323 Tasting Notes
Gifted
The aroma from the dry leaf is sweet rose petals and a slight tinge of cinnamon. I think about the champagne gummy bears that my wife and I get from our local Marshall’s when we’re feeling bourgeois.
The wet leaf has more of the black tea base jump out, less rose than the dry leaf, and a little more cinnamon. They should make this into a perfume.
On the flavor, I tasted heavy black tea base (smooth & mildly malt), definitely the rose, and an ever slight hint of marshmallow (the marshmallow when cream is added). I definitely find this tea to inspire a bit of poetry or perhaps a moment to write a postcard to a friend (yes, I write/collect postcards)! Quite a lovely session. :)
Flavors: Champagne, Cinnamon, Rose, Sweet
Preparation
Sipdown
A few months ago, a friend had been gifted two teas from Moychay, and unfortunately, was allergic to ginseng. They asked if I wanted to take the tea off their hands—I, of course said that I would. I’ll admit that I’ve not had ginseng often. Maybe twice in my life. I’m indifferent to the flavor, but I don’t go out of my way to grab it.
I was expecting a lot of ginseng to be found in this tea, but it’s not as heavy as I expected. The flavor is subtle at the back of the mouth/lingering on, but what really drives the tea is the shou. It’s heavy and thick mouthfeel is something else. The body of the liquor is almost the color of mud. No light shall penetrate it. I brewed it grandpa style and it was way different than when gongfu’d; it’ll knock you down. I’ve not experienced tea drunkenness with any shou in my life until now. It’s a power punch of energy (grandpa styled). When I drank it gongfu’d, I never got this much energy before. Maybe I just need to get more food in me or maybe letting it sit in the thermos for longer extracts that caffeine more….Either way, this was a fun tea.Flavors: Earth
Preparation
Gifted
I see the potential with this tea. Power punch of honey and floral notes. It’s a little too sweet for me, so I may use less leaf to water in the future. I don’t think I’d like this one iced, but I’m willing to try it. Maybe that’ll decrease the sugary sweetness of the tea.
I would grab it if I weren’t feeling well. I’m sure when those Spring allergies knock me down, this’ll be a good tea to sip. I tend to lean toward honey + tea during that seasonal change.
Flavors: Floral, Herbal, Honey
I was kind of distracted while sipping on my first cup of this during my morning follow-up with the Wheel of Time Season One on Amazon and I was left disappointed (with the show). Never watch your favorite books on the screen.
Anyway, I don’t remember grabbing this before heading out this afternoon (It was an antiquing day, so this must have been the tea on hand at the time), but there we have it. I brewed it 200F, 3 minutes, and tossed it into my tumbler. It took us 30 minutes to get where we were going, so I was able to give this one a proper slow sip. It was very refreshing and minty. We had temps in the low thirties, so it seemed fitting for the cup at hand. My wife commented several times about the mint aroma overwhelming the car in a good way. I definitely look forward to possibly making this a daily late morning cup until I finish the bag off and find the next good late morning tea.
Flavors: Mint
Preparation
Sipdown
Trident’s Darjeeling was recommended to me by a friend. They were drinking the 1st flush gongfu style when we were sipping together, which seemed odd to me at the time. I’m not 100% familiar with Darjeeling teas, but I’ve dabbled. I decided that I wanted to give their Darjeeling teas a try, so I bulk ordered all of them.
Out of the listings at the time (2020) of ordering, they had 3 or 4. I drank all of them down but the last of the Red Thunder. I’ve held onto the last 2ish teaspoons of this leaf. I decided to throw it into a teapot, tossed 195F water on top, let it steep for 4 minutes, and poured. I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood on this cold morning since I was actually motivated, and the warm cup of tea was an added bonus!
Alas, to the review….It’s quite beautiful. It’s malty and layered with floral notes on the front, and there remains a lingering grape note at the finish. I added a teaspoon of honey to get these flavors to pop out more. I was hopeful when checking out Trident’s black teas, but this is no longer listed; which I’m not surprised since I ordered it in 2020. It was a good run and it’s good to finally sipdown another tea.
Flavors: Floral, Grapes, Malt
Preparation
Alright, I like it. It’s an odd combo of cranberry juice and sour hibiscus, but it’s quite lovely. I’d compare it to sour cranberry candy, hold the sweetness.
I brewed it up hot. Maybe not ideal, but it’s really working for me, in a very odd way. I’ll probably drink the remainder of my 50g bag (less now) iced. I typically don’t drink cold stuff in the winter (with the exception of cold filter water), but I can get behind it. My wife will probably go crazy that I’m making tea HER WAY. ;) She’ll definitely enjoy this, too. Maybe a lot.
Flavors: Cranberry, Hibiscus, Tart
Preparation
I absolutely love this tea blend. The hint of smoke is hardly present, and the creamy fig note is heavy on this brew. It’s borderline a “dessert in a cup,” but in the healthy sense. I’m reminded of yogurt with figs. I’ve already sipped on bag of the tea and working on the second.
Flavors: Caramel, Cream, Fig
Fig? Definitely going to look for this one! (So much for not buying any more tea…)
That’s where I’m at too on my tea journey. 2022 is a year of sipdowns. It’s a fantastic tea. I’ve not had a tea I didn’t like from The Silk Tea Co.
Well, whaddaya know? I didn’t remember adding this to my wishlist but I just got it as an early birthday gift!
Happy birthday! That’s quite a nice gift to receive. Happy sipping! :)
Thank you!
I’d probably receive some hate over this review. I don’t like the Tower of London. I don’t hate it, but it’s not the cup I’d go for often. I disliked it plain. It was bitter. I could partially blame the water at work. I could partially blame my own fault at using the filter boiler/warmer and letting it steep for 3 minutes. I’m too lazy to drag my kettle back and forth. I’ll note that it’s quite lovely with cream/milk, but it’s still nothing I’d rave about.
I love the Paris blend. I love Earl Grey. I think it’s the cranberry (?) in this blend that is killing it for me. I like that citrusy punch with Earl Grey. I can tolerate this one, but that’s it. I would drink it if someone’d offer me a cup, but I’d probably ask for milk. I feel like I’ve letdown the YouTube followers that told me to try it. I don’t think I’ll post a video because it’d only lead to the harsh judgement that befalls amateur tea reviewers. I gave it a try. I did my best to like it.
Flavors: Cranberry, Vanilla
Tower of London is blackcurrant rather than Cranberry, with black tea, oolong, vanilla, bergamot, caramel, and honey flavors in addition. Any chance you had something else or was it tainted in the container?
It was a fresh sample. I’ll give it another go. It didn’t have ingredients listed on the sample, so I was going off of flavors. It could be the blackcurrant.
I wasn’t fond of it either. If I steeped it short, there just wasn’t much in the way of flavor there. If I steeped it longer, it just got bitter.
I gave it a second chance. I thought that maybe it was the popcorn I ate, so I gave it a couple hours. I don’t think it’s for me. I shared some with a coworker and they thought it grand, so it’s me. I’d say it’s good with cream.
It’s unfortunate it was not for you. How similar are Tower of London and Paris? It sounds like Tower of London is Paris with honey flavor added. Harney & Sons also mentions stonefruit in the description but it is not in the list of ingredients, so I am a little confused as to what flavors this tea actually contains. Is it like Paris with honey or is it completely different from Paris? I have a tin of Tower of London on the way and I am curious to try it. I love fruity blacks so I will most definitely enjoy it.
I think that it’s good with cream. Maybe I’m not into the fruity black teas at the moment. I feel like this tea would’ve been something I’d’ve liked at some point, but maybe my palate has changed. Maybe it’s the season. I’m the type of person who’ll go for a certain cup at a certain season. This could just be one of those “not for winter teas.”
No hate from me, by the way! This is a really great community and we all like different things. Sometimes I am into fun, flavored teas and then I go through a streak of just wanting premium leaf served gong fu. One day a tea tastes magnificent with friends at a tea party and then the very same tea falls flat when drinking alone. It is good to hear your opinion!
ToL has a special memory for me. When I was new to good tea I wanted to try it and it was sold out everywhere, even on the Harney site. My husband tracked some down in a distant gift shop and surprised me with it for our anniversary.
That said, my beloved Boston does not taste the same anymore, and personally I think it has to do with the vanilla prices skyrocketing. I suspect that just as Vieux Paris is Paris with artificial vanilla, some of the real vanilla is being substituted in other teas perhaps because they just don’t taste the same. I gave away my tin of Boston.
@ashmanra- I didn’t read anything as hate. It’s always good to see a connection to tea. Paris was one of those teas in my early days that I sipped on and instantly loved. I simply feel bad for not liking it as much as I wanted to. So many people recommended it to me. I’m not typically overly picky and try to find the good in any cup of tea. With cream added, this is a good cuppa! I love the story you have with this tea though :)
I don’t do other social media, but in my experience with steepster, I don’t think you need to worry about “hate” or “judgement” here - if anything we like dissenting opinions on a tea, keeps it interesting, maybe narrows down the wishlist for me.. and I’m a fan of Tower of London! I’m definitely a suggester of “try all the steep parameters possible” for each tea like cooler water & a short steep – even 45 seconds might be better for some flavored teas. But yeah, I like seeing all the opinions on tea here! Welcome to steepster!
I don’t think there’s too much “hate” on going against the majority on any tea. IG doesn’t have too many, and if there are, I’ve been fortunate enough to not find them. I try to try different approaches to tea, too. It could always be my cause for the tea to not sit well. Thank you for the support :)
I was just surprised by your mention of hate and judgement and thought you meant other social media places had a lot of that (I don’t partake, so I wouldn’t know). But I have never had to worry about that on steepster. :D
I should’ve used another term. I just saw that it was highly rated and I thought, “uh oh. They’re going to eat me alive.” :p But nobody did. You all welcomed my review with open and arms, and that’s totally welcoming! :)
Open arms*
Sipdown
I’m sitting in a big open office, alone. I was supposed to be here training, but it was pushed back for a later time. Yet another 10-12 hour day. On the bright side, I’ve tea to sip while I help my team get some work done, and the new hires to arrive at a later time.
Holy moly, I like this one. That watermelon really pops! I wasn’t sure I wanted a cup of this since I stay clear of watermelon teas in the winter. This was a good tea. So much so that I made two cups; thus becoming a sipdown tea. I would totally repurchase this tea if it were available!
Flavors: Fruity, Watermelon
This was from the Adagio CommuniTEA December box. I fell behind on sipping the teas daily due to a schedule change to midnights for two weeks. My motivation was lacking and I numbly sipped on everything else. I decided to stop going through the list until I had enough time to take proper notes with each cup.
I made one 8oz cup with the sample. I threw 205F water in the cup and let it steep for 6 minutes. I typically increase the steep time for Rooibos blends because I think it helps extract the flavors more. I wouldn’t put this on my list of teas to restock. It was slightly boring and the flavor profile weaker than I expected. I assumed that since this was heavy with ingredients, there’d be a lot of depth to the flavor profile. I found that the main flavor was the rooibos and maybe a hint of cinnamon. Heck, I’d give it a better rating if the honeybush was more present, but it wasn’t. It was a pretty basic and boring tea.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Rooibos
