Polka

Backlog of yesterday while Steepster was down.
Polka was my afternoon tea. It’s an absolute fruity tea, opulent, greedy.
The orange used is not a classic orange but a blood orange, very present in the mix of fruits.
It is difficult to distinguish the difference fruits except for the blood Orange but it is a nice cup of tea.
The main difference of B&B teas with Mariage Frères ones to me is the heavy use of essential oils. They are not blending their teas as MF does. However I suspect they use the same black tea base for every flavour tea, which is not the case for MF blends.
That’s the reason why I think B&B remains a challenger only to MF and not a too much dangerous challenger.
Saying that, don’t get me wrong: B&B teas are using only natural ingredients and natural flowers and essential oils, nothing artificial in their teas. Polka is a very decent tea, pleasant.
But I won’t wake up in the middle of the night craving for a cup of this tea.

Another sample from Cameron. I’m not familiar with this company at all. The tea smelled like blackberries. It tastes like a “red fruits” flavored black. It’s not bad but not one I want to order either. Thanks Cam!

This is another one from Dexter (I know, she sent me a ton!). I’ve never tried anything from Betjeman and Barton before. The black tea leaves are very small/broken here, and there are lots of little bits of flower petals mixed in with them. Dry scent is actually very fruity and appealing, with a nice tartness that always improves fruity teas for me.

Mm, the steeped tea smells quite fruity as well. I think I can smell strawberry and orange, as well as that strange powdered sugar aroma that I often find in French flavored teas. Hm, I think I may have overleafed a tad, as it has a slight bitter edge. I almost always used 1.5 teaspoons of tea per 8 ounces, but perhaps I should have used less here since the leaves are so broken. Oh well! The fruit flavor is actually quite a bit more mild than I would like it to be, and there’s definitely orange involved but I can’t really distinguish any other specific flavors. And it also has that chalky powdered sugar texture to it that leaves my tongue slightly dry. I don’t love it…

The dry broken leaf tea has a sharp tang of orange softened by sweet, warm and round fruit notes.

After a 3min25s steep, the tea is wafting scents of baked goods mixed with grainy malt mixed with cherry note softened by the strawberry and peach notes and tempered by the orange.

Orange, malt, and a denser baked good note ( like scones) are the first flavour notes apparent. The tea feels dense in the mouth and could easily take additives. In later sips cherry and strawberry are present in the initial burst of flavour before dissolving into orange. The tea has a strong dose of caffeine and while not astringent feels kind of bracing. Having said that the tea with its dense texture is slightly bready but not overly tannic and is generally smooth. As the tea cools further the sweeter fruit notes become more apparent and balanced with the orange. While I feel no particular need to own this tea, the quality of the base and the subtlety in the flavouring confirms my interest in eventually making as phone order to try more of Betjeman and Barton’s teas. Thanks Dexter for giving me a chance to try one before doing so!