Bellocq Tea Atelier

A solid Yellow tea
A strong pea note, a little vegetal with a nutty touch.
It had all the characteristics one would find in a yellow tea, but none of the refinement of a good yellow tea.
The body was a little thick for me, it wasn’t very refreshing. It also did not leave a nice feeling in my mouth afterwards.

This tea smells like the northwoods, and I love it. The taste is also great. I found it a very mellow, smooth black tea with hints of a forest-y taste. This will definitely be a staple for me.

a delicate grassy flavour with a beautiful after taste, malty notes, buttery and sweet. Maybe my favourite green tea.

This is an “assam-y” black tea blend, with a twist to the finish and lingering flavour- subtly composed of nutty cedar chips and sweet juniper berries. I’ve had other teas that have combined cedar and juniper berries but I like how this one mixes those flavours with the base blend.

The florals are a lot more subdued than I remember them being this time around- possibly due to the two year aging factor. Whatever the cause, the effect makes for an incredibly pleasant cup, while still resulting in a wide bouquet of flavour. I’m positive that lavender and jasmine are undying sensory stimulators; the rose and orange blossom notes are more subtle and act like flavour highlights. The silver needle base adds refreshing elements of bright lemon citrus and cooling cucumber greens.

Steeping this baby is still a touchy subject; 180F is just a tad too much and results in an aftertaste that is reminiscent of biting into an orange rind or chomping down on a bunch of lavender or rosemary (so bitter). I’d strongly recommend keeping the temp below 180F/82C unless you’re a fan of that type of palate cleanser.

The second steep (5min, 175F) is lovely with the jasmine taking on those fruity banana/melon notes. The lavender’s bitter edges are smoothed out. The first steep is tasty but the second is exquisite.

Wow! I was curious when I should have known better. I may have to turn this into soap.

For true Floral Fanatics only.

Bellocq kindly gave me this sample when I purchased a tin of their breakfast blend last year. Yes, I know, last year, so maybe it’s a little past its prime. Still, this flavor is, well, weird. Not getting any black tea flavor, and the spices are unidentifiable. Vanilla? What vanilla? I think I’m getting a little anise flavor, and I hate anise, so, well, blech. The rose is not a floral note that I can appreciate. Also, I’m noting some tangy notes at the finish, and I hate tangy, too. So, this is not the tea for me. Too bad, since I think their breakfast blend is so superior.

Yum yum yum. This tea is so neat.

I’m having it with some honey. It’s just so fresh and crisp.

(Not a sipdown though. I still have a little left. :D )

Oh, I have this one! It’s not labelled with this name, but that’s OK. I think this name is way better than the old one.

Anyways, it looks and smells super cool. I think it might be an assam base, as it smells SUPER malty. The juniper berries and tree bits should add an interesting flavour!

And it is interesting. It’s surprisingly sweet, and very malty. I can’t really tell there’s tree bits in here, but it’s really nice.

Would I get more? Maybe. I mean, I just did a tea count and am still rather overwhelmed. Maybe if I ever get down to 100?

Perfectly balanced black. Such a high quality tea, like Bellocq is known for. It’s not just for breakfast, but for anytime you want a solid, grownup, serious black that’ll get you wide-eyed and energetic. And it’s delicious with a bit of milk in it.

Sipdown, and sadness.

This tea is so so good. Good in a regular mug, good in a travel mug, just good. I’ll be resteeping once I’ve finished the 3 teas in front of me. It’s that delicious.

Thanks so much for sharing, Fuzzy_Peachkin!

A sample from Fuzzy Peachkin, via CrowKettle. :)

Thanks so much!

This tea is SOOOOO GOOD. I’m having it with a touch of brown sugar because I’m really sensitive to bitterness/astringency right now. But it’s divine. Such a tasty, strong, breakfast tea. Some assamisness in there, but toned down with other teas, I think.

Highly recommend. Maybe if you can justify the $17/2oz for White Wolf, we can do a group order in the fall, CrowKettle? :)

Smells like toothpaste!

Bellocq couldn’t tell me what kind of mint was in here ages ago when I asked. But now, now I can tell. Toothpaste mint. :P

I steeped low and slow, as I’m enjoying with some of the white teas I have. There’s a bite on the tongue, I can smell and taste creamy vanilla, toothpaste, and some star anise. The white tea is super mild, but I’m not surprised by that.

If you like spearmint and weird teas, definitely check this out if you can.

Thanks so much to Crowkettle for sharing this with me. Not something I’ll buy again, but something I’ve really appreciated trying.

Edit: It might be the cedar that’s giving me the SPICE on the tip of my tongue. Pretty cool!

A chunk of anise in the basket today, so this tea definitely taste more anise-y. This brings out the mint and cedar as well. So neat how naturally flavoured (ie: with just ingredients, not spray) will change cup to cup.

I do quite like it, it’s calm and soothing, and the white base is lovely as well.

Thanks, Crowkettle. :)

Oh, I’m so excited to try this! Thanks so much for the sample, CrowKettle!

I smell mostly vanilla from the dry sample. Once I add hot water, I smell the mint and star anise. This is… hmm. I think it’s spearmint. I initially thought it was peppermint, but it’s not really. Maybe a blend, or some other type of mint. My favourite is Corsican mint (look it up! It’s a really neat ground cover, and the scent is divine), but I’m not sure if my friend would react to it or not.

It also tastes mostly of mint and anise. It’s a really mild and somewhat earthy mint tea. But it has body because of the white tea.

Really interesting. Thanks so much for sharing, CrowKettle!

Edit: Yeah, I can’t tell what kind of mint it is. If it’s spearmint, it’s not triggering anything for me. And it’s not super cooling like what I expect from peppermint. So. “Mint.”

Nice and subtle. This tea is great, but I would not recommend steeping it for the 4-6 minutes that Bellocq suggests. Along with other Bellocq teas, this is overpriced, but I got it as a present, and it’s pretty good.

Herbal tisane of the evening here…

There is a store called Maison d’Etre near the Rockridge BART station that is really cute and full of housewares, jewelry and some specialized tea that is difficult for me to find elsewhere. I should never take my BF tea shopping with me because he can’t understand why I need to buy more tea, he he! Of course that did not stop me.

Anyway I was intrigued by this blend, it seemed like a very nice herbal from what I could tell from the package and it smells really good. It’s a blend of tulsi, flowers and some chai like spices. The flavor is a bit too floral for my personal taste but otherwise I think it’s pretty good. I don’t really know that is was worth the price I paid for it ($14 for 2 oz) but I’m glad I got the chance to try it. Kind of wishing I could get the Bellocq teas in a sample size, I would definitely be interested in trying them all.

Oh. My god.

I’ve had these samples for TWO YEARS.

I’m so sorry, fuzzypeachkin and CrowKettle. I’m drinking them today I swear. O.o

Anyways, this Assam is a decent Assam? It’s a little sweet. Malty with that typical Assam flavour. I’m actually drinking it WITHOUT milk, which is almost unheard of, but it’s nice. I haven’t had a straight Assam for a while, so I’ll just sit here and enjoy the cup.