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Standard green sencha with a mild grassy/vegetal note in a fancy muslin tea bag. It’s an absolutely a bog-standard sencha for which PdT have chanced their arm by charging around $1 per bag. Almost any Japanese mass-market sencha would stack up admirably to this at a less than a quarter of the price.

It’s clear PdT and I are not meant for each other, though their single origins are passable compared to their terribly weak blends. If folks are happy to pay such a price for a very middling tea, more power to them, I suppose? I just feel the pricing is out of hand for such dull products. Even the packaging is quite bland, in my opinion. I have some more of the 2023 Advent to work through and then I shall be delighted to return to tastier tea pursuits.

A very basic black tea with a flowery description. PdT says, “From a grand old plantation that has developed a name for itself around the globe. This light, copper-colored infusion has an slightly chocolaty taste. Harvested in a prestigious garden in Sri Lanka, this strong and full-bodied black tea is ideal in the morning.”

I say: Fancy Lipton. I do not catch chocolate or anything but bog standard slightly malty Ceylon. Not bad by any means, but I’d say the price makes this a pass unless you are really interested in the St. James Estate in Sri Lanka in particular.

Harrod’s states, “The core element of the Empire Blend is Assam tea with the subtle characteristics of Nilgiri and Darjeeling.” It is a perfectly servicable black tea, is probably exactly what you’d imagine when you think of a classic British black. It is not particularly complex but is the good quality that Harrod’s is typically known for. Nice finish without bitterness/astringency. Personally, I would not bother with the hassle and expense of sourcing this particular tea outside the UK.

This is an interesting combination, I’m not sure if if I’ve ever come across it before. The tea contains pieces of dried yuzu and the citrus note is quite strong. However, when brewed, the chocolate is more much prominent than the yuzu. It is present but certainly takes a back seat to the gourmand note. I also get a slight note of brown sugar. Overall, a nice take on a standard dessert tea. It’d go nicely with cake or fruit tarts.

The base is the typical Lupicia black tea, well-balanced and bright but can turn very astringent quickly if overbrewed.

I give it points for the uniqueness and overall drinkability but wish the yuzu were more prominent.

A very typical genmai cha, with a grassy (if rather weak) standard quality green and puffed brown rice imparting a popcorn-like note. This tastes like a generic grocery store genmaicha and I just had to laugh when I saw it was $16 for 20 bags. That is ludicrous and you would have to be utterly barmy to pay that. Go to an Asian supermaket and get the Yamamoto Yama Genmaicha for a better tea at less than a quarter of the price. You’d even do better with the mass-market Itoen 500g bag for less than this.

This is probably the best Palais des Thes I’ve had yet, but the bar is fairly low here. Big Ben is a bog standard Assam/Yunnan blend English Breakfast tea. It has a nice smooth body with malty notes and little astringency, no bitterness. If you like a proper bracing cuppa, this is not for you as it brews relatively weak, as most PdT I’ve had.

It’s a perfectly serviceable if weak English Breakfast blend, but these are everywhere and this one is not particularly outstanding. It’s a fine all around blend that tastes like many other teas of half the price. However, the overall quality is good and it’s attractively packaged in a muslin teabag, so might be good for a non-controversial tea gift.

If you’ve been looking for Earl Grey with a touch of wet dog, this is perfect for you.
The red rooibos is prominent here, so if you don’t like that, skip this. I will say an Earl Grey rooibos is not something I’ve come across before, so it gets some points for uniqueness. It seems to be a good quality blend but personally, there’s no overcoming that unpleasant red rooibos note. I’d choose a decaf Earl Grey if I wanted the taste without the caffeine.

It’s a classic Yunnan, medium body with a prominent malty note. It’s smooth and not bitter, even with a long steeping. However, there are so many similar options at a lower price point (Harney, Twinings, even Mariage Freres) that I don’t see myself purchasing a full tin of this. I do feel the single origin teas from PdT are better than their blends, which I find quite weak and lacking in general. Overall, it’s a solid basic Yunnan but I do consider value for money when I score my tea, so this one comes up short. $16USD for 20 teabags is quite dear for this, in my opinion. You could get 125g of Mariage Freres Grand Yunnan (about 40 cups and a superior tea, in my opinion) for the same price.

This is a berry based herbal with some slight red fruit (apple? beetroot) and birch in the background- well named since it does give a Scandi vibe. I feel this is something you’d get in a Stockholm cafe on a dark winter afternoon while reading a magazine with ads for impossibly expensive furniture. I can’t speak to the detox properties as I’ve only got one bag, but it was a pleasant enough cuppa. Not enough to buy more though. As with most Palais de Thes, I felt it was rather on the weak side and couldn’t endure a second steeping. That is my main issue with PdT- combined with the price, this brand is usually a pass from me.