My top 5 Favorite Teas

Almost all tea addicts have one.  A tea pet you ask?  Maybe.  I was actually referring to having 5 favorite teas.  These are the teas that haunt you at night.  Oh, you don't think about tea at night?  Might just be me.  At any rate these are teas that you continually want in your life.  Teas that just can't be duped.  Teas unlike any other.  I compiled my list of my top 5 teas for you today.  When coming up with the list I decided to only include teas that I have loved for more than 3 years.  Also, some of these teas are no longer available (so sad!) but I wanted to include them anyway.  So without further ado, here are my top 5 teas in no particular order:

Tea One:

Banana Nut Bread from DAVIDsTEA

I will just say it, this tea takes some effort, plain and simple.  One can't just decide to steep this for 10 minutes and enjoy.  No, this one takes some planning.  I generally steep this tea at least half a day, sometimes overnight.  The ingredients (banana chips, dates, currents and almonds) require an extended steep time to fully extract all that goodness.  The result is well worth the wait.  This tea is banana nut bread in a cup.  I love this one as an iced latte but also love it as a hot latte too.  I have yet to find another tea that really captures the flavor of the DAVIDsTEA version.  It is important to note that this tea will now only be sold by DAVIDsTEA in the Fall and Winter months.  They now have a seasonal tea wall meaning that teas they deem as being cozy and warming are reserved for the colder months.  Sadly Banana Nut Bread tea is one of these so it won't return until this Fall.  Luckily I have a large reserve.  This is a tea I don't want to be without, so, it earns a place in my top 5. 
DAVIDsTEA Banana Nut Bread

DAVIDsTEA Banana Nut Bread

DAVIDsTEA Banana Nut Bread ingredients

Tea Two:

Teavana Oprah Chai

Anytime I hear the old Simon and Garfunkel song "Sound of Silence" I always change the words to "Hello Teavana my old friend, I have come to sip with you again."  Yes, I am such a nerd.  But I know that I am not the only one who really misses this tea store.  Teavana was my first introduction into loose leaf tea and it holds a special place in my heart.  Many of their teas were iconic, one of which is Oprah Chai.  Oprah knows her tea, she currently works with Vahdam teas, and her chai was epic.  It is oh so spicy, just the way I want my chai!  The black pepper is very prominent in this blend which really makes it unique.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, has come close to replacing this chai for me so that is why it makes my top 5 list.  

The special Teavana Oprah Chai tin

All those spices!

Tea Three:

The NecissiTEAS Cotton Candy

This tea is bliss in a cup.  A fruit base of dragonfruit, pineapple, freeze dried raspberry along with mini marshmallows come together to create one of the most amazing teas I have ever had.  This is sweet, no doubt, but the combination of fruits makes this taste like berry cotton candy.  This is amazing plain (iced or hot), as a latte (iced or hot) and even with a matcha shot added.  I have tried to cold steep this one however the flavors don't extract the same so I do only recommend doing a hot steep on this.  I have come across some similar teas with larger marshmallows however I prefer this blend as the smaller marshmallows dissolve completely in the hot water and result in a slightly sweeter cuppa.  This tea is dessert when I want something sweet but without the calories.   I don't want to be without this tea.  Ever.  That is why it is a top 5 tea for me.

The NecessiTEAS Cotton Candy Tea

The NecessiTEAS Cotton Candy Tea

Look at that dragonfruit!

Tea Four:

Lupicia Golden Honeydew Melon

This is unfortunately one of those teas that is no longer available.  Lupicia decided to close their  mainland US stores (all of which were on the West coast) and the US website last year and as such they got rid of their California tea series.  They did keep their Hawaii store and that location has a website that US customers can order from.  Golden Honeydew Melon was part of the California range and contained honeydew melon from California.  This is a green rooibos base.  The melon in this tea is so vibrant, seriously this is the melon of all teas.  It tastes like I am eating a slice of juicy, fresh honeydew.  I especially like to cold steep this one.  As a general rule I don't like fruity rooibos blends but this tea is the exception.  It is such a light and fresh tea, this is the best melon tea I have ever had and I have tried a lot of them.  Since this tea is no longer available I have to cherish what I have left and hope that I can find a suitable replacement someday.  Until then it earns a coveted spot in my top 5 favorite teas.  

The best melon tea ever, Lupicia Golden Honeydew.

Lupicia Golden Honeydew

Tea Five:

Teavana Spiced Mandarin Oolong

Here were are, tea number five!!  It is no surprise that Teavana would end up with 2 teas in my top 5 as it was the first loose leaf tea company I ever tried.  Many of these blends made such a lasting impression on me and make me sad that I can no longer buy them.  Spiced Mandarin Oolong was actually one of the first teas I ever bought from Teavana.  It has a woody oolong base but the mandarin in this brightens it up.  Then there are the spices like cardamom and cinnamon and a bit of hibiscus thrown in.  I love this tea.  I often wonder how much my love for a tea is affected by emotion because this tea reminds me of all the long nights I would stay up studying when I was getting my Accounting degree while working full time.  I would make a pot of this tea and it would be my late night companion.  Ah, memories are a funny thing.  Even if this tea is somewhat swayed by memory it still earns a spot in my top 5.

And there we have it, my top 5 teas.  It is interesting that I had a pretty good variety of teas in this list, one rooibos, one black tea, two fruit teas and one oolong tea.  I think this is a good demonstration of how varied my tea preferences are.  This was a fun list to compile and I look forward to working on more top 5 lists in the future.  I would love to know what your top 5 favorite teas are.  Leave a comment below and let me know what your favorites are.

Until next time, keep on steeping!

Steph