61 Tasting Notes
My Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai is a staple for me during autumn/winter months so I had extremely high hopes for this one since it’s by Harney & Sons and they make a DELICIOUS Earl Grey. So I happily hummed while I brewed this but my happy song died down pretty fast when I tasted it. I barely tasted any pumpkin, the strongest notes in this were the rooibus. Now, I enjoy rooibos, but I didn’t buy PUMPKIN SPICE tea only to sip on rooibos. If you like rooibus, don’t buy this, just buy rooibus. If you like pumpkin teas, definitely don’t buy this because the name is a lie.
It’s been a very long time since I had a Bigelow tea. They have a really bad rep with some people (almost as bad as Lipton) so when I found my one lonely little Constant Comment tea bag in my tea cupboard that I stole from my last job’s break room, I was a little hesitant at first. I really don’t know what all the hate is about. It reminded me of my Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai and I regret not waiting until the cold weather came before I had this. It’s a perfect autumn/winter, cold-weather, tea. Not as good as my Twinings one, but I would definitely drink this one again.
This accompanied my dessert when I was on a long overdue date night with my husband at Grand Lux Cafe. It was one of those nice tea experiences where a box of teas is brought to you for you to choose from – a moment I always find exciting and full of possibilities since I know it won’t just be Lipton. However, the wooden box was where the enjoyment sadly ended. It’s not a bad tea, but the bergamot is so weak that it tastes more like an English Breakfast. Which would have been fine had it been labeled as such. I don’t like my bergamot over-powering, but I do like to taste it. Captain Picard would definitely not approve.
It smells a bit like black licorice yet that doesn’t carry over to the taste. Found this at a local Asian market when I was searching for another box of Gunmetal Green that I recently ran out of. It has a very relaxing and floral taste and is very light. Not sure if this would be easy for anyone to find since it was hard for me to even find the info on it to add to Steepster.
I absolutely adore this Earl Grey. I first had it at a local movie theater called iPic and fell in love. It is so beautifully blended and well balanced. I recently found a canister of it at a local health food store and immediately fell to my knees and began thanking the Gods for leading me on a path that united me with this tea. I imagine that this is the brand Captain Picard orders so frequently.
Preparation
This tea is what is served at my favorite Thai food restaurant in Miami. Last time I went, I saw the little butterfly on the tea bag tag and decided to look for it the next time I was at an asain supermarket. I walked up and down the aisle numerous times with no luck and just grabbed the biggest box I could find out of frustration and leave before I got too annoyed. When I got home and sat the box on the counter, I saw the butterfly emblem on the side of the box. I was really happy, but at the same time I felt so stupid looking for it for so long only to accidentally buy it! It is a delicious green tea and you get 100 bags in the box so it’s a bargain!
This is my husbands favorite green tea. He usually hates green tea, but I make him drink it for its health benefits and of all the green teas in the cupboard, this one he drinks up by the canister. When I am able to get a bag of it before they run out, I like to drink it out of a white mug so that I can see the green powder flow from the bag better. I even mush it up against the mug with a spoon just to squeeze out more of the green cloud that is matcha. I’ve also made matcha green tea muffins with this tea and my husband absolutely LOVED them.
Good bang for your buck. It’s not the best green tea out there, but for a buck and change, it’s an excellent deal. Worth getting for people that aren’t huge tea drinkers or plan to ice it and add loads of sugar to it. I used to drink it when I was sick and added honey and lime to it for my throat.
