds me quite a lot of Cocoa Amore from Whispering Pines (another all time favorite).

It really is like chocolate milk (in the best possible way). The cocoa notes of the base are rich and dark, with a perfect amount of creamy vanilla.

Crossing my fingers Anne will reblend it at some point.

Flavors: Bittersweet, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla

Shae

Adding to my wishlist in case she does.

Crowkettle

Sounds divine!

Shae

Did you see that it’s on the website now???

amandastory516

Yes, thank you! I bought some, so excited.

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