This was a tea that I was very eager to try.  I love ginger ale, and I know from experience that 52 Teas somehow manages to get a “bubbly” kind of essence in their soda flavored teas.

Ginger Ale is a drink that holds fond memories for me, because a good friend of my father’s used to always “make” me a ginger ale “cocktail” – alcohol-free, of course, because I was just a kid! – and this tea has managed to capture the magical feeling of those pretend cocktails very well.

The white tea is a perfect base for this blend, because it is so light and the fresh flavor of the white tea doesn’t attempt to interfere with the crisp notes of the ginger ale flavor, but instead it compliments it.

But, in keeping with the “tradition” of 52Teas, the real star is the flavoring!  The ginger ale tastes like a good, old fashioned ginger ale.  The citrus tones are bright yet non-assuming, and I can taste a hint of maraschino cherry (just like my “uncle” used to add to my ginger ale cocktail – which was speared with a pirate sword toothpick), and the ginger is sweet with a mild spice that mimics the ginger ale flavor that I remember.

52Teas describes this white tea blend as

My grandfather loved to mix cocktails. It was a generational thing, I imagine, but when I was a kid he had (in my grandparents house) a full private bar stocked with everything he needed to mix highballs, martinis and all kinds of wondrous (to my young mind) beverages that I knew nothing about. I used to spend hours examining his collection of souvenir swizzle sticks. (I don’t guess they do it any more, but he had tons of plastic, wooden and glass swizzle sticks imprinted with the names of hotels and bars from all over the world. They were all a bit different, not just in shape size and color, but some of them were really interesting with landmarks or figures incorporated into the design.)

Anyway, I guess I was just a bit too enamored of his adult world of cocktails maybe, and grandpa, not wanting to leave me out, starting making a drink for me: Ginger ale with a fat maraschino cherry in it, and just a touch of the liquid from the jar that held the maraschino cherries. I’ve been a ginger ale addict ever since.

Ginger ale actually has a bit of lemon or lime (or both) in it as well as the ginger which gives it that extra warmth and spice. I considered a few different lemon/lime options before deciding that our ginger ale should have ginger and bergamot. The base tea had to be light enough to really let the bergamot and ginger shine, so I opted for our light and delicious Bai Mu Dan white tea.

So, without further delay or reminiscences, here is our premium Bai Mu Dan white tea, blended with real ginger and natural bergamot and ginger flavors. Enjoy!

This tea is best served iced (after all, who wants a warm ginger ale?)  It’s ok, I suppose, served hot, but, I really prefer this one chilled.  The flavors really seem to come alive, including that bubbly essence that I hoped for!  It is a bit lighter here with this tea than in soda flavored teas of the past, but, then again, ginger ale is a lighter soda than a cherry cola. It doesn’t need sweetening, because it is lightly sweet on its own, but, I do like a little drizzle of agave nectar in this, because I find that it brings out the maraschino cherry just a little bit and that was always my favorite part of my “cocktail.”

As I write this, I see that they have sold out of this fantastic flavor… I strongly urge you to write 52Teas and ask that it be reblended!  It’s so yummy!