Bulk Barn

Sipdown! And a good thing too, because this tea is dead, haha. Gone is the tasty fruity flavour. There’s still tasty oolong (even though this is oversteeped), but yeah, spending an entire year in a plastic baggie was not kind to this tea. Ah well.

I’m surprised that nobody else has logged this one yet given that a whole bunch of Bulk Barn teas have been logged on here! Perhaps it’s new?

Either way, I picked it up on a whim today, partly because it smelled so delicious! A dark oolong mixed with yellow flower petals (marigold??), it smells deliciously like tropical fruit. Mmmmm. There are no coconut pieces nor mango chunks, though.

Brewed, this smells tropical and fruity. I think it was more fragrant when it was warmer; it’s rather cool now.

This tastes surprisingly delicious! The central flavour is a tropical fruitiness, followed by a coconutty creaminess, and then, yes, a lovely oolong flavour! Love when fruity teas containing actual tea actually feature its flavour!

I need to get over the fact that this is a tea from Bulk Barn, and consider keeping it as part of my permanent collection. Yes… it’s that good! I’m very shocked/surprised. If you haven’t tried this one and have a Bulk Barn nearby (and like fruity oolongs, of course), I strongly recommend you pick some up. I honestly didn’t pay attention to the price, but I got maybe 3-4 cups worth for $0.41? Sounds like a bargain to me!

ETA: Second infusion (94C/4min) is pretty much a weaker version of the first. Not as impressive, but still good. Lacking enough oolongy flavour to make me happy though; perhaps it could have used an additional minute or so.

I bought this tea on sale at bulk barn because its being discontinued ( 99 cents/lb!). I started becoming a fan of fruity teas and really like this one. The splash of apricot is the perfect amount and it leaves a fresh taste in your mouth. I am definitely going to buy more and drink this even cooled down in the summer.

I was worried that this was going to be quite tart because of the rosehip. I was wrong because it is quite sweet and the pomegranate taste really comes through.
I wouldn’t drink this everyday, but if I want a fruity black it would do the trick.
This would work well as an iced tea as well I think.

This is the first assam that I have had. I enjoyed this, but it is very hard to describe. I guess the only way to describe it is malty flavour.
I have no other assam to compare it to, but I am sure it is not top quality. However, I do enjoy the flavour.
This is quite good, and like all the other Bulk Barn purchases, very inexpensive for the quality you get.

The was slightly sweet with a hint of citrus. I don’t like too strong citrus, so just a hint of it was fine with me.
The oolong is not the best quality out there, but it is still smooth and buttery.
I am fairly happy with this one for such a great price….I got 25g for 72cents!
2nd steep: 95degrees, 7min, less buttery, more citrus, still fairly decent.

Wow, I was very surprised by this tea as well. I had seen the other tasting notes and thought I had to give it a try.
The tea is actually quite decent. A lot more fruity than I was expecting. A fairly smooth black tea.
And for that price! 66cents for 25g. I will certainly pick up more of it.

Great stuff, I’m happy to see bulk burn carrying more variety of teas and gourmet coffees. Exciting!

Bleh. This tea smells amazing and orange-y when dry, but it brew up murky and the orange smell is much more chemically. And the taste . . . like badly-cooked pork. I can think of no other way to describe it. Bleck bleck bleck.

When we made it to bulk barn recently, I remembered Uniquity’s note about their looseleaf tea and had to try it…this one especially. I’m in love with the black currant from Camerons and I had to know if this was as good.

It wasn’t as good, but it was still damn good. Yum. It was good enough for me to feel like I might just survive when my Camerons supply runs out. Nice and juicy without being bitter…this is what I need in a black tea.

Oh boo, I only bought one bag of this! It was delicious!!! I tried making it iced, but ran out of cubes… and time! so ended up with lukewarm tea.
Nonetheless, it was delicious, but vague. I’m sure the agave helped :P
Neither the blueberry nor pomegranate were distinct though I could definitely taste the “white”. The lack of crispness was no bother, not while it was cold(ish).
Anyhow, if I could find a real version of this tea in looseleaf… you can be sure I would buy it :)

Sooooo, not bad for a bulk barn tea!!
I’m sufficiently awake, there was no scratchiness, and the rice is nice and toasted.
I oversteeped, so I’m forgiving the bitterness this time.
This is lovely, I will definitely have to buy more!!! but not until I try the tea dynasty version :)
I may up this later…

This is one of those samples I bought from the bulk barn eons ago. I’ve been go go all day, and this was bagged, so it was quick, and I definitely needed something to keep me awake!
Well, this certainly did the trick.
And the taste? Well, it was better than I had feared!! ever since my Matechino fiasco I’ve been wary of Mates that have strong flavours attached, besides fruit.
The spices were mild, but pleasant. I could definitely taste cinnamon, and I think cardamom, but I’m not sure about the rest. The mate didn’t bite too much either, the way I often find it does. Of course, I could taste the bag a little but for that price, it was still much better than I expected. Also, it tasted great without any sugar added. Bonus!!
Oh, and they didn’t grind up the mate like they do with so many teas, which in my mind, means that it was less processed :)
It may be useful to have this one around to grab’n go. I haven’t got a bagged mate around besides this one. It’s something to think about anyhow.

Backlogging.

Ugh. There is something in this tea that is unnatural. I was hoping that it might be okay as a black for iced tea, but no, no it’s not.

The black tea is unremarkable and barely present. The lemon tastes fake and leaves a cleaner aftertaste in my mouth.

At least it didn’t cost much!

Maybe I oversteeped this, or perhaps my allergies are clouding my judgement and taste sensors… but this is just ok. Dry, it smells heavenly. Steeped, not so much.
I can’t taste much of anything berry, nevermind the pomegranate. There is “something” there besides white tea, but I would not say that it is berry. Maybe just generic fruit.
The white part is pretty boring, and aggravates my throat the way alot of jasmine or green tea does. It feels all itchy and dry after a sip.
Now that the cup has cooled, it tastes very watery and fresh, but still scratchy. I am not impressed with anything about this tea.
Thankfully I only have a sample. I guess Bulk Barn can’t get it right all the time…

When I saw Uniquity’s note about Bulk Barn carrying this and other teas, I was just too intrigued. I ended up out in my hometown at a time when the Bulk Barn was open over the weekend, to my great excitement. I love Bulk Barn. I bought too many Clodhoppers.

Anyway, I picked some of this up as well as a green tea and am also pleasantly surprised by it. I oversteeped it and it was a little bitter, but still very drinkable. The currant juiciness is really exuberant and translates well from the dry scent into the brewed taste. I think this could be good to keep on hand for when I crave a fruity black tea. That doesn’t happen with great frequency but this is really tasty and so ridiculously affordable.

Another bagged tea… I was too lazy to thoroughly wash out my steeper so went with this. Not bad, I must say. Impressive, for what it is.
Now, I couldn’t taste the fruit part, maybe it was somewhere in the background but wherever it was, I could not recognize any of the fruit.
It was simply a nice, refreshing, white tea. The “splash” part was definitely there and there was a slippery quality that made my teeth squeak a little. Hmmm. Well, I have nothing notably bad to say about it! Still, it is not something I will be replacing… a tad too boring for my preference!

So this is another of the samples I got from bulk barn. and yes, this is looseleaf this time!
Funny, the “tea” part tastes almost just like that of the white apricot tea I had last night. There is a touch of that same watery flavour I mentioned in the white tea post as well, though not nearly as strong. I wonder if it’s the same vendor, and if there are any common ingredients. Hmmm.
Anyhow, when it was still hot, I tasted something spicy in there, but now that it’s cooled I can’t find it anymore, sorry I can’t elaborate more on that!
And the orange… it really comes through! I added a dash of sugar to help it along, which really brought it out some more. There is a moment when swallowing that makes me think I could actually be eating an orange slice, and it lingers long after the sip to. This is very refreshing! I would love to try it iced one day.
I added some milk and tried a touch of it separately in a teacup(I do this with most new teas), very nice as well! Bravo Orange Oolong, bravo :)
Oh and the aroma… that alone makes the tea worthwhile. I LOVE the smell of tangerine.
Yes, I think I will replace this one when I finish the sample! I was quite unsure at first but the cup really grew on me. I just wish I had time for a second steep before heading out for the afternoon…

So this is a bagged tea, and pretty good considering! now I’ve never tried bagged white tea, anything I’ve ever had in that area has been looseleaf. Even still, I am pleasantly delighted.
The white isn’t as crisp as I would like, which is something I’ve associated in my head with white teas, so that is a bit odd. However it’s not quite oolongish the way I find alot of fuzzier teas to be – I can actually taste the “white” now that it’s cooled down some, which I could not earlier.
Once you get past the initial half, the apricot really makes itself known. Up until that point, it’s mostly just tea though
In fact, if it were possible to take just half a sip (and not finish) then this would be most disappointing with just a very mild apricot background note.
Not to worry! The end is fantastic, leaving a lovely apricot aftertaste. I feel like I just ate an apricot!
There is something else in the finish as well. I can’t quite put my finger on it… it’s very refreshing and watery, but doesn’t make the tea any lighter. Almost as if water could be a flavour? like a note in the tea. Hey maybe the “splash” part of the tea’s name is more than simply a gimmick. ha!
Anyhow, I only bought two bags of this tea to sample (perk of shopping at Bulk Barn) as they had so many… I just had to get as many samples as I could!
Not sure if I will restock this one, they had a few loose-leaf whites that I bought… who knows where they will take me?? :)

I was digging through some samples at home and brought a number of them in to work to finish up (eventually). This is one I got from Bulk Barn over a year ago but it still smells of juicy black currants despite poor packaging. I’m impressed! I also did a naughty thing yesterday and ordered some Black Currant from Tea Forte with a coworker so I was really jonesing for some currants! I’ve only ever had currant flavoured things and I’ve never seen, smelled or tasted a real currant but this tea when brewed still smells just like those Simpkins Black Durrant Drops that I loooove. I understand currants to be more of a UK thing? They don’t seem very popular here in North America.

Anyway, the tea! As I say, the aroma is like the candies though the taste has muted with the passing of time and bad storage. I’m also picking up a weird note that seems to have seeped through the whole basket from some other tea. That’s disappointing, but to be expected. While I remember this tea as very juicy and flavourful it is now an echo of that. Oh well, my fault. I will enjoy the remainder and eagerly look forward to the Tea Forte Black Currant which I hope will be lovely!

So I learned over the weekend that the Bulk Barn has tea. I couldn’t resist! This black and the orange ooolong I grabbed some of were both 2.70/100 g. That is a great price for a black tea, but surprising for an oolong. Obviously, I don’t have high expectations.

I am a big black currant fan, but the only black currant tea I have so far is Twinings bagged black currant (which I love!) The aroma of this before steeping is quite similar – just in your face juicy black currant smell. All things considered, the leaves are pretty big on this tea, though there is some dust at the bottom of my bag which I hope to avoid. Maybe I’ll give it a quick sift at some point to eliminate that.

The steeped aroma has lost some of the juicy smell, and is more like a black tea with berry of some sort. First sips are…delicious! What???? But it’s so cheap! I get a strong berry flavour, which I know to be black currant but could be confused as blackberry or raspberry, possibly. Still very juicy and fruit forward with a hint of tea at the end. I only got 25 grams or so of this in fear of it tasting terrible, but this seems like something that I might just rebuy! We’ll see how I feel as the cup goes in, but this is quite nice. I’m still getting a pretty strong balck currant flavour in the aftertaste. Not as good as the Twinings bags I so love (weird, I know!) but this was a great find. Colour me shocked!