52teas

Sipdown of the reblend. I made a big mug of cold brew for today, which is perfect because it was a genuinely warm day for a change. Unfortunately, I can’t make a particularly good tasting note because a) I have a migraine which is making it hard to focus and b) the cold brew was so cold that I think the temperature actually muted some of the flavor notes. It did seem much more flavorful after it warmed up. Tart raspberry, a sweetness that evokes crisp watermelon, and a somewhat dry base that keeps the blend from being too sweet. Mostly I just wish that I had allowed it to warm up a bit before drinking so much of it!

The name on this one is very apt… all gentle spices and warm, rich maple. This is the last maple-flavored tea in my current stash, so I’m sad to see it go, but it is delicious. It is the most prominent flavor note, with the spices playing a softer role. Of the spices, the cinnamon is the most dominant and paired with the maple really gives indulgent breakfast feels. Using up the very bottom of the package, the nutmeg is really popping, too. Package recommends 3.5g, but I prefer 5g. Cozy indeed!

When I first saw this tea I incorrectly assumed it was referencing the more British “Banoffee Pie” which is also toffee and banana flavoured. Because of that I was very confused about the inclusion of sesame seeds, which smell pretty distinct in the dry leaf alongside the sweet banana notes. I understand now that the inspiration was different from that. I still thought the subtle undertones of nutty sesame were a little bit strange with the otherwise very rich notes of banana and caramel/toffee, but I’m trying to keep a more open mind since I’ve not tried the Chinese toffee bananas this is actually meant to replicate.

Also worth pointing out that strange doesn’t mean bad. All the flavour notes were really pleasant and well executed and, based on the reading I’ve now done, I feel like this must be very close to hitting all the hallmarks of what Anne was going for. It was just a combo I’d never had before, and I think it’ll probably take a cup or two for it to sort of “settle” into something less novel to my palate.

Cold Brew!

I think this is such a fun tea concept and the dry leaf both smells great and looks stunning with the high contrast red berries against the green tea leaf. Brewed up it’s fairly green tea forward, but really smooth in a way that didn’t bother me nearly as much as most green teas do. The strawberry comes through very clearly and has a fresh, bright tartness to it – not too tart, though. The finish is mostly where I noticed that cream note, but it was a little milder than expected. The whole thing has this nostalgic kind of undertone to it like it’s referencing a Campino/Cream Saver but in a much more natural way.

It’s heeeeerrreee!

This past year I purchased one of Anne’s “Create a Blend” fundraiser perks and I pretty promptly sent her what felt like a million different flavour ideas. They all had one common thread, though. I really wanted a rhubarb tea. I think rhubarb is such an underrated fruit (technically vegetable), especially when it comes to tea blends. You rarely see it used outside of strawberry rhubarb teas, and even those aren’t exactly all too common…

I gave Anne a ton of ideas ranging everywhere from rhubarb and vanilla ice cream to just a straight up smoked rhubarb. What I didn’t realize at the time was that Anne hadn’t ever worked with rhubarb before – so it ended up being a bit of a longer and more experimental process (not that I minded one bit). She even sourced some candied rhubarb just for the blend, and dang it looks cool! Ultimately I had all the faith in the world and was really just excited to be along for the ride.

I’m really, really happy with the final tea though! It’s got that perfect jammy cooked rhubarb note with a hint of tartness that I was hoping for and the subtle additions of cinnamon and Lapsang Souchong (just a smidge) give it that cozy baked pie sort of vibe that was in a lot of the ideas I’d sent. Like a rhubarb pie if you juuusssttt slightly burnt the crust. I happen to love that smokey edge though. It feels very tailored to my own personal tastes.

I’ve already seen that Anne’s used the rhubarb flavouring it at least one other blend, so I’m happy to have unintentionally snuck this flavouring into the 52Teas repertoire. If I may be so bold as to suggest another rhubarb concept, I’ve always adored the more British influenced “Rhubard & Custard” rooibos blends I’ve tried but I’d really like to see the same concept on a caffeinated tea base.

Anyway – the tldr is that I am a happy customer!

PS. The name for the blend comes from the 1989 Batman movie where it’s said by The Joker. It basically means something along the lines of “Don’t mess with my girl”. I just thought it was a fun, nerdy reference though.

Tried this one today – I love sweetened orange tea so this one was enjoyable.

So tired from being up late listening to the new Beyoncé album the moment it came out! I thought about making oolong for my caffeine boost, but I really wanted something flavored and my flavored oolong options are rather limited at the moment. (Although I just remembered that I have DavidsTea’s Peaches & Cream Oolong and that would have hit the spot too, but apparently I was too tired to think of that earlier.) Instead I thought about what flavors I wanted and worked backwards, and landed on this airy, lemony delight. The hojicha is definitely stronger in the second steep than the first. While the first steep has lemon macaron vibes, the second is more tart and roasty. Definitely a good tea for a tired and cold spring day when you’re just waiting for the sun to really start shining again, but using the time to settle in and appreciate some new art.

Sipdown!

I don’t know how long this reblend has lived in my cupboard but I decided to take it with me on my roadtrip to California. It holds up well as a cold steep, against the harder (than I’m used to) water. It tastes exactly like namesake, except less cloying sweet, so I’m happy.. and also a little sad to see such a satisfying tisane blend go.

Made a warm cuppa of this yesterday night using 4g of leaf to a 350ml cup but the flavor wasn’t as strong as I was hoping for, so tonight I used 6g for a 500ml teapot with a long “leave the bag in” steep. The deep cinnamon and citrus aroma is very pleasant. The steeped tea is a very pretty red color on the pour, but the flavor still doesn’t feel as strong as I’d like… I think the problem is that the color and aroma remind me of hibiscus spice Christmas blends (which I really love and drank a lot of over a two week course of sinus infection) but this is a honeybush base which is just a more thin mouthfeel. The flavor is a bit similar, with a strong sweet cinnamon taste (with woody undertones, not like candy), but the citrus note is much stronger. The lemongrass really pops, very citrusy with a slight hay-like note. The woody and peppery notes of the honeybush blend very well with the cinnamon and lemongrass, so that pepper flavor doesn’t feel quite so out of place here as I get with other honeybush blends. I don’t taste plum, but that’s one of those tea flavors like cranberry that I never seem able to taste. I also have never even heard of a pryanik prior to seeing this tea’s name. (Idaho is not exactly a place of very diverse food offerings… We do have fry sauce, though!)

I didn’t love this before adding milk, but with milk and sugar, I’m having a good time! It’s fruity, a bit spiced, and so realistic and pleasant. I enjoy this red and green rooibos mixture! The second steep was tasty too. The spice blend was typical for 52teas, but quite nice. I feel like I taste banana more than pear, but I like banana!

This is definitely one of my favorite teas that I crafted during this past holiday season. It’s sweet, buttery, nutty & mildly spiced. It’s so pleasant to sip.

I wanted a green tea this morning considering the day (Happy St. Paddy’s! It’s my turn in the March Steepster Birthday Madness today. Happy birthday to all the rest of you tea-drinking March babies!)

The dry leaf smelled fruity and spicy and hit that certain mix of fruit and spice that read to my nose as bubblegum (which is not a bad thing for me, I love pink bubblegum aroma and flavor). The aroma from the brewed tea doesn’t quite it that, though… the apple comes out more and it smells like baked sweet cinnamon apples.

I get the apple cider reference… the flavor is appley with a hint of tartness (I could do with even more bite, but my favorite apples are tart green varieties) and I can pick out the cinnamon and allspice (oddly enough, not the clove) adding a very mild and gentle spice. Some sips I get that bubblegum effect, but it is fleeting and doesn’t happen every sip. There is a nice grassy green undertone that works well with the flavors. Very enjoyable cuppa!

Currently sipping this – and I love it!

My youngest has recently taken up baking – they are baking at least two or three times a week & cookies tend to be their favorite thing to bake. It’s their love for baking that inspired me to create this cookie inspired tea – because for many weeks, they went through several different recipes to find the right one. (And of course – we HAD to eat those cookies! haha)

This is my tea version of the goodness that has been coming out of the oven on a weekly basis: a blend of Chinese green teas with just the right touch of essence to taste like a freshly baked cookie (especially when the tea is warm!) Then I added some colorful sprinkles for a touch of whimsy. Yum!

PS: They have – I think – finally perfected the recipe – it’s now a browned butter sugar recipe that is SO much better than the average sugar cookie.

Currently sipping this one. Yes, my sleep schedule is all messed up, it seems to continually cycle in this pattern where I will go a couple of weeks with a somewhat “normal” sleep schedule only to eventually go through a period of insomnia and then I end up back in a sleep schedule where I’m up all night and sleeping all day. I should be a rock star.

I really love how this tea turned out, it has a pleasant nutty flavor with a nice note of sweet dates. I was inspired to find a new idea for a tea with dates for my mom – who loves dates and this was what I came up with – a rich blend of black teas with nutty tones (but no actual nuts – it’s allergen-free!) & chunks of dates & spices (cinnamon, allspice, ginger & cloves). It’s not exactly what I’d call a chai, the spices are mellow & smooth.

Just a nice, pleasant cuppa for this very early AM!

I’ve prepared this tea hot and plain a few times and enjoyed every cup; the strawberry flavor is rich and a little candy sweet, with more subtle sweet vanilla undertones. The honeybush does have that peppery note, but otherwise is very smooth and doesn’t give off any medicinal flavors, which I sometimes have issues with when berry flavors are paired with rooibos.

I debated stretching a few more cups out of the available leaf packet or doubling up for an indulgent latte, and this morning the latte won out. I used sweet vanilla almond milk and that has really brought out a “strawberry ice cream” vibe. The strawberry is still there but the vanilla notes are amplified and the drink is really creamy. Indulgent, indeed!

I taste a lot of peach here with a bit of nuttiness too. I like this sweetened with milk, but I don’t love it. The flavor combination is interesting, but the base was a bit stronger than the flavoring and sometimes contributed some bitterness even when steeped properly. The resteep tastes similar to the first.

Finished off a bag of this and I have 1 left. Really delightful cherry flavor!

This seemed a bit thin during my first cup, but perhaps it was underleafed. I definitely taste nuts, but below that, it’s sort of empty. I’m not reminded of ice cream despite drinking this sweetened with milk. Once I let this cool down all the way and added some vanilla almond milk, it finally tasted more richly nutty like I’d been hoping for. The second time I had this, it didn’t make a huge impression. I just tasted some nuts and the black base, but I was really looking for that ice cream flavor.

Sipdown 20 – 2024

I never quite connected with this one for some reason. The base got a bit buried under the flavoring.

Sipdown 18 – 2024

I don’t love pomegranate teas, but the addition of pear really helps this for me. Such a bright, juicy pear flavor.

Sipdown 17 – 2024

I love pretty much every 52Teas banana blend, and this is no exception. Such a great banana flavor, with a touch of smoke. Banana Pudding is still my favorite of the banana blends, but this is tasty.

This isn’t my favorite fruity green tea from 52teas, but it’s not bad! I taste more banana for sure. It adds a bit of a starchy quality to the tea. It’s all quite fresh!

a lovely and vibrant mango flavour with a touch of bitterness that invokes mango skin (both the wonderful aroma and bittersweet flavour). Tastes good both hot or cold steeped in the fridge overnight too.

The strongest flavor is the mild spice. Below that, I taste an interesting orange flavor, like the kind you’d find in an orange icing. I also taste a marshmallow or vanilla type flavor. It all is really nice together. The second time I had this, it tasted a bit more like generic winter spices. Still tasty, just not special.