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This is another tea bag I must have picked up during a stay at one of the hotels of the Accor group. A nice enough herbal tea with tropical fruit presence up front. I had it hot, but I can imagine this blend making a wonderful iced tea over summer. In the past I have tried quite a few Palais des Thés infusions of their Jardin-themed series, my favourite being the jardin andalou, but this jardin tropical will no doubt please a larger public. I like that the sweetness of the tropical fruits is contrasted by a subtle lemongrass citrusy touch.

I see here I had this tea already a few years ago, at that time steeping a sample tea bag they had given me in the Angers Palais des Thés shop. This time it´s a tea bag I picked up during a stay at one of the hotels of the Accor group. As I recently spent quite some time away from home, away from my loose tea cupboard, away from my water boiler which can be put to heat up to 60-100ºC, I used quite a few of the tea bags I still had laying about.
Not too fond of most green teas, not too fond of red fruit infusions, so not too fond of this tea, but at least it´s well blended, and is far better quality than what most (even high class) hotels offer.

This is a tea bag I picked up at a hotel in Kortrijk, Belgium a few months ago. I was quite impressed by the look of the Lipton tea bags nowadays, thinking that the tea might have improved as well, but there I was so wrong ;-)
The bag indicates “exclusive selection”, but I wonder what they consider “exclusive”. This is green tea without any flavour really, and any hotel that tries to guarantee a certain quality level should maybe ask a tea drinker for advice.

Finally then my personal favourite of the Tea Travels series.
The dry leaves smell of jelly bears, but during the brewing process the fragrances turn more elegant and less sweet, and they linger on and on : I happen to prepare my brew in the kitchen, then take it elsewhere in the house, and when I return to the kitchen, it´s still very present. Furthermore, the oolong tea opens up, which is nice to look at. I tried steeping the blend a second time, and although there´s a small loss in properties, the resulting brew is still very enjoyable (and fragrant!)
From the leaflet : "The charm of ancient China lives on in this blend that brings together the semi-fermented oolong tea and the precious buds of Yin Zhen “silver needles” white tea, once intended for the Emperor solely. Tea of serenity, with an enveloping aroma of red fruit."

Tuaregh is “A mixture of green teas perfumed with nanah mint, inspired by the ceremonial drink of the desert nomads. Three rounds of tea are traditionally offered to the guest : the first one is bitter as death, the second strong as life, and the third sweet as love.” (from La Via del Tà leaflet added to tins from the series)
Both green and mint fragrances come through, without any of them overwhelming the other. It´s really a lovely blend, and a real treat for the nose!

According to the tea company this tea blend Tat´jana is “Balanced and elegant blend of Indian, Ceylon and China black teas enhanced by the unique notes of orange and bergamot. A classic, highly-perfumed Russian-style tea created following the original recipes in vogue in the nineteenth century at the court of the Tsar.”
I love good Earl grey teas and this could well be one of those. Again, a natural fragrance that is present with dry tea leaves and continues lingering once the tea is brewed.

I finally got to open the tins of the La Via del Te Tea travels series I bought last year, and boy, how I have enjoyed these tea blends so far! This Shahrazad blend has a nice fruity fragrance, which is still present once steeped.
According to the tea company “A creation inspired by the princess of the Thousand and One Nights and the fascination of ancient Persia. A sophisticated blend of high-quality black teas, with an evocative fragrance of fruit and unmistakable hints of pomegranate, symbol of love and rebirth:”
The pomegranate (and the rest of the fruity fragrance) stays very natural overall. A true enjoyment for all senses.

I noticed I hadn´t checked in this tea yet, although it was most likely the first of the Paper & Tea teas I tried.
This is really a very enjoyable blend, of both green and black tea with added joy for the nose, as the rose and jasmine join in wonderfully! What I even like better is that this fragrance keeps you company during the entire process of dry leaves→steep→sip. Furthermore, the floral character makes this a perfect afternoon tea.
Once again, I only use a little more than half of the by P&T recommended amount of tea leaves, but I respect the brewing instructions : 2 brews with steeping time of 1:30 each will do nicely!

The last few years I have learned to appreciate pu erh teas. As my stomach sometimes reacts quite strongly to fermented goods, and pu erh fermented teas are no exception, I cannot enjoy them as often as I would…so, finally, I´ve tried Wild & Raw.
P&T recommenda to use 4g of loose tea leaves and steep them 4 times. As usual, I start with a smaller quantity (maybe 2g), and if that quantity gives me a good cup, I stick to it further on…and yes, it did! A wonderful smooth pu erh this is, with the 4 brewings giving an almost equally great colour and taste (maybe a bit lighter the first time, when “washing” the leaves). And my stomach liked it as well!
Of this tea I bought the tea caddy, and I must say P&T´s tea caddies are great : the artwork is brilliant, and the caddies can be securely piled on top of each other…worth paying the extra price!

When I placed an order at Paper & Tea last year , this was a caprice buy (17€ for a 20g pouch). This first flush Darjeeling was harvested in April 2020 and one “batch” of tea (5g is advised on the pouch, but I use less) can be brewed 3 times, according to P&T. And it can indeed : the short steeps of 60s / 20s / 45s are very good indications to have this tea at its best, but as mentioned before, I use less tea, maybe 2g instead of the 5g recommendation.
Spicy nose of the dry tea leaves, and typical first flush Darjeeling bouquet (muscatel, floral) once brewed. Light yellow brew, with very good body for the steeping time (and for the amount of tea I use, I definitely do not recommend to use 5g!!!), what´s there not to like? The price, for sure…both first flush Darjeelings from Kent&Sussex I bought more or less at the same time come in at less than 7 GBP for 30g, and although I only steep them twice (it might be possible to steep them 3 times as well, I never tried, to be honest), I enjoy them just as much. Maybe fancy marketing adds quite a bit to the price, or maybe the tea trade gives better conditions to UK tea companies?