Southern Boy Iced Teas

Backlog:

I was really happy when I saw that SBT made this tea by mistake (instead of making Razzleberry), because this was one of the most memorable teas that 52Teas has ever made. I loved this tea. I loved it so much that it was one that I hoarded. Normally, I’m more than happy to share my teas that I have with others because I have a lot of tea.

Seriously, I have a lot of tea

Anyway … normally I’m happy to share my tea with others, but, this was one that I didn’t share. I kept it all to myself like a selfish Nelly because it was so good. So when SBT made a version of it I was so happy. And this is almost as good as I remember – if not just as good as I remember – the original being. That doesn’t usually happen. Usually the original 52Teas version is better than the SBT version but this … this is quite possibly equally as good as the original 52Teas version.

In other words, it’s seriously good. And I won’t share my used teabag with you. So don’t even ask.

Had a pitcher of this cold brewed. Not all that impressed actually, but I’m not sure if this has more to do with the actual tea or my not following directions. The key lime one was so tasty cold brewed though.
I just didn’t get much blueberry flavor from this. It was just vaguely fruity. Mildly pastry buttery thing going on. If I ever get this again, I’ll have to see if hot brewing makes it better.

Soooo….I bought a bunch of these SBTs to try. What’s the weight per packet anyway? I’m wondering if it’s a better deal to buy regular looseleaf, but they wouldn’t come in all these amazing flavors.

So one of the first 52Teas I ever had was a Lemon Lime Cheesecake Honeybush. I still remember how amazingly delicious it was, but then again, it was when I was relatively new to the vast world of tea possibilities. Anyway, I figured that this would be a close approximation to that first tea I loved so I got a packet with my order.

I cold brewed this in a 2 quart pitcher so I followed directions halfway. :) This morning I had a glass and it was delicious. The tea is provides a solid background for the flavors to shine. The key lime is smooth and limey. There’s a light creamy tang that I believe is the cheesecake. It is missing that bit of sour from actual lime, but a drop of lime juice should fix that. Fortunately I happen to have some.
The tea is actually a bit strong for me, but Frank does claim that it has the resteeping power to make a whole gallon. I’ll be diluting the tea as I go until it tastes right.
I’m really enjoying this. I hope the other flavors I bought are as good. I’m especially looking forward to the almond milk one. I should stop by the liquor store for some dark rum. :D Too bad it’s closed on Sundays. :(

Pretty much every time I try an SBT, I think it can’t possibly get any better. Then I’ll try a new one, and somehow it will be. This one is definitely one of the best I’ve tried so far! Even when removing the bag from the pouch, I was hit with the wonderful biscuitty, zesty scent of lime cheesecake :) This one got the usual SBT treatment.

Brewed, it’s A-MA-ZING. The initial flavour is zesty lime, but it’s lime zest laced through cream cheese, and so is not too strong or sour. There’s also a slightly gingery, buttery biscuit flavour that’s absolutely dead-on cheesecake base. I’m not quite sure how a drink can taste so much like cheesecake, but this one manages it. It’s the most accurate rendition of cheesecake I’ve ever tasted in a tea (and that’s particularly true of 52 Teas blends…) It’s one I’d definitely pick up again once I use up my current SBT stash.

Thank you for the sale CHAroma! I immediately stopped following the sale thread as there have been too many awesome sales lately. :D I cut the teabag of this one open and hot steeped a teaspoon for 45 seconds: I’ve tried two other blends of this flavor and the flavor stays pretty consistent. Blueberry but not so much danish or cream cheese. I just realized I like the CTC black tea from the iced tea teabags way more than the black tea from the typical black blends. Though this cup kind of tasted a bit like iron.. maybe it was the cream cheese this time. The second cup was just as tasty, just as much flavor. I think I prefer my old pouch with the twisty leaves though. :D
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // few minutes after boiling // 45 second steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2 min

Got this one as an extra from the 52Teas sale that Marzipan organized. SHHH I don’t actually brew these cold, as I wish I had some mason jars I could actually clean or a pitcher to put a whole ton of iced tea in. I couldn’t really drink that much iced tea that is in one teabag at once anyway. SO I open up the tea bag that has about five teaspoons and take out one teaspoon to brew up like your typical hot tea in my infuser. Even without the CTC black tea base, I usually steep the first cup of any 52Teas for 45 seconds to let the flavors shine without letting the black tea take over the cup. At 45 seconds, the CTC wasn’t astringent like a typical CTC. I think it sure is premium for a CTC! But these are iced teas that supposed to be in large amounts of water anyway, so I can see wanted as much black tea flavor as possible. The lime is delightful, especially in a summer tea. The lime is very flavorful, but I wouldn’t say I noticed cheesecake (the rating will be missing a few points for that.) The second steep still has some lime!

I also recently sipped down 52Teas – Almond Happiness and another one from 52Teas. It’s one of my most precious last teaspoons of tea, so once that one became a sipdown I think there will be an avalanche of sipdowns. Maybe I finished that one for that reason!
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // 5 min after boiling // 45 seconds
Steep #2 // just boiled // 1 min steep

Cold brewed, nice sweet blueberry flavor just a bit of tart blackberry
I would get it again if I had someone to share it with, maybe a family gathering.

Made this as per package directions. I did add some white sugar. I only intended to ad a tsp or two but I thought I could just sprinkle some in from the bag instead of trying to scoop it out. So Instead of a sprinkle, I got an avalanche. As a result it was quite a but more sweet than I would have liked. I am definitely getting key lime, but I don’t really get any cheesecake. I found this one to be quite astringent at the end of the sip. I think it would have been better to have been brewed for 2 minutes instead of 3.

This was my iced tea for work yesterday and today. It got the usual SBT treatment (3 mins in a quarter pint of boiling water, topped up to two litres with cold and into the fridge overnight). The dry bag smelt like a freshly opened bag of campino sweets, which was a real flashback from my childhood. I like strawberry things, so I was looking forward to bringing it out mid-morning.

It’s another awesome SBT, especially fridge cold. It has a wonderfully accurate strawberry flavour, and the custard/creme anglaise is also spot on. It’s somehow thick tasting, and very creamy, with a beautiful vanilla sweetness. The strawberry flavouring is also sweet, but the fruitiness it provides is enough to ensure this doesn’t become overwhelming.

I have a pouch of the normal 52 Teas version of this, which I picked up last time it was reblended. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m certainly looking forward to on the strength of the SBT version. This is an SBT I’d definitely repurchase. It’s like liquid dessert! Definitely enough to cheer up a dull day at work.

Sipdown! Not a big fan, sadly. I preferred the other two SBTs I’ve drank recently (Monkey Fart and Razzleberry). This one just tastes kind of like a sweetish, flavoured black. Nothing special. I prefer the honeybush version; the flavour nuances of vanilla/chocolate/strawberry worked better with that base.

Ah my baptism of the Takeya Flash Chill Tea Maker. But I didn’t even flash chill it. I was a wimp and cold brewed because that’s how I always make my ice teas. Now reading the reviews I see I should have saved the bag and done a second hot brew and tried out the flash chill method.

Well there’s plenty more SBT where that came from!

I like this flavor because it reminds me of the lemon lime cheesecake honeybush blend that was my all time favorite 52teas cheesecake blend.

I cold brewed for about 14ish hours, maybe even 16. I was worried I overdid it but it tastes amazing. All citrus tanginess. More of a lemon lime than a key lime but still super refreshing and highly recommended.

Today’s iced tea for work. This had the usual SBT treatment (which I’ll refrain from outlining again). I’m currently working my way through a pouch of the 52 Teas version of this one, and I’ve been impressed with the strength of the blueberry in that one. Sometimes I get cream cheese/pastry from it, but it can be a bit hit and miss.

I’m pleased to report that the SBT is similarly blueberry-centric. It’s the first flavour to develop upon taking a sip, and it’s deliciously juicy and true-to-life. Sweet, slightly tangy, blueberry amazingness. There’s also a distinctive cream cheese flavour that comes in second and offsets the fruity sweetness nicely, and, then, right at the end, a fleeting hint of buttery, flaky pastry. It’s a really nice combination, and it’s wonderful to taste all of the elements of this one — together they make a great combination! Drinking this has actually made me feel hungry, that’s how spot on danish pastry it really is. Another awesome SBT.

It’s not terrible, but it’s not for me. Even steeping at a lower temp and starting the 2-min countdown as I started pouring the water, it’s still leaning towards astringent and bitter.

The strawberry flavour is nice, but somewhat weaker than I expected from the scent.

I have one or two more of these, and I’ll drink them, but they definitely aren’t for me. Iced caffeinated tea isn’t something I love to drink all the time, so IDK what I was thinking when I bought the SBTs.

(Steeped in 2 cups of water, added ice and cold water to make 7 cups.)

Rec’d this from the SBT kickstarter campaign.

The dry pouch smells like basic plain flavour bubblegum.

I brewed this up as per instructions and added some white sugar. I am kind of unsure how much I added because I made it last night while I was tired, but probably a tbsp or two.

It tastes ok. Not amazing. I have had better bubble gum teas. The black tea base seems to be light but it is present. The bubble gum flavour is quite powerful at the beginning and is quite artificial, but then what bubble gum flavour isn’t artificial. This one also reminds me of hints of the razzleberry SBT.

It is a good thirst quencher, but not my favorite flavour.

Reading all the other reviews, I feel like I am missing something. The lime flavouring is very intense and although I can kind of sort of half taste a hint of cheesecake in there, the lime is very POW and tastes like chemicals so it is hard for me to say…Will drink more and review properly then. Maybe it is just me.

I received this gratis as part of a recent order from 52Teas. I cold brewed it overnight and it is very flavorful. My thoughts seem to yo-yo between liking it and disliking it, depending on the sip. It is very blueberry forward, but it almost reminds me of a blueberry muffin candle in the taste that I get at the end of the sip, lingering.

Sipping on the last of this while we wait for the fireworks to start. It’s actually pretty cool next to the water, and I’m wishing I had brought a hot tea instead of an iced one. Oh well.

I still can’t taste the vanilla in this tea. Strawberry and chocolate, yes. No vanilla, not even in the form of creaminess. The floral note that was present the last time I drank this is, thankfully, absent.

This is good, but there are several SBTs I like more.

I’ve been sipping on this for the past two days, and while I like it I don’t love it. The strawberry flavor is nice, and I get definite chocolate notes, but the vanilla seems to be missing. There is also a strange floral note at the end of the sip that throws me off. It’s not bad, it just doesn’t remind me of Neapolitan ice cream.

Strawberry and cream! Yummy :) This is a good one, but I still have some other strawberry cream teas that I have so this one is not one I’ll have to order again any time soon.

I think this probably tastes AWESOME as a hot tea (and I should probably try the green tea version, because I can picture that being pretty good as well), but I didn’t think this worked as an iced tea. The strawberry flavor was great, but to me, it tasted like strawberry milk or strawberry whipped cream, and although I drank it, I just think that it wasn’t what I was looking for.

I got this tea as part of SBT last kickstarter. i finished a pitcher of this iced tea today. So far, this one is my favorite – the lime goes great in southern style iced tea. Not that cheesecakey, but still very delicious.
I might need to snag more for the new SBT kickstarter!

Not counting the tea I reviewed last week, I have 21 different flavors of SBT teas in my cupboard. I’d better get drinking! Thank God it’s finally warm enough to enjoy iced tea. The dry leaf aroma is divine. Very lime-y in a fresh, authentic way. It even smells creamy, mmm!

My husband stole a sip while he poured me a cup and said, “It’s good, but it’s too buttery for my tastes.” Well, good! All the more for me then! The nerve of him to steal a sip without asking anyway. :P I’m perfectly happy to lay claim to this entire pitcher all by myself because this is super yummy!

Although my husband described it as buttery, I’m not sure I agree. I find it creamy, smooth, luscious, and delicious! It’s equally lime and cheesecake to me. The black base here is not bitter at all, and the flavoring is much more authentic tasting than the lime in the Cherry Limeade SBT. I love this one so much more.

The base is about even strength with the added flavorings, which is especially nice. I added some agave and it complements the cup perfectly! This is exactly my kind of tea. Yummm! I need to pick up some more of this. I think this is the most cheesecake I’ve gotten out of any 52teas blend to date. It’s not tangy, but it is creamy and delicious. I call it a success!

At first taste, this tasted a lot like a plain black iced tea with a shot of melted lime jello in it. It was sweet and limey, but dominantly the tea flavor.

About halfway through the sip, though, the lime becomes more tangy, sharp, and natural tasting like a fresh key lime. There does seem to be an amount of tart creamy cheesecake flavor hiding underneath it, as well.

This one didn’t really grow on me until I had already reached the bottom of my pitcher (Sad!). I don’t know if it strikes me as a reorder, but I definitely ended up liking it better than my initial impressions had me thinking.

I think blueberry is one of my favorite flavors in iced teas.

This is a really nice blueberry flavor, with a natural, sweet flavor. The blackberry flavor is more subtle and comes out a bit more at the end of the sip. It’s presence does seem to add a layer of depth to the blueberry, though.

Like most of the SBTs I’ve tried, there is still a strong tea flavor that is well-balanced with the (in this instance) fruity flavors.

I would definitely get this one again.