So apprehensive… yet another tea on the quest to find the perfect pear tea! Honestly, a black is not my base of choice, but Simpson & Vail did well with their pear-flavoured black tea, so I’m hopeful that this might be a contender.
The aroma of the brewed tea is of a bit of a floral pear; not quite what I’m looking for, but not necessarily bad either, as it is just the aroma. The sip, however, is clearly rather floral, but definitely tastes like pear, albeit a floral, fakey sort. There’s a bit of astringency from the base as well, but a drop in infusion time could probably remedy that.
This tea does have a fair bit of flavour, and it is tasty, but it’s too floral for me to really enjoy as a pear tea, and I want more of a realistic pear flavour. The search continues.
Preparation
Comments
if you like ‘pear’ scented/flavored black teas…I highly recommend the Pear Ginger from the Tao of Tea…its very balanced and uses natural flavors
ok, had a good laugh i did read ‘the perfect Bear’ by della terra tea’s! after all the food debacle with the horse meat in europe on the news i tought tis was a tea prank :)
Thanks Kashyap – I’ll add that to my shopping list. The tea I had from S&V happened to be pear/ginger as well, and I do like ginger, so that sounds like it could be worth a shot if I can get my hands on some!
Darky – ewwwwwwwww lol. I’m so glad that DNA testing was done on hamburger meat from various local sources by my university, and EVERYTHING was found to be 100% beef (when it was supposed to be).
A local place carries TWO pear teas, but unfortunately they don’t do any online ordering. There’s an Asian Pear green, and a Bartlett rooibos. If you’re interested I could ask for samples, but you’d have to be OK with a fellow Steepster as a shipper. :) I can’t stand pear flavour, so any testing I did of them would be incredibly biased!
kittena, so long that not is wrong with the horse meat (quality wise) i don’t mind eating horsemeat. Here in Belgium we eat it on a regular base but the labels on the packaging should be correct thats for sure. But i feel its a very big waste destroying or trowing away good food just because the type off meat is different… if it was contaminated with all kinds off weird stuff ok then its normal but now? :)
OMGsrsly – ooooh, I totally want details! I see you’re in Vancouver; depending on whereabouts the tea shop is, I could possibly have my aunt pick some sample up for me and send them as she lives in Burnaby. Not that I’d have any problem at all being sent samples from a fellow Steepster :D
darky – I think the biggest problem is mislabeling, and the fact that horses are not considered food here. I don’t personally think I could stomach it, even though I know it’s really very little different from beef or any other meat. Just like I don’t think I could eat dog or cat (though that’s a bit different, as they’re also carnivores, which we don’t typically consume meat from).
its probably more off a ‘culture’ thing to tough eating dogs and cats is a whole different story then the horse thing because its more a ‘farm’ animal or how do i have to say it. anyway back to tea!
It’s Steam Tea House in Donald’s Market at Hastings and Nanaimo. They have a menu on Facebook, but no website and no ingredient listings. I think they’re pretty good at responding to questions, though. The black tea, being Asian Pear, is a lot more delicate and probably not the pear taste you’re looking for. Bartlett Rooibos smells… like ripe pears. Maybe like pear jelly beans? IDK. I’m trying to think of a way to describe the flavour without remembering what it smelled like.
Delicate pear taste is probably ok, as long as it’s not strangely floral.
And that’s actually really funny – unless I’m mistaken, I suspect I’ve actually been to that Donald’s Market (albeit not for a few years). And if it’s the one I’m thinking of, then it’s a quick walk from my aunt’s place. When I get the chance I’ll ask them a few questions and see about getting some samples! Unless my aunt is familiar with that tea shop already, I may request you to pick some stuff up for me, if that would be cool – I can send you things in return :D
if you like ‘pear’ scented/flavored black teas…I highly recommend the Pear Ginger from the Tao of Tea…its very balanced and uses natural flavors
ok, had a good laugh i did read ‘the perfect Bear’ by della terra tea’s! after all the food debacle with the horse meat in europe on the news i tought tis was a tea prank :)
Thanks Kashyap – I’ll add that to my shopping list. The tea I had from S&V happened to be pear/ginger as well, and I do like ginger, so that sounds like it could be worth a shot if I can get my hands on some!
Darky – ewwwwwwwww lol. I’m so glad that DNA testing was done on hamburger meat from various local sources by my university, and EVERYTHING was found to be 100% beef (when it was supposed to be).
A local place carries TWO pear teas, but unfortunately they don’t do any online ordering. There’s an Asian Pear green, and a Bartlett rooibos. If you’re interested I could ask for samples, but you’d have to be OK with a fellow Steepster as a shipper. :) I can’t stand pear flavour, so any testing I did of them would be incredibly biased!
kittena, so long that not is wrong with the horse meat (quality wise) i don’t mind eating horsemeat. Here in Belgium we eat it on a regular base but the labels on the packaging should be correct thats for sure. But i feel its a very big waste destroying or trowing away good food just because the type off meat is different… if it was contaminated with all kinds off weird stuff ok then its normal but now? :)
OMGsrsly – ooooh, I totally want details! I see you’re in Vancouver; depending on whereabouts the tea shop is, I could possibly have my aunt pick some sample up for me and send them as she lives in Burnaby. Not that I’d have any problem at all being sent samples from a fellow Steepster :D
darky – I think the biggest problem is mislabeling, and the fact that horses are not considered food here. I don’t personally think I could stomach it, even though I know it’s really very little different from beef or any other meat. Just like I don’t think I could eat dog or cat (though that’s a bit different, as they’re also carnivores, which we don’t typically consume meat from).
its probably more off a ‘culture’ thing to tough eating dogs and cats is a whole different story then the horse thing because its more a ‘farm’ animal or how do i have to say it. anyway back to tea!
It’s Steam Tea House in Donald’s Market at Hastings and Nanaimo. They have a menu on Facebook, but no website and no ingredient listings. I think they’re pretty good at responding to questions, though. The black tea, being Asian Pear, is a lot more delicate and probably not the pear taste you’re looking for. Bartlett Rooibos smells… like ripe pears. Maybe like pear jelly beans? IDK. I’m trying to think of a way to describe the flavour without remembering what it smelled like.
Delicate pear taste is probably ok, as long as it’s not strangely floral.
And that’s actually really funny – unless I’m mistaken, I suspect I’ve actually been to that Donald’s Market (albeit not for a few years). And if it’s the one I’m thinking of, then it’s a quick walk from my aunt’s place. When I get the chance I’ll ask them a few questions and see about getting some samples! Unless my aunt is familiar with that tea shop already, I may request you to pick some stuff up for me, if that would be cool – I can send you things in return :D
Oh, that’s funny. :) Just a note, though – they’re sadly closed Thursdays.