55 Tasting Notes
Yes, I’m giving this 100. I’m in love.
Harrods’ description doesn’t do this justice. It doesn’t have a “hint” of bergamot. It’s lousy with bergamot. It also has lots of lovely blue and yellow flowers.
If you want a light Earl Grey, this isn’t it. It’s heavy on the bergamot. Just like I like it. I picked it up loose in London. It’s very smooth tasting, but gets bitter very quickly if you oversteep.
Seriously folks, yum.
Preparation
I’m drinking this one hot today. It’s supposed to be summer, but it’s raining. I digress.
This is a nice tart tea which brightens up nicely with a little bit of raw sugar. Not too much hibiscus, which I know is a big turn off for a lot of people. The cranberry comes out nicely with a bit of pineapple and a hint of vanilla.
I’m going to try this iced if the weather warms up…maybe with some gin in it. ;)
Preparation
I’ve drank this several times now and I’m still lukewarm about it. It’s just not quite something enough. I can’t put my finger on what’s missing. I want to drink this at night before I go to bed, but it leaves me pondering what’s missing. That isn’t restful.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate it. I think I’ll try blending it with something else and see where that gets me.
Preparation
I hadn’t drank this for a while and decided to have it with breakfast this morning.
I’m still putting this at a 78. I really want it to have more bergamot. It remains inoffensive and not a bad choice for a chilly morning. Still…it really needs more bergamot.
A month or so I stopped in at Steven Smith. It’s a really charming little shop that had been pissing me off for months. You see, they’re only open Mon-Fri and I can usually only make it to Portland on a weekend. Ok, that’s out of my system…
The shop is charming and the gentleman working there was really friendly, which I like. He sat me down and had me sample their four RTD teas. I walked out with two bottles of this one and two of the Hibiscus.
This is a really light, floral, fruity concoction that I’d be satisfied to drink all day, every day. It’s made with apple and pear infused water in small batches.It’s naturally a little sweet. It’s also very refreshing.
I recommend a trip into the shop if you can make it on a weekday. I also really highly recommend this tea. It’s extra yummy.
I’m having a hard time rating this tea. I made a big batch of it iced. I originally thought it was blackberry, not black currant and that it tasted like blackberry leaf, not blackberry.
That said, I’m perplexed. I originally didn’t love it, so I did what any respectable girl would do and mixed in some lemonade. That made it better.
Then, I tried it again. Still not black currant, but the flavor improved after sitting in my fridge for a while.
The jury is still out on this one. It’s just odd.
Preparation
Let’s just say….yum.
This is a lovely, creamy, just the right amount of mango-y tea. I made this iced with a small amount of raw sugar.
I’m really delighted my friend Dylan doesn’t like mango. More for me that I don’t need to share. =)
I think I’ll go make a glass of this now.
Srsly, folks. Yum.
Preparation
Backlogging:
This is a genuinely silly oolong. It smells like Grape Crush steeped and in the bag. That alone put a smile on my face. (I don’t actually like Grape Crush, btw.)
That said, it’s very grape-y, very yummy and not remotely artificial tasting. The grapeness is rounded out nicely with the earthy oolong. It’s good with a little rock sugar and is definitely good for more than one steeping.
I’ll be keeping this on my oolong list.
Preparation
Backlogging:
Another sample from Azzrian, this one originally from Indigobloom.
In a word, yuck. I paid attention to the steeping instructions and only steeped for 2 lousy minutes. This was so profoundly bitter that after about 3 sips I gave up and threw it out.
Seriously, yuck.