Lot 35
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Cold Brew!
Another cold brew that suffered because of the cold I’m dealing with right now. I just don’t seem to really be able to taste “sweet” very well right now, so this mostly came off as sharp/tart hibiscus with some citrusy edges to it. I guess still good for hydration, but ultimately disappointing since I usually adore this tea.
Cold Brew!
Another summery cold brew that I slurped back last night way, way too fast. It was juicy and tart with a strong hibiscus, cherry, and citrus sort of profile but offset by welcomes notes of salsa, watermelon, and a bit of cool cucumber pulp. Definitely more hibiscus forward and saturated than I typically brew this blend up, but dang do I love it.
Usually I drink this tea cold, but I had it hot a few nights ago and it was very enjoyable albeit different than I’m more accustomed to. It was notably more tart with a lot more of a bright, acidic top note of hibiscus and orange. A little sharp, but ultimately offset by the sweeter body notes which tasted a bit like strawberry and candied cherries mixed with the slightest vegetal cucumber skin note and a fleeting note of sweet but umami cherry tomato. Mostly quite fruity though. You’d probably miss the vegetal elements if you weren’t either as intimately familiar with this blend as I am or actively looking for them.
Cold Brew!
God, this tea always delivers. Gotta love a blend that finds the perfect way to make a fruit punch made out of cherry, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and blood orange taste delicious. Rich, dense, tart, sweet, bright. All the best adjectives for this blend. Yum!
Cold Brew!
Picked this one up from the Fairmont Empress during our visit there. I hadn’t realized that the hotel had sort of “rebranded” their tea selection to this new ‘Lot 35’ marketing but I kind of like it better – it’s still sort of classy but much more modern.
When I saw the ingredients for this I knew exactly what tea it was – I’ve purchased this tea from several other companies in the past, since it’s a catalog blend from a more infamous wholesaler. I love the punchy, sweet mix of fruit notes: cherry, strawberry, orange and tomato with just a bit of cooling cucumber finish. In general I tried to only but teas that were new to me this trip, but I caved on got a tin of this too since I knew how low my tin of this was getting from the last company I purchased it from.
This was my first cold brew after getting back from vacation, and it was just a delight!
I did not know this buying and rebranding was a thing. But of course it is!
There’s some pretty infamous catalog teas but generally speaking it’s one of those weird “industry secrets” that is guarded by some but also openly shared by others. Nothing wrong with catalog/rebranding IMO – not everyone has the knowledge or capital for tea blending – it requires you, generally, to manage a lot of raw materials which can be a nightmare. And catalog blends are generally designed in a way that’s the most “mass appealing” – basically, stylistically safe and with really commercial flavour profiles/ingredients. It’s a double edged sword – you’re probably gonna appeal to the most palates by sticking with simple and familiar, but there’s rarely anything innovative or specialized offered so some people find catalog boring/plain.
Also, once you start to be able to pick up the catalog blends it kind of shatters some of the magic of believing the companies you’re buying from are blending everything in house (local, indie, and even larger and more corporate). Does let you shop a little more competitively, though! And can make it easier to restock favourite catalog teas – like me and this blend ;)
Also for places like Fairmont, which is a hotel, it’s just not really practical for them to be doing their own R&D or blending and given a lot of establishments like this don’t actually sell the tea (Fairmont is a bit of an exception) outside of their tea or dining service it wouldn’t make sense in a lot of cases for them to pay a wholesaler to create a custom tea for them at the quantity they’d probably be buying yearly. Just too expensive. So, marketing magic it is ahaha.
Yeah, that is quite interesting — thanks for some education on the topic. Makes me wonder how many times I’ve had identical teas sitting in two different containers, hehe.
Day 7 of the home made advent calender continues with a sachet of Camomile/Chamomile from the Empress. Now that the Empress Hotel has been renamed Fairmont Empress, they have switched their teas to a new brand they call “Lot 35”. I don’t know if this is just for all Fairmont hotels in Canada or just at the Empress (I thought the Empress had its own brand, but maybe not?). Anyway, I have a few free sachets to try and decided today was the day for this one.
It is your typical chamomile. The red corn flower petals and amaranth petals are beautiful, but do not add a flavour. This chamomile isn’t too vegetal or extreme (overpoweringly lemony or all hay flavoured) and retains a nice balance in flavour.
Flavors: Citrus, Hay, Herbs
