Five O'Clock Tea & Coffee Shops

Another delicious and complex brew. Hints of nuts, cocoa and wood, low-level and fitting bitterness, distinct maltiness in the back, long wooden, oxydised finish.

Beautiful, very complex tea, with lots of flowery notes (elderflower, lily of the valley), a bit of spices (allspice, juniper, cinnamon), slight green walnuts undertones. Aroma is much more intense than taste, but the latter is also intriguing, with a touch of maltiness and no astringency at all. Very interesting.

A sample that came with my latest order from Five O’CLock.
Lovely red colour thanks to beetroot (and they almost don’t contyribute to taste, which I find positive). Plus pleasant and refreshing citrusy note, slight sweetness, slight tartness, a bit of apples, flowery undertones. Very interesting blend.
And it also works really well when added to a regular black tea.

Delicious oolong, dry but malty, with a nice combination of undernotes: nutty, fruity, flowery, even a hint of tobacco. Complex, rich, satisfying, opening up with time.

Very pleasant, refreshing aroma, mainly citrusy, with lavender staying more in the background, very subtle, providing balance to lemonness.
And really refreshing taste, with lavender more visible here, providing a counterpoint to lemongrass and lemon peel.
As with most of teas from Five O’Clock, this one is really well-thought-of and balanced.

Oh my, a lot is going on in here. Slight smokiness, a touch of nuts (both pistachios and marzipan almonds), citrusy undertones, distinct but fitting coriander and pepper, generally pastry but pleasant aroma.
Complex taste, much drier than I expected, rich but not cloying or overwhelming. Kudos for balancing so many ingredients in a pleasant, drinkable brew.

It’s a great idea to enhance Earl Grey with even more citrusy character, because orange peel adds more depth and sits well with the base bergamot note. Flower petals also give some more complexity. Interesting and balanced twist to the classic style.

Rich, deep and complex taste, with distinct dryness, slight tartness and astringency, nice smoky undertone remanding me of prunes, solid malty foundation with a touch of dark notes just like in dark chocolate. Lovely, intriguing tea.

Mmm, it’s so aromatic. Lots of red currants, lots of flowers, slight citrusy undertones, lovely red colour. A expected sourness in taste but it’s only marginal. And there’s a nice balance between the base rooibos, petals and fruit.
Really solid flavoured rooibos. Definitely need to try it as cold brew.

Beautiful fruity and flowery aroma after opening the package. After steeping it becomes more mellow, warmer, but still complex and balanced. Pineapple doesn’t dominate, it just complements the overall impression.
And as for the taste, it’s slightly sweet, with nice interplay between pineapple and flowers. Another well-thought-of blend.

I love Moroccan tea. Both sweetened and unsweetened, hot and cold, in winter and in summer. And this one is pretty intense, with potent aroma of mint and a solid foundation of black/green tea blend, slight bitterness from mint (peppermint, I presume) and just a touch of bergamot to top it all.

I really like the clash of caramel (only slightly sweet and pleasantly milky) and lemongrass, because this is no clash at all. They nicely complement each other, plus there is a subtle note of blackberries and black currants in the background, really delicate but nicely rounding up the aftertaste. Very balanced and well-thought-of blend.

Very warming aroma, with honey, citruses, fruity and flowery (bordering on perfume-y) notes.
Very delicate flavour, not dominated by addons. Probably too delicate, but I’m not going to use a higher honeybush-to-volume ratio, because the aroma is going to be overdone then.

Distinct lemon peel aroma, very refreshing, over malty foundation.
Very casual, easygoing impression in flavour. Unobtrusive base black tea plus a bit of lemon peel. Warming in winter, but probably refreshing and cooling in summer as cold brew.

Pumpernickel, vanilla, nuts and a bit of cocoa in aroma.
Rich and complex flavour, with solid malty body, distinct astringency and quite long aftertaste.
Very interesting and delicious tea.

Aroma is… caramel and mango, as can be expected. Strong, warming, fairly natural.
Flavour is caramelly, fortunately only slightly sweet, with base black tea barely showing through and mango undertones in the back.
Nice winter warmer.

Lovely straw colour.
Lots of cardamom (mainly) and cloves in aroma, some apple and base green tea straw notes more in the back.
Lots of spices in flavour, with base green tea and apple forming a delicate background.
Not as warming as I thought it would be, but tasty, even if tad bland. Could use some more characterful tea as base and more apple, but I don’t see it as a flaw.

Lots of orange peel (with albedo) and cinnamon in aroma. Partly natural, partly artificial. Partly pleasant and warming, partly unpleasant and disturbing.
And plenty of cinnamon in flavor, plus fresh citrusy notes a a bit of bitterness from orange peel.
I really like the orange part, it’s pleasant and warming. But the cinnamon… Either the tea is overdone with the spice, or this cinnamon lacks somewhat in the quality department. Could have been great, yet it’s only passable.

Straw colour brew.
Aroma is mainly the base sencha tea with a bit of cactus flavouring, pleasant and warming.
And it’s similar in taste. The base sencha is the most important here, cactus, lemongrass and flavourings serve only to spice it up a bit. The result is warming but also refreshing, easy-going sencha.

Base, a bit milky oolong, some pineapple, only a bit of ginger in aroma.
Creamy texture, with some ginger spicyness and a bit of sweet pineapple.
Not comparable to good quality oolongs but still nice.

Malty, grassy, a bit nutty. Very casual, mellow, subtle, not bitter, not astringent. Good choice for a entry-level green tea.

Very strong pear and honey aroma from the bag. Yes, it’s artificial, but nice nonetheless.
And it’s less artificial after steeping. There’s a nice balance between pear, honey and base rooibos, and the tea itself gives warming, cosy sensation.
It’s slightly sweet, with honey dominating the flavour but pear and rooibos are not far in the background.

Wonderful vanilla and citrus cookies aroma from the bag.
And after steeping? Very pale brew, also smelling with cookies, but also with a distinct dried apple note, slight red peppercorn spiciness and base white tea in the background.
Very flavourful taste with all the ingredients present (and being in real balance). It’s not sweet and it surely is a great winter warmer
I’m not entire sure what does white tea have in common with Laponia (or I should rather say Sápmi) but I really like this tea.