I received this tea from a friend and had only HEARD about it prior.  Because I LOVE the fact Frank from 52 Teas ‘thinks outside the box…or in this case, the bag”…I like to try as many blends of his that I can.  The rarer and more crazy – the better!  It’s the perfect example of TEA MAKES A GOOD STORY!  And…I’m just crazy enough to TRY it!

When I was scrolling thru the reviews on Steepster I noticed everyone seemed to like it.  Then it happened…2 low, low, low reviews. It didn’t scare me! So…I YELLED…”Bring it on!!!”…and so I did.

I LOVE Frank’s write-ups and product descriptions!  One thing that made me laugh while reading the their description about this tea was the butter flavoring!  I was like…”OH MY GOSH…I’m going to drink butter?” I really didn’t stumble on the thought for too long as I was really excited about trying the blend.

It smelled like Cinnamon Raisin Toast.  Mission Accomplish, there, I guess.  I was unable to smell the butter BUT…I don’t slap on much butter on my toast anyhow…so…maybe this will be tailor-made for me!?

YUP! I could taste the black tea, the toast, the cinnamon, and the raisin. It was hard to taste the butter but just as it started to travel down my esophagus I could taste a hint of it…but just a hint!

The more I drink this – the more I can taste the toast as an after taste.  Normally I don’t like funky aftertastes but this works…especially in the morning when you are hungry for toast or a bagel or something and don’t have access to it!

This is a neat little creation that 52 Teas has available and I appreciate the fact that it’s different and unusual. It’s surprisingly good and I’m glad I could still taste the black tea.  Too many times when doing a flavored black tea…the black tea taste is often lost.  Not in this tea…it’s still, thankfully, present.

You can purchase the Buttered Cinnamon Raisin Toast Flavored Black Tea directly from the 52teas website.

The dry leaves are quite large and long sencha leaves. The scent of the dry leaves is a bit tart and quite blueberry like. Once brewed the aroma is more mellow, berry and almost a little floral with a light tartness. The liquor is quite darker than I imagined. It’s almost as if a blue/purple food coloring was added lightly to the green tea. I haven’t brewed a sencha before, so I’m not sure if this is the leaves or something to do with the flavoring. I’m loving the smell of this! I have no words to describe elderberry with, but the flavor reminds me a bit of the brightness of fresh, ripe blueberries. The elderberries really compliment the flavor of the sencha. The sencha is very strong, but the flavors blend, the mesh so well, it is a wonderful dance on my tongue. I’m really enjoying this. I did brew it on the higher end of the temperature range, 180F, for 2:30 minutes. I think I will try this at 170F and 160F to see how it compares. I think the length of the steep is just right, as I’m not tasting any astringency.

You can purchase the Elderberry directly from the 52teas website.

Starting my day with a taste of India, closing my eyes, allowing myself to be taken away to northern India with this charming, malty, CTC Assam from 52teas.

It’s called RadioactiviTEA and rightly so because it provides just enough of a jolt to get me going without the crash that I get from coffee. Steeped for five minutes with a fresh pot of boiling water (from cold) , and a couple of Stevia leaves to sweeten it. It’s a smooth and comforting tea with that zing that makes it just right for breakfast or to pick you up from a late afternoon lull.

The aroma is strong and inviting, the aftertaste is mellow and satisfying. This blend has never gone bitter (even when I’ve forgotten it was brewing, yes, my mind wanders some mornings), and it’s always had my coffee loving friends asking for more. You can add a touch of cream to it if you prefer but, to get the most health benefits from it, just a bit of Stevia will do. This isn’t a tea that I would suggest putting honey in, it’s malty enough on it’s own.

Sit back, clear the sleep from your eyes, and savour this amber brew.

You can purchase 52teas RadioactiviTEA directly from their website.