Honey Ginger

Sipdown! 211/365!

Counting this as a sipdown because I only know I have two packages because I inventoried my Frank-era 52teas today (some of them, anyhow), and discovered all sorts of treasures! Among them – another packet of Cotton Candy iced tea AND Razzleberry iced tea! Hurrah! Also Rainbow Sherbet, and Lime Jello. I’m pretty stoked about this, because I thought perhaps I’d drank them, and the remaining iced teas in my 12 teas of Christmas box are not thrilling (not black, or they’re minty or cinnamony). So that was fun.

Anyhow, this tea smelled a little funky in the package, and a little funky brewed up. Perhaps it was the ginger flavouring? Something just didn’t seem quite right. However, the flavour is okay, so I guess that doesn’t matter too much! Definitely not my favourite; I can taste the honey aspect (yum) but am just not caring for the ginger flavouring – I think I want actual ginger. The black base is yummy though – familiar and Frank-y, which I sometimes really miss.

Today’s iced tea. I know I need to work on drinking down my SBT stash, and this is the beginning of that. To aid in this endeavor, I’ve pulled out my oldest ones so they’re first to hand (although I don’t think they’re actually THAT old, really).

This one got the usual SBT treatment – 3 minutes in 1/4 litre of boiling water, topped up to 2 litres with cold water and into the fridge for around 12 hours overnight. I wasn’t at all convinced by the scent of this one while it was brewing – it had a very strong, very sweet “throat sweet” honey scent.

To taste, it’s actually pretty good. Ginger isn’t my favourite thing, and so I’m pleased to find that it’s not super strong or particularly peppery. It actually reminds me most of crystallized ginger – there’s a mild spicy kick, but with an edge of sweetness. It’s mostly a background flavour. The main flavour is honey, but again it’s not too strong or overpowering. It’s pretty flavour accurate, and adds almost a syrupy texture to the mouthfeel – very smooth and sweet. It works better with the ginger than I thought it would – one seems to bring out the best in the other.

As SBTs go, I’m finding this a pretty subtle blend, but on a hot day that’s actually no bad thing. The flavours are definitely there – there’s no argument about this one being honey-ginger – but they’re not too in-your-face and I’m quite enjoying that today. It’s a thirst-quenching, easy-sipping delight of a tea.

Brewed this as per package instructions, steeped for 3 minutes. Added 1tbsp of white sugar.

This one dried and brewed smells like Harneys ginger peach black tea, which I quite like. The brewed tea was quite cloudy which I find unusual for SBTs. The cloudiness dissipated after it cooled. Definitely a honey ginger taste. The honey is a bit artificial tasting and the ginger is candied tasting but still good. The black base is subtle. To me this one is more of a sipping vs thirst quenching iced tea.

I have made a personal decision to stop re-steeping the SBT’s, to save on disappointment and resources. But I am enjoying this first steep.

Huh, this one just didn’t work for me. Whether smell or taste, was not something I got along with… which kind of sucked since it was the only drink I had so I kept drinking it at work today haha. So it was horrible but just didn’t appeal to me. Bummer.

MirandaGou sent me this one. Thanks!

This is my first SBT. I made it according to directions. Well, I boiled 2 qts of water than allowed the tea bag to steep in said water for 3 minutes. It’s been sitting in the fridge the majority of the day and I just poured myself a mug with ice cubes.

I’m not generally enamoured with 52Teas, but Ive heard good things about the SBTs and I’m happy to say I’m enjoying this. The flavours aren’t in-your-face, but they complement each other well. The ginger is subtle and the honey a bit stronger but both are there, albeit subtle with the black tea base.

Now I have a pitcher of this in my fridge, but that’s one less envelope of tea in my swap-in box!

Edit: I just checked the tracking and my wellies are now sheduled for EARLY delivery!

I’m really enjoying this SBT. The flavors aren’t as ‘in-your-face’ as some of the other SBT blends I’ve enjoyed, but they’re very good.

The ginger is quite subtle, so if you’re expecting something peppery or strong this isn’t the one for you, but the honey is a little bit stronger and adds almost a sweet thickness to the mouthfeel. I can almost imagine a little bit of syrupyness from it. Both flavors work together very well, and I’ll enjoy my pitcher of this.

Backlog:

I really like this blend from SBT. Of the teas that I’ve tried thus far that were created as flavor incentives during the kickstarter campaign … this one is definitely one of my favorites. I like the way the ginger comes through … it isn’t super peppery or strong, and the honey isn’t overwhelming either.

I like the way the two flavors come together in this blend, and that the black tea seems to be the primary focus. This is one I’d reorder.