True Tea Club

280/365

This was last night’s pre-bedtime cup, and I was hoping for something along the lines of Bird & Blend’s Birthday Cake. The ingredients list is intriguing, since there’s nothing there that suggests either vanilla or cake; it’s composed of banana, orange, and papaya, on a rooibos base.

I brewed this up according to the directions, and added a splash of milk. As you might expect, knowing what’s in it, it tastes like tropical fruit. The banana is most prominent, and that’s quite pleasing, but the orange and papaya in the mid-sip don’t do much towards replicating cake. The rooibos is woody and a little scratchy, and ultimately it overpowers pretty much everything else. By the end of the cup, it’s pretty much all I can taste.

I’m not really sure how this one was ever supposed to taste like vanilla cupcake? It would pass muster as a tropical-inspired blend, but there’s nothing here that pays even a remote homage to the blend name. Why give people tropical fruit if they’re expecting cake? This blend reminds me very much of Irish Rum and Cream from the same company, which tastes like banana to me, and I don’t think I’d order from them again.

Disappointing!

278/365

Last day at work tea! It’s also the last of the teas I picked up with my one (and only) order from True Tea Co. This was one of the better ones, given that it actually tasted of something akin to it’s name. It’s not a perfect blend by any means, but it’s okay – candy strawberry, and a touch of cream. The rooibos is pretty strong and woody, and it distracts a little from what’s already a delicate flavour, but I’m not too disappointed with it. It’s a fairly good bedtime option, and I’m always looking for more of those.

I drank this cup with a splash of milk, and I’m wondering now whether it might work well as a latte. I’m a little concerned about the rooibos, but hopeful also that the strawberry might come to increased prominence. I’d probably not order from True again, since I’ve found their blends really inconsistent, but a couple of good things have come out of it so I can’t be too disappointed. This was one of the positives.

229/365

I’ve been curious about this one for a while, but if I’m honest it was a combination of the name and the aesthetic that finally made me cave and buy it. It’s so pretty – rainbow indeed! I steeped this the way I usually would a herbal, which is 4-5 minutes in boiling water, and then realised that the pouch suggests 10 minutes. I took a sip, found very little flavour, and put the leaf back in. This is one that needs a lengthy brew time to really come alive.

And come alive it does. The overall flavour is quite herbally, in a “wildflower field” kind of way. Sort of floral-ish, but with a more savoury edge. In amongst all that are little sparks of brilliance – a soft lemon creaminess, a hint of cooling mint, a touch of sweet, tart fruitiness. It’s the kind of tea that seems to change with each sip, giving the impression that there’s always something new to taste or discover.

I’m drinking this one during the day, but I think it’s the kind of blend that would be well suited to evening or bedtime drinking. It’s soft and fairly subtle, sweet-ish but with a slightly herbaceous quality that stops it from feeling overdone. It’s probably not unique enough that I’d rush out and buy more (although it doesn’t contain chamomile, so I guess that’s a point in its favour), but I’ll enjoy having it around for a while. Did I mention that it’s really pretty?

On another note, I had my appraisal today, during which my line manager basically disagreed with everything I said, and then told me quite plainly that he takes me for granted and relies on my experience to make up for his lack of it. So I told him I’ve been offered a new job, and I figure this whole enterprise was worth it just to see the look on his face. This place are going to be in the shit without me, and it’s finally come home.

207/365

I am forever searching for a tea to equal David’s Movie Night that’s easily accessible in the UK. This one is probably the closest I’ve come so far. It smells right – all buttery, nutty, sweet, toffee-coated popcorn. The flavour is almost there, too – maybe a little light on the toffee, but the popcorn is pretty spot-on. The initial few sips are magical, although in successive sips I find I’m separating and identifying ingredients rather than tasting it as a cohesive whole. I guess that’s what I’ve trained myself to do, but it’s a little distracting in this case. For example, I can taste fennel seed, pistachio, nut brittle, and then apple. It’s like, as a flavour, it doesn’t quite hold together. It’s still really good, but I think it might shine more as a latte. That might help to heighten the toffee notes a bit, and add the extra sweetness I’m looking for. It’s pretty good, though – I like it a lot more than I expected to!

No matter how I brew this one, I still get banana. Banoffee, specifically.

Why is the rum always gone?

175/365

This one smells delicious from the moment you open the bag, but it’s banana I smell. Candy banana, specifically. Not cream, and surely not rum. It’s an interesting beginning!

To taste, I almost get rum. It’s frustratingly close, but just not quite there. I wonder if it’s because the flavouring here is almost certainly artificial, and has had to be created from other flavours? It’s nothing even remotely approaching tea that’s actually been aged in rum barrels, for example. Mostly, I can taste banana. I don’t mind that at all, because I’m quite partial to a banana tea. Call me perverse, but I actually quite like that foam banana sweet flavour, and that’s what I’m getting here. There’s a good hit of creaminess, mostly towards the end of the sip, and that’s pleasant too. There’s even a bit of coconut kicking around in the background. If they’d called this one banana coconut cream, I would have been happy.

While I like what I’m drinking, it’s not exactly living up to its billing. That leaves me conflicted in terms of rating. If you buy this one expecting Irish Rum, you’re going to be disappointed. And really, what else would you be expecting, given that’s what it’s called? This is the tea equivalent of buying a dog and receiving a cat instead. Puzzling, but by no means unpleasant.

Holy crap. The smell of this tea is good enough to eat. Nutty, sweet, salty, with the tiniest faint hint of fruity but just barely. Mostly nutty/salty/caramel…And omg you guys…please listen to me…PLEASE listen. This is the most delicious tasting tea I’ve ever had in my entire life. I dont say that lightly. Please try this..please. I paid for international shipping and I’m gonna do it again because this is so good. It tastes like an actual biscotti cookie- not like biscotti flavored tea, but like the actual cookie- not cherry-like…but more of like that vanilla almond flavor but then with caramel mixed with this salty sweet smell its just unbelievable. Ive never seen anything like it. This company is pretty dang great. This is my first tea from them and i WILL be ordering more.

For more on tea: www.TastethTea.co.uk

Part of me never wanted to steep this, just so I could keep this pretty little tea in my collection, FOREVER! Alas, I did eventually plop the whole sample in a teapot and as the combination of herbs, fruits and flowers steeped, mint notes started enticing me to prematurely pour a cup. I didn’t, but I also didn’t make it through the WHOLE 10 minutes before curiosity got the better of me, stopping the steeping at about 7 minutes in. At this point the cup develops a distinctly lemon aroma, which would usually set alarm bells ringing, as I HATE hot lemon. Luckily, it was more lemon sherbet than Lemsip, so I felt pretty relaxed about giving the blend a taste. The flavour… well it’s actually pretty subtle. I could see why the packet suggested 10 minutes, in order to give full force to the flavours, which are predominantly a floral field taste mingled with gentle lemon and mint. Anyone can see that this is an aesthetically beautiful blend, but none of these notes are particularly punchy or overpowering. It’s perhaps a decent pre-bed sort of tea.

For more on tea: www.Tastethetea.co.uk

The aroma is succulent and fruity. I don’t know what they flavoured it with, but they got the scent damn near dialed to perfection. It smells so good you could scoop it out and eat it. Obviously don’t do that, steep it. I found that the recommend time really wasn’t enough, creating a very weak tea. Steeped for longer, the leaves create a nice fruity liquid, that I think would be even nicer iced. Perfect for summer!

For more on tea: www.Tastethetea.co.uk

The tea looks and tastes good and that’s probably one of the most important things. However, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down when really looking at the company. Despite my critical review, I do feel like these fellow tea lovers are really trying, but are perhaps just making a few mistakes along the way. I hope they can learn from them and this review. A little more consistency with the product and website wording would go a long way to eliminating any future confusion with the subscription service! At the moment this is a good service, but it’s by no means the best service.

For more: https://www.tastethetea.co.uk/2017/07/25/true-tea-club-subscription-uk/