English Tea Store

This was alright warm, but I let it cool off thinking because it smelled so much like a nice, tart granny smith apple, it’d be great iced. Instead it’s so gross, bitter, and the feeling it leaves on my tongue is terrible. Completely undrinkable.

I guess I’ll try coldbrewing it and hope it turns out better. Perhaps also give it a shot with the 160 setting on my kettle.

Still working my way through the Azzrian Tea Box! Thanks again, Azz!
This is a nice potent black tea! I’m not really getting the maple flavor much, but the Berry flavor is definitely there! I think the rest of this sample will become another cold brew.
Speaking of blackberries, as I was walking in my garden the other day, I realized I need to do a LOT of pruning that should have been done in the fall. Last year’s blackberry boughs are still there! I made a plan: I’ll prune them out & use them to form the sides of a raised bed! They are definitely long enough & sturdy enough, so I can anchor them together, line the inside with burlap coffee bags, & they will add nicely to the ambience of my strange but wonderful gardening methods!

This is kind of neat! A nice Earl Grey, not too heavy, the definite taste of caramel that doesn’t come off too sweet, and pretty flower petals mixed with the leaf.

I believe there is enough to make one more cup so I am going to try it with a 4 min steep too and see if that boosts the bergamot a bit more. It’s definitely tasty as is, but I think if it was just a tad bit stronger, I’d like it even more.

This was definitely a good afternoon tea as I have wanted to fall asleep all day for no reason.

Sipdown!

This is going into my swap out box. I was fairly sure that i wouldn’t enjoy this as it’s both earl grey AND lavender but i’m open to trying new things :) It has a really nice start to the tea..but then the lavender comes out of nowhere and ruins it. I am REALLY not a fan of lavender.

However, if you are a fan of lavender or early grey…you might really enjoy this tea.

mmm having a cup of this courtesy of my dear friend in Florida. I am enjoying this one quite a bit this morning. Hoping for a few sipdowns today but we’ll see how things go. May just dig into my reserve club teas today sicne i’m on my own to putter around the house :)

Sipdown! Trying this cold brewed today and letting the last remainder of this go to a better home. Mostly just want to let others try this as well in case they fall in love with it. I think i prefer this iced as the jasmine and lichee seem better balanced than when it was hot.

Another sample sent by my friend in florida. :) Love her to death for passing off a few teas to me, since most of them are not teas i would normally purchase for myself. This way i’m getting to step outside my comfort zone and try things that she enjoys.

I’ve enjoyed the one lychee tea that i’ve tried so i figured even with the jasmine this one had a decent chance of being something i’d enjoy at least a bit. I was right, though i could certainly do without the jasmine. I’ve got at least a few more cups of this left, so i’ll be trying this as a cold brew for sure. I want to see if that brings out more of the lichee or lets the jasmine take the dominant position.

As a hot brew, this is mostly lichee with a splash of jasmine that comes out more through each sip.

Mmmmm I think I need to do a side by side of this one with the version from majesteas that I have. I think? I like their version better but I can’t tell for sure. Received this from my dearest friend in Florida – she sent me a few of her favs to try out. Really glad to try another version of this tea, since its one that I enjoy quite a bit (as long as I drink it hot lol)

A friend sent me this as it’s her favourite blend. While there are jasmine notes in here, they don’t overpower so I can get past them in the tea. I believe I’ve had another version of this in the Christmas tea swap and I think I’m feeling about the same on it. It’s not a bad blend, but there isn’t enough going on for me to really get behind this tea. It’s just kind of there.

Thanks Val for the sample! (This is one of our Steepster Tea Club selections!)

I like this tea – it’s a mix of a lot of things but I immediately think ‘this is fancy’ when I sip it. There are just so many flavours in it that it’s a treat to sip. I’m getting jasmine notes too. This is a great afternoon cup to drink and re-steep!

Thanks for the sample!

I got a sample of this from Sandy’sCuppa.

The dry tea smelled almost identical to Earl Grey. Which, as everyone already knows, I love.

The tea brewed strong and dark, which is what I had expected from the assam base. The tea had a very subtle taste of bergamot, not as strong as I usually prefer. I did not taste any jasmine while drinking the tea, but it definitely is pronounced in the aftertaste. Because I was impatient, I also brewed up a cup of flavoured matcha at the same time as I was drinking this tea. The Buckingham palace tasted better with more pronounced bergamot after I had a sip of the matcha. I think because of the sweetness in the matcha. I did not add any sweetener to the Buckingham palace tea but I think I will try that next time I brew it.

I love that there is assam in the base of this tea. Assam is my most favourite black base. I think it works well with the other flavours in this tea.

I steeped for 3 min, but I think I will do less time for next brew.

Thanks so much for including this one in the traveling teabox, Alphakitty! I’m always ready to try any Earl Greys. There really should be more literary teas. What pairs better than books & tea? This one is interesting to look at with the purple bluish flowers. There is a nice sweet, creamy bergamot flavor. I didn’t think there was much caramel flavor, but maybe it was just this cup. The steep color looked like a deep caramel though. I love this one! It’s a great mix of things.

Another one that Alphakitty included in the traveling tea box! This is one of those chai blends that is more black tea than spices. Surprisingly, this was still spicy, even though there were hardly any spices visible at all. I didn’t find much vanilla flavor at all, which is odd since I just read Alphakitty’s tasting note and she noticed that the most and we even had the same steep time. The black tea was very brisk, since the site said to steep for six minutes and I went for seven or eight. I like brisk though. Not my favorite chai, but pretty good! (Honestly, I love chai, and it was the first tea I had, but I’m not sure I’ve found a favorite yet.)

Very floral. I love how the tea is so layered with flavors. Its Earl Grey, then it’s more English breakfast. I used a French press, steeped for 4 minutes. Will definitely buy more!

Thanks to Alpha Kitty for this sample, which came as part of our Steepster book club trade.

Tony & I just got back from brunch, & this is a nice afternoon tea: black tea with flavors of strawberry, lemon, & some florals. What’s not to like? Although I tend to drink most of my teas unflavored, I also like variety. This is sort of a hot strawberry lemonade, & would probably be really tasty over ice in the summertime. As I usually do with flavored teas, I added some stevia. There is enough left in the sample for another cup, which I’ll have at home another day, with the addition of french vanilla coconut creamer. I think that will be the icing on the cake!

Nothing like a cup of Lady Londonderry to warm up to on a very snowy day!

Pretty much the same opinion of this as last time: a good solid dark oolong with a pleasant woodiness and slight sweetness. I could drink this regularly quite happily! Thanks again to Azzrian for letting me taste this one!

Another generous sample from Dinosara, which couldn’t have come at a better time. Crappy day, tasty tea. Tea makes everything better.

I couldn’t tell you too much about the actual tea used here. I’m not sure if it’s just subtle, or if the chocolate flavor cancels out my ability to smell! Reminds me a little of sassafras; when I added sugar it was basically identical to a chocolate-flavored Tootsie pop! (I like that flavor, personally, so it’ll definitely be a good one for when I need a candy fix.)

Thank you Alphakitty! This tea smells wonderful! It has a nice citrusy, berry aroma to it. The flavor is pretty great. It has notes of orange, lemon, strawberry, currant, and a little bit of a floral flavor. The black tea base is present with malty/sweet notes. It almost reminds me of berry lemonade. But better. Because it’s tea :]
Thanks again!!

Sipdown! And what a sad sipdown it is, too. I really enjoy this blend – perfect for a treat that’s sweet but not sickly, and not astringent or bitter as black blends can be. I will require more of this in the future, so if I ever swap with you (yes you) and you feel like sending me some, that would be awesome.

I think I brewed it a touch strong today, as I used up all the leaf instead of leaving behind a 1/2 tsp, which would have been silly, so it’s a bit overpowering, but still very enjoyable. Bumping the rating a touch because this is definitely a tea I’d like to keep around in my cupboard. I seem to have a soft spot for flavoured pu’erhs, haha. But not like, ginger pu’erh, we’re talking dessert ones. Nom nom nom.

Thanks again for introducing me to this one, Azzrian!

The ETS was selling 25 count pouches of this tea bagged for pretty cheap so I decided to give it a try. It’s has a sickly sweet smell so I thought I would try drinking it straight thinking it would not need sugar- it is not as sweet as it smells and was a little bitter. But once I added a bit of sugar it was quite sweet and tasted just like maple syrup. I don’t think I would buy this tea again but it’s not bad. I bet kids would love it.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

This is what I’m talking about for a morning tea! Thanks so much, Azzrian! After steeping for five minutes, I get a burnt bittersweet chocolate flavor. SO GOOD. I’m starting to wonder if this sort of flavor is just what caffeine tastes like, if that is possible. Chocolate = caffeine. Black tea = caffeine. I have no idea. This is so brisk (without being bitter or astringent). Complex, dark and delicious! Teas like this one remind me of how boring coffee is. I don’t think anyone stocks up on varieties of coffee like they do tea. I’d rather have OPTIONS… a different tea every morning! This went perfectly with the S’mores I had for breakfast…. I know, I know. I didn’t know what else to have this morning. Blame it on the perfect pairing with the tea. And I’m having a salad for lunch, so it’s okay!