Savoy Tea Co
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Don’t you hate it when you finally get a perfect cup of a sample tea that’s been elusive and hard to get right…and you discover you’re at the end of the sample?
The sweet spot was hit this morning…longer and stronger is better with this; the cocoa hints became cocoa statements at 5 minutes +. One more cup’s worth before the pouch is empty. Hope I do that one properly.
The pace at work the next three days promises to vacillate between screaminess and utter wild-eyed hysteria, so we’re at least starting the morning with a bit of calm and elegance before I start pulling my hair out in panic-induced wads.
This is sweet and subtle and cocoa-y. Stress subtle. Very good, but not for a morning caffeine jolt. Better for afternoon cookies, or for you gentle non-black-tea subtle people out there.
I don’t miss utter wild-eyed hysteria at all. Just remain calm, and eat more cookies.
I’m out of cookies, down to cracker crumbs, and the chocolate stash was gone last week. About to gnaw my own arm off at the elbow. Anybody have a muzzle I can borrow?
Oh, no! Thank goodness you still have tea! I hope that this stress ends soon for you.
Phooey. Lost a whole rambly note on this one.
In short, it’s so light in color, even after 4-5 minutes, you wonder if there’s been mal-steep-function.
Conclusion: this is just supposed to be delicate. I don’t think I have a delicate or refined bone in my body; which may be why it puzzles me. (I expect black teas to wear ten-pound Doc Martens.)
LOL – I expect the same from my blacks. :)
Me, too.
I like black teas that kick me with the Doc Martens.
@ Claire: hahahaha! A good Assam, then?
A good Assam, any Irish or Scottish breakfast that deserves the name. ;)
Heh heh.
So far, I haven’t met a Scottish breakfast tea that was strong enough to suit me. Which is a surprise..you’d expect it to be the stoutest of the English/Irish/Scottish clan.
I’ve heard Harney’s Scottish Morn is strong enough to wake the dead…I need to try it one of these days!
Me, too.
I’ve got a packet of Unilever’s Scottish Blend (sent from a friend in Scotland), and, while I quite like it, it was milder than I was expecting. I’ve tasted some really good English Breakfast blends — my favourites seem to have Keemun in them — but the Irish blends seem to smack me the hardest. They’re often heavy on the Assam. The Unilever Scottish Blend seemed to be mostly Kenyan, to me.
H&S Scottish was pretty strong, I thought. Though IIRC, it is rotovaned so easy so steep super strong in minimal time.
My first dragon pearls! Savoy is fast becoming one of my favorite walk-in-the-door tea sources. For a cheapskate like me, they’re a leetle pricey, but no shipping/handling and no waiting. (That’s the walk-out-the door advantage.)
Dropped two of these little gems, about the size of your pinky finger tip, into a big clear mug, added the recommended 8 oz. water, and … at first, not much. Was a little worried about impending tea fail, even after four minutes, because the water seemed awfully pale for a Yunnan.
Not to worry. I ran it through a little tea strainer into a smaller, opaque cup, which showed a little more color—bronze. Flavor was pleasantly surprising. A little savory and brothy and yep! cocoa as advertised.
Off to try a second steep. (Do dragon balls bounce back? ;)
For some reason, I’ve really like all the dragon pearls I’ve tried so far, gotta add these ones to my wishlist too!
If you have to start getting your tax paperwork in order, the way to do it is take the day off so you aren’t starting tired in the evening, wear your favorite schleppy clothes, then celebrate getting the piles piled by going out for Thai curry for lunch. Makes the ick a little more bearable.
…and then come home for a nice cuppa. This is my second experiment with these cute little dudes; used 4 to a big, 12-oz Starbucks mug.
And this is the second time I felt sure I had goofed; after a 5 minute steep, it was still awfully light in color. But not to worry, this is just a delicate black tea with a light toast-and-cocoa personality; not a brawny black in hobnail boots to kick your fanny into productivity.
I don’t believe I have a delicate bone in my body. That may be the problem.
gmathis rulez!
(also i added this tea to my shopping cart)
An appropriate sipdown after a damp, raw, wind-cutting-right-through-your-jeans afternoon running the last gift shopping errands. Was hunting for a classic children’s book for a friend who’s a new granddad (in other words, a package full of bonding time). But mercy—which one? One Fish, Two Fish? Goodnight Moon? Little Critter? The Runaway Bunny? A Fly Went By? Between overthinking a simple purchase and wistful nostalgia for a cuddly toddler to read aloud to, I’m now mentally and emotionally wrung dry :)
Savoy still carries this…a black tea counterpart to CS Candy Cane Lane. Even though I was down to the dregs of the packet, there’s still plenty of vanilla-minty goodness for one last cup.
Oh thanks for putting a smile on my face. When my oldest was a wee little lad I had to read Hand Hand Fingers Thumb every night and I couldn’t skip a page. I can still repeat some of it from memory.
Pickle Things by Marc Brown: Pickle things you never see, like pickles on a Christmas tree. A pickle ear, a pickle nose; pickle hair and pickle toes. I’ll refrain from the rest.
Oooh, I missed that one. ha
Woke up with a crazy craving for this…it had bubbled up to the top of my half-drunk-up basket when I was rummaging yesterday. Vanilla mint. It still doesn’t make me think of candy canes, but it’s sweet and perky. (This morning I am neither of those…must do it artificially!)
Good black tea with a ton of vanilla-mint flavoring. Reminds me more of wedding butter mints than it does candy canes, but a very pleasant and sweet tea. (It was my out-the-door steep this morning, but I think it’d be better for an afternooner.) Looking forward to trying it with milk to bring out the creaminess.
Incidentally, Savoy Tea has a nice little website up and running now: http://www.savoytea.com/default.asp Looking forward to a trek down there sometime during Christmas break!
Celebrating a string of several days that won’t be governed by an alarm clock or time clock—so this was in order.
(Actually, I just woke up craving sugar and we have no ready-made frosting in the house to break into.)
White cake flavor is spot on with this one; the sprinkles are cute but just make it a little cloudy. Easily remedied with a dark-colored mug.
This came in an unmarked baggie from a work buddy. Black tea with birthday sprinkles sounded like a nice antidote to a dreary gray Friday morning.
It’s very similar to H&S Vanilla Comoro; the sprinkles don’t do much but add a little levity to it. Milk would probably boost the buttercream illusion; I just didn’t get that far. Tasty and fun.
Got to love unmarked baggies!
We get ribbed a lot about swapping contraband…
The mill superintendent walked in my soon to be former office one day while two of us had a baggie spread out on the table to split up. His eyes were as big as dinner plates. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found out it was tea.
Some weeks ago, I went to Savoy Tea Company in search of autumn blends. One thing I like about the place is there are little “sample jars” of each tea to sniff and examine to aid in the selection process. This is so much more helpful than merely looking at artwork and ingredient lists on boxes.
This variety was dark in the container with little orange bits and smelled wonderful, so I grabbed a package to go with my other autumn selections.
The directions on the package called for a five minute steep! I was a bit surprised at the notion of such a long one but . . .ok.
When the water hit it, this tea smelled like Christmas to me. I stood over the steaming cup reminiscing about sweet winter spices and the fresh oranges I used to find in my Christmas stocking. Finally, the timer went off and I got to sample it.
The tea was strong and sweet with cinnamon and a good tea base which didn’t seem to mind the long steep at all. The orange was less strong after brewing but still a good balancing presence amid the background flavors.
A word of warning: This is NOT a subtle tea. If you favor delicately scented, poetry-in-a-cup sort of blends, do not waste your time with this tea. It is strongly flavored with cloves and cinnamon. If you hate red hots, this is not for you. I’ll admit to some hypocrisy here—I’m the one always griping about the chia artists who get heavy handed with the cinnamon oil—yet strangely enough, I really like this variety. Perhaps it’s because I’m not terribly subtle either.
This stuff was very spicy, a little stingingly so. It made my beloved Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice seem like kids stuff as this packed a much bigger punch. I found it a good morning blend. With a nice bite from the spices and a good kick of caffeine from the black tea, it certainly woke me up!
Preparation
This always reminds me of my mom’s fruitcake (erase typical Christmas fruitcake preconceptions): a light brown-sugar fresh apple cake with a little extra candied fruit added in.
This one is earning a place in my heart for “favorite flavored green comfort tea” (as opposed to “favorite unflavored green comfort tea” and “favorite comfort tea ever” and… Now that you think of it, I don’t believe I want a tea that I can’t consider a comfort tea.)
Sweet, not fussy for a green; lists heavily to the pineapple side. Oh, yeah, and it’s sweet.I totally get the whole “comfort” thing. Does that mean that there aren’t any teas you save for special occasions, though?
Good question. I suppose the special-occasion ones in my collection are those that take a little more attention to time and temperature. I’m a very lazy steeper :)
P.S. Like the cat photo! Friend of yours?
Yup, that’s Gracie. I’ve had her since I was 13, and now she’s turning into a grand old (crochety) lady.
The green tea basket in my kitchen gets the least traffic—-so it’s always a happy surprise to paw through it and discover something I forgot was there.
I’ve written about this one several times; if you had to roll those tasting notes into one, it would boil down to this: the sweetest, most dessert-y green tea I think I’ve ever tasted. Syrupy and fruity and pleasant on what’s turning out to be a chilly June afternoon.
Ahhh! Now this is plausible cherry flavor, still a little sweet and syrupy, but the dried pineapple balances it nicely. And whaddya know? Son who calls tea “water with aftertaste” actually had a cup with me. That alone makes it worthwhile.
(I think I’m turning into the mommy from “Love You Forever” when the son grows up.)
Mini-Christmas with sister and elderly folks today, and I served this in tiny little handle-less cups (Mom eats and drinks like a bird). Got a very polite “Well, that’s interesting” from Mom; but my sister loved it. I sent the rest home with her and…well, shoot…I’ll just have to get more.
My current favorite flavored green. A pleasant Christmas-compatible candied fruit sweetness to it. I don’t know that Savoy blends its own tea, but I’m not sure where they get stuff for private labeling. Not a mystery I have to work too hard to unravel now that the shop has its own website (http://www.savoytea.com/) and I’m planning a run in a few days.
Some shaved coconut added a little body, if not strong coconut flavor, to a second steep. Still mighty tasty.
This has absolutely nothing to do with tea, other than I was drinking it when the comment was made, but my husband just proposed that Lego needs to put out a line of Dr. Who Legos. Isn’t that brilliant? A little Lego TARDIS :)
O.O That would be one of the most awesome things ever. I would buy every set they put out.
Dr. Who Lego video game!
Doctor Who Legos exist only they are called Character Building. I have a bunch on my desk at work. They are awesome!!
AND there is a TARDIS!
OH! Be still, my fluttering Christmas stocking :)
LOL! Of all things…I showed this to the kids and they told me we already have these! Looking closely, I see that it is the same as what we have. It was a grab bag sort of deal and you couldn’t tell what you were getting. I got “The Silence.” When hubby is driving, I periodically hold him up behind my head, the kids scream in the back seat, and I turn around and say, “What?” They reply, “What?”
I’m really digging this little blend. Was just the right topper-offer for take-out lo mein tonight. Not changing previous descriptors a bit…lovely candied-fruit sweetness that reminds me of good Christmas fruitcake.
Hubby took a sniff and wondered what it would be like with a little shaved coconut thrown in. Still enough left to give that a try soon.
This was another “it just smelled good” treat from my husband’s unscheduled trip through the Savoy shop. And does it ever! Very sweet and tropical—I can see why it reeled him in.
Enjoying my first cup right now, and I think it’s one of the sweetest flavored green teas I’ve ever tried. Reminds me a lot of candied fruitcake fruit, which I love and eat straight out of the tub. Leans significantly to the cherry side.
I’m thinking a little additional sugar and this would be a really nice dessert alternative or a nice pairing with my mom’s apple cake. (Hey, Mom…would you feel up to baking…?)
Low temp and short steep (175, less than 3 minutes).
I love the way Savoy Tea Company has all those jars you can smell to help guide your tea choices. Most of the time my nose is a pretty good guide to what I’ll like.
Now if somebody can just perfect scratch-n-sniff catalogs!
Incidentally—second steep nearly as strong as the first. Good to know I’ll be able to stretch the sample pack.
Without sweetening, this is still a rich and creamy dessert tea, heavier flavor emphasis on the creamy than on the chocolate. That could change with the addition of sugar; I just don’t sweeten tea. Instead I splooshed in a little almond milk and it still made a pleasantly decadent breakfast for a slow Sunday morning.
This is not a substitute for a box of Russell Stover cream centers. It’s tasty; you can pick up on the chocolate and coconut, but it’s still light enough your chocolate cravings know you’re trying to put one over on them.
(The only chocolatey tea I can think of that has the “heft” to be a plausible candy bar substitute is 52teas Malted ChocoMate.)
Still, a nice treat and change of pace.
Woke up in my own bed after a week of air travel and hotel life craving great honkin’ wads of CHOCOLATE. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate a tub of Betty Crocker double fudge frosting in the cupboard, so this seemed like a plausible substitute.
It smells wonderful dry. You know that first whiff you get when you walk into a really good candy shop? Yeah, that. Pouch sniffing on this one is imperative.
Steeped, it’s not as strong as its scent—few chocolate teas are, but still nice. The chocolate vibe is stronger with the cream, but that could change with the addition of a little milk or half-and-half. Aw, shucks…I may need another cup.
I hate airline snags and snafus, but am grateful that a re-route to Northwest Arkansas airport last week prompted my husband to make a quick detour on his way home to pick up this little sample.
Be it ever so humble, enjoy where you are today.
