Whittard of Chelsea

Well, this is new. I reviewed this a day or two ago and wondered where to put it. Mine is a round sachet, not a teabag as pictured in the image here. Another reviewer said it tasted like artificial strawberry banana candy but mine isn’t tasting like that. So maybe it wasn’t the same thing? This came in a big set. But the pattern on the box is the same as the teabag one.

I still like it a lot, it is still very rose flavored but not too heavily so, with a somewhat brisk black tea base. Martin Bednar mentioned that the loose has rose petals in it, so I decided to tear open the sachet!

I found more confusion. This is really fine textured tea – as in bigger than dust but not by much. There are lots of tiny round white pellets in it as well. It looks like that potting soil with perlite or whatever in it, but in miniature. If you do dollhouses and want some realistic looking potting soil, here you go!

I assumed it was bits of sugar but surely they would have to label that? The ingredient list says only black tea and flavoring. I should have tasted one of those tiny spheres before steeping and may do so later.

I steeped it and looked for the spheres. Gone. So I tore open an extra sachet that was also in the pot and had been steeped. There were only two of the little spheres, super tiny, and I managed to separate one. I bit it, thinking it would be a crunchy sugar bit. It was soft.

Clearly there were more of these and they dissolved. This one tasted like nothing, not sugar and no explosion of rose to indicate it had somehow carried the flavoring. I bit one of the little pellets of tea (if we can call that tiny thing a pellet) and it was the same texture as the white sphere. So I still don’t know what it is. It must be the rose flavor delivery system. LOL

Weird as all that is, I stand by the fact that I like this tea. I think I will stick with buying Harney and Sons Rose Scented, though, which is a better quality base and is more accessible.

One person drinking it with me loved it, the other who mostly just likes plain black tea said she didn’t like its aftertaste, and I guess she meant the rose.

It was paired with homemade shortbread and made a decent companion for it.

I really struggled trying to decide where to review this. This came in the Tea Discovery Collection which was a Christmas gift, and was found at Home Goods for half the online price. Bargain!

The description on one of the Steepster pages for this tea appears to be for a different tea, because it mentions tropical fruit and rose, and this tea is pure black tea with rose. Period.
These are sachets and not loose tea so I didn’t want to review under the loose leaf version.

I like floral tea as long as it doesn’t taste artificial. This one has a lovely, just strong enough but not too strong rose flavor. I find rose oily, in a good way, like puerh can be oily. The base is mildly drying but not unpleasant and to me the dryness is mitigated by the oiliness of rose. The rose is definitely more delicate than Harney’s Rose Scented (which I LOVE) but still strong enough to be unmistakeable. This was paired with a plate of homemade shortbread and white chocolate chip cookies. It held up well to competing flavors and the rose still came through.

I am very happy with this particular offering in the collection of black teas and look forward enjoying many more cups.

It was perfect with no milk or sugar for me. It could probably handle a tiny touch of both if that’s what you like.

Could you believe it’s acutally over and I am sitting here, drinking Christmas tea? Simple, I knew I got it from Izzy (thank you, but what happened to her I have no idea – not even news on her website);

And then I forgot. So I took it today, as it is quite cold day; quite sad day that free days and exams starts tomorrow. Exactly tomorrow I have one – quite major one.

Anyway to the tea, it looks like decent black one, bold, quite spicy on aroma.

And in taste? Well, it is nice black tea, very strong (but I steeped it on upper limit), nice spice notes there and although cinnamon is not there, I feel it. But more prominent are cloves and vanilla is rounding the taste and adds sweet note. Not bad , but nothing to return.

Day 24 of the Whittard advent (and yes, I am very late with this one!)

It’s partly because I’ve been putting it off, since it’s a black/green/oolong blend, with rose to boot. Rose tea isn’t generally my favourite, and honestly, brewing something well that’s got all those things to contend with was beyond me before Christmas. Now, of course, I’m absolutely up to the challenge! Maybe, anyway.

I was totally scientific and let the water cool a bit while I wandered around and did some other things. Turns out, it’s actually pretty nice when all’s said and done. Quite sweet, but with an underlying earthy woodiness and just a hint of floral. Nothing overpowering, thankfully. I’d compare it to walking through a forest on a slightly damp but sunny day, I suppose. Fresh, like.

It’s probably not one I’d actively seek out just because I think it’s a weird combination of things in general and it strikes me as fussy. I like my life as straightforward as I can get it, and that usually includes tea. I’m glad to have tried it, though. It’s drinkability surprised me!

Day 21 of the Whittard advent. This one’s a black with juniper berries (yes, please!), strawberry and blackcurrant. No hibi, thankfully!

It’s fruity; really fruity. There’s lots of strawberry and a touch of underlying sharpness which is very much reminiscent of blackberry. It has a great summer pudding vibe going on, and I’d absolutely buy this.

Mango green tea with a hint of bergamot.

Day 19 of the Whittard advent, and I’m actually almost up to date. Just day 15 to return to, at some point. Probably next week now, but you never know!

This is a breakfast style black. Strong, with really nice bready undertones. Not too tannic. It’s pretty malty, but still somehow savoury. It’s doesn’t head into the realms of the super-sweet in the way that some malty teas do. It’s also really smooth, which is nice. No real bite to speak of. I find some breakfast blends too heavy on an empty stomach in the morning, but this one’s actually really nice.

It’s very reminiscent of Twinings 1706 and B&B’s Great British Cuppa, if you’re familiar with either of those.

Day 18 of the Whittard advent. This isn’t a style I drink very often, largely because I didn’t used to like smoky teas very much. Times have changed, though. I’ll drink pretty much anything these days!

This one’s only lightly smoky, not overpowering in the least. There’s a malty sweetness in the background that pairs well. It’s very drinkable! Another I can see myself at least revisiting at some point.

Day 17 of the Whittard advent. There used to be a Twinings orange blossom tea that I was totally obsessed with for a while, and then I think they stopped producing it. I still have the fondest memories, though, so I’m hoping this could be a replacement. I feel like I’ve not come across an orange blossom tea particularly recently…did they go out of fashion?

This one has sweet, juicy orange notes and a floral backbone. Not too floral, though. Just right. I could drink this fairly regularly, I suspect. Maybe especially in the summer…

I skipped ahead to day 16 for today’s first cup (15 is a green, which is fine, but not at this hour of the morning!) I love a good vanilla black, though, and this one is gooooood. It’s sweet, creamy, comforting; you name it. It also has a nice vanilla bean flavour and doesn’t come across as artificial even though it probably is…

It’s a classic, imo. I’d buy more. In fact, I probably will.

Day 12 of the Whittard advent. This one contains…blueberries and rooibos! Who knew?! I actually love blueberries, but I don’t love this because the blueberry is seriously muted. In terms of flavour, it’s mostly just sweet-ish rooibos. Probably the same base as the Choco-Rooibos I just drank. It’s not objectionable, but it’s hardly exciting. I can smell blueberry, but that’s not the point…

Playing catch-up again!

This was day 11 of the Whittard advent. There’s not much “choco” here, but the rooibos is surprisingly muted. It’s sweet – more like honeybush – and there are none of the things I usually don’t like (brassy, metallic, scratchy, etc.). I can’t taste chocolate, though. I get banana instead. Although unexpected, it’s not entirely unwelcome. There’s a bit of cinnamon, some chicory, but not much else. Probably not one I’d seek out again, but drinkable.

Day 10 of the Whittard advent.

This is one of the nicest chocolate teas I’ve tried in a while. It’s not over-sweet, but it’s not bitter either; it walks a good line right between those two things. It’s also not watery or thin, in the way that a lot of chocolate tea can be. Obviously it’s not got the thickness or texture that a hot chocolate would have, but it’s a pretty close thing in my opinion. I know which I’d rather drink!

This could become a go-to chocolate blend for me. I reckon it would make a pretty good latte…

Day 9 of the Whittard advent. There’s some exotic stuff in here; amaranth and cactus blossoms! There’s also mango and chilli (obviously…)

I was surprised this was a black tea in some ways, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. The standard Whittard base, which has just about got to be Ceylon, is fairly citrussy and so it works pretty well. There’s very little malty sweetness to interfere with things.

There’s quite a lot of chilli heat initially, and loads of mango. Very juicy! The pepperiness of the mango and the background warmth and spiciness of the chilli pair pretty well, although it’s a fairly savoury combination. I quite like that, though. It was a nice change of pace from the sweeter teas I’ve been drinking recently. I’m basically finishing up my T2 cubes at work, so it’s been dessert teas a-go-go for quite some time now.

This probably isn’t a blend I’d want to drink all the time, but it’s one I’d definitely come back to from time to time. I’m glad to have tried it, since it’s not something I’d have picked off the shelf for myself. Got to keep challenging those preconceptions!

Day 8 of the Whittard advent calendar.

It’s a pretty standard chai. Nice, but not exciting.

I skipped ahead to day 7 this morning, as 6 is a fruit tea. It’s morning. I want caffeine. Also, this is another tea I’m convinced I’ve tried already, but no notes or rating…

I’m glad to try this one again, though, because it’s unexpectedly good. I had it down in my head as nice but ordinary, but it’s actually deliciously malty with the tiniest background hint of pepper. It’s strong and pretty tannic, but I don’t mind that too much. I mean, I couldn’t drink cup after cup after cup, but it’s ideal as a motivational morning kick.

I have new respect for this one.

Day 5 of the Whittard advent.

Another white tea; I feel like I’ve not had any white tea in a really long time, so it’s a nice change of pace to find some here. This one has coconut, apple, cocoa and carob, and (no surprises here!) it’s really sweet.

In terms of flavour, I’m on board with the name. It does taste like a coconut truffle, at least up front. It has a nice creamy white chocolate-ness initially, but the more I sipped the more I realised it was actually carob. Caramel and coconut are what I could ultimately taste. It was still nice, but it had drifted from the initial flavour which was (fleetingly, at least) fairly spot on.

As it cooled it developed an aftertaste that reminded me of the way the air tastes in a nearby head shop, but I’m not going to examine that too closely!

Day four (?) of the Whittard advent calendar. Only a few days in, and I’ve already lost count. I’m also already behind, but there’s nothing particularly new about that.

This is a white based Earl Grey, and I don’t honestly know whether I’ve ever had one of those before. It’s a slightly strange beast, but it actually works. Who knew? It’s very creamy; lots of vanilla and milkiness here. It’s also quite floral, which is a slight downside for me, but I can overlook it because there are so many other things about this that are good. Like, good good. There’s definitely rose in here, maybe a little jasmine too. My first sip was bergamot heavy, but that seems to have faded as it’s cooled. It’s hard to believe now that it was ever there; I get milk/cream/vanilla and rose, primarily. And I’m enjoying it!

A good start to the day, for once.

I got this as part of a present from an old family friend. It came with the Dreamtime instant tea, which I actually ended up liking even though it was about 99% sugar and 1% actual tea. This is the same deal, basically, except it’s lemon/lime flavoured.

It’s pretty sour initially, like those fizzy sour sweets, but the sugar soon overwhelms that. It’s sort of lemon-limey, but – no surprises here – pretty much mostly just sugar. I drank it hot because it’s winter and it’s cold, but I can see this being pretty nice fridge-cold in the summer. It’s a no-fuss sort of thing, too, which appeals to me at the moment. I’m really having an absolutely can’t be arsed kind of time right now. This suits that mood perfectly.

Third day of the Whittard tea advent. I know for sure that I’ve drank this literally loads of times before, and yet there’s no record on here of it ever having happened. Hmm…

It’s a pretty decent Earl Grey, and I’ve really developed a soft spot for it over the years. I’m one of those perverse people that will sometimes put milk in an EG (but only sometimes, I promise…) I didn’t today, but I know from experience that it holds up reasonably well.

This one has just a touch too much bergamot for me to be absolutely over the moon with it, but it’s nowhere near as blergh as some. It was nice to revisit this one today. It’s definitely been a while.

Second day of the Whittard tea advent. I’m hoping to catch up today, since I’m working from home. I feel like I’ve tried this one before, but there’s no record of it on here. Either I’m confused (likely) or it’s been eaten (entirely possible).

Either way, it leaves me with good tea. Because it is. I’m not usually a fan of floral blends, and the rose in this is pretty strong. What sells it to me is how candy-like it is. Sweet. Sugary. All the things I want at the moment. It also holds up to milk really well, so bonus!

I’d probably not always want this one around, but it’s a nice novelty.

My mum bought be the Whittard advent calender this year, and this was the tea for the 1st December. (I’m a day behind already!)

It smells really good. Sweeter and creamier than I’d expect given it’s name, but there are definite hints of whisky about it in a peaty, smoky kind of way. I added a splash of milk, because the Whittard base isn’t one I’m super keen on ordinarily. It was probably the right decision; it’s not subtle, so the flavouring wasn’t overpowered in the least.

I’m struggling with whisky a little in flavour terms. There’s maybe the very slightest hint, but I mostly get chocolate. Really nice, milky, creamy, chocolatey-chocolate, but chocolate all the same. If this one was called whisky chocolate, I’d be there, because that’s what it is.

It’s pretty delicious, though. I’d buy it because it tastes nice (but not if I were looking for whisky…) If I were looking for Whisky, though, honestly, I’d probably just buy whisky!