The Silk Tea Co.

Found myself with a spontaneous late night craving for this tea yesterday and I just couldn’t help but oblige it. I did let the tea cool to just above room temperature before drinking it; not intentionally at all though. I remember getting a nice sweet fresh strawberry note with a hibby edge to it offset by more of the grassy, vegetal and slightly bitter moringa and a mild but coating sweetness from the fennel. I definitely still need to try this as a truly “hot” cup of tea because, if I’m remembering correctly, the first time I tasted it was cold brewed. It seems well suited for this kind of temperature zone, though!

Cold Brew!

This was the only one of the teas from this haul that I didn’t try hot for my first cup, so I’ll have to do that too. It just seemed really well suited for a cold brew.

When I started drinking this, I wasn’t enjoying it – but I’m glad I kept pushing through my brew because by the time I finished it I was really loving the flavour. Initially it was very herbaceous and vegetal forward with notes of moringa and nettle being the most prominent alongside hints of lemongrass and tart hibiscus. However, the flavours build on the palate while sipping and the ones that ended up emerging and becoming the strongest were the light bergamot, and a sweet medley of apple, strawberry and citrus that was softened and supported by the coating sweetness of the fennel.

I think this is an interesting and unconventionally fruity herbal blend. I’ll be curious to see how those flavours translate when made hot, since it wasn’t an immediate love as a cold brew.

It’s rose. It’s cardamom. It’s green tea. It’s also kinda flat tasting and boring. It’s not that I think it necessarily tastes bad, but to me this is maybe the weakest offering of Silk Tea Co’s blends. I know I can find similar blends elsewhere and I just feel like there’s not a lot of life to the cup. I know that’s largely because of the decaffeination process but understanding the why still doesn’t improve the end experience.

I was really unsure if I would like the flavour and, truthfully, I only got it because it was part of a sampler that had the four other teas I was most curious in trying. In general I don’t gravitate towards green teas and decaf teas also wildly uninterest me. Plus, rose green tea isn’t really reinventing the wheel in anyway…

With that said, it’s a pretty surprisingly nice and flavourful tea! Floral forward for sure, so definitely not something I’d recommend to people who aren’t confident in their love of rose teas. However, it’s also very sweet, lush and fresh – definitely in part from that sweet (and also naturally floral) lychee addition to the blend. Perhaps the most interesting element to me is the addition of cardamom. I’ve absolutely experienced cardamom and rose together and that’s a flavour that I enjoy a lot – but I would have never thought to combine cardamom and lychee and that duo is exciting to me! Very complimentary in that the cardamom really makes the sweetness of the lychee stand out.

Overall, this is definitely my least favourite of the collection I ordered but it was still pleasant and something I don’t anticipate struggling to finish off in any way.

Iced Latte!

Made this one as an iced latte expecting the cardamom, soft smoke, and golden caramel notes to really come together splendidly with the creamy nuttyness of the almond milk I had used. Instead, this was such a bizarre latte with a much, much fruitier flavour overall than how I would normally describe the tea. Like a cross between bubblegum and tutti-frutti jellybeans (like the Jelly Belly kind). I didn’t hate it, but I definitely don’t think I’m revisiting this particular prep method either…

I just ordered more of this, so I figured I’d try and sip down the last dregs of my bag before my fresh order comes in. It’s so rich and golden tasting with ooey gooey caramel notes tinged with the sweet honey-like fruity notes of fresh figs and a heavy handed cardamom finish. Really unique – I’m stoked to be getting a little more!

I think I like this tea even more my second time having it!

The aroma is so fresh and fruity but also really sweet and golden. Reminds me of Werther’s caramels but with a fruity figgy edge to it. The steeped tea is such a perfectly medley of the golden gooey caramel notes, a buttery pastry type element, dewy floral fresh yellow orchard fruits/apples, and fig spread. Complex but well balanced with all these many flavours in sync with each other.

I’ve been seeing a lot of love for this tea company across my friends on Instagram and I definitely found myself curious and wanting to get in on the fun too – so I placed a sampler order and quickly tasted my way through that collection!

This is, I think, the flavour from MJ/The Silk Tea Co that I think is getting the most attention and I totally see why – it’s a very unique overall profile that’s super well executed. The smells immediately drew me in, and reminded me of another fig tea that I enjoy a lot called Honey Fig Tree (from Tea Squared). However, this was immediately richer in aroma with a creaminess to it that I don’t find in that blend.

Fig is a tough flavour to convey and in all honesty I’m not totally sure that this blend gets it right on – but it’s close enough, and coupled with the impressive array of additional flavour elements it’s easy and enjoyable to get swept up in the idea of drinking more of a “feeling” than a dead on flavour recreation. The overall tea is sweet with dewy fresh fruity flavours coupled with golden honey, vanilla creme, and a more baked/patisserie type of date note with hints of warming spice. It’s maybe a bit like a sweet golden fig custard?

Anyway, however you dice it, this was flavourful fun and refreshingly different from anything I’ve tasted in recent memory!

Sipodown 146-2021

Nothing to add here, but wanted to log the sipdown. I’d consider purchasing this one again.

I thought I had logged this before, particularly since I’m down to 1 remaining cup. Oh, well.

I really enjoy this one, and would consider purchasing it again. It’s a subtle orange blossom with a bit more of a pronounced lavender flavor. It’s a bit creamy and custardy, which words really nicely with the floral flavors.

Sipdown 154-2021

I love all of the ingredients in this tea, but it never quite struck me like I hoped it would. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tasty tea. But, I thought this would be something I would want to have on hand at all times, but it’s sadly not. It just smells slightly off- it is just too strongly scented, and comes off as a candle. The smell actually seeped through the bag, and effected all the teas in my tea drawer at work.

The overly sweet, intensity of the flavor has settled since I last opened the bag. Definitely a good thing. I’m tasting more caramel and a bit of a nondescript floral. Will be trying this with a bit of milk next.

Thanks to Cameron for posting about this brand! I bought the sampler pack as soon as it became available again, and they arrived today! I was most intrigued by this blend- milk oolong, Assam black tea, cardamom, dates, figs, caramel, and roses (amongst a few other things). Quite an ingredient list. The smell upon opening the bag is incredibly strong. It’s soooo sweet smelling, and has an eggnog thing going on with it. I’m getting eggnog in the flavor too. Not really making out any of the individual ingredients, except the caramel. Not getting any of the flavor of the tea, which makes sense, as I can’t see much of it in the dry mix. Definitely need to revisit this one, as I have some mixed feelings.

“An Ode to Tea” Alphabet Challenge – D

Okay, so I’m almost guaranteed not to like this one, it being a rose blend and all, but I figured it deserves a chance. So here it is for my alphabet tea today!

Yeah, no. I mean, it’s not awful, it doesn’t taste like perfume. But it’s very heavy on the rose. I do get some hints of lychee and cardamom, I think. But mostly it’s lush roses.

Into the rehoming box!

Sipdown! (2 | 400)

Never really warmed up to this one, or any of The Silk Tea Co.’s teas for that matter.

I love both melon and strawberry, yet this tea is just odd to me. The melon is lovely, sweet and a bit creamy, maybe with some help from the vanilla? The strawberry is definitely candy. I think my issue is with the nettle? Between the cool mint and the sort of herbal note from the nettle, the tea ends up tasting almost medicinal to me. And the flavors seem a bit disjointed, almost like it was two very different teas mashed together into one. I have a Dammann tea with similar flavors to this one, I’ll have to pull it out one of these days.

Meh! I see The Silk Tea Co. has several new teas out now, but after not liking any of their first three, I don’t think I’ll spend the money to try the others. But they have a very strong following on Instagram, so good for them! :D

Meh, not a fan of this one…

Not sure what it is, maybe the combination of the peppermint, nettle, and strawberry? A melon-strawberry-mint green tea sounds appealing to me, yet there’s something here that just doesn’t quite go together. The strawberry is quite candylike, so maybe it’s that combined with the mint/nettle? There’s an almost menthol-like taste to it.

Anyway, I’m going to put the rest of the packet into my rehome box, because it feels like a waste to force myself to drink it when someone else will probably enjoy it more.

I guess this company is not for me, because I’m 0 for 3 with their teas. Oh well, I’m glad to not like everything, heh heh…

Hmm… not sure how I feel about this one. It sounds like something I would like – a strawberry and honeydew green tea.

But something is a bit off for me? Not sure if it’s the peppermint, the nettle, or just one of the flavorings not melding well. I definitely get the melon, and it seems sweet, creamy, and perfectly pleasant. Strawberry is definitely candylike though.

We’ll see if I warm up to it over the course of 25 grams!

So The Silk Tea Co. is a small American company that has been sort of popular on Instagram lately, at least in my circle of tea people. So I ordered their sampler pack of three teas, and this is the first one to be tried!

Unfortunately, it’s just not to my tastes. I’m getting rather strong lavender and orange blossom flavors, which kind of overpower the milk oolong base. And since I’m not a floral lover, that’s not a great thing for me. I do definitely pick up on some of the mentioned crème brûlée notes – there’s a lovely creamy vanilla-caramel swirl that comes out a bit after the initial barrage of flowers.

So I’m sure this is perfectly tasty, it’s just not for me!

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