290 Tasting Notes
Crikey, have I not logged this before? But the packet is nearly empty! I really like this tea. It has a dark rich flavour but not as chocolatey or malty as the other black teas that I tend to drink. Instead it really is like the company’s description. The caramel and honey flavours are clearly evident. Lovely. This is the sort of tea that I would happily have as my everyday tea, because the balance of flavours suits most occasions. Now if only I could afford it all the time …
I received this as part of the Canton Tea Club, but have realised that I did not write it up yet. The first sip was rather milky in a good way. The tea itself reminded me of pears with a lovely floral note and no astringency that I could detect. It was light and enjoyable.
Sample from Bonnie. Thank you.
This tea scares me. I’ve been put off it because the reviews are all so good, it is rare, and I feared that I might not be able to do justice to it with my tea-making skills. Worse yet, because of all of the above I felt that I needed to set aside a goodly amount of time to appreciate it properly. So, today I decided to take the bull by the horns, gird my loins and leap before looking. I’m glad I did.
I made it in a small gaiwan, thus giving myself enough leaf for another session, and I followed the guidelines of very short steeps. This has worked beautifully. The tea proved to be creamy and mellow. At first I got cherry flavours at the back of it and then it evolved into a winter spices taste that made me think of Christmas. It is lovely and I am pleased that I finally took the plunge. Better yet, I am only six steeps in, so I still have a goodly number of steeps left to drink when I return to it. It will make a fitting reward for getting some work done this afternoon. I had better get writing so that I can enjoy more of it …
Preparation
I received this as part of my Canton Tea Club membership. Apparently it is not yet available in the Canton webshop, but will be soon. So, I am privileged to get to try it early! I’m neck deep in work with important deadlines looming even as I type, so naturally I dropped everything to try this. So, how was it?
The dry leaf smells overwhelmingly of bergamot. I cannot actually pick out anything else in that aroma. When steeped, it releases the bergamot aroma but there are floral elements too. Steeping seems to reduce the power of the bergamot, which is a relief. It is still there, but it lets other flavours through too. Overall the description that Canton Tea Co gives is about right for me. You can taste the bergamot and the citrussy flavours it releases. There is a floral overtone to it that is quite pleasant too. It is a relaxing tea to drink that makes for a nice treat when you are in the mood.
Preparation
Methinks you are not that fond of Earl Grey though.
I don’t really do flavoured teas, that’s true, but I found the bergamot a little overwhelming in this one. I need to write up my notes on the Organic Darjeeling Earl Grey, which was much more to my tastes. It reminded me of a better version of Twinings’ Lady Grey tea, with its cornflowers, Darjeeling base and much less bergamot in it. This latter tea had more subtlety and just felt more refined. I have enough of the Classic left to try it with milk. Milk in tea is normally anathema to me, but I am interested to see how it fares.
If all else fails, cook with it. I have some on hand that’s too strong but is a good steeper in milk for pudding. Makes a nice vanilla or lemon pudding enhancer or frosting. Anything where you can steep a syrup or milk and then dilute it into the recipe. (I just hate throwing good tea away!)
Well, there is not a lot of left now. We had friends round and one those likes the classic Earl Grey, so I fed it to her. She thought it was great. I have enough left to try it with either milk or perhaps a slice of lemon. I may experiment with both and do a side-by-side tasting.
Your cats might want some!
Milk or Earl Grey? :-)
I received this in my first week of Canton Tea Club, but have not tried it before now. How bad am I? In my defence, I was not up to tea tasting that week or indeed for a week or so after due to colds and being run down. So, today I decided I needed to catch up a bit on my tasting notes and this appealed.
It smells really sweet when you pour the hot water on it and the first taste is all buttery sweetness with a strong floral element to it. I brewed it western style in my small glass teapot and the whole first steeping was like this. Then the butteriness settled down a bit in the second steeping but the sweetness remained. By the third steeping it has settled down to a mellow, sweetly floral drink with undertones of butteriness. It is very nice and I reckon I could probably drink rather a lot of this.
Preparation
Mmm, toasty. I really enjoyed this and got several good steeps out of it in my small glass teapot. I really need a small ceramic teapot too. Time to start looking for that again, but first this tea. It’s toasty and floral on the first hit, and smooth, so smooth. This is a tea that would be easy to drink all day and I should probably try that with my gaiwan, when I next get another sample. I also need to compare it to Canton Tea Co’s offering, which I received as part of the tea club but have not yet sat down to taste.
Preparation
I have a small porcelain? from purepuer.com that I love. I got the matching fair cup and tiny cups and saucers to match, as well as the tea leaf holder/displayer. Good prices, IMO. Great service from those folks, too. Every time I call, I get the owner.
That site looks quite good. I was not aware of them before, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Oddly enough, I found a lovely little teapot in my local Chinese supermarket, but I bought it as a birthday present for my father, and they have not had any in since that are as good. I do have my eye on a couple from berylleb on eBay but I need to sell some more stuff myself before I can buy them. The funny thing about teapots, for me at least, is that I just cannot stop at one! They appear to be addictive once you start looking at them. :)
This arrived on Friday, awaiting my return from a very long day at university. Funny that, really. Any day I have to drive up and down the M1 seems to be a long day, but this was longer than usual. Saturday I was rushed off my feet with my other job so I have only now been able to sample it. I must say that the Canton Tea Club is a splendid idea. Getting home every week to find a new tea on my doorstep is lovely and a thing to look forward to. I shall have to encourage my relatives to keep extending my membership. Perhaps each of them could pledge to do so as a Christmas present and I could set up a rota!
Anyway, I’m really enjoying this one today. The smell when I opened the packet was most excellent, a brilliantly Christmassy blend that reminded me of various mulled wine recipes I have tried over the years. The orange was dominant and I really liked that. It looks great too. When brewed the aroma was not as strong but the taste is smooth and festive. The mix of citrus, liquorice, cloves and cinnamon goes very well together with the Assam base. My tongue is still tingling with the citrus tang even ages later. Great stuff and definitely one to keep around for Christmas for those that do not want my rather potent mulled wine or have to drive home after dinner.
Preparation
I’d like some of both please!
Well, you had better pop over to visit then. :-)
I’d like to hear you read the book you’re reviewing in French with a British accent. A few glasses of mulled wine and this improper American would be rolling my eyes and giggling!
Heh, given that my French accent is non-existent, I think that you would not be able to listen for laughing even without the mulled wine! :-D
I received this as the third of my Canton Tea Club parcels. Thank you, Mrs Roughage, for buying me membership of the tea club for my birthday. What I wrote before still stands. It is light, fruity and rather tasty. Definitely one I am happy to have in the cupboard for when the mood takes me.
