Empire Tea Services
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A really fine single estate Ceylon. As I mentioned in this review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/06/26/vithanakanda-estate-op1-black-tea-from-empire-tea-services/ I think that the Vithanakanda estate is one of my very favorites when it comes to Ceylon production. The Ceylon teas that I’ve tried from this estate have all been so good!
Stellar Ceylon!
When you go to bed at 11:00 and wake at 12:00, thinking it is morning, you know you are in trouble. Help me Earl Grey, you’re my only hope. The force is strong with this one. Bergamot haters beware. This is not for you. Lalith at Empire Tea Services likes his EG in your face. The addition of orange peel gives a twist that makes it unlike any other companies EG I have tried.
I finally got brave today. I opened the bag of lavender gmathis sent me. I have learned to love jasmine. I’ve grown quite fond of rose when it is well done (Nina’s Mmmmm). I find the floral notes of oolong comforting and tasty. Lavender though scares the puddin’ out of me. Why? It is just so intense.
Today I selected this Earl Grey as it is tough like Superman. The bergamot is pretty intense but the Ceylon base does eventually show up as the cup cools. I am just hoping this jasmine isn’t the kryptonite I fear. I used my usual scoop of leaf and about a 1/4 tsp of lavender. This turned out really interesting. The two flavors combine. Neither overpowers the other. Neither is intense.
I just realized ETS’s Scent of Bergamot contains lavender and it is similar to what I am getting here. That one has some other ingredients and I think I like my simple concoction better. Next time I will use slightly less lavender as I would prefer the Earl Grey to shine through a little more. Maybe I’ll use Moscow Nights as it is a Lapsong with light bergamot. The intense smoke just seems like it will really work with the lavender. Actually really enjoying this cup though. Glad I finally manned up and used the flowers. :)
lavendar…
I love growing it, I love smelling it, I love it in every way, EXCEPT in my tea cup or food! :p
I was so excited the first time I tried ‘herbs de province’ on something I was cooking…can’t remember what…never again!
Same with tea…I feel like I’m drinking bath water, lol
BUT, I applaud your experimentation, K, cuz it’s always worth trying, right? :)
like choice of wording: “I have learned to love jasmine”. Kudos!
seule771 I had tried bagged jasmine and hated it. Once I had the opportunity to try good jasmine from Teavivre I found the learning to love it very easy.
Terri the first time I was around lavender was at the farmers market. It stopped my head up just walking near it. I fully expected an experience like your’s with this tea. Gmathis warned me to go easy. I did and it turned out well. I still find the scent is still too much. It is kind of funny – my first experience with cocoa nibs a few days ago was much less satisfying. I used too much.
I like “herbs de provence” with roasted chicken and potatoes—in reasonable proportions.
I had time for one cup this morning. Sad but true. The day is over and now that I am finally sitting I am too exhausted for another. Glad I picked an earl grey first thing.
I had to get a new computer today so I could do my college assignments at the library. My Internet is too slow and limited to watch the necessary videos or download the programs at home.
The new laptop came with Windows 8. What a were they thinking? I don’t want my computer to pretend it is a tablet/phone. I don’t mind it having the option. The kids will probably like it. For me personally I don’t care about apps. I use programs. This just makes working difficult. Aaacckk! Done griping.
I am with you. I feel like a #2 pencil in a .com world!
We’re due for upgrades at work and I’m dreading it.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. There is no start button. There is no shutdown button, well there is if you figure out how to find it. The start menu is now a cute bunch of blocks that you shove around like phone apps. It is just silly. I don’t care that I’m old school. I don’t want much. Just give me my desktop icon to start a program and explorer to keep things organized… and a shutdown button.
From Empire Tea Services, I have tried Earl Green, Earl White, De La Creme, and a couple with bergamot as a light touch ingredient. Somehow, I missed a straight black tea Earl Grey.
This like all their versions of Earl Grey is not for the faint hearted bergamot haters. There is absolutely no question what the main ingredient is here. The orange peel turns the flavor slightly away from ‘normal’ but not in a way that would annoy EG lovers. I hate getting an EG that has a bunch of other junk in the mix or so little bergamot I have to check the label. Call it something else if you are going to do that to your tea.
With this one the first cup is Bergamot/Orange with the Ceylon only revealing itself late in the sip as the cup cools. Intense.
The second cup is less intense. It adds a peppery note. The base is more present. Pleasant.
The third cup is lighter and reminds me of Twinings. Halfway through the cup I iced it and it made for a refreshing ending. It might have gone a fourth cup but I didn’t try.
I have learned that ETS blends tend to be very potent when you first open them. Sometimes I mix them with a straight tea for a while other times if you just let them age they will calm down. Today I did neither.
Preparation
The tea I’m drinking doesn’t look like this – but it says it’s what it is so here, goes!
It doesn’t really smell like anything and looks like a lighter black tea finely cut instead of a green tea. It infuses REALLY Dark, too, much like a black tea. (Perhaps it was mismarked?)
This has a VERY subtle cherry flavor (so maybe it isn’t mismarked or maybe it’s a black/green blend???) It just seems too dark to be a straight-up green…regardless it’s tasty. It’s not overly scented or flavored at all!
As it cools at room temperature for a few moments it’s starting to taste more like a green but it’s still very dark – much like a green/black tea blend!
Eventho I’m a bit confused my this tea’s name – I am enjoying my cup! It’s yummy! It’s flavor is VERY subtle which is a bit different from Empire’s other teas. I’m a fan of the taste of this one but I’m not going to rate it just yet because it puzzles me overall.
This is a gift from K S. Thank you!
The aroma of the dry leaf was a nice bergamot and….pepper! What? Then I steeped it and sniffed. Bergamot and….pepper? Hmmm, that is what i thought about Imperial Earl Grey from Harney, so it must be a characteristic of some bergamot.
This is a nice green, not super smooth and mellow like a DragonWell, but not biting like some greens. This has good body and lots of character. It carries weight. I can see why KS says he sometimes drinks only this for days at a time. There is a sort of spicy/peppery quality to it, like in a really good chai, but different…lighter. I am having a hard time describing it, as you can see! The bergamot is not too strong and not perfumey, just a nice citrus/floral/spice note.
Lots of greens I sip with food so the pairing makes them more palatable to me. A few I really look forward to, and drink them with abandon. I can tell you I am guzzling this mug of tea!
Thank you, KS and Mrs. KS for the tea and the card!
Pepper? I have never noticed that note. I don’t know, could it have just picked it up during its one week journey in the little plastic bag? Hmmm. I will have to try and catch it next time I steep this one. When I bought this, the salesman told me most people thought it was too strongly flavored, and it was, for a few weeks after they blended it. I mixed it with their Ti Kwan Yin for a few weeks until I realized how good the Ti Kwan Yin was all by itself. In fact it is the only tea I have tried, so far, that I liked better than the Teavivre version.
Oh, and my wife is now on a card making frenzy trying to learn to make them as pretty as yours. Thanks a lot… I guess. ha! ;^)
LOL! I will have to send you more tea so I can send her more cards! :)
My note was eaten. I picked a sample of this up today at Empire Tea Services. I could not find it on their website. This should use a decaf tea. It is a great evening tea. It is not a big bold cup. It starts light milk chocolate. Next I get light peppermint – yum. The aftertaste is vanilla and black tea. I can’t single out the rooibos or fruits. A nice mellow cup
The aroma is amazing for this tea. It smells so strong – so much like fresh peaches and apricots, my mouth started watering as the fragrance wafted through the kitchen.
It tastes as good as it smells, too. The green tea is well balanced with the peach and apricot flavors – providing a flavor that is sweet and fresh, with a light brothy mouthfeel and hint of vegetative flavor. A really amazing peach and apricot flavored tea.
PS: Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this one!
Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a bit of this tea.
I knew I’d be running some errands early today, and probably wouldn’t have a lot of time for tea, so I brewed this early in the morning in my breville and allowed it to cool so that I could try it as an iced tea (since this is the iced tea version of this blend).
I did happen to take a few sips of it hot though, and I got to say, it was alright hot, but this one is definitely better iced. The primary flavor is that of the black tea, and that’s the way it should be. After that flavor settles on the palate, I begin to pick up notes of the mango, the passion fruit and mere hints of the kiwi. I find myself wanting a bit more kiwi, but, as I continue to sip, this flavor (as well as the other fruit notes) develops a bit more.
A very refreshing iced tea!
Liberteas sent this my way! Thanks a bunch!
I couldn’t find it in the steepster datebase so if you or anyone else knows the direct URL – let me know and I will see if Ricky can merge the two.
This is a Ceylon and Sencha blend with caramel and roasted almonds (flavoring).
It’s quite good. The Ceylon is a mellower-black and that Sencha gives it a hint of grassy/vegetal-ness! The Caramel makes it creamy-smooth and a bit sweet and that almond contributes to the overall flavor…nutty and somewhat-smooth.
These 4 flavors seem to work very well with each other. It’s pleasant and tasty.
I under-infused this one only because the leaves are cut so fine I wasn’t sure how intense the flavor was going to be right off the bat.
Under-infusing seemed to fit the bill for my personal palate. This is a brothy-type green! It’s not bitter, it’s not overly grassy or overly sweet. It’s a straight and narrow – bound and determined sort of green! The sort of green tea you would want to have on hand at all times.
COLD Notes (see previous for HOT):
The Raspberry does seem to pop out more…and it IS a combo of the berry and the Raspberry Greens – such as the leaves! It seems to almost taste more herbally ICED.
Most of you know I don’t add anything to my teas but I think this one would be ok sweetened when doing iced. UNsweetened…I think I actually like it a bit better HOT.
I’m a REBEL. I’m trying a half cup of this HOT first and I have the other half of cup chilling and will review that shortly, too!
HOT:
This is a bold black tea base with a fairly good amount of Raspberry flavor mixed in. Eventho this is an ICED TEA Blend from Empire this is pretty good HOT, too!
It not only tastes like the berry part but also the greens…like the leaves and stem. Pretty Good!
COLD review coming soon…
This has a lovely aroma! Tropical and Fruity but not overly so and certainly not artificial – to the nose.
It infuses to a VERY Dark Brown color – near coffee color. It has that bold black tea base with Mango flavor up-front followed by Kiwi and then Passion Fruit. This is very tasty, nicely flavored black, and great both hot and cold!
I have to try this one! I’m from the ‘tropics’ and I’ve learned the hard way to stay well away from ANYTHING that says ‘tropic/tropical/Caribbean/etc.’ because it usually tastes like Kool-aid and Hawaiian Punch had a tea battle.
I’m loving it because it’s NOT Banana-type flavor but it also isn’t Kool-Aid type…it doesn’t have hibiscus in it! Woot!
Nice! I’ll get some of that soon. Do you have any other fruit flavored tea recommendations?
From Empire, specifically or from other companies, too? What kind of fruits do you NOT like???
I’m not a picky eater. I like all fruits but I hate that ‘natural’ flavor of some teas that remind me of hard candy or fruit roll ups.
I’m pondering this for you! LOL :)
Are you searching for a specific base? Like flavored black or flavored greens or fruity herbals? Or doesn’t it matter/or an assortment?
I would guess black tea because I feel is a better base for flavors but I can try a with greens too.
Cool! I will put some thought to that!
This is probably one of the better (or maybe the best) peach flavored black teas I have had! This has just the right amount of peach in addition to a sturdy Black tea base! This is a delight both hot and cold :)
I seriously cannot believe how many new teas Empire Tea Services has added and is still adding!!! This is one I couldn’t find on their site. I received a bunch of their new teas but I also see TONS more on there that I haven’t tried yet!!! WOW!
This is a finely cut green with peach flavoring – it nicely scented without over doing it. I did noticed it infuses to a dark green tea than most I have been infusing lately, anyways. Near a light to medium brown – almost a honey color.
The taste of the green tea base is what I would consider medium-strength as is the peach flavoring. I think there is a bit more peach than green tea taste – for those of you who are interesting in flavoring levels.
It’s juicy and sweet and peachy! I really like this! I’m drinking it hot but am assuming it would be just as good iced :)
This is AMAZING!!! That is IF you are a lemon fan :)
I have been drinking a lot of lemon flavored teas lately and especially the lemon flavored black teas reminds me of my “Grandma T” – you can read more about me/her over at http://sororiteasisters.com/who-are-the-sororitea-sisters/
I’m on my 2nd cup of this stuff and I have been trying to think of what the aroma reminds me of and I keep coming back to Lemon-Cream Danish. It has that natural sugary-lemon flavor but then smooths out. It’s a very strong black tea base which follows suit to most of Empire Teas Black Tea Bases…which I LOVE.
But, the LEMON, is really wonderful in this! I just have to point that out a 2nd time :)
Oh I almost got a sample of this when I was in their shop. Then I thought eh, its just lemon. Now I know better for next visit. Do you recall the Zoomdweebies you sent me way back when? How does this compare?
Compared to Zoomdweebies – this one has more of a lemon-sugar flavor compared to Zoom’s regular-lemon flavor…hope that makes sense. Also…I would say Zoom’s has a Medium Black Tea base strength where as Empire’s is more intense!
Makes perfect sense – thx
I was unable to find this one on their site but I know the fine folks at Empire are adding new teas at the moment so I assume it will be added soon!
I just got this one today! Among others :)
The finely cut-pebbled black tea is a nice solid and strong black base and the strawberry is a nice flavor but doesn’t overpower the black tea base! YAY!
Not only is this a great tasting flavored black – it smell WONDERFUL!!!!
