Southern Boy Teas

Iced tea season is never REALLY over for me, but the weather is changing enough that I’m wanting to reach for hot tea about as often as cold.

This is still as awesome as the first time I had it iced – it has a creaminess without needing any additives and the sherbet really pops with my typical iced tea ratio of sugar.

I have a couple of these left and I’ll be hoarding them.

So I feel like I need to be honest with you guys: I curse like a sailor in real life.

I say that because my initial utterings upon tasting this tea are not, well… they don’t seem necessarily appropriate to say in a public forum. I meant it in a really, really good way though. Promise!

The first word that came to mind (after the expletives, haha) was whoa. This tea is soooo creamy. Tangy, fruity, and creamy, just like sherbet. I’m pretty weird in that I don’t actually like ice cream/sherbet/sorbets because a lot of the time its too sweet. Also I prefer to drink cold things, not eat them, and I don’t necessarily find milky things to be that refreshing when the weather is hot. I’m a right ball of fun, I know.

So that this manages to somehow sidestep all of my ridiculous criteria is pretty miraculous.
It’s got a creamy full texture which tea usually just doesn’t have on it’s own. The only way I get this texture in tea normally is by adding milk, but iced tea is not something you can add milk to (Ew. just the thought of that…) It tastes like ice cream without being ice cream. And I’m drinking it on its own, without a meal – it’s like dessert!

Um, LOVE. I hope I can get another 2 quarts out of this… but even if not I just went ahead and put one of each of the SBT iced tea flavors in a shopping cart because MY MOUTH IS SO HAPPY.

Thank goodness I saw that discount code when I did!

In regards to SBT ice cream flavoured iced teas, I think this one is better than the Neapolitan.

I made this one as per the directions on the package.

The dry tea bag smells deliciously like rainbow sherbet. It smells sweet but also that slight little bit of tartness that sherbet has.

The brewed tea tastes very similar to SBT cotton candy. You can tell that the taste is rainbow sherbet but the taste is not as strong as the smell. I find for the SBT iced teas, this one is much of a lighter taste, its not bad that is light, its just not in your face. You can taste the black tea, but it is not too strong and the flavouring works well with the tea. It is very refreshing. I did not add any sugar to this one.

Edit: Resteeped. Made an excellent resteep. Tastes pretty much the same as the first steep. I added some rock sugar this time around. It did sweeten it up a bit. Brought out the smallest amount more of rainbow sherbet taste. I am thinking this one would be excellent with a lot more sugar added. I’m just not in the mood for that today.

This is my first iced tea of 2015! I tried this one for the first time last summer, and it was so good I went back straightaway for another pouch. I was a bit of a Southern Boy Teas doubter at first, because I didn’t see how tea could taste of ice cream or sherbet, jello or bubblegum. Somehow, though, they do, and this one is no exception.

I brewed this one up the way I usually do – the bag gets 2 minutes in 1/4 litre of boiling water, which is then topped up to 1.8 litres with cold water and put in the fridge overnight. I usually drink half a jug a day (so just under a litre), and as the tea bag is good for a second brewing, these teas represent great value for money. More important than that, though, is the flavour! This one is out of this world! The sherbet is creamy, fruity, and even a little effervescent tasting. I can detect flavours of raspberry, orange, lemon and lime by turns, although they’re not particularly distinct. Just tiny flashes that skip across my taste buds and are gone. Ultimately, the individual fruit flavours merge together into a generically sherbet-y taste. However it’s done, it’s truly amazing.

See my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/06/11/rainbow-sherbet-iced-tea-southern-boy-teas/

This is my first iced tea of 2015! I picked this one out for a couple of reasons – it’s one of my old favourites, and I’ve got a 2oz pouch of the black version of this tea tucked away, so it won’t really be gone from my cupboard until I can place another order. Given the quantity of tea I actually possess, I won’t need to place an order for a serious amount of time. So that accounts for the choice.

I gave this my usual SBT treatment. The bag gets 2 minutes in 1/4 pint of boiling water, which is then topped up to 1.8 litres with cold water and put in the fridge overnight. I really do think in mixed metric and imperial like that, too. It’s one of my peculiarities.

Half of the jug came to work with me this morning, so there’s some left in the fridge at home for tomorrow. That’s a good thing, because the flavour is out of this world! The sherbet is creamy, fruity, and even a little effervescent tasting. I can detect flavours of raspberry, orange, lemon and lime by turns, although they’re not particularly distinct. Just tiny flashes that skip across my taste buds and are gone. I wouldn’t have thought it possible to replicate sherbet in tea form (or liquid, come to that) but Frank has somehow managed to pull it off. I’ve gushed about this one before, so I’m going to stop now and round off by summing up my thoughts about this tea:

It’s magic.

You need to try some.

Another amazing iced tea. I’m really on a roll with these, I think! I’m definitely glad I decided to give them a chance, anyway, because they’re going to make my summer.

Thanks to Sil, I tried a sample of the original Rainbow Sherbet black tea a little while back. Needless to say, I loved it. Sherbet is a favourite of mine, and it actually tasted just like sherbet. So does this.

It’s maybe not quite as sherbet-y as I was hoping, but the flavour is still definitely there. As with some of the other SBTs, the beautifully smooth black tea base comes through first, with sherbet emerging more towards the end of the sip. I can pick out the orange, lime and raspberry individually, and then they seem to merge together into a generically sherbet-y taste. There’s something here that makes this taste specifically sherbet-like, and I can’t quite pinpoint what it is. It has a sort of creamy, almost fizzy taste, without actually being either. However it’s done, it’s truly amazing.

I was a bit of a doubter at first, because I didn’t see how tea could taste of ice cream or sherbet, jello or bubblegum. Somehow, though, they do. This one is no exception, and it’s another all-round great taste experience. I will definitely, definitely be buying more or these. They’re just too good to miss!

I had a bit more of this tonight while relaxing with my other half after some much required running around today. We got to sit and watch some Hannibal so that was nice. :) My opinion hasn’t changed much on this…it’s decent but not out of this world and i might as well make other teas cold brewed since i’ve got lots in the house rather than buying these packs :) Still though…maybe an option for when i get my cupboard back down.

more of this tonight…because it’s hot. and annoying. and my fan is broken and i have to work in 30 mins. again. bah. bah! BAH!!

I picked this up a little while back with a small shared order I placed with frank just to try. I figured this would be a good one to try today in light of his “canada day sale.” I brewed this up in the morning before my other half and i headed out for a bike ride for the afternoon so that we could have this when we got back as a refreshing “not just water” fluid to rehydrate. I’m always super thirsty when i get back even though we always pack gatorade as well as a camelbak full of water.

I have to say as far as iced teas go, i was a little disappointed with this one. Not because it’s bad, but because i wanted it to be so much more because of how convenient the bags are that frank has put together. On the plus side i did get two steeps out of the bag, and could likely also have a third if i wanted to top off the first and second one.

This one tastes well enough, though i did have to add sugar to it for the flavours to pop enough for me to really like them. I like the berry ness of this one, though i think i’d probably prefer maybe lime jello or the pink lemonade. Highly tempting just to see how they fare. I’m a big fan of the convenience in frank’s bags, as long as you know to be careful opening them :)

Made this one today and it’s already more than half way gone. I think this is one of my new favorite flavors. It’s sweet but not too sweet. It has a lovely sweet and fluffy cotton candy flavor. Mmm I should have added this to my order D:

This one is SO GOOD! I think this is the best SBT I have tried so far. On first taste I thought this one tastes very similar to SBT cotton candy, but with a bit of raspberry candy taste. Then I read the description and learned I was dead on. Ha ha (I got it right for once). I definitely get a pink lemonade taste in the after taste.

I brewed this one in 2 cups boiling water for 3 minutes then added ice and cold water. I added 2 tsp sugar to the whole 2 quarts of tea.

It so hot out right now, I was thinking I am going to enjoy this one all weekend, but I doubt it will last that long.

Edit: Re-steeped. This one is actually better on the re-steep! The flavours are still strong and I get much more pink lemonade flavour.

I bought a teabag of this on a whim with my first 52Teas order (yay!) because I seem to love all things lime (I’m a huge lover of Davids Tea Lime Gelato). Lucky for me, this one is totally different than Lime Gelato so I don’t have to compare.

First off, the black tea base is absolutely splendid and much more flavourful than your typical black tea base for a flavoured tea (from your “normal” tea places like teavana and DT). Secondly, that lime is subtle! Wowza! I absolutely love this. It’s like the best twist on a traditional iced tea. I choose not to sweeten mine (just a preference) and in fact I added more water to my pitcher than recommended.

Phenomenal. Will enjoy till the last drop!

This was today’s iced tea for work. It got the usual SBT treatment.

It’s one I’ve tried before, so I wasn’t too concerned about being too busy to note my impressions. What I noticed immediately, though, was that this one hardly has any flavour at all. No lime, certainly. Weirdly, I could taste ginger a little…and black tea.

I’m going to leave my rating for this one as it is, because this wasn’t the experience I had last time I tried it. Very odd.

Today’s iced tea choice for work. I probably made a mistake with this today, as it’s not actually all that warm. It’s so stuffy in our office usually, I think I’ve just fallen into the habit of assuming I’ll be too hot. I haven’t taken my hoodie off yet, though, so it’s definitely on the cool side.

It doesn’t really matter, though. I don’t have any actual ice, so this is really just chilled tea. It’s convenient, because it means I don’t have to keep getting up and going to the kettle, which is at the other end of the office. It’s while I’m on these jaunts that someone inevitably comes in to reception, and I miss them. Still, it’s monday, I need caffiene, and I don’t care whether it’s hot or cold.

I’m a Lime Jello Salad fan, so this is another of Frank’s SBTs that I was eager to try. The first thing I can say is that I still prefer the green version. I miss the marshmallow in this, and the sweetness that perfectly balanced the tang of the lime. This is definitely limey, though, and it pairs so well with the black base. The smell of this both dry and brewed reminds me of actual Lime Jello, which I suppose is the point. It’s kind of sour and tangy, and it makes me think of summer. The taste is similar, with the Lime Jello peeking out from under the black tea and adding a fruity, zesty tang to each sip.

I forgot my sugar again, so I can’t experiment (when will I learn?), but I think my enjoyment of this would be hightened if it was a little sweeter. It’s lovely and refreshing and palatable as is, but I am looking for just a little more sweetness than it has naturally. While this probably isn’t my personal favourite of the SBTs, it’s certainly another good one. If I’d known it was this easy to make iced tea, I would have been doing it for years. Another excellent creation!

Second iced tea of the year! I also tried this one last year, and really enjoyed it. Again, I think I’ve done slightly better with the brewing this year. I timed more carefully while the bag was in the hot water (three minutes and no more!), but used the same parameters otherwise (topped up to 2 litres with cold water, cooled in fridge for 12 hours overnight). The cotton candy flavour is strong and clear, and delightfully sweet and sugary. It’s as close as a drink can get to the real thing. The base is wonderfully smooth, as ever, and supports the flavouring really well. I think the coolness helps to offset some of the sweetness, too, making this hugely refreshing this warm morning! Lovely, lovely stuff!

These teas are just bloody awesome really, aren’t they? I don’t know why I held off buying some last year. It was plenty hot enough in my old office to merit iced tea, although I suppose I just wasn’t up to the tea tea-buying tricks I’ve developed these days.

Anyway, back to the point. I first tried the normal version of Cotton Candy in last year’s 12 Teas of Christmas sampler. I loved it. Given my success with Neapolitan Ice Cream recently, I decided to try another of the SBTs “converted” from a normal tea. (I’m not sure what it means when you start calling such oddly flavoured teas normal, but I guess it hardly matters at this point. You know what I’m on about.)

This one is another stunner. If anything, the cotton candy flavouring comes out more clearly here than it does in its original counterpart. It’s delicious — sweet, sugary, airy cotton candy goodness. It smells strongly of cotton candy, it tastes strongly of cotton candy. Once again, the black base is detectabe, but it just seems to enhance and support the flavouring rather than mask it in any way.

I have no idea how Frank achieves these extrodinary flavouring feats. What I do know is that, as iced tea goes, these are unbeatable. Yum yum yum is about the most coherent thing I can say about this right now. Please excuse me while I go and drink some more.

First iced tea of the year! I tried this one last year, but I think I left the bag for too long and the base become very prominent and slightly astringent. I did better this year, because the cup I’m drinking at the moment is very smooth, and there’s a delicious berry flavour running over the (relatively subtle) black base. It’s more raspberry than blackberry, I think, and it tastes more like fruit flavoured candies than actual fresh fruit. I’m pretty sure I’m getting that impression because it’s sweet, with no hint of tang or tartness. Real fruit just wouldn’t be that uniformly sweet! Not that I mind — it makes a delicious and refreshing drink on a warm day. I could take the flavouring a little stronger, but that’s a minor complaint. Maybe this time I was a little conservative while trying to avoid bitterness! I brewed this in 1/4 pint of boiling water for three minutes, and then topped up the jug to 2 litres. It then went in the fridge overnight, for about 12 hours. I haven’t yet tried cold brewing one of these, but that’s something to keep in mind for the future. As a first iced tea of the season, though, I can only say I’m looking forward to the months ahead!

Made this up last night, and I’ve been drinking it most of the day today in my too-hot reception area. It’s not even that warm outside, so I have no idea why the temparature gets up so much in here, but anyway.

I agree with Lala on this one. The intial smell is really like sour raspberry candies. Every time I get pick and mix, I go for some of those. The scent also reminded me a little bit of 52 Teas Raspberry Cream, which I loved, so it was almost bound to be a winner with me.

I brewed this according to the packet instructions. 2 cups of boiling water, and then topped up with cold to make just under 2 litres. I put it in the fridge overnight, and then decanted it into a bottle to bring to work this morning. I’d like to try cold brewing one of these at some point, but I went with both speed and tried and tested last night as it seemed the simplest thing to do!

To taste, this is much as I thought it would be. I get raspberry mainly, in both the scent and the initial flavour. There’s a slight tartness coming from somewhere, but it’s not overpowering. You can also taste the black tea, which has a slightly bitter bite to it. I suppose I was expecting that, given that it’s CTC, but it works quite well with the raspberry flavouring (which is quite sweet) in any case. I totally forgot to bring sugar with me, but I might have tried adding a bit to one of my cups if I’d remembered. There’s no harm done, though, because this is a perfectly palatable tea in its own right. I can’t really taste any blackberry, but that’s my only complaint, and a minor one at that.

I’ve got a few of the other flavours stashed away in my cupboard, so I’m looking forward to trying those now. I’ve appreciated being able to have my black tea cold today, though. Cold-brewed fruit and herbals weren’t quite doing it somehow, and I found myself feeling sleepy at around 3.00pm last week. Not so today! Clearly this is great stuff!

I received my packaged with all of my iced teas. I have a feeling that they’re going to go fast…. I thought I ruined this one because I oversteeped it by one minute and six seconds but it actually turned out ok. It starts with a strong black tea base and turns into a berry sweetness. It’s not overpowering in sweetness but it is just the right amount. It’s delicious and quite refreshing.

Ok, so I was impressed with SBT: Razzleberry, so I ordered the other flavours to try. The plan was to brew this one up last night, then let chill in the fridge and enjoy today. All went as planned with a few detours. I boiled the water and measured it out then poured it into the pitcher. Then I ripped open the package. But when I ripped open the package, I accidentally also ripped open the tea bag inside. I panicked and just threw the whole ripped tea bag into a strainer and then into the pitcher. But the tea bag was all crumpled up in the strainer and the water wasn’t high enough to cover all the tea in the strainer. So I fished out the strainer and just put the ripped tea bag into the water. By then I don’t know how long the tea kinda steeped for. So I steeped it for 3 more minutes. Then I tried to fish out the ripped tea bag without dumping out the tea contents, but as you guessed, that didn’t work. So then I strained the tea into a different container. Had to wash out a bunch of tea out of the iced tea pitcher. Pour the tea back into the pitcher. Then added cold water and put into the fridge. So needless to say, I did not have high hopes due to my performance on this tea.

But it turned out awesome! You can taste the black tea base, but there is a strong cotton candy flavour on top of the black tea. Without sugar, it was a dull cotton candy flavour, but still good. I am not a super sweet tea type of person so I thought it was ok that way. But just for iced tea authenticity I added some white sugar. With the sugar it is way more cotton candy type flavour. Not exactly what pink cotton candy tastes like, but it tastes very similar to other cotton candy flavoured things (candy, gum, drinks, etc.) that I have had before.

I kept what was left of the broken tea bag, and will be re-steeping.

Steeped in 16 oz boiling water for 3-ish minutes, added 2 quarts cold water.

Edit: Made a resteep. It steeped well but not as good as the first time – just not as strong. I resteeped in 16 oz boiling water but added only 1 quart cold water this time.

Hmm… I just figured out that I’ve been misspelling sherbet my whole life…I thought it was sherbert? I try to learn something new everyday…I think this qualifies :)

I managed to try the second steeping of this and it was quite tasty.

“What happened to the first steeping?” you ask, well…

… I was making this in the perfectly sized glass pitcher that my family has had for years. In retrospect I should have made the hot tea in my teapot, but I was using it to make a different tea, and I wanted to get it brewing so I could get to bed.

As I poured the cold water into the jug, I heard a crick ping crack! I couldn’t see anything, but from the sound, it was evident that the structural integrity of the jug had been compromised. I finally decided to gently lift the jug to try and inspect it over the kitchen sink.

yeah…it didn’t make it.

As I started lifting the jug a sudden flood of tea surged forth, leaving the entire bottom piece of the jug on the counter, and me holding the sides of the jug while the tea gushed out all over the counter and onto the kitchen floor. Quite the mess, but at least it didn’t have sugar – that would have been shticky. I’m sad that I didn’t get the chance to try the first steep, but I must say, the kitchen smells glorious!

I must admit that I’m not really a sherbet kind of girl, but when 52teas had their sale I decided to give this one a go. The fruity citrus creamy taste is beautiful together with the flavor of the black tea. I think I’m going to have to go searching for another proper-sized jug so I can make more of these iced teas over the summer.

The weather hasn’t been cooperating with me. I made this a few days ago and I set it in my fridge to cool for the next morning. But these past few mornings have been a little cool which have enticed me to have hot tea instead(thus the delay in consuming this tea). By time the sun comes out, it’s usually nearing my caffeine consumption cut-off time, and I just want to resteep the hot tea that I had been drinking.

Today is another cool-ish morning but I decided to just put a sweater on and go for it. I guarantee that I would appreciate the refreshing nature of this iced tea much more if it were a little warmer out. The black base is what I can taste the most with this tea, but the berry taste is definitely present in a complimentary way. It’s nice that it tastes like actual berries, rather than the chemical imitation. I saved the teabag, because it looks to have quite a bit of oomph left, but since I’ve been waiting so long to drink this first batch, I’m not sure how long the teabag will keep. Will it go bad? Will it make me sick? hmm…should I venture to play a little game of teabag roulette?

I enjoy iced tea, but I’m a little new to all the various methods of brewing, so I particularly appreciate the brewing instructions included on the packaging for this tea. I haven’t made iced tea for years (I think I was a teenager when I last made iced tea), and when I did, it was always did it the same way:
-Brew a strong tea in teapot (I used a loose leaf vanilla tea from Mauritius)
-strain tea into jug while still hot
-add ridiculous amounts of sugar
-Chill in fridge
- Squeeze a lemon slice or two into it
-Enjoy with a smile as if to say “look, I still have all my teeth even though I’m basically drinking sugar with a little bit of tea in it”

So I’m still a little odd with my iced tea. With hot tea, usually enjoy it black, and I rarely add anything to any of them. But when it comes to iced tea I have to force myself to drink it without any sweeteners. What’s that about? I figured if there was a way to get me to enjoy iced teas without the added sweeteners 52teas would be the perfect option to get me started. So far, it’s not bad but I think it’s going to take some time to kick the sugar habit. It’s that first sip that makes me think…something is missing. But it’s better for me to miss the sugar now than for me to miss my teeth later :D

Oh look at that, now the sun’s coming out!

When I tore into the package – I tore right through the filter bag, so into the French Press it goes.

The tea itself looks pretty boring, just small brown leaf pieces. But it smells, well, like rainbow sherbet. There’s no pretense of ‘real fruit flavors’ here but it wouldn’t be rainbow sherbet if there were.

I brewed it at 200F for 3 min in about .75L.

The cold aroma is muted fruit, but it tastes great. There’s the orange, lime and raspberry with cream and some sweetness. It’s a little like adding melted sherbet like a syrup to iced tea but in a good way.

If this is any indication to what 52teas has in store, I can’t wait for the next one.

I really feel like lime right now. Not sure why, but lime just sounds so good. I also want to do something that is minimal effort so I don’t have to keep washing out my tea paraphernalia to brew another cup of something. Plus, it’s finally summer weather!! Iced tea sounds like just the thing!

This tea bag was purchased last year, but I don’t think that’s affected its quality or strength since it’s been sealed in the original, airtight packaging. The dry leaves smell really lime-y! Ooooh, I can’t wait!

I certainly have gotten better at making iced tea since my first time with SBT’s Cotton Candy. This was super easy! Why don’t I make iced tea more often? For whatever reason, I bought 7 of the 8 flavors released last year and then didn’t make half of them! Silly me. But the time has finally come for Lime Jello!!

Mmmmm, this tea is pure lime goodness! I added sweetener and that’s when it really came alive. Lime and black tea were just made for each other! Waaaay better than lemon and black tea. ;)

Looks like Frank hasn’t re-released this one yet. I hope he does! This is a GREAT tea, especially for only $3!!! This tea really doesn’t get enough credit. It’s super lime-y (and not in an artificial way), amazingly tastes just like jello in liquid tea form, and is simply super delicious! Thanks for making this Frank, now bring it back!!!