24 Tasting Notes
So, I’ve been away a fair while – been travelling a fair bit this year both domestically and internationally. Going forward I am going to make an effort to post more often. I recently went on a trip to Washington State in the Seattle area to visit some family and friends. It was an amazing visit but I caught a nasty bug on a plane. Acute sinusitis. While at the hospital for that I somehow contracted salmonella as well which totally destroyed my intestines ( which I’m told will take several months to heal) and gave me GERD. I can’t lie down lest things come up and I get heartburn, and I can only eat very few things right now. While shopping for us, my husband ( who knows I am a licorice and fennel fan) picked this up for me. All of the ingredients are great for digestion, plus are among my favorite flavors : Roasted Chicory, Anise Seed, Sweet Fennel Seed, Licorice Root, Cardamom Pod, Orange Peel, Ginger Root. I have other teas with these ingredients and love them. But this particular combination is absolutely divine and really helps after meals for digestion and to relieve wind. If you have digestive problems or just enjoy these flavors, I recommend you give this a try. It’s earthy chicory and sweet black licorice flavor are a great combination on the tongue. The citrus and spice is hinted but just adds roundness as opposed to coming up front. One of my new favorites and I will keep this in stock from now on. Steeped in boiling water for 5-10 mins.
One of the teas I recieved as a gift from my mother from her trip to Victoria BC. A blend of Kenilworth, Darjeeling, Assam and Yunnan. I’ll finish up the box but do not find anything special about this tea. It’s your basic black tea. Not interesting enough to reorder. Steeped for 5 mins at 210F. One bag . The traditional Irish tea brack I’m having with it is fantastic though!! I get it from an Irish baker at the farmer’s market – It takes four days to make and the raisins are soaked in tea – and the loaf is all kinds of spicy goodness with cinnamon and cloves etc.
Been gone a bit – busy! On the Richmond Symphony feedback board now – going to lots of events! Had a nice cuppa of this tea tonight. My mother had visited the Victoria store and had brought me a 4 pack of boxes ( also including Sugar Maple, Canadian Breakfast and Rideau Hall) as a gift when she visited me here in Virginia few months ago. Growing up in Alberta I drank alot of tea but had not heard of Murchie’s – there were no stores in the province at that time. How funny to discover a Canadian tea company now that I live in the US! This is a nice black tea which is a Ceylon & Darjeeling mix with jasmine and bergamot. The jasmine is quite substantial and is what makes this tea stand out. The bergamot is nice too. They are bagged teas so they’re not obviously on the highest tier of fanciness, but I certainly enjoy this blend with a bit of coconut or cashew milk. One bag, 5 mins steep, 210 F. Will reorder.
One of my friends who moved away sent this to me in a letter, which I recieved today. I have tasted it before, but thought I would review it now. The cinnamon and allspice is POTENT in this !! Very spicy!! Not many other notes, but when you are jonesing for a sugar free cinnamon heart this is the tea for you!!
Steeped 10 mins. Drank plain. Caffeine free.
This is DELICIOUS!! I am a huge licorice fan and I’m always on the hunt for real licorice flavor!! This tea has organic licorice roots from three different places (Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Egypt), with no additives. It is deep and sweet. The box was too pretty to throw away so I cut it up and reused it for gift tags. The taste is similar to one of my favorite treats, Panda black licorice. Steeped with boiling water for 10 mins. Drank plain.
This tea was a let down for me – it was a sweet black tea with no discernible maple flavor. It’s not unpleasant, but did not live up to the label. Umami usually never lets me down, so this is particularly unexpected. Steeped in a stainless steel ball for 4 mins, at 200F . Drank plain.
I have a penpal who also drinks quite alot of tea and we have a tea exchange going where we send old fashioned letters and swap teas. She sent me this tea recently to try. It’s is one of her favorites, but sadly not appealing to me. The color is gorgeous – a real fuschia, and the aroma is nice – but the taste is so bland – almost nothing. You get some light tartness from the rosehip, and some cherry but it’s so damn light!! Ingredients: rosehip peel, hibiscus flower, cherry pieces, natural cherry flavor. Steeped 10 mins, boiling water. Drank plain.
A very sublime tisane – extremely relaxing. I grow my own spearmint spring-fall outside in my backgarden, but it is nice to have an alternative source for a good cup. I prefer spearmint over other kinds of mint (although I like and grow other kinds of mint too). I have drank this while sick, and also it is one of my top 3 favorite bedtime relaxation tisanes ( the others are chamomile lavender & nighty night valerian – both also from Traditional Medicinals). Once you start steeping it puts out a wonderful aroma that fills a whole room! It is sweet and crisp – and feels nice and cool on the throat. Just wonderful. Organic and fair trade. Steeped for 10 minutes in boiling water. Drank plain.
Nothing special about this green tea – it’s not bad but it’s not top shelf either. Organic and fairtrade. Steeped a bag at approx 180 F for 3 minutes. Note based on multiple tastings. If you are just looking for a base green tea in the mornings that’s not fancy, but is sufficient this is it.
If you are looking for a nice black dessert tea this is one is quite nice. My husband doesn’t even really like tea but he drinks this one regularly. It’s a medium bodied piquant Ceylon with calendula & sunflower petals, vanilla and grenadine. It tastes like a fruity marshmallow! I know that sounds weird but it’s really good. It’s very smooth and does not require additives (sugar/honey/agave, milk/milk subsitute, etc) unless so desired. A nice tea for when you want to satiate your sweet tooth without sugar. Used 1 tsp in a stainless steel strainer. Estimate the temperature at 200 F, steeped 3-4 minutes. This review is based on multiple tastings of this tea.
