Spice Imperial

I’ve been sipping on this since I woke up, I’m on my second infusion. The tea holds up pretty well in a second infusion … then again, my taste buds are quite impaired so take that for what its worth. At the very least, I find that the spice notes here are enjoyable and warming and soothing for my itchy throat.

Quick note; in a hurry. upon smelling this tea I thought it would taste like Christmas ham-clove and cinnamon. I was relieved to find it did not, though both spices were apparent. I’m not a clove fan so I didn’t make it far, though my wife that doesn’t write notes loved it. Moderate astringency (wife didn’t agree) and dry is no good to me either. This is something I may have to work on so as not to miss out on other notable intricacies present in drier teas. Pleasant afterflavor, should work nicely to clear the palate of an oily meal. Not bad, just not a clove person.
tunes playing-America=Tin Man/Ventura Highway/Sister Golden Hair Surprise

I got this sample from Liberteas and held off making it so I could serve it for a tea party day, plus I was hoping for cooler weather to serve it. I got my wish today! Well, I consider 70F cooler weather, anyway.

I am a little leery of some spiced teas as they sometimes overdo it for me. Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice is one that makes me hide under the bed, but several of my friends love it. This one smelled really good but I was afraid I would be assaulted by cinnamon. Instead, I was sweetly wooed.

I really agree with Liberteas on this one. I felt that I tasted more clove than cinnamon, though, but even that was mild. I was really excited to have this since my daughter gave me a few sips of her spiced apple cider from Starbucks last week and it was sooo good. This reminded me of it, though I drank it unsweetened and I am sure the SBucks stuff was full of sugar.

The tea base could be a little stronger for my taste, but I am seriously inspired to try to make a mulled tea this good. this was really tasty. Thank you, Liberteas, for the delicious tea!

I bought a box of the bagged version of this tea (50 teabags) last year- before discovering I hated it. I would not recommend drinking it black – although, I may be biased, preferring most black teas with milk – it just tastes bitter and a bit nasty to me without (perhaps my fault?). I can’t really distinguish any of the individual flavours – just a vague hint of mixed spices. Saying that, it is still pleasant to drink, if I manage to offset the bitterness with a huge amount of milk.

There’s nothing better than spiced tea on a rainy, cold winter day. Or, you know, on a sunny summer afternoon.
Though I actually prefer spiced tea on cold days, I couldn’t resist trying this great gift, especially after opening the tin and immediately getting hit by that lovely aroma. And though it isn’t as good as my favorite “Chá verde Inverno”, which has a stronger citrous flavor, Spice Imperial is a very nice addition to my growing tea collection.

A must try one. I’m from Turkey, one of the country where tea is consumed most. Unfortunate to say that we do not have this kind of flavoured tea varieties in here. I am lucky enough to find out about Whittard, and its spice imperial. About a decade a go, discovered it during my visit to London. It has an amazing taste; a very strong taste as well. Therefore you get the best joy of it when blending it with a regular (not flavoured) black ceylon tea. Don’t use same amounts while blending, whittard s.i. should be added half amount of the other that you’re adding. Enjoy!

This is another Whittard’s blend I picked to drink based on the name, without looking at the ingredients. I expected this to be a chai, and I wanted a bold, spicy tea for my breakfast tea this morning. I’d already tipped the leaf into the infuser when I read the ingredients and found that, apparently, the only spice in here is clove?! I say ‘apparently’ because the description here on Steepster lists other spices, and a few of the tasting notes describe a cinnamon-heavy tea (which I would have loved). I wonder if Whittard has changed the tea recently? More recent notes seem to be describing the same thing that’s in my tin – orange, vanilla and clove. It’s not bad, and I do taste all of those things, sort of in a dreamsicle way, but it’s not what I wanted right this moment. I’d probably enjoy it more if it was something I was in the mood for. I’ll have to pay more attention next time!

Nice bouquet of orange peel, cloves and vanilla, very warming, very wintery.
Very balanced taste, with base black tea nicely complimented by peels and spices. But also very mellow, one could even say a bit bland and boring.
Not bad. Just not distinct enough.

I am so embarrassingly behind with reviewing teas I’ve gotten yet back in the fall. When my boyfriend was in London, he generously offered to pick some tea up for me and I asked him to surprise me since the few that I was originally interested in from Whittard have been since discontinued. This is the one he chose, and apparently, the sales associate described this as an “intense tea experience,” if I remember correctly.

This reminds me of a Christmas blend from Acquired Taste, and other orange spice blends. The vanilla bean is overpowered by the much stronger orange and clove notes in here. Not to mention, the base is bold and astringent. I would probably enjoy it more with milk but keep forgetting to do so whenever I steep up a cup.

The last sip is loaded with clove. I’m surprised my tongue hasn’t gone numb!

How i got it: Bought it

Experience: The first smell to this tea gives an impression that reminds very much of a Twinings’ Lady Grey: citric aroma (orange peel, maybe?), clove and probably cinnamon and nutmeg, which makes it suitable for cold days. Its base tea is a light variety, to the likes of a Darjeeling tea, but i couldn’t say for sure. This tea and the added flavors make a balanced mix of a mild intensity and some astringency that is good, but lacks a bit of taste definition and duration. Aside from that, one could say it’s like an Lady Grey more natural in its scents, while not that great in its base tea. Good overall.

Would i buy it again?: Not sure about it