Yorkshire Tea Toast & Jam Brew

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #9

Okay. I have no idea how they translated a toast into my mug. But they did, and well. It’s indeed a bit burnt side toast, but it is bready.
I have been expecting a bit more from jam. It’s there, but this strawberry jam was just slightly smeared on that, a little burnt toast.

Happy that I have tried it (no milk), but based on that hype all around, maybe I was expecting a bit more. Or I just need to re-try it with milk. But nevertheless, interesting tea and execution was well done. Better than expected.

I ordered a gift box of this to try this one and their other two, with some cookies, as it was the cheapest and more fun way — also, I have been spending too much money lately in general last week.

I am not rating this first time as I messed up the brew. I did my 2 2/2 Sherlock Holmes tea pot and put in two bags for some reason at 5 minutes, instead of the usual 1 I do when filling own bag from loose. This made too strong with bitterness so I can’t fairly tell.

I did like well enough besides overdoing it, so will try again. But I do have a whole box to go through, so….

I will say it’s annoying I couldn’t open the box and have these individually sealed to store easier. Also it hurts freshness to me. If any of these become favorites, may find a tin and move the box as a label over it, but who knows. Lack of room and such.

I was not a fan of the cookies in the gift box unless dipped in tea – too hard for my tea. My mixer has been delayed, cannot wait to start baking with it coming. Supposed to be here today – again.

I received this one a couple weeks ago and have had a few hot cups thus far, but thought I’d cold brew it to see if I preferred that. So, the taste is essentially the same hot or cold brewed. I would say this is very true of toast and jam, but, the toast is burnt? There is an edge of bitterness here that really reminds me of burnt toast haha! I am one of those people who toasts so lightly, I basically ‘steam’ my bread, so perhaps that’s an issue here XD. I shall do another note when I have a chance to sit down with a hot cup and write out some thoughts.

For my own reference, I’ve tried hot steeping this at 2 minutes, 2.5 minutes, 3 minutes, and 4 minutes.

#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 18/???

I’m trying to understand this blend because I know it has a massive cult following and it’s the wildly more popular option between in and the Malty Biscuit tea released at the same time. I had my cup hot with a hearty splash of oat milk because I’ve been told this is best with milk. However, I gotta admit that I don’t think I get it…

It does taste fine. The black tea is pretty brisk and malty and it’s rich body does make it perfect for the addition of milk. However, the “jam” note is kind of out of place feeling for me. It sort of just tastes like red fruit that’s been wedged into the blend? Not that I have anything against red fruit teas, but it’s not the wow factor I was expecting given how people discuss this tea. Especially when I can find so many other black teas with red fruit flavouring.

And, reflecting on it, it’s a very specific red fruit that it reminds. Not, like, in the sense that “Oh, this is strawberry” but more that it makes me think of a particular flavouring of the several different popularly used red fruit flavourings in tea blending. The one it’s reminding me of specifically is commonly called ‘Red Fruit Jelly’ flavouring and, to me at least, it kind of tastes like jello?? Maybe I would like this more without the milk.

I’ll revisit this one, for sure! I think I want to get it, and so I’m willing to put in the effort to try it a few ways to see if anything sparks more excitement for me.

I received a bag of this from gmathis. I’ve just gotten over whatever tummy bug has been going around (an entire family at church had succumbed, plus a couple of other people. I suspect I picked it up there) so I’d been drinking some ginger teas and peppermint teas in the evening. This was my first regular black tea in quite a while. It had a robust body and strong flavor. Sometimes a tea like that will turn astringent or even bitter at the end of the sip. This one didn’t. Because she warned me it was strong I stepped it for only a minute and a half. That may have been a mistake. My second steep had a fuller flavor. I think that very short steeping time didn’t give it a chance to fully develop. The second cup was just about perfect!

I got a card and tea surprise in the mail today from gmathis! I have read so much about this one that I had to try it first, and immediately.

I only steeped for three and a half minutes since I was planning to drink it plain. I split it with Ashman. Aroma is sooo jammy but first taste was so dark toast to me that I would have sworn it had roasted chicory or barley or something in it. Looked it up and it doesn’t. The jam seemed lighter than the toast aspect to me. It was good, and I can see craving this with breakfast! Ashman liked it and drank the whole cup, even though there are few black teas he likes plain.

We made a second steep so Ashman could try it with milk and sugar because that is how he prefers most of his black teas. Now he really, really liked it! I tried it that way, too, and man oh man the strawberry jam has popped. Even though I usually avoid add ins, I would do it for this tea because it is just so good that way.

Thank you, gmathis! (And I am pretty sure you’re right. That’s a duck!)

After reading a note from gmathis a month or so ago about the “trifecta” of Yorkshire Teas, I was feeling very motivated to try them too and so bought myself a box of each. I’m starting with this one but also trying to think of a way to justify opening all three boxes at once. How does everyone else store their teabags when they aren’t individually wrapped?

This blend is dark and fruity and does somehow capture the taste and aroma of breakfast toast. With the warm spring-like weather today, these fruity teas are really hitting the spot.

Hallelujah and pass the crumpets! My three-pack finally arrived via Royal Mail. One of them is going straight to a work friend who is retiring. We’re throwing her a tea party. Mismatched cups and saucers, stacked china with pretty teabags, the whole pinky-up routine. (I lament that the beverages will not be fully appreciated, as we are serving them to tea barbarians.)

However, there are two full boxes under my roof and I am rejoicing. Replete with both strength and strawberry goodness, this has turned into my buck-up tea, falling into the same support role as Queen Catherine and Paris for some of you. Perhaps I should have ordered more.

I love this blend, it’s super comfy and cozy for me. It’s roasty and toasty with a touch of strawberry.

Okay, so I’ve had this one (and Biscuit Brew, and Bedtime Brew) for a while now, but had never tried any of them. And that kind of tends to happen with newer and/or larger teas in my cupboard, because I’m constantly sipping down which tends to draw my focus more to older and smaller sized teas. But for some reason I decided to try this one today!

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much since it’s a classic-style teabag full of fannings from an inexpensive grocery store company. I don’t tend to like breakfast blend sort of teas as loose leaf, let alone as a teabag.

But this one blew my mind a little bit. The smell of it steeping was scrumptious, and the taste is exactly the same. It completely does taste like toast with raspberry jam. There’s a golden toasted bread note to it, along with sweet jammy raspberry. And then there’s this buttery quality that really makes this tea, IMO. So it’s definitely toast with butter and jam, or perhaps even a thumbprint cookie with raspberry jam.

Now the black tea does have a touch of astringency to it, but overall it’s really a delicious tea. I don’t generally add milk to tea, but I might have to try a drizzle of oat milk in this one to smooth out those tannins. Regardless, super impressed with it. I can’t wait to try the Biscuit Brew too!