Andrew Wheeler

Picked up a free sample at the Toronto Tea Festival this past Saturday. I’ve always been a little unsure of Bigelow teas – are they high end or low end? – but their Novus brand seems firmly aimed at luxury tea consumers. Their Sapphire Earl Grey is pleasant but not distinctive. The bergamot gets a little lost and the malvus flowers don’t seem to add much. Satisfying, but unremarkable. Still, I feel encouraged to try other Novus bags.

A very distinctive Kusmi tea. It tastes a little like candy shop, but not in a nasty synthetic way! Sweet and fruity, but full-flavoured. Not an everyday tea, but a very good one.

Not as assertive as some of Kusmi’s other great teas, and probably the least interesting of its Earl Grey variations, but a very pleasant, light, and drinkable afternoon blend.

I was really surprised by how unpleasant this tea was. Stash is usually a pretty safe brand, but their Earl Grey tastes like a cheap version of a Chocolate Orange. It has a really soapy, bad chocolate flavour. I couldn’t finish my cup, even though it was the only thing keeping me warm! Very disappointing.

This really is a very ‘dry’ tasting tea, but with a lovely tart piquancy that makes it a rare find. I have to be in the right mood for this tea, but sometimes I just crave it.

Very strong cinnamon fragrance, but the flavour offers a good balance of spices and a buried hint of white tea! The chai spices definitely dominate.

This really is the platonic ideal of a cuppa. It’s not the tea that I grew up with, but it was the tea that got me through university, and I’ve never looked back.

Strikes a wonderful balance between the smokiness of a Lapsang and the citrus perfume of a typical Earl Grey.

A milder, lighter, less astringent peppermint tea. I actually prefer more punch in my peppermint, but this is a perfect choice for more delicate palettes.

An excellent mint tea. Wonderful flavour, extremely refreshing. I prefer spearmint to other mints, so this is my first choice among mint teas.

The only tea-drinking experience more disappointing than being served a cup of Lipton Yellow Label is being served a Yellow Label teabag on the side of a pot of hot water.

I love mint tea and I love lime tea, and of course I love mojitos, but the balance of flavours in this tea just doesn’t work for me. The lime overpowers the mint. I’ve tried it iced and didn’t enjoy it any more that way, unfortunately

One of my all-time favourite teas – it has made Le Palais an essential stop on every trip to Paris. Blissfully fragrant and wonderfully relaxing. This is one tea that I always infuse at least twice, to extract every bit of flavour out of the leaves.