TWG Tea Company

I got some of this tea from MissB and was a little hesitant based on the reviews, but I did see that it might be best cold brewed (my plan with it anyway, since it is a green). I also took a couple big hunks of ginseng root out of the infuser, since I’m not huge on ginseng.

This was definitely really pinappley. Unfortunately, it was kind of fakey and candy-like, and not in a good way. It was drinkable, but not my fave. Glad I cold-steeped it though, it seems like the best method.

Thank you for this sample, MissB! Your mentioning of Victoria, BC now has me reminiscing of spring there too, now. How I’d kill for a walk down Beach Drive right now!

I couldn’t tell what this was supposed to be in the bag, other than a green tea, of course. I couldn’t smell the cherry, and initially steeped, I just got dry green notes. The first couple sips were a little on the dry side, but as this begins to cool, I’m slowly starting to taste the cherry. It’s a little on the cough syrupy side, though. A specific kind of gum or candy also used to taste like it, but can’t figure it out. Cherry seems to be a difficult flavour profile to tackle in regards to tea.

Well, Firstly, lets start off with the type, the quantity, the location its made from, and so on. I would rate it a 5/10.

Thanks, MissB and OMGsrsly, for sending this my way!

This tea is a funny one. The dry leaf smells pleasantly fruity, but after I steeped it I had to double check that I hadn’t yet opened my can of tuna fish. It wasn’t the nicest wet leaf smell, although it was a moot point after I dug into lunch. Canned tuna wins yet another battle in the olfactory wars!

Once I got over the smell, the flavour is pretty straightforward: preserved and sweetened pineapple pieces. I can appreciate that.

Wow I love this one cooled down! what a great sample, thank you so much MissB!
Hot I just get a floral green tea. As it cools, there is a distinct menthol like sensation, which I find rather pleasant. There is also a definite drying out of the mouth that others have mentioned. Almost like I just ate a lemon, only it isn’t really sour.
Cooled, I can now taste more cherry, which is funny because I can never taste the cherry in a cherry blossom tea. This is unique, and coveted by me! Wheeeeeeeee!!!

On the meds front- accidentally took two today. Oops! but hey atleast now I know what could happen if doc increases my dose (I can’t OD, I’d need to take 5x that amount to be unsafe). Sadly though all it did was give me the jitters and a few brief moments of concentration about four hours after I took the second dose. No different than one of my “up” days. Hopefully doc will switch me to a different one when I see him next week. The waiting is killing me. Sighs.
Sorry for boring y’all. I just really needed to write.

My very first TWG began with this. The aroma from the shops’s dry sample translated exactly into the taste after i bought it and brewed it eagerly at home – pleasantly sweet golden liquor with floral notes.

There are visible whole camomiles and petals of other unlisted flowers alongside with whole greens (without any bitterness or vegetal taste). It has no trouble with over-steeping. Easily one of my all-time favorites. Leaves a sweet yet fresh aftertaste which makes your day.

Thanks for the tea, MissB!

Unfortunately, it just doesn’t smell good when steeped up. IDK what it is about it, but I keep getting wafts from the cup and wrinkling my nose wondering what smells so bad, since I’m bagging up all these French teas and they smell so good!

I think I know what the problem is though. It’s just lost all the pineapple flavour. It’s just a basic sencha base, which isn’t really my favourite kind of tea.

Well, thanks for the sample MissB, but if I want the full experience, I think I’ll need to go into the TWG store here and get a cup to go. :)

Ooooooch! I think I over leafed this! My cup has a bitter edge. I still get the NY Breakfast taste with something floral on top. Almost a honey note in there. Adding cream kills the bite, but doesn’t change the tea significantly other than that. I feel so so about this one.

Not quite the cup I was in the mood for this morning, but it is a good one. I wish I had tried this one in my malty tea sip off to see how it compares with some of the others. This seems to have a slightly lighter base and a bright note, almost citrusy. There is a light chocolate malt taste. It is smooth with even flavors, but still not jumping out at me. I remember liking the smell much better when I sniffed an open tin at Dean and Deluca’s. I also could have sworn it wasn’t just a black tea, but had more things blended in. Did I get the right tea?! Now I’m wondering…

This cup is reminding me of TWG’s New York Breakfast tea. They both have that same malty base, but this one lacks the notes of chocolate. I’m having it with some cream and it’s a really nice breakfasty like cup. I’m enjoying it, but I think NYB trumps this one.

Sipdown (135)!

I just realized that all the tea I’ve had today has been Green Tea; definitely not doing that on purpose. This one comes from MissB – she definitely sent a lot of green tea from her travels; and while it’s pushed me outside of my comfort zone, it’s been fun trying all the different blends!

I buggered this one up though; I started steeping it, and then promptly forgot so it got a really long nearly twenty minute steep. As a result, I imagine the taste is not really a shining example of how it’d normally taste. It’s quite bitter, the grassyness of the green tea cuts in very harshly, and there’s a bit of a drying mouthfeel at the end of the sip. However, I can also taste some well rounded, sweet cherry notes and some floral notes as well, so I see how this would be really good if prepared properly.

For whatever reason, cherry when paired with green tea always reminds me at least a little of bubble gum though. There must have been a kind I chewed a lot as a kid that has some cherry flavour to it but I’m not sure which; something drilled that association into me though! I think Hubba-Bubba and Bazooka Joe were my picks all the way up until like grade nine? After that, I don’t recall having a ‘Go To’ kind of bubble gum – I just bought, and still buy, whatever’s accessible and cheapest. Maybe I’ll have to revisit those brands and see if they taste like cherry to me?

But actually; all things considered this could’ve come out A LOT WORSE. Even with bitterness, it’s still pretty drinkable. That is to say, I’m totally finishing it. But, gonna hold back on rating it. I’m obviously not tasting it like I should be.

Today’s word of the day is…

Tizzy! A tizzy is “a very excited and mixed up state of mind”.

Sipdown! And thanks to MissB(?) for a sample of this tea! I’m not sure exactly what it’s flavoured with, but my first impression was that it was kind of like a gingerbread green? A bit spicy, basically. It was certainly an interesting tea to try, though probably not one I need to try again.

Thank you MissB for sharing! This is an alright cup. I am a fan of pineapple and that is certainly present here. There is also another flavor, which I am guessing is the ginseng that is sort of just there and neither adds or detracts from the cup. At the end of the day though, this is on a green base and I’m just not a lover of of green teas. Still, it’s always fun to try something new.

A friend gave this to me as a birthday gift!
I want pink and gold sparkles to burst out of the canister every time I open it. The dry leaf smell is sooooo pretty! It’s sweetly candied in a way that is more delightful than sickening, with mildly toasted/buttery notes to round it out. And the bright yellow flowers in look like ribbons nestled among the tea leaves! One of my favorite teas, definitely. It conjures up images of cake and delicate cutlery, hahaha.

I found this tea on display as i wandered through Harrod’s in London on my most recent trip. I was blown away by the actual scent that permeated from the canister as soon as the seal was broken. They use giant canisters of loose leaves to measure your purchase. It was amazing! The citrus scent of bergamot is definitely amazing for the Earl Grey lovers! Its not super strong to the point of being overwhelming, and plays nicely with the black tea that is such a great star in this blend. I have used the leaves through 3 runs in my Breville, and they are still as strong and pronounced as the first cup! I am really amazed by the amount of flavor, and this may need to become one of my regulars, great tea!!

Another that just doesn’t work for me. I’m getting cough medicine and grass. Definitely NOT something you would want in a tea. Thank you MissB for the chance to try it but this is one I will be avoiding in the future.

another from missB this one has pineapple in it…and as result, was a much tastier option for me versus paris singapore but still just wasn’t cutting it for me. LIkely the result of the “green” of the tea. I’m fairly particular about my green teas…most are not up my alley. Still though, for people who like green teas, this is a nice one.

Final Count yesterday: 69

Trying to catch up on ym tea drinking so that i can get my new teas in to my cupboard. I had this one a few days ago – it’s another from missB. Sadly, cherry for me either works or it doesn’t and this falls in to the “doesn’t” category. I’m ok though…more tea for everyone else to have! haha

Grabbed a 100g bag of this from Harrods in London just because of the smell. It made me think of Victoria, BC in the spring when the city is pink with cherry blossoms. This tea smells like that: fresh, sweet cherry, and a touch floral. Drinking it isn’t as amazing sadly… There’s a sight bitter and dry aspect to the tea that tells me the base green isn’t great. I knew I shouldn’t go for a green, but the smell… Oh God the smell!

As I don’t have a variable kettle while traveling, I used boiling water cooled 17 minutes, and steeped for two minutes. Had to add a touch of sweetener to make the cherry flavor pop even a little bit.

Also, no ingredients listed, but was told in store (and they triple checked) that it’s only a cherry flavor used.

This is an absolutely AMAZING chai, if you like cinnamon and other really strong spices. It’s never bitter, it’s always a strong brew. TWG makes really high quality teas and I would highly recommend this Chai.

A refreshing minty tea that is heavy on the spearmint with just a hint of creamy vanilla. I found a canister on sale at Dean & Deluca for 50% off, which is a bargain for the quality of the product. I probably wouldn’t have purchased it at full retail price ($30 USD) but at $15 for three ounces of lovely tea, I’m very satisfied.

So in accordance with a suggestion that was made to me a few months back when I asked about TWG Teas, I decided that instead of asking for opinions on the company, I’d stick my neck out and try their tea myself.

I went for a breakfast tea within the price range of below 7 USD / 50g. There were four: London Breakfast, Mediterranean Breakfast, Royal Breakfast, and… forgot the last one. Anyway, the Mediterranean had whole leaves, beautiful things. However, and this might be my tea noob nose, but I couldn’t tell the difference between it and the other three. This one stood out, in a very good way. The smell was… very sweet. In retrospect, it might remind me of Heart of the Old Tree, but a lot mellower.

When I asked about that, the clerk said it was a blend – Chocolate, apparently – and that it was popular with the ladies because of that. While I really liked the look of the whole leaf Mediterranean breakfast, the intoxicating scent of this broken leaf blend won the day.

I bought a pack – the tea parlour felt like I stepped back in time. They used a balancing scale with cylindrical metal weights to measure it. When I commented offhandedly about the use of such “ancient” equipment, my dad told me that these weights are actually more accurate than digital scales or something. I dunno. He’s a doctor. Maybe he knows. I asked about filters because it was broken up and I was worried they’d get past the spoon I use to filter my whole leaf teas. Offered to sell me a reusable cotton one for ~5 bucks, but I decided against it. Figured I’d use a kitchen strainer.

In any case, I steeped it up. Used the Chinese eyeballing method (because dedicated tea thermometers are probably expensive) and set it to “fish eye-sized”. Set my tea timer to 2:30, but between walking from the kitchen counter to the PC and typing in the URL on my browser, I’m betting it took another 30 seconds.

Quarter teaspoon of tea.

Poured myself two cups (one with milk, one pure).

Pure: It has that marvellous scent, still strong. Sort of… roasted, now that I think about it. Roasted chocolate, then? Zero astringency. Rolling it around my tongue, very smooth. Again, zero astringency. I might even call it… dare I say, flat? Did I do something wrong? Still, it’s rather interesting. The lack of astringency is very interesting, if strange…

Ah, no, there it is. Just a mild, barely noticeable drying, only with the cup almost empty.

Second cup is darker, came from the lower half of the pot. Put in some milk, maybe a tsp. Comes off as very caramel-ish now… almost like drinking evaporated milk. It’s funny to say this, but apparently the tea was overpowered by the milk?

I’m guessing it’s probably because I have a habit of stingily using less than half a teaspoon of tea for a whole 350ml teapot.

Still, I think I’ll have it without milk, unless I start using full doses.

Overall a little flat, but I think that’s because I use much less tea than recommended, and steep for less time. Give it a try anyway.