326 Tasting Notes
I had this as a tea latte today and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Creamy and slightly nutty, this really fits the bill. The nuts aren’t hugely in your face, but I kind of like that. I picked up 3 100g tins of tea today because it was buy two get one free (not that I needed more tea, but I did well on some tests so I figured I could treat myself) and I’m kind of sad I didn’t get this as one of them (wasn’t willing to risk it on a tea I’ve never tried). Though I did get Coconut Cream Pie instead, which does make a pretty killer latte.
Flavors: Creamy, Nuts
This is pretty much what you’d expect it to be—strong pomegranate notes with a hint of vanilla. For some reason I keep thinking this is a green tea instead of a black one for some reason—even going so far to steep it at green tea parameters instead. Good, but not amazing.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Earl Grey and the only Cream of Earl Grey I’ve ever had was a sample at DAVIDs, which was the most horribly bitter disgusting tea I’ve ever had the misfortune of trying, so I really questioned the logic of picking up 40g of this, but three different people told me it was amazing, so I decided to give it a go.
First of, I’m not 100% on board with the smell. Would definitely not typically buy based on that alone. Again, leap of faith here.
Well I’m glad I decided to give it a chance, because it really is good! Predominately tastes like lemon tarts—citrus-y, creamy, and vanilla-y—YUM! There’s a floral/herbal note that I can’t quite describe (though if I were to try, I’d probably saw rosemary or lavender (or both?)—definitely not bergamot). It may have been my imagination, but I also got a hint of strawberries near the middle/end of my cup, which seemed odd. All in all, 100% exceeded my expectations.
Flavors: Creamy, Herbs, Lemon, Pastries, Vanilla
Preparation
Can’t actually remember if I’ve had an Assam before. If I have it was over a year ago and predates my interest in straight blacks so I’ll just say this is a first.
From the smell, I knew this was going to be malty and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. No worries however. This is deliciously malty with hints of chocolate, bread, and maybe the tiniest bit of citrus. A quite dry blend and I could see it becoming very astringent if given longer than the two minutes I let this go for. I might even only give it a minute and a half next time. Overall, a nice, rich, straight tea.
Flavors: Bread, Dark Chocolate, Malt
Preparation
Giving this one a go hot today. It’s okay, but I think it’s better iced (which is what I would expect). A little syrupy to be honest. Not very familiar with passion-fruit, but to me it tastes like papaya, peaches, and strawberries, which is a nice mix. As a kid, we used to make a fruit punch with pink lemonade, ginger ale, sparkling water, and frozen strawberries and it kind of reminds me of that, particularly as that was a little syrupy too.
Flavors: Fruity, Peach, Strawberry, Sweet
First of all, this tea smells AMAZING! Just putting that out there.
As for taste, I’ve heard a lot of good things about this one, so I was going in with high expectations. Personally, I just found it good. I drank it reasonably slowly, but without putting much thought into it. I could absent mindedly sip it without going “WOW, this is a good tea!” Apple pie, sure, but not anything special.
I would consider picking up a bit while it’s around to give it a go as a latte, which I’m told is good.
Flavors: Apple, Cinnamon, Pastries, Spices, Sweet
50-50 mix of Mango Diablo and Kiwi’s Big Adventure. Well okay, maybe a little heavier on the Kiwi’s big adventure; it’s a light tea and I didn’t want it to get drowned out with spice.
The Kiwi and Mango mixed together seems to make…melon… Not that I’m complaining—there’s nothing wrong with melon. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. Other fruit notes as well, as is to be expected. Considering how much I have of both these teas right now, I’ll probably go for this combo again, just to switch things up.
I’m kind of surprised by the poor ratings for this one as I found it rather nice, though admittedly I didn’t brew it strong. Not a hugely intense flavour—slightly floral and smooth. There’s a hint of chocolate here but it doesn’t exactly scream it. There was a slight bitterness that might have been unpleasant had I brewed it longer, but at 3 minutes it was fine.
Preparation
Added all of half a teaspoon more leaf that I usually would (3 vs. 2.5) and this way a lot better. Really heavy on the cranberry and a little lacking on the pear; it kind of reminded me of a less tart cranberry orange muffin. Still A LOT better than I’ve found it in the past. I’ll boost it a few points.