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90
drank Raspberry Soiree by 52teas
2567 tasting notes

I was intrigued when I noticed cantaloupe in the ingredients for this one. When I opened the bag, I was hit with the scent of fresh cantaloupe, which was very promising. The flavor leans more toward the cantaloupe as well, despite raspberry being in the name. I really don’t mind because raspberry teas have historically been some of my less favorite ones from 52teas, and I almost never see cantaloupe teas. I drank this cold with sugar and a splash of milk, and it’s so fresh tasting and lovely. I have some cantaloupe juice that I made in the fridge, and this might be even nicer than that. The resteep was incredible too. I vote for more cantaloupe teas! The second time I had this, I tasted more black tea and less fruitiness. It was still lovely, but I wasn’t as wild for it as the first time.

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drank Grey Brûlée by 52teas
3481 tasting notes

Sipdown

A delicious Earl Grey cream style tea with rich flavor. All the quality you expect from 52teas.
So glad to have tried it!

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drank Grey Brûlée by 52teas
3481 tasting notes

I was inspired to open this by amandastory516’s tasting notes! I got it for Christmas but hadn’t tried it yet, as Ashman doesn’t enjoy bergamot and I have been tea with him quite a lot. Today I have breakfast and lunch both on my own, so it is a great time to have it, and I had it at both meals.

I am picky about my Earl Grey type teas. I don’t like fake bergamot or bergamot ln a lemony or thin base, like a high grown Ceylon. My preference is Keemun or another hearty black tea base that can be tasted and isn’t obliterated by the flavorings.

This one, happily, is what I hoped it would be! The aroma is unmistakeable bergamot, but not sharp enough to burn your nose hairs out. The creme brulee part is soooo smooth.

Drinking it, I think the cream part comes first. It is rich and full and feels quite luxurious. The creamy feel and taste are followed by bergamot, not at all weak but not overpowering, either. Having made it twice, I will say that even with my disinclination to overly strong bergamot, I liked the pot I leafed more heavily best. I did try it as separate steeps and also with a first and second steep combined. Both were very good.

If you like Earl Grey, London Fogs, and such, you will be doing yourself a favor to try this.

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72
drank Mango Lime Green Rooibos by 52teas
2567 tasting notes

I’m not a lover of lime flavoring, so I find myself watering this one down. The green rooibos base is lovely, and this makes a nice cold resteep. The first steep is refreshing and fruity, but I wish I could taste the mango over that strong lime.

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83

This is similar to many other 52teas honeybush blends, but it’s lovely. I taste a bit of pear, but more of the usual spice blend. It’s nice with sugar and milk, but since it’s similar to other blends, I don’t feel the need to buy extra. The resteep is nice too!

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Sipdown

There are lots of dried apple cubes in the rich brown tea leaves and pretty calendula petals, with an aroma of apple and spices, including cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla.

The base is really nice for pairing with food and is malty with slight briskness, which indicates that it could handle milk and sugar if you wish. We drank ours plain. There is a bright tangy spark that evokes the cider aspect of the blend. It really delivers the taste that the name advertises!

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drank Holiday POG Punch by 52teas
16875 tasting notes

Another from this past winter’s countdown that I was very excited to try!

Personally I love a good POG juice or smoothie, though when I realized this wasn’t the more traditional combination of fruits (pineapple or passionfruit, orange, and guava) I actually got more excited because I think this is so dang clever and creative! Plus, the trio of flavours are so complimentary. Spiced orange is a classic, pomegranate and orange is just really juicy and fresh, and I think spiced pomegranate is a slept on sort of iteration of a mulled wine type profile.

I think the flavours totally deliver and though the ginger could maybe be stronger I think you can clearly taste all three flavours. It’s bright but has depth and warmth from that spice inclusion, and I love the natural sweetness level of those fruits. I think it does everything Anne wanted it to!

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80

The first time I had this, it didn’t taste like much, so I made sure to try it overleafed the next time. I left it in the fridge overnight and added milk and sugar. Now I taste a lot of lavender on quite a decent black base. I also taste a nice, fresh blueberry. I don’t notice much lemon. This is really refreshing and enjoyable! The resteep is strong too!

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69

I taste a lot of coconut as well as a touch of fruitness. The black tea is high quality, but this unfortunately turned out a bit bland/light in flavor for me. My opinion didn’t change after having it three times.

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86
drank Vanilla Yunnan Black by 52teas
4326 tasting notes

Another from my recent order.  This blend sold me on VANILLA and this sold me on YUNNAN.  Yes and yes.  It definitely tastes like a tea that I would guess is Yunnan if I didn’t already know it was Yunnan.   It has Yunnan flavor notes.  Do I know what those are? no.  (I will say, the Yunnan leaf looks smaller than the huge Yunnan leaf in the Eggnog Yunnan blend, but that blend was YEARS ago anyway… so not really sure why I’m mentioning it here…)  I like that there is a variety of vanilla ingredients here: flavoring, vanilla beans and vanilla crystals.  I don’t think the cane sugar makes it overly sweet at all (I really just see an occasional vanilla crystal in the blend anyway).  It’s also not overboard on vanilla. I will say the second steep was probably a little too much at four minutes — the black tea became a little harsher for whatever vanilla remained on the leaves. I would probably stick with a three minute second steep next time.
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 19 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

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Of all the brand new teas in this past winter’s countdown, this was the one I was most eager to try and I’m happy to say that it lived up to my excitement. I love the little burst of fleeting sweet and bright fruit in the initial sip before you taste a more distinct and very equally balanced mix of candied lemon and jammy raspberry. Sometimes I feel like raspberry can be hard to convey because it so easily comes off as generic red fruit, but I really love the raspberry flavour in this tea and I think it’s quite clearly raspberry.

The black tea is pretty full bodied and malty with a bit of briskness to it that suits both flavours well. I could actually see this being quite a good iced tea or cold brew because of that. I wish I got a bit more of the “linzer” element, but as this cooled I felt like the backend of the sip had a little more of a buttery or almost shortbread-like finish that reinforced that inspiration for me.

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After a few bumps in the road (thank you Canada Post strike), my 52teas countdown arrived this week so I’ve been enjoying diving into the teas this weekend! At this point I’m just going to sip them in any order I want instead of following the countdown, and I started with this one because I was just craving something sweet but warming and it felt like it would fit the bill! I have to say that I think the snowflake sprinkles are cute, but aesthetics aside there isn’t a whole lot about this blend that makes me think of cookies. That said, I love how full bodied it is and the mix of spices is the PERFECT combination for a super iconic and wintery feeling chai. The clove and allspice in particular? Oh baby. Not too much cinnamon or ginger either, which I feel like could have made this a little too earthy and drying. So, for a sweeter chai, I think it’s very nice even if it doesn’t quite convey cookie to me.

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Countdown To Catching Up – Tea 7

I am so behind on posting these, my apologies to anyone who might be waiting for me to add these teas to the database!

Anyway, this tea is amazing. As I mentioned in the description, I can’t believe I didn’t think of creating a Chai Spiced Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha sooner than I did! I love chai blends & I love our classic Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha, it seems only natural to bring these two together – but honestly, I didn’t even think on it for a moment until I came across a recipe for a chai spiced rice krispy treat & finally the lightbulb appeared!

I’m glad I finally did happen upon that recipe, because this tea is amazingly good. My personal preferences for a chai blend is for a black tea base, but it works so well with the classic marshmallow treat genmaicha! The spices are strong enough to be present within every sip, but the marshmallow notes shine through too! YUM!

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Lime flavoring and I don’t get along. It just tastes like cleaner to me. I don’t taste much else other than that cleaner flavor and some slightly peppery honeybush. Possibly there’s some creaminess, but I’m drinking it with milk to try to bring out the cheesecake vibes. I drank the whole cup, but I’ll likely pass along the rest of the bag.

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70

I don’t like alcohol, so I’m relieved it doesn’t taste too much like that. The base is also a little strong, almost like green tea, but I guess green rooibos has a similar vibe. I drank the whole package without forming too strong an opinion. I guess I thought the base overshadowed the flavors this time. I would have liked more strawberry or bubbliness.

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69

There’s something in here that I don’t love. It doesn’t taste quite like celery, but celery adjacent. I also taste some light fruitiness. Plain, this was really too boring. With milk, this was pretty drinkable. I could taste a bit of fruit, but it was mild.

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96
drank Pinwheel by 52teas
4326 tasting notes

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2025 Tea #2 – Your newest tea

This was just delivered in a 52Teas order, so it is my very newest tea.  A part of me felt I needed to buy this one, as I MIGHT be the person who has asked Anne to reblend Frank’s Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao the most.  Probably definitely.  It was still in stock on the site after a few months, so I decided to order!   It might be my favorite of Frank’s blends.  Definitely top five.  So I was thrilled that Anne tried to recreate a similar blend!  The Qu Hao base used in the original blend is rare, impossible to find when it isn’t expensive, so I understand it won’t be the SAME blend.  But I also was very happy that Anne aimed to recreate it.  The base in this blend is Gu Zhang mixed with Assam and Yunnan.  Sounds good to me!  Though I am not sure I have ever actually had another Gu Zhang leaf before.  (A quick search of all the teas that I have rated in my Steepster lifetime tells me no, no Gu Zhang in my tea drinking history, at least directly in the name.) I’m wondering if Anne has ever used it before? So I have no idea how the Gu Zhang tastes on its own. But I was also thrilled that Anne still has the original recipe for the Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao… as sometimes I hear many of Frank’s recipes were lost.  So there was a chance the flavoring would be similar!  AND IT IS.  The base probably isn’t as deep as the Qu Hao, but the flavoring is spot on.  It’s like a silky smooth mix of chocolate/ marshmallow/ vanilla and kahlua.  You know… exactly what the ingredients contain… minus the kahlua.  But wow, the flavors really meld together so well and very balanced.  (One of my favorite combinations of flavors is chocolate/marshmallow, so this is very much my thing.)  It’s amazing that the flavors are so spot on to the original blend.  It seems like a simple mix of flavors, but I have only ever noticed this exact flavoring with Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao before.  The third steep (milking the leaves for all I can) is quite good too — smooth, never harsh.  In a mystery taste test, I would definitely compare the two blends. So… mission successful!  I was so blinded by the lack of Qu Hao in the tea world, that I didn’t realize something similar could be recreated, especially by someone with Anne’s talents!  Thank you!  Very glad you put this together! 
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 23 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 10 minute steep

tea-sipper

Also, I can’t remember if I have ever had Pinwheel cookies, so I can’t say if the name is accurate or not. Though I trust Anne’s judgement on that!

ashmanra

Daughter who lives with us LOVES Pinwheel cookies, and actually prefers the Publix brand version because of the size. I made most of her advent this year with Pinwheel cookies as the daily treat!

52Teas

@tea=sipper thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed this tea! When I realized you were the one who bought the last of the Pinwheel that I had in stock, I was glad, because I had blended this with you in mind, hoping you might like it, because the blend of teas was about as close to the Qu Hao that I could manage without this blend costing WAY too much.

@ashmanra – pinwheels were my favorite as a kid, and it wasn’t always the pinwheels that were purchased, I think Nabisco also makes Mallowmars? which are basically the same thing. Which is kind or weird, actually, because Nabisco makes both cookies but I think they’re both basically a cookie base topped with a marshmallow and then it’s all covered in chocolate. I’ve always loved anything chocolate and anything marshmallow, so these cookies were a bit of heaven for me. :)

tea-sipper

ashmanra – I love that! And I loved hearing about all of the advent details of your fam this year. :D

52Teas – Ah, Anne, thank you. I had a feeling you MAY have had me in mind in creating this blend, and your comment just warms my heart. :D I saw Pinwheel was still on the site after a few months of giving anyone else a chance to grab them, so I just went for it and purchased. Another BIG thank you!

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91

Sipdown 7 – 2025

Another delicious banana blend from 52Teas. Love the banana flavor with the oolong base. Not too much of an eggnog flavor.

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91

I’ll shout it from the rooftops- 52Teas banana flavoring is the GOAT of banana teas. It’s just so tasty, and I love it combined with the green oolong.

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87

Already finished off the pouch. It was so lovely- bright, fresh raspberry and lemon. Both flavors are really distinct and work well together. A touch of a dessert/pastry quality that ties both fruit flavors together. Such a great blend.

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71
drank Caramel Apple Oolong v.3 by 52teas
15534 tasting notes

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71
drank Caramel Apple Oolong v.3 by 52teas
15534 tasting notes

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70
drank Peaches and Plums by 52teas
2567 tasting notes

I don’t taste plum, but I definitely taste peach! It’s good quality and nice, though not the most special of 52teas blends. Sort of just a peach black tea. The flavoring could be a lot bolder. I saved this one to share with my dad since peach is his favorite. He agreed that the flavoring was super light, but he could taste the peach.

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drank Roasted Chestnut Chai by 52teas
1301 tasting notes

Day 12 of the 52teas advent calendar. I made this as an oat milk latte because the word “chai” always makes me think I should add oat milk. The spice balance here reminds me a lot of the gingerbread blend, in a favorable way. The cinnamon, clove, and pepper are clear but not overpowering. Not sure I’m getting “chestnut” per se, but there’s a nice creaminess that goes deeper than the oat milk. Another one that’s risky because of my stomach but I’d recommend for flavor.

Overall, this continues to be an excellent advent. There were some returning favorites (banana eggnog oolong! candy cane marshmallow treat genmaicha!) as well as some new and new-to-me blends that I found quite enjoyable. The gingerbread green and raspberry lemon linzer black were particular highlights there. The quantity of tea is just right – enough to play around with but not so much that it ends up sitting around forever. This calendar has quickly become a constant in my advent lineup; I expect that will continue to be the case.

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