17157 Tasting Notes
Our next stop was Whittards which was easily the most packed shop we were in for the whole trip (not just London). In addition to the sampling station they had set up out front, there were nine other self serve sampling spots in the store. That definitely pulled in a lot of people, so navigating the shop felt like wiggling around in a can of sardines.
This was was they were serving outside, and we grabbed a few of the little shot glasses of tea. Both to experience the taste and then afterwards just to cool down a bit. It was insanely sweet tasting, but also very bright and zingy with exactly the flavour I picture in my head when I think of Pink Lemonade. So spot on and summery! And based on the tightly packed in circle of people surrounding the station at all times it seemed to be quite popular too! I imagine if you made it only half as strong it would still be really good, too.
From Sketch we went to several department stores next: Liberty, Harrods, and a third that I’m blanking on the name of. The goal of each was to check out any tea or teaware they were carrying. While at Harrods I also picked up an iced tea from their restaurant section. I chose this one because it was a brand that seemed local to London. It was very nice! Really black tea forward and smooth with a mix of malty floral notes that went really well with such a crisp, clean note of fresh lemon. Definitely made me think of Southern sweet tea minus, well, the “sweet”. Very classic and refreshing!
Next up after Twinings was a quick stop fora pot of tea at a restaurant/cafe called Sketch. I ended up going with this yellow tea from their menu just because it was so much more unique than anything else. It was mellow and smooth with light nutty notes and a bit of a grassy finish. Not bad, but fairly forgettable compared to many other teas I drank during the trip…
What wasn’t forgettable was the bathroom which was these REALLY freaky egg shaped toilet stalls that were kind of all in the open together. Probably the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been going to the bathroom in public.
Here’s a photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/42517620491
This was the last tea I tried while at Twinings! It was cold brewed, which seemed to be a HUGE thing in both London/Germany throughout my trip. Much bigger than it is here in North America. Additionally, the shop had also added lemonade to the sample as well. I found it incredibly sweet, but not unpleasant. The mango was much, much stronger tasting to me than the lychee (which was totally masked) but even that note was a bit tricky to pull out from the lemonade. Though the finished drink was refreshing and nice, I wish I’d have gotten to experience the tea on its own instead of in a mixed drink…
Also, I just want to shout out the girl who was sampling! She had a nose ring, neon blue hair, and was just so antithetical to this sort of more “stuffy and proper” image I had stereotypically put together about what the Twinings staff might be like. She got really excited about the “Satantic Tea Co” shirt I was wearing, and we had a great conversation not just about that tea company but about metal music in general. She was really fun, and made the stop a lot more memorable than it probably would have been otherwise.
Third out of four teas I tried in the Twinings shop, and my least favourite. The orange and cinnamon notes were actually both nice, and I appreciated that it wasn’t an assault of intense, mouth numbing cinnamon either. However, the taste of the rooibos was very unpleasant to me. Really, really woody and mineral with a bit of a cardboard-like finish. It kind of ruined the whole tea for me.
This was the next tea that was being sampled at the Twinings shop. Definitely a more unique flavour than I’m used to seeing from Twinings here in North America, and it seemed to be the most popular of the four being sampled too. I found it very brisk and full bodied with more of a “cocoa” note than a sweeter chocolate I might have expected. The nut element is a roasted almond, and it complimented the darker, malty notes of the assam really well. Just a smidge more astringent than anything else I tried in the shop, as well.
Next up after Jenki Matcha was the Twinings shop! There was a marathon happening on the day we were in London that ran through the street the shop was on, so it was challenging crossing to get into the shop but then, also, when we did get in it was PACKED with bystanders who’d been on the street watching…
We picked up a ton of teas, many of which were tea bag selections we don’t have in North America, so I’m sure I’ll be drinking my way through those for the next little while. However, they also had a sampling station in the back of the shop with four different teas (including this one) so I of course had to try all four!
This was the most “Twinings feeling” of the four to me. A bold, brisk black tea with a familiar note of bergamot and just a kiss of extra, sweet orange to go alongside with it. I found it nice, but not unique enough to want to bring with me. However, I could very easily understand why it’s so popular.
This flavour combination isn’t one I would typically order for myself, but part of the fun of being abroad is trying new things. It was very beautiful before being mixed together, and the taste wasn’t too bad either. I specifically got coconut milk as my base because I knew it would go so nicely with the turmeric/ginger and I was right. The turmeric was actually fairly mild, but the ginger was intense and so fresh, zesty and spicy. It really tasted a lot like someone had added a shot of cold pressed ginger straight to the latte which, to be fair, they might have. We didn’t really see our drinks being prepared. If I have any criticism it’s that I think a touch of sweetness would have better balanced this drink, but that kick of fiery ginger with the creamy coconut and matcha really woke me up which was good because we still had a VERY full day ahead.
You can see all our lattes in my London photo dump: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIRPrizJ6vw/?img_index=1
Next up after Dishroom was more tea/caffeination at Jenki Matcha! Our group was excited to check out the location because we’ve been getting targeted posts about the shop for months prior to this trip.
This was actually the drink that my friend/coworker ordered, but because we’re team taste test I basically tried all her bevvies throughout the trip and vice verse. The quality of the matcha in both our drinks was really good. Very fresh, creamy and umami with a subtle sort of earthiness to it. I wasn’t as big a fan of the cherry flavour in here as I thought I’d be but I think largely because it was fairly mellow and not as thick and jammy as expected for black cherry. There was also cinnamon in the drink, and it felt out of place to both of us.
Our first stop landing in London was technically Bird & Blend – we walked past one on our way to breakfast at Dishoom and even though they didn’t open until later in the day (our plan was to stop there after breakfast) the shop owner was REALLY kind and let us come in early…
After that, we had the most amazing breakfast at Dishoom which included our first proper cup of tea since landing in London – and after spending so much time in the Bird & Blend shop we were DYING for a hot cuppa. It was a really thick, rich chai latte that almost felt more like a cup of chai crossed with just an outstanding quality hot chocolate. Cardamom was easily the strongest of the spices (along with cinnamon, clove, ginger, and pepper) and it went so well with this really thick, liquid milk chocolate flavour.
You can see a photo of both the tea and breakfast in my little London photo dump: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIRPrizJ6vw/?img_index=1
