Metropolitan Tea Company

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Recent Tasting Notes

76

I had this tonight at a party. The bergamot and jasmine blend very nicely. I also like that this is green tea blended with earl grey – it has body but is not too heavy. Takes sugar and cream well – they bring out the floral notes and beef up the body.

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68

It’s the Wednesday that feels like a Monday… And I just burned my tongue! I haven’t had this tea hot in a while, but already I like it better cold :-/ (not just for the burning, but because the blueberry flavor is brighter and more prominent.) Seems kinda mudfy now, but perhaps will get better as it cools a bit and my tongue recovers.

K S

mudfy? Is that the burned tongue speaking :)

Janefan

@KS – argh, yes. Or the iphone typing, but I managed not to burn my fingers….

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68

Very yummy cold steeped in a 16oz tumbler for 8+ hrs. Balanced blueberry flavor with black tea, no bitterness.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more

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68

Big mug of tea – check!
classical music – check!
distractions turned off – check!

Time to study! :-)

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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68

Breaking in my new Bodum 12oz. travel mug this am, wanted something to go with my Blueberry Vitatop muffin so I dug out this tea. Added vanilla honey (RoT) and milk, because it’s just not a breakfast black tea without milk & sweetener…

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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68

drinking it hot and unsweet. I like it better iced and sweet.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Janefan

I am having my chilled leftovers from the above steeping – the natural sweetness of the blueberry seems to come out better when this tea is cold. I don’t miss the sweetener too much, though I meant to add some agave while it was still hot…

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68

6 bags in 10oz water to make a pitcher of tea. Added sugar and a bit of agave. Nice change from plain sweet tea!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Janefan

may only use 5 bags next time as it’s a bit strong this way. may have overbrewed also – didn’t time it!

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68

This is wonderful as a sweet iced tea. The blueberry is “natural flavors” but it does have a very fresh, sweet taste.

Preparation
Iced 5 min, 0 sec

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99

I was given a bag of this Monks Tea as a hostess gift for Christmas and boy was I pleasantly surprized. The aroma that wafted from the teapot was so tantalizing that I couldnt wait to taste it. A hot cup of tea, no milk or sugar and a few decadent chocolate cookies and I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. The tea is so smooth yet the flavour just captivates your taste buds. One cuppa was not enough, had to drink a second cup to to see if the flavour was real. This is truly a delightful tea, a must try for all who love tea.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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93

Not only does this tea taste great, but it is great for its original purpose, staying up for long periods of religious meditation. I often stay up for hours just sitting and thinking, and this tea makes you feel awake, but not jittery or how caffeine makes you feel. Regardless, this tea is a great blend of sweet and savory (i especially like the hints of vanilla). I highly recommend this to all fans of traditional teas.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec

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100

My favorite “writing” tea. Great plain, or with milk and sugar. I’m hard-pressed not to say it’s my very favorite tea. I just can’t pick a favorite. I have over 30 teas!

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18

well……a tea I don’t like from Metropolitan…yes THIS IS IT and I’m not talking about MJ! I think it boils down to the fact that I just dont get much from flavored tea. I think the true delicacies of the tea notes are masked by an artificial flavoring…maybe its cuz my palette is changing, because I do remember one of my first teas from Adagio 3 yrs ago was Valentines Tea and it was good back then. I think I just can’t enjoy the ceylon base with artificial flavorings… I don’t know …I also tried ceylon sonata on its own and was not a fan…hmm. So 2 strikes against this tea and I think I’ll stop trying out flavored teas..yeah. I just might have to surrender to that and stop thinking they’ll produce something they can’t. Anyone want a bunch of flavored teas?

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Jillian

It might just be Ceylon tea that you don’t like since it’s the base in most flavoured teas.

I’d be interested in giving some of your flavoured teas a home if no one else volunteers (shipping to Canada might be a little expensive). Though you might want to wait until after X-mas when I’m due to get a bunch of new teas – then you’ll have a better selection to chose from in my Cupboard. ;)

teaplz

Flavored teas are really hard to nail, and I feel your pain with the artificiality! It completely turns me off when it tastes SO FAKE.

Some good flavored tea I’ve found:
- Anything Golden Moon. Seriously, all of their flavors have been absolutely delicious and completely natural-tasting. They have some exotic stuff as well, like Coconut Pouchong and Sugar Caramel Oolong, as well as White Licorice. A bunch of us purchased the sampler from there and have been really loving all the flavored stuff. They tend to have a good balance between the tea itself and the flavors.
- SerendipiTEA’s Colonille – Vietnamese black and vanilla. It tastes absolutely delicious! Fake vanilla is absolutely disgusting, and this one is subtle and natural.
- SpecialTeas’ Almond Cookie – Mmmm. If you love the taste of almonds, this replicates an almond cookie taste really well. And it tastes really natural as well.

So don’t give up on flavored tea just yet! Yes, there’s lots of gross flavored tea out there. :( But I hope you can find something you like, and I hope my recommendations can steer you in the right direction. Because NOBODY likes gross and fake-tasting flavored tea!

teaplz

^ OMG, long comment. Sorry about that!

kat

Well, thats good to know teapls, cuz I have had a coconut pouchong that I’ve liked…so maybe it is the ceylon tea as u mentioned Jillian…Well its good to hear there may still be hope for some flavors!

LENA

Kat, I wouldn’t mind trying this one out (maybe others). Do you want to check out my cupboard and see if we can work out a swap? lfinch8@gmail.com

Marie

I found this tea works better if you blend it with another flavored Ceylon, or loose leaf Earl Grey. But I absolutely agree, that it does not hold up well on it’s own. It needs a pairing to prop it up a bit more.

Marie

I should add that I’ve had great success pairing this tea with the raspberry flavored ceylon, strawberry flavored ceylon teas. Use it to make a chocolate chai, or mellow a russian caravan and whisk a way a bit of the smokey-ness. :)

kat

@Amy hmmmm okay I’ve actually got a chocolate chai and from adagio , do u think that would work? I also have cinnamon, almond, vanilla, and choc chip…Im up for trying blending …Do u put an equal amt of each flav? @Lena, love your profile about your kick ass husband-lol thats awesome…I think I might try blending a few of these and see if that helps. If anyone has any good combos they know of, by all means share, I tried the cinnamon and it was weird alone too. And man that almond has a STRONG ass smell!!

Marie

Hi Kat. My gut tells me if you want more chocolate flavor in your chai, just add some chocolate chips to your teapot when you brew. Blending Ceylon (flavor or no) will alter the base note of your tea – including taste, strength, astringency, color and so on. If you are in love with the base, just add some chocolate chips and experiment that way.

Ceylon is one of the lighter teas. So if you’re blending it to a weightier assam, kenyan, or china tea it will remove the robust feel and taste greatly. For flavored ceylon to flavored ceylon blends I blend equal parts. 1 heaping teaspoon per cup for decent strength and flavor. So minimum start would be a 2-cup teapot’s worth of tea. 1 heaping teaspoon of each into the pot. For the chai, do an easy test of one heaping teaspoon of each, and see if you like it. If you don’t like it – it’s probably the ceylon base that’s turning you off, and you’ll know right away. I started out with loose leaf ceylon teas, and my taste has grown more robust and maltier over time. That could be what’s happening with your palette as well.
kat

Well, I am currently drinking a blend of coconut/ceylon and choc chip/ ceylon and its not bad…at least I’m gonna drink this one;) I see now the difference in the lighter-ness ceylon teas versus assams for example and I’m partial to the stronger blends. Since I only have little samples of some of these ceylon flavored teas from Adagio I think I’ll make it thru when I want a little dessert-y tea at nite. Thanks you guys for all the rec’s (hugs) and teaplz, Im looking forward to that caramel oolong and the almond cookie u mentioned. I WILL NOT GIVE UP PEOPLE. :)

kat

Oh and I just noticed it tastes a little better and the flavors come thru more when its not friggin scalding hot like I thought I liked…lol

Fred

I agree with you about most flavored tea. I used to like the flavored stuff too back when i was younger. But now the more I know the more I realize that there are so many different tasting teas without flavoring, To me that is very fascinating and I do not use anything in my tea anymore because I want to taste the nuances that come with each tea I try. You can taste the quality of the tea master only when nothing is added.

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94

This is a very nice smooth tasting assam…mmmm. I added milk and sugar and its a perfect blend. I taste absolutely no astringency or bitterness to it which is good because I hate those two characteristics!! I love assams but some of them can have too much of a bite for me. Doesn’t even compare to the assam harmony and assam melody I’ve had from Adagio. Another win for Metro Tea! I’m happy. :)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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100

I admire all of you lovely tea drinkers who spin through your cupboard of selections like a ferris wheel each day! I’m unfortunately limiting my overall tea intake, so pretty much have one shot each day to enjoy a caffeinated cuppa. By the afternoon I’ve already worked out and just guzzle water. So yet again in order to share in the tasting note lounge section, I will rave about this tea. I almost broke out my Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey used with china black leaves. However as soon as I broke open the tin and inhaled, it just didn’t sit right with me. So back to the standby I go.

Yesterday I started doing sprints in my cardio workouts and was amazed at the energy buzz I had that lasted through the night! Rivaled my caffeine intake, and even this morning I still felt a buzz and was hungry like a bear! I like this tea because I’ve figured out how to make it exactly the way I like it – robust, smooth, caffeinated, creamy, sugary, and just plane work-horsey for a breakfast-y blend. Would love to be a connoiseur of teas and be up on the latest hot blend of silver tips – but you know what? I’m just a really interesting gal who thinks a lot, and likes her small rotation of black teas (for now). As I’ve downed the last of my creamy brew I’ll end with this. What I appreciate about all of you is your willingness to share your uniqueness. Some of you like one thing, others like many different things, and some drink teas all day – however you all saveur whatever cuppa is in front of you in the moment – and that’s why we’re a tea community because we all have that in common. Big Hugs to All! :)

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Jim Marks

My taijiquan instructor insists that drinking oolong or pu-erh in conjunction with workouts is highly beneficial. I think if you could find a low caffeine oolong it might make a great taste enhancement to the water you’re guzzling :)

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

Aww, sweet post.

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100

Drum roll please. I have in front of me my favorite breakfast blend with half/half & sugar, and a fresh glazed twisty donut. It’s my virtual Friday – we do a thing here where we get every other Friday off due to easing traffic congestion. Am I being bad with good stuff? Or am I being good with bad stuff? Either way the taste blend is INCREDIBLE! Bite of soft, gooey glazy twisty donut, slurp of creamy breakfast tea. Slurp of creamy breakfast tea, bite of soft, gooey, glazy twisty donut. What was that about work? Don’t bother me, I’m cheating. 80’s music softly rounding out the experience. I swear when I die, I will erect a donut shop bakery and a tea house in heaven right underneath my spiritual living quarters. This must be one of the main reasons why I reincarnated during this century. Came in too late to have to wear a dress all the time, but not too late to enjoy the pleasures of taking tea and facilitating Victorian-style spirit circles. Gotta love it! Om nom nom nom nom nom. :)

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
JacquelineM

I hope there is 80s music in the heavenly donut shop bakery tea house too! I will be a frequent visitor! I’m the worst – I think I like 3 bands that have come out since 1989.

SoccerMom

Oh yes please let there be 80’s music!

Stephanie

Love 80’s music …and twisty donuts! :)

Marie

Let me just say it was SOOOOOO good! Then I spent about 5 minutes feeling guilty, and that quickly subsided and was left wanting some more. :)

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100

Experimented this week while at work with a couple scoops of the divinely Yorkshire Harrogate in a non-bleached tea bag and into the translucent glass teapot it went. The caffeine was there, yet the taste seemed hampered. Then the thought hit me – why am I using these bags? I know better! Just use my tea strainer and allow the leaves to unfurl loosely in the pot – let them stretch their leafy legs to full-reaching capacity and swanky charachter. Upon this morning’s tasting of doing just that – the flavor washed over my palette like a divine cleansing of the soul. Every tastebud utilized, every square inch of tongue real estate gathered together to partake in the joyful anointing of this trifecta breakfast blend plus cream and sugar immersion into blissful nirvana. Estate teas are like fine wines, and yet blended teas – are immensely depended upon for their consistent flavor. I savored my cuppa until the very last droplet of creamy coppery liquid had been consumed. My love affair with tea continues. ;)

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
~lauren.

Congrats on your AHA! Enlightment moment about the teabags … LOL!

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100

My order of the Yorkshire Harrogate finally arrived! This morning is my first cup since that wonderful afternoon at the High Tea Cottage a couple of Friday’s ago. I would rate this as a nicely robust morning tea, although the highest caffeine bump I’ve received so far is by the Earl Grey himself from Taylors of Harrogate. Frankly I don’t feel like having my way with the Earl in the morning. ;)

Expect a nice bold English Breakfast flavor (finally what I had been searching for to replace my other gifted tea). Round out the blend with milk and sugar for a smooth start to your day. This tea holds up well to bold food flavors.

This tea is broken orange pekoe – a blend of Assam, Kenyan, and China black teas. I’m still trying to taste the Kenyan tea, I haven’t had a chance to try it on it’s own to see how it adds to the blend, but know instinctively it’s part of what makes up the tasty breakfast blend that I prefer. I can taste the china and assam quite evenly, so assume the kenyan has an equal or slightly lesser role to the blend. Overall the tea flavor rolls nicely across the tongue without any bitterness – provided your steep time is not overly long. I prefer 2 heaping teaspoons per 1 1/2 – 2 cups of boiling water. Steeping time on this was about 3-4 min, as I was eyeing the copper color and pulled out the tea the minute I noticed the color deepen to a dark coppery abyss. I’m upping my rating to a 100 as far as this English Breakfast blend is concerned for me personally. I’ve tried so many to great disappointment. Only to realize the unique blend I was searching for was china, kenyan, and assam. You would be surprised how many breakfast blends are all over the map with the blends of black tea they use. Just buying something that says “Breakfast Blend” is not a guarantee of anything anymore, and most packages will not specifically list what blend of black teas they use. So if you care about your breakfast blend that much, it pays to figure out exactly what about the blend appeals to your pallet and take note. Here’s to you wonderful tea drinkers, my relatable comrades. May our lives all be made richer in the exploring and sharing of all divine things tea. :)

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
kat

Totally agree with you on this tea- LOVE it!!

JacquelineM

I have to put this on my shopping list – sounds right up my alley! Thanks for the thorough review!!

takgoti

It makes me happy when people find teas that slot into their tea needs so nicely. It’s like arriving home after a particularly long day. Hurrah for your find!

Wiseman Tea Co.

May our lives all be made richer in the exploring and sharing of all divine things tea. :)
Quote for truth

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100

Yes…finally. I have found a suitable replacement breakfast tea. A good friend and I visited our favorite tea house today and I had several cups of the Yorkshire Harrogate tea. It is strong, strong, strong. Beautiful with milk and sugar. Just the right breakfast blend I was looking for. The color is a nice deep copper, yet taste is not as astringent as earl grey. I like a breakfast tea to have enough bite that by the time I finish I don’t feel I’ll need another one to wake me up.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
kat

So glad u like it!!

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8

Well I needed a little something warm and caffeine free since I’ve been drinking blacks all day. Its snowing outside and is perfect tea weather. Unfortunately I did not like this at all- not the smell nor the taste..way to sweet and just not right on my tongue I guess. I was surprised so I opened up my only other rooibos sample (thank God) and the result was…YUCK! This one was worse than the caramel! I guess this girl ain’t doing anymore of those rooibos teas!!! Oh well u can’t blame a girl for trying.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
LENA

all of the flavored rooibos that I have tried have been gross. Do you like plain rooibos? I’d give it a try if you haven’t already. I’m a fan. I like plain rooibos with a little peppermint tossed in. Very refreshing. Rishi has the Peppermint Rooibos that rocks, but honestly you can buy plain rooibos and some plain peppermint, add them together and it’s exactly the same thing.

Marie

Yeah I have to agree with you, I’m not hot on rooibos teas either. Especially after the wonderful flavors of black tea.

Carolyn

I keep trying rooibos teas and keep being disappointed. I wish I could like them.

Jillian

Rooibos teas are really hit and miss with me. I did find a good one I like at the Granville Island Tea Company in Vancouver. It was chocolate mint but it had tons of real cocao nibs and peppermint leaves mixed in the rooibos. You could tell that the peppermint was fresh too just from the smell.

takgoti

Hrm. Rooibos and caramel aren’t two flavors that read to me as ones that would marry well together. Seems like it would come out as mealy tasting? Anyhow, tea disappointments make me sad, but if it weren’t for them the good stuff wouldn’t taste as good, right?

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