52teas

Latte style. 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1 heaping tbsp. leaf, and a splash of coconut nectar to sweeten.

I didn’t really need the sweetener, and I was hoping the coconut would work better with the vanilla than it did. Still – it always disappears from my cup pretty fast, and it’s a great way to start my morning!

Had this a couple of times over the blackout weekend, because it was one of three I brought with me on our trip.

Lets see.. Friday I had this at my parents house with milk and it was good – a little thin but I didn’t have my measuring stuff with me.

Saturday and Sunday my boyfriends mother kept picking it up to smell it but would never outright ask for a cup. The mugs at our rental house were huge so it seemed weak both times I made it for myself, but milk gave it a thicker mouthfeel and I was just happy to have it in my life again (thank you iHeartTeas!) so no real complaints.

His mom never did ask for a cup, but since boyfriend will be gone up to visit them the rest of the week (I have to work- new job and all) I gave him a couple of bags with a good amount of leaf and steeping instructions. Asheville’s colder than here, and I’ll be getting a pound of this soon (At least I think so…) so I can spare it. I just hope she likes it, given the palava with the chai earlier Saturday….

Still not 100% with whatever this stomach bug thing is…but I need to hydrate (even if tea is a diuretic) and I love my morning black tea. So I went for this with some added milk.

I couldn’t have tolerated sweetener even if I wanted to, but it was nice to get the idea of something sweet on my tongue. And at least my taste buds aren’t off, so I can enjoy it…

It was so good yesterday that I had to have more today. But the bad news is I probably only have enough for one more cup. :(. I’ll be shooting an email to Frank soon to get that taken care of (hopefully!)

Anyone want to split a pound of this with me – if it turns out he can do a reblend?

I don’t know why I forget about this tea. But it seems like what usually happens is I go through my standard favorites, then I want something new, and then I look in my cupboard on here and remember I have some and usually get up to make a cup as soon as this happens.

It’s like my ace in the hole or something. But I’m glad for it this morning, after the disaster my tongue just dealt with. Prep details – 2 tsp. leaf in 10 oz. of water with a splash of milk. Used the below parameters for steeping.

This is amazing. Maybe it tastes even better comparatively, but right now it is REALLY hitting the spot. A lovely vanilla/caramel/custard (I think someone used the term honeyed and they are totally right) with the perfect chewiness. It’s almost coffee-like in texture, too, which is a huge plus as I love tea with body to it. Honestly, if I put a pinch of salt in this I’d probably get the salted caramel flavor I envisioned from David’s Tea.

And it was in my stash this whole time. That’s kind of embarrassing.

Hmmm… this isn’t in the permanent collection with 52teas, though. Does anyone know if Frank still does the bulk (1 pound) reblends? I’d love to have it with me forever..

3 tsp. leaf to 500 ml. water in the Breville at below parameters. Added half and half and sugar.

This is a very coffee-esque tea to me, and I think it’s mostly because French Vanilla is a popular flavoring in coffee moreso than tea. And because when I used to drink coffee I drank it with milk and sugar, so it really looks and smells the part once it’s been prepped the way I like it.

Fortunately its not coffee – and as strong as the vanilla is at the front of the sip, the Assam comes in just as strong to finish and remind me that it is tea, and a very well balanced one at that. Perfect for a breakfast wake up!

Life has been stressy lately.

And unfortunately for me, stress is inversely proportional to tea consumption. But I made a point to stop and have some tonight, anyway.

It was a wise decision – and the almond milk I added (instead of regular milk) really takes this up a notch. It becomes almost caramel like in flavor. A perfect balm for my nerves.

3 tsp. leaf to 500 ml. water in my Breville at below parameters.

I tried a sip of this plain and got a very heavy vanilla (yum) and very astringent (not so yum) tea base. So, milk and sugar were added to make this my afternoon study snack.

This really comes alive with additives! It actually reminds me of coffee (probably the french vanilla flavor), which I haven’t had in a very long time since I’m particularly sensitive to the caffeine in it. Anyway, this tea is a very welcome drink as I sit and listen to the wind whipping around outside the house.

P.S. One week until the 12 teas of Christmas! I cannot wait!!!

This steeping was actually a blend – boyfriend wanted the earl grey creme from teavana and I wanted more of a plain vanilla and with a thicker texture, So, 1 heaping tsp of this to 2 level tsp. of earl grey in 500 ml. water, at below parameters and voila!

I got what I wanted for sure – a thicker tea, with a heavier vanilla. The bergamot is shifted to the background a bit more, where I like it. I think I have a sensitivity to it if there’s too much there, so even though I like the flavor, it’s better when it’s a bit muted.

I like this with no sweetener or milk; it stands just fine on it’s own, with a cookie or two (those snickerdoodles I made are CRACK).

I would say this was a success, and may try to replicate it again in the future. :)

3 tsp. leaf to 16 oz. water in my Breville.

Yes I am drinking an Assam at night – gotta study for my exams! I had the first cup with milk and sugar and it was perfect. On the second go around I went with just sugar and realized how much the milk helped smooth out the astringency of the cup. Hopefully a shorter steep time will cut out the astringence next time.

It’s super robust with a nice balance of that custard vanilla flavor, though, which I am glad of. It’s a breakfast and dessert tea rolled into one, and makes me enjoy having to put in these late night hours.

Mmm..I knew this one would lend itself well to a latte.
3 tsp. leaf to 16 oz liquid.
Custardy and sweet, but still definitely a tea. Quite a good tea, at that.

1.5 tsp in 10 oz water.
I just love how you get the vanilla flavor FIRST, and black tea as an afterthought.
It’s so smooth and the mouthfeel is perfect- this is a thick tea even without additives. It is definitely a morning starter drink, which is great, because that’s how I’m drinking it!

Ugh – 5:30 wake ups suck. I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, and this part of clinicals is killing me. Only one more week til we get a week off, though, so I guess I can hang on a bit longer.
Unfortunately, waking up early and collapsing in bed about 9:00 to do it all over again means that there isn’t much time in my life for tea.
So this weekend morning, a rainy, chilly March morning, I decided to break out some more of the French Vanilla Assam – simply because every time I walk by it in my kitchen I have to inhale the scent. I LOVE the smell of this dry leaf.
At a lower temperature I got more of a balance between the vanilla and the tea, and I think I’ll keep it that way. I need sugar in it, but I think that’s more because I just need sugar in most of my black teas.
I will definitely enjoy this one while I’ve got it. :)

SO EXCITED to get this tea! I live in an apartment complex and my neighbor downstairs got the package by mistake, and then decided that bringing it up at 11:00 PM was the best idea (I mean, is it just me, 11:00 at night??) so I didn’t get to open this until about midnight yesterday.
I opened up the package right then anyway so I could at least smell the dry leaf, and then I almost died. It smelled like those custard donuts at Krispy Kreme (yes, I am so classy) that I got as a little girl – which, incidentally, were my most FAVORITE from the box. Major, major points for the nostalgia factor alone.
I waited patiently until this morning to fire up the Breville, and am now enjoying the cup. The tea itself smells less custard like once brewed – I get more of the black tea in the scent of it. But the vanilla is definitely there in taste. I may have brewed it too strong for drinking alone, though – the vanilla was extra pungent and milk and sugar helped soften it a bit. Next time I’ll take a minute off the steep time and see what happens.
A fantastic way to begin a Sunday!

I steeped it and sweetened it just a bit and the first sip was very soothing and mellow cinnamon… I thought that this would be perfect on a cold wintery day… sitting in front of the fire. I let it cool a bit and sure enough there was the pear flavoring mingling with the white tea, cinnamon and clove. It was the last taste left on my tongue and it left my mouth feeling juicy! I don’t know how Frank does it but I am super impressed with his teas!

I personally like to ice white teas but I am not sure if I would like to ice this one with the spices in it?!?!?! Not sure but may have to try it sometime! I am super glad I got this tea.

This was one of two that came from Frank’s Oops Week in March 2011.

I love this. I am not usually an Indian tea drinker, mostly because I have not tried many. I am guessing it is darjeeling, as I am such an Indian tea noob. The peppermint is light, which is perfect for me, and the hint of vanilla really rounds it out. The tea base is smooth. Very pleasant. I added a little sweeener to mine.

Kudos to Frank! And I just have to thank him for…well, being him, and doing what he does. He makes tea so fun!

So I was super excited to try this one it sounded so unique! And let me tell you it is worth it. Another tea that I really enjoyed from Frank, I must say that he has sold me on many teas!
When I opened up the package it smelled sort of like a green watermelon… one that is not quite ripe, it was sort of odd but I went with it. I steeped it and I wish that it said the amount of time to steep for on the package but this one doesn’t say so I steeped it for about 5 min.
The smell was juicy but still sort of unripe melons. When I tasted it hot it was like drinking watermelon it was really really good! But I decided that I wanted it iced so I added a bit of sugar and then poured it over ice, this is the way to drink this tea!
It was juicy and left my mouth watering! It is juicy and wonderful watermelon flavored even it was a bit unripened!

I bought a sampler package a while back and this is one of the teas in the sampler.

This is very nice… The berry flavor is subtle but not indistinguishable. The green tea is sweet and buttery. I am really enjoying this, glad that I got a sample of it in the sampler!

Well I have tried mate before and was never really liking the aftertaste… to me it tastes like coffee bleh!

When I opened this pouch I could smell the chocolate and to me it smelled like milk chocolate. It also had a tanginess smell… maybe the malty flavoring. I brewed it for about 5 min. It was a great dark amber color beautiful to look at. I smelled it again and the chocolate was just a hint and it had more of the tanginess and maybe a hint of something green. I tasted it and to me it still tasted like coffee but with a hint of chocolate. It was very smooth and didn’t have the bitterness of coffee.

I have never had green tea… so I was glad when I was able to get this from Frank in his “really messed up” week. Smelling it there was a hint of spice which I think is from the mango but it smelled very fresh and clean.

I brewed it up making sure to pay attention to how long to steep it and smelled it again it was very fruity smelling which I like with a bit of greenery. On first taste it was very mild. I decided that I was going to put it over ice because I thought the delicate flavors would be very refreshing. Boy was I right… I love this over ice, it has a hint of sweetness along with the butteryness and it is just delightful! I think that I really like green teas that are fruity! Yum yum.

Quite nice with cream and honey. Not a lot of cheese flavor, but tastes rich and coconutty.

I wasn’t such a huge fan of this. It’s a little cloying and doesn’t taste very much like sweet potato pie. It’s decent with honey and cream, but I like their other sweet honeybush blends much better.

Mmmmmm….this was a winner. Elder son and I enjoyed some last night. The tea smells amazing when you open the bag. Is this really a tea, or a packaged tropical party waiting to happen? The visual appeal of the pineapple chunks and coconut flakes is superb. I wanted to eat them whole, but didn’t want to lose out in my tea. So I was good and didn’t num them right up before brewing a pot.

Sipping this tea really does take you to a beach somewhere. It reminded me of the endless pina coladas at caribean resorts, only lighter, and more refreshing ( and more appropriate in the middle of Canadian winter). For an enjoyable tisane, I’d drink ths any day! And with that, I ordered another four teas from Frank. I know I won’t be disappointed.

So this is a serious fave now. So much, that I’m being naughty and am trying to recreate it at home. I don’t think I’ll ever match frank, but I’m coming close.

His rocks though. This energy boosting, choco- satisfying, coffee-busting mate is a real winner. You’ll love that I originally thought I was buying the honey bush for a night time drink, though. This serendipitous mistake totally has turned my morning beverage at work around!