Enchanted Narnia

So, let’s be clear. I steer away from floral blends. So why did I purchase a tea that has, literally, small rosebuds in it? The billing of “turkish delight”, of course. The fact that Bluebird is run by Canadian expats in the UK also helps.

Out of the bag, this smells like chocolate roses. Steeped I got little smell out of it. Taste-wise… I’m confused. I want to like it. I want to taste turkish delight. And yet? I add some Truvia. Okay, now I get turkish delight, the kind that’s been imbued with some form of light floral flavoring. It’s still a touch rose-y for me, however I can get past that.

Fans of turkish delight dipped in a light layer of chocolate that don’t mind floral blends will like this. Or, little girls who want high tea with something really, really pretty. Seriously, the little rosebuds are ADORABLE.

I was writing a tasting note for this one, then Safari crashed on my iPad and my iPad’s battery died. I didn’t want to get my computer out and then I realized I could log it on the app on my phone.

Still, I’m not going to write a long post with my thumbs. This will be a quick note to say that I really enjoyed this tea and it really lives up to the rose and chocolate notes. Yum. Thanks so much to MissB for sending me this one and I will write a more detailed note later.

I grabbed this tea from the traveling tea box that was sent my way recently. It looked very interesting — little rosebuds tucked away in a little plastic bag. I have certainly enjoyed the teas from Bluebird Tea Co. and I don’t mind the ingredients in this blend. It doesn’t smell the best after it’s steeped: herbal, a little soapy and a bit of rose.

Sipping… hm.. this is pretty interesting. It’s very smooth despite it having some ingredients that could potentially make it a little sharp or strong. I definitely taste the rosebuds, but they’re not over the top. The lemongrass is present, but lingers in the background and lends more of an earthy/herbal note to the cup. I can’t taste the cocoa shells which is a little sad, but there really weren’t too many so I can see why.

I’d say that this is a solid cup of tea. It’s nice, creative and calming. I don’t think it’s my favorite from Bluebird Tea Co. and I’m not sure if it’s going to be in a future order, but I’m indeed happy with this blend tonight. Lovely!

My Bluebird Tea Co. order finally came in!!!!! And I brewed this up this morning. I have to say I was very intrigued by this tea, hence why I ordered it. The second steep was better than the first. You can definitely taste the aroma of the rose buds if you have ever had rose tea before but I love the pairing with the cocoa. The lemongrass is a good base for the tea, very subtle… I did not taste he note of raspberry that say are blended in. But other than that i like this blend and can’t wait to try my other bag from them along with the 3 samples they sent:)

This was technically my first tea in the new apartment, but there wasn’t any conscious thought behind that choice – it was just one of the first things that I had unpacked.

I hate the name of this tea, but I was really curious about the flavour concept. Rose and chocolate actually tend to go together very well, but the lemongrass throws me for a bit of a loop. It steeps out… alright!? It’s definitely weird, so I’m going to need a second taste to sort of decide if I can get used to that weirdness in the cup or if it’s just not for me.

All three ingredients I’ve mentioned are pretty strong; chocolate/cocoa, rose, and lemongrass. It’s conflicting because I feel like I could do rose and chocolate or rose and lemongrass, but the three together feels wrong. It’s also an incredibly perfumey type of rose, with a sort of waxy/artificial undertone. I like rose a lot, but this isn’t my favourite style of conveying its flavour. The chocolate is good and when the tea was really hot it felt decadent and rich like a good hot cocoa, but as the tea cooled it started feeling a bit more thin and watery – mostly in the mouthfeel.

As I said, strange – and I don’t know where I stand.

This tea blend is really beautiful – lots of lemongrass and rosebuds and flower petals. The smell is unmistakably floral, with cocoa notes in the background. I can’t say I’d pick up on them if I didn’t know there were cocoa shells in this though. I thought the mix of lemongrass and chocolate was interesting, but I love rose teas and chocolate too so I was glad that amandastory516 was able to share some of this with me. Also, I’ve been wanting to try something from Bird & Blend Tea Co. for the longest time! So glad to finally have the opportunity thanks to tea friends.

The primary flavor I noticed before sweetening is lemongrass. Adding a bit of honey doesn’t change this, but I do enjoy it more with the honey. My husband loves herbals more than anything, and I really think he would like this one. I only like tisanes in the evening usually, and I have to say that this is one I would drink again. It has flavor, it’s not watered down, and I keep reaching again and again for my cup. I do wish I could taste the rose more though, since that’s my favorite part about this blend.

Still super backlogged. I guess that’s what happens when you have a free night and decide to “sleep when the baby sleeps” and go to bed at 8pm, and sleep until the baby wakes up at 8:30am… (there was a 5:30am feed in there too, but I did not eat when the baby ate, and woke up quite hungry as a consequence).

Anyways, in the interests of cleaning off what may soon be known as “Tea Couch” (it is currently adorned with all of the packets of teas I’ve had recently, as that’s how I remember to review things), I’ll try to plow through a few while baby is napping (given the approximately 12 hours of sleep I had last night, I am not as tired as usual).

I’ve obviously received my Bird and Blend order (well, if it’s not obvious, it will be shortly with the number of B&B reviews I’ll be posting). This was a pretty random pick for me though – an herbal, with rose? Not my style. But I was curious, and there was a 20g samplers option, and I had a free slot, soooooo this one ended up in there. It’s actually not bad, as long as I remember what I’m drinking – the rose is present but it’s not as strong as it could be (oh – and the rosebuds are beautiful – this would be a gorgeous tisane to IG if I did such things), and I can taste the cacao shells nicely, although there’s a touch of a stale flavour that I’m picking up. Unsure if it’s the cacao or a different ingredient.

The tea is definitely reminiscent of turkish delight (which I don’t like, surprise surprise), especially with that chocolate hint. (I’ve only had chocolate-covered turkish delight, I believe.) A fantastic choice for lovers of such things, but I’m actually finding it to be fairly decent despite not being big on rose. High marks for uniqueness, lost a few points because of the slight stale flavour (remember, this is a new order, not a 7-year-old tea like practically everything else I’ve been having lately, so this shouldn’t be expected). Worth trying if you’re into such ingredients, or at least, not too averse to them.

I’m enjoying a cup of this tonight, but I’m not sure it is exactly what I am in the mood for. I don’t precisely know what that thing is, so this will have to do! It is pretty full on with the flavor, so much so that I don’t need to add any sweeteners or cream. The rose is powerful, but well balanced with other things so it doesn’t end up tasting like a mouth full of perfume and high notes. This may be slowly growing on me.

As reviewed at www.tastethetea.co.uk : If using a large mug of water this needs to be brewed for a little longer than 4 minutes to allow the flavours to fully develop. Herbal blends can often be weaker than tea so I find the balance between too strong and too weak is more varied depending what herbs the blend contains. Rose tends to be subtle but isn’t easily overpowered. This blend does well to combine rose with lemongrass, in order to tone down the citric notes that can sometimes be overbearing with lemon based herbal blends.

Thank you Dinosara for a sample of this one! Have to try all the Bluebirds! I love that they have some book themed teas. This one sounds lovely: chocolate and rose… the lemongrass and raspberry leaves sounded a little out of place. The taste is great though! The leaves themselves smell like they were infused with rose. I didn’t want the first steep to be too long as I wasn’t sure if the raspberry leaves would make it terrible as they tend to ruin teas if steeped too long. I didn’t taste any raspberry leaves at all. Instead there is a perfect balance of rose (from the infused flavor) and chocolate from my favorite chocolate ingredient in tea: cocoa shells! I could have used more cocoa shells, but maybe that was just my sample. Why isn’t chocolate infused with rose a thing? And if it is, why don’t I know about it? The lemongrass made itself known just enough to give the first steep some character. The second steep seemed to have much more of a lemongrass flavor that made it very lemony like lemon myrtle – drowning out the other flavors. I think the first cup was steeped perfectly though. I love the idea of a chocolate rose tea, so I could have done without the other ingredients but this is another great Bluebird blend. Hurry up holiday teas!
Steep #1 // few min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 7+ min