Metropolitan Tea Company

My local kitchen store had all their loose leaf teas on sale for ONE DOLLAR! :o That was suppose to he for 50g, but when i got there I found 2-4 oz bags for $1 no tax. Oh my. Unfortunately there weren’t many flavoured ones left. But I did grab this one which i thought would be a gem and then some teas for the travelling tea box.

The dry notes smell very spicy, mostly of cinnamon, almost like cinnamon hearts, but not as sweet smelling. Once steeped it stills smells spicy.
On the first sip its still very hot and I mostly get a black tea taste :( booo, with the yummy spices taking a back seat. I prefer when the tea taste takes a back seat to the flavour aspect of Tue tea.
Unfortunately the black tea stays at the forefront. This isn’t a horrible tea, by any means, but with the smell its not what i was expecting. I’m not sure if this is making its way into my cupboard. I will probably have to have it again to make that decision, for now it goes back into my sip down pile.
Can’t really complain since I did only pay $1 for 2.4oz of it.

I didn’t care for this one hot. I found it to be too tart from the hibiscus.
SO, I’m trying this one chilled! I’ve got it cooling right now. I’ve added some sugar and it looks like it’s going to be a strong one. It is DARK. I can’t wait to try it. :)
Will update once it’s done!

UPDATE: So, I was going to drink this one before I left for work today but I didn’t. So anyway, here I am after work wanting to drink some tea, but not wanting to go through all the motions of making it. hahaha
So, when I said dark, think like red wine dark. I poured a small glass of this into one of my new double-walled glasses and it is DARK. BUT, taste, I love it! I’m so happy that I didn’t give this one away like I had originally planned to. Because it’s so strong and fruity, it almost tastes like juice; a berry juice of sorts. I’m totally loving it.
Given though, as much as I love it, I probably wouldn’t get this one again only ’cause I have other fruity teas that I love even more. And they are teas that I love both hot and chilled. Still, I will definitely enjoy what I have. :)

I didn’t know that this one was called Georgia Peach. I bought this one, and where I bought it from must have dropped the first part of the name when they made up the label. I just thought it was called Sweet Peach Rooibos, but after looking over this, I’m pretty sure this is the one that I have.
It is a lovely peach flavoured tea. I love the rooibos base with it. It is a very good pairing. I like the fact that it is an almost juicy peach flavour that comes through.
I must agree with the other reviewer here. The DavidsTea Southern Belle (Peach tea) wasn’t good to me. I couldn’t drink it. My husband seems to not mind it too much, but I can’t drink it. So I find that this tea is a very nice one to have on hand. It is just about perfect for flavouring of a peach tea.
I’m just finishing up my stash of it, so I’ll have to get more again at some point.

This one is from the Purrfect Cup! Thanks so much!

This has a little bit of smoke flavor but it also tastes like sprouts to me…like alfalfa or pea sprouts even. There is a bit of sweet and subtle malty notes trying to come thru too.

At first I wasn’t sure if I liked these flavors together but they are growing on me. I think temperature has a lot to do with it too! I seem to like this one the cooler it got.

When sipping cold – I noticed there is a subtle floral aftertaste, too. Very different. Very unique. Because of this…I am enjoying it.

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.

A review of Revolution Breakfast Tea(Boston Tea Party Blend)by The Metropolitan Tea Company, LTD

I am trying this very famous blend of black tea once more.
Using one tea bag in my cup, I pour the freshly boiled water into the cup leaving it to steep for five minutes.

I remove the covering from the tea cup and observe the coloring: a darken rosy color, like Port wine. It smells of a fine dry bouquet distilling of malt. Tea is full bodied and taste of malt and not roasted at all. I would not say that the malt is strong or creamy, although this tea is smooth in character and the description use for it is ‘oakiness’. There is something woodsy, and smelling of rain about it.

In all, tea’s character is that of malt and it is full-bodied with hints of floral flavor and a touch of pine.

I also like the canister that this tea comes in: the gold emboss/engraving for The Metropolitan Tea Company and the images depicting the tea party members disguise as Indians tossing over the teas into the Boston Harbor. It was then a history in the making; an historical event which brought about some wonderful teas.

2nd Review Revolution Breakfast Tea (Boston Tea Party Blend) by Metropolitan Tea Company

When first trying this cup of tea I thought to try and have it like bubble tea; well to add milk to it. So, not giving up on this tea, I have decided to start again with a fresh cup of tea with milk and sugar added to it and cooked real hot (boiling).

I took one tea bag (has no strings on bag, instead they are grouped as two bags with tearing-folds); anyhow, having placed the tea bag in my cup I added one teaspoon of sugar and took a small thin of condensed milk and add some of the milk to my cup, I stirred this in while the wonder comes to a full boil. I then take some of the water in another cup and pour this into my cup (with the milk and sugar) and stir the mixture as I am pouring the water.

I like the color, which is a lovely golden color, and with the added milk it smells creamy and sweeter. So far so good I am thinking. I leave the tea alone with covering on for a bit longer.

When I finally decided to have this tea, I sipped it slowly at first to take in its strength (the mixture of sugar with the condensed milk) and how they pair together. Now this tea tastes just rightly so and very hot. With the adding of milk to the tea there is not that after taste feeling that I got from the earlier cup I had prepared. Tea is not too sweet either, it all seems just right.

I can see boiling this tea on the stove with condensed or evaporated milk, sugar and several tea bags and leaving them all to mingle and come to full boil…making for my version of bubble milk tea.

I realized with this Revolutionary Breakfast Tea it is best for this reviewer to have it with milk (condensed-evaporated milk) and raw sugar.

I like the malt that is to be found in this cup of tea, and that it is full bodied. What perhaps I did not like is the floral aspect combined with the malt, which to me gives it an off taste. And I am not sure what ‘oakiness’ is, so I cannot account for this description.

Overall, this tea does brew a bright golden cup and is best served with milk/cream/evaporated milk and raw sugar (pure cane sugar).

This tea was purchased while visiting Heath’s Tea Room in Rockport, MA and I am happy to have tried this tea. Thank you to Kimberlie and Michael.

A review Revolution Breakfast Tea (Boston Tea Party Blend) by Metropolitan Tea Company

I used one tea bag placed in my cup and then poured freshly boiling water into the teapot. I left to steep for 5 minutes.
Tea’s color is reddish amber, and tea’s liquor is that of malt with hints of floral notes. When I take a sip of this tea it is not pleasant at first. It is definitely raw and malty but there seems to be an off taste to it somehow.

This tea is certainly full for having a good color,and strength but there seem to be lack of substance. Nothing stands out with this tea, other than its color is lovely.

Right now this cup of tea is a plainly hot cup of tea.

Tea from this morning. This one is pretty bold (I picked it up at The Whistling Kettle – who I know gets there tea from MTC)! Very smokey and all around oaky flavor to it, really nice. I really like it as one of my morning kickstarters once I get to work. Thankfully I learned my lesson that one cup is enough…when I had it at WK yesterday I had a small stump pot which was WAY too much! I’m going to try it in the potato soup recipe I’m making tonight…I got the recipe from the lovely Bigelow (aisling of tea) any Lapsang adds a nice smoke/bacon flavor so we’ll see what this one brings.

Thank you IndigoBloom for this nice CANADIAN sample!

Ice Wine Tea seems to be something you can only get in Canada. Don’t exactly know why. Maybe Canada has special ice or snow or a load of grapes from New York or California froze one year and someone like Krystaleyn studing grapes and drinking tea at the time had a brilliant idea.

Whatever the case was, voila…ya got Ice Wine Tea.

I kept pestering Indigo-B for some “Please”, when we did a tea swap and I was delighted to see some tea bags (don’t say that often) to satisfy my Ice Wine Tea curiosity.

I was careful not to over-steep the teabag…and once the hot tea cooled a bit the flavor unfolded.
There was a ruby red, seedless grape flavor at the correct stage of ripeness without too much sugar and a bit on the dry side. The type I buy and plop into the freezer to eat like popsicles on a hot day in August or September.
Although I’ve become used to loose leaf tea with big flavor, the scent and taste was mild and pleasing, fruity and not astringent. The wine flavor was not overpowering to the base ceylon tea.
I let my cup cool, added stevia and ice cubes and it was really good! The tea became creamier and was better than hot in my opinion.

Whoops, had a little confusion issue about which tea I was reviewing. Probably caught it quickly enough for nobody to notice though :D

Anyways, this is round 2 of ice wine tea tasting, courtesy of Indigobloom!

Dry, this one smelled a little off, like fermenting grapes. I think 52teas Sweet Merlot had a similar aroma. However, that’s kind of what wine/a winery smell like!

Steeped, this one’s very dark, in spite of the 2 minute infusion I gave it! The aroma is a bit of black tea, with some sweetness and a bit of that fermenty grape flavour. I think I’m making a mental association to purple Kool-aid flavoured homemade playdough…

Ooh! Different. Thanks for the warning Indigobloom, this one definitely brews up strong! There’s astringency but it stops just short of bitterness thankfully. I think I would have been happier with only a minute-long infusion though. The flavour is hard to get at for me, because of the astringency. It’s a bit sweet, and perhaps a bit grapey/winey. Definitely a lot heavier than the Culinary Teas version. I think I prefer the Culinary Teas one over this though, as I think there’s more flavour.

Neither of these teas really did it for me though, to be honest. Interesting to try them though! Thanks again for the sample, Indigobloom!

First genmaicha I’d ever tasted, to be honest, in Orpington’s tearoom Mystic Brew. Since then I’ve tried other brands, like the Neal’s Yard Tea Emporium brand, but the bancha they used always seemed a bit lacking, a bit too sharp. This one comes out a beautiful green colour rather then the typical gold of green teas, the bancha is light and the rice really adds a kind of fullness to the flavour. Also, it seems to be a bit more hardy against boiling water and less easy to scald than most green tea blends! Always amazing.

I decided this tea would be just the thing to help me feel better today, as I was feeling a bit faded and wilted, not to mention having stuffy sinuses, but I was a bit disappointed. The warm liquid did help, but the taste wasn’t quite the same as it usually was. I guess probably my taste buds were a little wack, as they can be when you’re sick. Anyway, I’m kind of wishing I had chosen a tea that had a little eucalyptus or something in it to break through the gunk in my sinuses, but I still do love this tea. :)

This one was so yummy yesterday morning, I had to drink it again this morning. Firstly, I don’t require that my black teas have THAT much crazy flavoring, but it’s nice when they have a little something extra to add another dimension to the taste. This tea fits that description exactly—the vanilla and the grenadine are mellow and light backup flavors, while the black tea truly does take center stage. The smell of the leaves as well as the brew, as it says in the tea description, is very pleasant and relaxing.

Now, just so I can have a teensy bit of criticism in my review, it’s not all that special, except that it seems to go well with just about everything. I don’t think I’ll keep it as a constant supply (although the husband seems to like it quite a lot), but it satisfies that craving I get for sweet black tea. :)

For technicalities, this came from EnglishTeaStore.com, and is called Earl Grey Cream – Metro (Metropolitan) Blend. Recommended by SimplyJenW (thank you!).

This is the 3rd or 4th testing of this tea, and this morning I decided to go back to the basics of only using a T. of honey to properly test. I find that most Earl Grey’s benefit from some cream/milk and will add that shortly : )

There is a slight (only slight) bitterness to this tea, when only sweetened. That should disappear with added cream. The bergamot is on the light side of my preferences, but I like a lot to give it a creamsicle effect. There is a creamy feeling to the tea, but not overly so. Overall a very good Earl Grey Cream (but still prefer Upton’s). I’m off to add some cream now : )

I mentioned in one of my earliest tasting notes that Apricot was the first flavored tea I encountered. Also one of the first ‘loose leaf’ teas. It seems appropriate since my very first employment was on a fruit farm cutting apricots for drying.

Naturally this tea holds within it’s aromas and taste the essences of memories and pleasant experiences. The fruity, natural sweetness only enhances the teaness of the tea. The Metropolitan Apricot is a smooth cup with some of the coppery brightness of a good Ceylon tea. It is quite satisfying to return to a favored flavored tea.

Wow, Indigobloom, you weren’t kidding with the strong on this one. Heeding your warning I gave it a short steep of two minutes. And while it isn’t bitter, it is extremely strong. I am getting a fermented grape note under the strong black tea base, and can definitely see wine drinkers who enjoy tea really loving this one. Me, I’m not a wine drinker at all but couldn’t resist the grape smell. It smells heavenly, but if you aren’t a fan of a strong tea I recommend doing an even shorter steep than I did!

Tried some of this at a local tea room and wasn’t very impressed. I like rooibos but this one just tasted too much like medicine. Somehow I thought I’d love this cup of tea because I’m a big fan of those craisins w/ pomegranate juice.

It’s not a tea that I can get used to. That’s not to say that I don’t like it, it’s just not what I expect from a tea!

This has a very sweet smell, sickly and sweet. Luckily it doesn’t taste so sweet, although it is sweet compared to most teas.

In the taste, the ceylon tea balances out the sweetness of the maple, and they are probably in about the right balance. But somehow the two flavours don’t quite mesh together.

I have enjoyed it, but I can’t say that it stands out as being my favourite tea – just as being a bit interesting and a bit different. Worth a try, but do like I did, and get a pack of a dozen bags, not a hundred!

SIPDOWN!!! (you know how football announcers yell out “touchdown”? well that is how I picture saying sipdown hehe)
yeah baby, I have a tin to fill! woohoo!
In the meantime, I’m a bit sad to see this one go. and what a fantastic cuppa to send off with. Very winey and muscatel, smooth, sweet, and lip smackin good. Second steep was great to!

Guess what?!? I think I’ve made a convert! well, sortof.
My friend, who is a die hard roasty toasty, burn your mouth, double shot Americano coffee drinker… who considers “TEA” to be nasty stuff meant for sissies, enjoyed this tea!
I had a hunch he would, because well, this one was just so strong that I am sure my teeth were stained atleast two shades darker by the one cup I had.
Anyhow, he gave me his rating… and as a cup of tea, he said he’d give it an 8/10. However, on a general beverage scale he would give it a 7, with his precious coffee being 10.
Other notes he mentioned were that he expected it to be less fruity, and was pleased by how much it tasted like wine.
Overall, I would say this is huge progress. I’m so thrilled, I can’t even begin to describe my elation! :P
So, now that I know what kind of tea will get my friend excited, does anyone have a recommendation?
I’ve tried Lapsang Souchong and White Tiger (by DTs- he insisted on having it iced, and actually didn’t hate it, I think he rated it a 6) and Coffee Pu-erh, none of which he raved about. Until this one. I suppose that means I need something with some serious punch and depth but Assams are not quite bottomless enough.
I need ideas here!! gotta keep the tea ball rollin here. hehe, I’m such a tea-nerd. yep, that pun was intended ;)

Steeper beware!! this one brews up STRONG!!!!
I had the bag in for two, maybe three minutes and it ended up more bitter than a scorned woman. That had never happened to me before. A new experience to be sure. No matter. Heaps of agave fixed it right up (and I mean several. At least four times more than what I normally use, if I use any at all)
Next time, I’ll try it with a one/two min steep and see what that reveals.
Anyhow, once that was dealt with… the bitterness was peeking out for awhile, and I couldn’t taste much beyond the agave/bitter aspect. Almost like black coffee. I was not impressed.
However once it cooled a bit, I started to see the wine influence. Not quite ice wine per se, but definitely wine. There was that mouth drying sensation, along with a definite grape-like puckering. Like sweet green grapes. or maybe a hybrid green/red grape. Certainly not a plain red grape of course. No, it was not quite that sweet.
I went in for a second steep and that one was quite lovely as well. I added only two swirls of agave this time and steeped for three full minutes (plus an accidental twenty extra seconds). and guess what? it was still strong! not quite bitter. More what I expected the first infusion to be. any longer and I’d have bridged bitter territory. I’m still a little shocked at just how intense it was. Is it possible they added tea dust? I’ve heard it can make a tea bitter…
but that can’t be, I enjoyed it!! I could never like the taste of tea dust. right?
If it hadn’t been for the work event I was obliged to attend, you can bet I’d have stuck around for a third or even fourth cup.
Oh and I figured out what it reminds me of!! Cloud nine from David’s tea! I don’t know why, it just does. Maybe I need to do a side by side comparison one day. It has been some time since my stash ran out.
And for those who may (or may not be! I’m not assuming anyone reads me haha) wondering, yes I did break my tea buying ban. Again.
Ice wine tea had been on my list for ages, and this is the first opp I’ve had to get a decent version. When the shopkeeper said that people come specifically to her store for that tea, well who was I to shun it?! it was no longer in my power… the decision had already been made… sighs