52teas

I bought this a few months ago.  Had to stock up on some marshmallow root teas. :)  This isn’t WOWing me as I thought it would, as I have dearly loved almost all other banana teas from 52Teas.  I do love that this seems more like green underripe banana in the flavor, as that is when I tolerate bananas best.  Though that is probably just the green tea making me feel like this is a more underripe banana.   The green tea though…. it is very finely chopped… or very crushed or both. And I can’t really tell if there is matcha in this or if it is just the very tiny green tea “leaves”. hmm.  No green tea from 52Teas has been like this before.   And it has happened every time I steep this up, so it isn’t a matter of not mixing the bag.  I think it is the very small green tea leaf that is making this seem like there is hardly any banana or marshmallow flavor here… at least much less flavoring than in usual 52Teas blends.  And I made SURE to get a piece of banana in the infuser.
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 34 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 36 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep

edited to add: I looked at the Steepster description and it looks like this blend IS made with matcha genmaicha.

The maple flavor is delicious, as always with the pancake blends. I also enjoy the added desserty flavors. The pumpkin is nice! This may be my favorite pancake blend yet! The resteep is wonderful as well.

This is really warming and nice! I feel like I taste pumpkin and a bit of spice, though I wouldn’t have said caramel. I can also taste the oolong and appreciate it, even though I’m not usually an oolong lover. This could definitely have more caramel, but I think the flavors that are there are quite tasty.

The black tea is really nice and high quality. The vanilla is the perfect accompaniment. This one is straightforward, but not at all boring. I wouldn’t mind a reblend of this one!

Sipdown 31 – 2025

Made the last cup hot, but I prefer this iced. Hopefully it returns at some point.

Sample Sipdown

July 24 Sipdown Prompt – International Self-Care Day: drink a calming cup in quietness

I have had this for a while and hadn’t tried it because I am usually drinking tea with Ashman in the evening and I didn’t realize how big this sample is. It fit the prompt so nicely that I decided to stay up late and try it. I have enough to drink it cold again tomorrow and if there is a big difference I will come back and note that in an edit.

This smells so good. I really enjoy green rooibos as a base for flavored teas, even though I dislike red rooibos. The citrus aroma is fresh and bright. There is a lot of chamomile aroma and the lavender is light.

Drinking the tea, I noticed a rich mouthfeel and sweetness from the marshmallow root. The chamomile is a little stronger in the taste than it was in the aroma of the dry leaves but the other flavors make it so interesting and so much better than plain chamomile, which I like fine but I like chamomile better with other flavors accompanying.

I like this blend better than Mother’s Day from Harney and Sons, which is a citrus chamomile tea. I looked it up on 52teas site and it is not currently available.

I’m sorry this packet got buried in the back of my tea shelves for so long. In the midst of doing a sip-down of my oldest teas from about 8 years ago (hey! they were favorites it was hard to let go!), it seemed like my 52Teas packets from “only” 2 or 3 years ago wouldn’t have sufferered as badly.
Well, Lemon Dream Herbal Tisane would have probably stayed fresher if I hadn’t been so curious to smell it when I first got it. Even though I squashed as much air as possible from its packet, of course it dried out faster than if I’d never opened it.
Still, there’s a quality of dreaminess to these 52Teas blends that elusively slips past my ability to describe it. Besides the obvious lemon flavors, and the unique sweetness that natural marshmallow plant evokes, there’s a quality I find I can’t name, even though I went through the entire Steepster list of flavors and scents.
This is where I found “sweet”, “grassy”, “beeswax” for its lightness, “custard”, “orchid”, “vanilla”, and even a little “soap”. When I dip my nose into the empty packet and inhale, there’s an odd sweetness that reminds me of my grade school in summer. I cannot define that odor. That’s what I mean by the dreaminess of the 52Teas I’ve tried and enjoyed. They put me into a mood that’s not quite nostalgic, since I don’t remember my school actually smelling like this. But there’s a quality between the flavors that’s just…evocative. Perhaps it’s the marshmallow plant. The natural mallow itself is much more subtle than the candy made from it.
For whatever reason, I always seem to find my imagination piqued in trying to describe 52Teas! Did I enjoy my Lemon Dream? Yes. But I bet I would have had a more insightful review if I’d drunk this tea sooner. For that I’m sorry. Worth another try sometime in the future!

How is this a sipdown and I never made a tasting note for it until now?! Tastes exactly like the name says. Nice cinnamon kick. I haven’t gotten around to making suggestions for 12 teas of Christmas and this would be a great option for that – going to go comment on that post now!

TTB 2025
This is sweet without being overly sweet, nicely spiced, and very drinkable. There does seem to be a lot going on, and I wish I could taste the pumpkin and pear more. It’s very smooth and both cups disappeared quickly this morning. Thanks for adding it to the box.

Sample sipdown. Made this as a latte. It makes me think more of an apple chai than an apple cider donut per se. Apple, cinnamon, and what tastes like clove even though there isn’t actually any clove in here. This would be super cozy for fall.

Warm with milk, this was a little bitter and not right. My cold brewed resteep was pretty fruity and nice! The next time, I cold brewed my first steep, and it ended up sour/bitter, which was unfortunate. This one just isn’t working for me for some reason!

I taste a combo of light chai spices and genmaicha, so it definitely tastes how it promises (minus the marshmallow). Unfortunately, I never really think green tea is a good base for chai. I feel like the spices need a base that provides more oomph. There’s a little bit of toastiness from the toasted rice, but this whole thing is just too mild for me, and sometimes there’s a hint of bitterness despite proper steeping. I wouldn’t mind a black based chai with toasted rice though!

TTB 2025
This smells like strawberry more than it tastes like strawberry. It mostly tastes like a spicy bergamot. It’s very smooth, just not my cup of tea. Thanks for adding it to the box.

Sipdown. I didn’t take good notes while drinking this, but it isn’t my favorite 52teas blend. Rum is the dominant flavor here, and I do enjoy the taste of rum, but somehow it didn’t seem quite right. Maybe a stronger base, or the addition of some vanilla, chocolate, and/or cinnamon flavor, would have given the blend a bit more balance. Not terrible by any means, there are just other 52teas blends I enjoy more.

This reminds me of the turtle flavor from a few years ago. I taste chocolate and vanilla. It’s high quality and tasty cold with milk and sugar. I definitely prefer how 52teas does chocolate over any other company. It’s very natural. I liked it, though I’ve preferred other similar 52teas blends.

I had this twice cold, and it sadly never worked for me. The first time, it was much too mild. The second time, it was almost bitter, but the main flavor was the green tea with not too much other flavor shining through. I love white chocolate, and I sadly didn’t taste any here. There was a hint of fruitiness, but everything needed to be stronger.

I wish I tasted any butter or rum, but I don’t. Warm, I really only taste the roasted base, which I’m unfortunately rarely a fan of. I shared this with my partner, and he said it was quite savory and not his thing either. It’s best cool with milk and sugar. I actually quite enjoyed the last half a mug since somehow everything but a tasty marshmallow flavor faded. Hard to know how to rate this one!

This ended up a little bitter every time despite proper steeping. I like it best sweetened cold without milk. I taste a lot of soda and a bit of cherry. The cola part was tasty, but the bitterness was unfortunate. The cold resteep was nice and soda-like. Maybe I should have cold brewed all the steeps, not just resteeps.

Steepster 2025 TTB tea

This has nice spice notes like nutmeg and cinnamon, but I don’t get any buttery cookie or pastry notes at all.

The first time, I didn’t taste too much bergamot or any brulee outside of maybe some bitterness. It was a little nondescript for me, unfortunately. The next time I had it, it tasted a little fruity or like a light EG, but that was it. The resteep was actually deeper and tastier for some reason. The bag is gone after two cups – I just wanted more from this one!

I wanted to try this one as it reminded me a few of my fave no-caff blends from 52Teas in the past.  And really, the inclusion of the marshmallow root made it a sure thing buy.  It’s great!  Exactly what I expected it to taste like.  Citrusy!  With a pillowy marshmallow sweetness, if that makes sense.  Then a hint of lavender.  Not as good as my beloved ‘Peachy Keen’ but that is a high high bar that I will never shut up about.  Also, now that I think of it, not really trying to be the same thing… Also, I got super sleepy, super quick, so I think this works as a sleeper tea.
Steep #1 // 1 1/4 teaspoons for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

Cold Brew!

Fairly mellow with a gentle and floral-leaning raspberry note reminiscent of early season raspberries picked off the bush, but without any tartness/astringency. The watermelon is fresh and thirst quenching, albeit light. It mostly comes in on the backend of the sip after the more grassy and straw or bamboo-like notes of the green tea and the delicate berry, with a clean sweetness to close the sip.

This reminds me of other peach black teas, but this is a super high quality version. In some cups, I can maybe taste the extra something desserty that makes it not just an apricot black tea. I like it best at room temperature with milk and sugar. The resteep tastes just as good as the first.

2025 Steepster TTB Tea

This has a high quality base, and it fairly malty and smooth. I get grainy notes. No sweetness at all from the tea. There are some cinnamon and vague pumpkin spice notes, but no pumpkin or buttery/cakey ones, which is what I was looking for. Even some vanilla would have been nice. Now, I did use just under a tsp of leaf for my cup (300 mL) since it is a small cup and I want to leave enough tea for the next person who receives the box. Maybe with more leaf it would have been a bit more well rounded. I tried brewing for quite a while (6 or 7 minutes) to compensate. I’m drinking this was a dash of unsweetened soy milk and wishing I had some agave or maple syrup to sweeten it with.