Metropolitan Tea Company

I didn’t really know what to expect from this tea. It didn’t seem a very compelling tea, as I had always seen it sitting on the shelf as I walked past it in the store. I finally broke down and bought a bag, as I had tried all the other teas.

Upon first opening the bag, a gentle and extremely pleasing aroma fills the air. A very fresh and sweet scent of vanilla and fruit blend quite well with the tea, giving a more after hours cocktail feel. The leaves are long, rolled, and handsomely dark.

My initial steep of 3 minutes, with half a teaspoon of rock sugar, gave a brilliant and bright copper toned brew. The aroma very much like the leaves, fresh, sweet and slightly fruity.

The first couple sips gave me a surprisingly bitter flavor, followed by a sweet subtle fruitiness, which was then followed by a hint of astringency. As surprising as it was, considering how much black tea there is here, it shouldn’t be that surprising.

My second steep of 2 minutes and 45 seconds with new leaves, and this time with a whole teaspoon of rock sugar, gave a darker brew with a stronger sweet and fruity aroma.

The 15 seconds makes such a difference, giving a more flavorful brew. There is much less bitterness and a more subtle floral bouquet. There is something very distinguishing about the toasty sweet and dry textures, with a slight astringency that more compliments the overall flavor.

This tea is wonderfully complex, with so many textures, all working together for your complete enjoyment. I believe I have had this tea five times in the past two days now, which officially makes it a favorite.

I certainly agree that this tea is very smooth and flavourful! I would recommend it to anyone who is wary of drinking anything but the traditional ‘bag’ tea, they will be pleasantly surprised.

This has been sitting on my shelf since I bought it on my New Years weekend trip to Prince George, BC. I’m not quite sure why it took me this long to try it, seeing as I do have a particular and intense love for chai teas.

It is a very typical chai, with a difference in a slight yet noticeable scent of sweetness. Despite, I brew my cups of chai with a teaspoon each of leaves and rock sugar.

The brew is extremely dark and clean, and quite a handsome tone at that. The aroma is comfortingly warm and strong and spicy, like you’re getting a liquid hug.

Normally, I don’t put milk in chai; only when it’s added in restaurants and tea places. But, we had a carton of soy drink sitting in the fridge, and I have never had soy in tea, so I had to try it.

The soy definitely calms the spices down, not so much as to diminish the overall flavor, but to give it discipline. It helps the soy has a nutty flavor that adds to the strong black tea and spices.

It has been too long since my last chai tea. Thankfully, this is quite a respectable and strong chai, and quite superb with sugar and milk, or soy.

I know that this is the fourth time I’ll be logging this, and normally I don’t log a tea this much, but I have to today. I need some steepster time…

I’m feeling so defeated today. I’ve woken up with a migraine again today… thankfully today I didn’t wake up at 3:30am like I did yesterday. But I’m just so tired and feeling so drained from it. The advil is only barely keeping me sane. I know today it’s the weather that’s doing it to me. I wish I could be at home sleeping. I think a tall glass of cold water and a few more hours of sleep would fix this at least partially…

Anyway, this was my tea choice today as I’m just needing a plain comfort tea. I need somehting that’s going to wrap me up in a large warm hug and just hold me tight for a bit. If I were at home, I’d be asking my hunny to do that. Just to hold me until my head pain subsided but since I can’t, tea will have to try to do it for me. And so far, so good. It’s giving me a moment of solitude in the midst of work today.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day, otherwise I might cancel my plans with my mom and just stay in bed… lol

Sooooo….I went to George’s Tea Emporium with ShayneBear last week, and I picked up a small tin of this. I was intrigued by the description of blackberry and maple, as I had been looking at both maple tea and black currant (which I know isn’t the same, but whatever) but wasn’t sure what to get and didn’t want to get too much (I’m lacking in space until I finish more teas).

The scent of this is pretty mild, but sweet, and the green tea mellows the main black base, I think. This tea is a bit more stripped down and basic, compared to my normal assortment of teas. It doesn’t look terribly fancy.

Brewed up a dark rich mahogany color…milk and sugar were added. This tea is one where it is subtle flavour, but it is there. Although I could not taste the blackberry itself, I could detect a light fruity taste, but most prominent was the juicy mouthfeel that is in the description. As for the maple flavour, I could faintly detect it as it was not the same kind of sweet that came from the sugar.

Overall, this is a nice tea. It’s a step up from a standard black blend with a little extra juicy sweetness. Does it have a place in my regular rotation? Maybe. But DAVIDs is much closer to me, and Murchies carries the same level of tea, and I’m lazy, but perhaps if we do another visit there, I will get some. My tin, albeit small, will likely last a while.

Not a bad rooibos. My friend has to drink green & red tea at night or he’s awake all hours. I can drink caffeine all night and still fall right to sleep. Not sure why. Anyways, he brought this over tonight for me to try and I thought it was pretty good. The vanilla is sweet and creamy. Not a tea I would drink all the time but worth trying.

I had this tea for the first time at a cafe. I don’t know it was the creme brule tart I was having with this tea or the tea itself, but I fell in love with it.

What I love the most about this tea, is that it is the only real orange “blossom” tea I have had here so far. Others usually have some kind of floral taste that is not necessarily orange blossom and accompanied by orange peel that isn’t bad if you’re looking for it.

The orange blossom with the oolong tea makes a really smooth blend that I really like. I have this tea whenever I am not feeling like a super strong tea.

Purchased this one at the tea meet in Victoria yesterday. :) Mine is loose-leaf.

It’s a nice black tea, but the maple flavour is really mild. I was hoping for a stronger maple flavour. Oh well. The tea has a good black base, takes a little milk and sugar well, and I will definitely drink it all. It’s not likely I will repurchase, though.

1 heaping tsp in 12 oz water. (I couldn’t find brewing instructions on this one. Hmm.)

This is one of my longtime favourites. Its not very fussy, steeping time and water temperature don’t need to be scientifically calculated. It lives up to its name of whole fruit, you can eat most of the tea dry (some of it would be much too crunchy haha). I have made quite a few people fans of this tart, juicy, bright red berry tisane. Makes great iced tea but tonight I am enjoying it hot. I usually have this on hand and its a good go-to when I want something familiar.
I would recommend this tea to anyone who likes fruity/berry and not too sweet tisanes.

of the 14 teas i tasted today, this was among the top 3. the bergamot was very subtle but the lavender was just right.

hm, i wonder how it will turn out if i mix it with some EG?

i like it but buy it? maybe. will have to try other lavender EGs :)

thanks to Azzrian for this sample!

One more note on this one. This one is good when a migraine is plaguing you and you can barely function. Nothing too crazy going on in this tea and it makes it perfect while I try to calm my head and stomach.

Excellent Earl Grey Cream. Definitely steep longer than recommended to get more bergamot and cream flavors.

Having a cup of Blueberry tonight… very strong and luscious blueberry flavor to this Pekoe blend. Would recommend to any blueberry fan. I’ve blended this one with Adagio’s Cream black tea in the past and its delicious. Also very good iced. Tonight, I’m enjoying it hot with sugar.

No notes yet.

This unique tea is absolutely wonderful iced. Every time I serve this tea to guests, they ask me where I’ve purchased it. Fortunately, I live next to a coffee shop that stocks Metropolitan Tea Company’s teas. This tea warm is not nearly as enjoyable in my opinion, hence the ‘too strong’ comments already mentioned. I don’t want to drink hot wine anyway. I do add a small amount of sugar to intensify the flavor.

I dig this tea. Not one of my all time favorites but very decent flavor.

No notes yet.

Monks’s blend was one of the very first loose leaf teas I ever owned. I am not sure if it was becuase it one the first one, but I have not been able to find a monk’s blend that tasted as good since. This blend is ok. It tastes like generic ceylon tea flavoured with artificial sweet cherry flavour. It is not unpleasant but there is no “pow”. The vanilla becomes more prominent as the tea starts to cool. It leaves a slight cherry aftertaste.

This tea was getting old, and I drank the last of it today. It served well, through years of singing, to clear throats.

No notes yet.

I adore this tea. I’ve always been a fan of pekoes, with their mellowness and all-around pleasant flavour, but this is the queen of pekoes. It’s strong and doesn’t need a long steep. It loves a splash of milk, but it comes with a hint of its own sweetness. It’s got a malty friendliness that makes it perfect for morning, though I’d take a cup of it any time of day. Wonderful; my very favourite.

Damn. This one is spicy, which is just what I look for in a chai. It’s so spicy that whenever I open the tin, I sneeze. Yeah, damn.

I was very wary about any of the teas from Metropolitan Tea Company after a disastrous encounter with their Cookies & Cream black tea. This tea, however, surprised me. I steeped 2 tsp in about 300ml of water (accidentally overleafed, whoops!) for 2 mins (I know it says 2m15s on the Steep Time dealy, ignore that, I just have no idea how to use it properly on my iPad) and added a tsp of honey to my cup. It’s still a little bitter, which is what I’ve come to expect from MTC.

I wish I had a milk substitute so I could make a proper chai with this. With most chais I’ve tried, I’ve found they lose quite a bit of their spice when milk is added but this one would still pack a wallop, I think.

This is an awesome tea when brewed with milk

Today it is CHILLY out!! It’s like -23C with the windchill! BRRRR!!! But I must say, I’m loving it! We have so many flu viruses going around that it’s nice that finally the cold is here to zap them all to death. Take that bugs! mahahahaha

And what better to have on a freezing morning in beautiful Ontario Canada, then a cup of Canadian Breakfast! Delish! I think this is one of my absolute favourite black teas. Malty, warm, comforting tea. I’m in love :)