Metropolitan Tea Company

Monk’s Blend is probably one of my favourite black teas of all time. I picked this one up because I had a real craving, but hadn’t had any in a couple of years.
Honestly, at first the scent in the bag put me off just a little. Something I can’t quite put my finger on, but which concerned me. Thankfully, once it was brewed my concerns were completely alleviated. This tea is absolutely delicious, and the flavours work together perfectly. I find it has a good astringency. I rarely drink this with any milk or sweetener.

I am pretty sure this is what I purchased online from Angelina’s Teas in Winston-Salem, NC. It was my first experience with this vendor, and I really wanted to try this tea as well as find a place to buy some of Metro’s Earl Grey Cream for comparison to Teavana’s. From looking at the tea this merchant stocks, it seems he has many Metro offerings, plus more. There is something similar to Emporer’s Red (It is an Imperial Red black tea that is called Da Hong Pao which I think means big red robe. They also have a Da Hong Pao Oolong.) It is easy to order in just about any amount by the ounce. Packaging was in the foil bags with the roll top and tie that flattens. I also got a free sample, and his shipping was extremely fast, even for a holiday weekend. There was one tea I ordered that was out of stock, and the owner subbed something more expensive for my one ounce. I got Formosa Ruby #18 black tea instead of the Dian-Hong Red tea I ordered. Actually, I am pleased with the sub, as the Ruby #18 is of interest to me.

Onto the Honey Tea…..I do like this one. It is a basic black tea with a floral honey flavor. It kind of reminds me a little of jasmine. Sweetened, this is very enjoyable. Once my two ounces are gone, I could see reordering. Plus, I am sure there are many other teas that Angelina’s has to offer that are of interest. I like that they have a balance of unique teas and the flavored teas I like.

Still loving this. I am a fan of peach & apricot, and this just fills my kitchen with a lovely scent when I brew it.

It can turn bitter quickly, so giving it a bit less than 3 mins works well. I didn’t make a tasting note for this before, but I’ve also enjoyed it iced. (Hot brew then chilled in another container with lots of ice)

Had some of this at lunch today. Peach Apricot keeps the flavors simple, and it’s an easy one to enjoy.

I plan on making some of this iced later. :)

Meh. Now, reverse osmosis water from the cottage may have impacted this one… but I think my initial impression of “Lover’s Leap” was prematurely ecstatic. That first day I tried it, I must have been in just the right mood… because it still rings those same raisin notes, but they just don’t “sing” to me like they did that first time.
This was purchased from a place in St. Lawrence Market, so I don’t really know if MTC was the distributor but either way this is my third ho-hum experience with this tea type. Makes me wonder what I was on that first day…

Cold brewed this overnight since we’re supposed to be under a heat advisory today. I got this from the Strawberry Festival at Bean and Leaves in Long Grove, IL because it smelled AMAZING! I’m not normally a huge green tea fan as I find they always smell amazing but are less flavorful than I would expect from the smell but I couldn’t pass this one up. I’m not sure that this is the exact tea since they don’t share who their suppliers are but it looks like it so I’ll just go ahead and rate this one.

There’s something…off…here. I can’t put my finger on it but something just tastes a bit off. It could be a combination of things: my palate is currently sullied with some Apple Jacks (dry, my breakfast of choice at work), I could still have a bit of toothpaste mouth, I added some splenda and that sometimes interacts with tea in a weird way, or my perfect teamaker might need to have its filter cleaned since I primarily make blacks and mates in there.

Aside from the off-ness, I do like aspects of the tea. My last sip there was an almost textural change to the feeling of cherry juice (makes sense, right?). I think the flavor is there, but I may have messed it up a bit. This is only my second batch of iced tea too so there may have been some user error in there.

I think I’ll like this one better warm. Perhaps I’m just not an iced tea person.

So I bought this one at St. Lawrence Market. I’m not sure if MTC is the right vendor but I’m willing to bet that it is given that they supply much of Toronto’s looseleaf market.
The tea is pretty much what I expected, no surprises. Coconut, pineapple… rooibos…
It stands alone with no sugar added but it gets a little tart. The rooibos is a bit strong, but then it usually is.
Overall, a solid tea but nothing to rave about.

Warming up today with a blend of maple tea and lapsang souchong, to go along with a bowl of hearty beef and veg soup. Good times! :D

Never tried this from the bagged tea box, mine is from a large vacuum sealed plastic bag (and is Orange Pekoe grade loose leaf).

Smelling the dry tea leaves, it reminded me of a root beer float (doesn’t taste like it though).
I found this to be a nice flavored black tea. I thought it might be a bit too sugary but that wasn’t the case. It has a subtle maple flavor and the black tea (which is from Sri Lanka) itself mixes very well with it. The black tea isn’t too bitter or sharp tasting. Sweet enough by itself, you shouldn’t need to add anything extra to it.

The other tea reviewers mentioned a dry feeling at the back of your throat. I sort of get that, but it doesn’t seem too bad. Maybe it has something to do with the bagged version?

3tsp for 2 cups of water. The leaves were silvery and full. They weren’t rolled or anything. There wasn’t much of a scent. The liquor is golden and has a light scent but I don’t know of what. At first the flavor reminded me of canned peas but the more I drink the better it tastes. There is a light flavor but it’s not lingering.

At first I didn’t like it but it’s growing on me.

4tsps with 3 cups water. The leaves were long and dark. I can’t pick out specific scents except it smells like a typical English Breakfast.

The liquid is amber and smells like the leaves. Again I can’t pick out specific flavors. There is an after flavor which I am thinking it is a trait of black teas. I like this tea.

Last time I tried this it was loose-leaf, brewed strong in a tearoom… Since my friend went to study in Calgary and brought me back a tin of this, however, I’ve been trying it from teabags.

My gf usually has this with milk and the idea is just /strange/ to me considering the white wine taste, but… I think she might have the right idea because black, it’s a little difficult to get to just the right strength and flavour! That’s for next time.

It tastes like white wine. ___ A winner.

3tps for 3 cups water. The leaves were red small with bits of vanilla. You could really smell the vanilla.

The liquid is light amber and you can smell the vanilla. I’ve never tried a rooibos and this is very light flavor. I don’t really know what to write. I like it but I think I should have added another tsp of leaves. I think it might be better a little stronger. I keep thinking I want to sweeten it but it doesn’t need to be sweetened.

4tsp for 3 cups water. The leaves were dark, twisted and long. When I smelled them my first thought was laying on a blanket in a park in the spring time. That’s what I smelled, fresh grass with light notes of flowers.

The liquor is light amber. I don’t get the same scent with the liquor as I did with the leaves which is a shame. There is a light scent, somewhat earthy. The flavor is light and mild. There is a little bit of a lasting flavor which I think is typical of black teas.

This tea is good. Now I will try it sweetened. The finish is smoother for me when I sweetened the tea. I like this tea.

4tsp for 3 cup water. Leaves are small bits. You can smell the cloves and a little cinnamon. The liquor is dark amber and you can smell the cloves. I definitely need milk or sugar in this. The flavor is good but very strong.

Much better with milk and sugar. The clove and typical chai flavor is still there but it is lighter and doesn’t leave a funky taste in the mouth.

4tps for 3 cups of water. Leaves were short and dark with a pleasant scent. The liquor is golden amber. I don’t know what flavors I am tasting but it tastes like it smells and I like it. No lingering flavor. It was nice and mild.

4gram per 8oz of water. Leaves are fairly short, I’m thinking because they are a sample and it might have been broken from lots of handleing. Nice fragrant but cant’ really smell the jasmine.

The liquor is a light golden color with a strong green tea scent. I was tasting this tea and reviewing it along with the Jasmine Green from ‘T’ Shoppe. There was an earthy flavor but not strong. I think I will need to add more tea next time.

The used leaves were a dark green which opened up nicely. There were also some stems.

Overall this tea was more pleasing overall to the eye than the Jasmine Green from ‘T’ Shoppe. The flavor was about the same.

There was a nice roasted brown rice scent. When looking at the leaves you could see the brown rice as well as little bits of popped popcorn. I used 4 tsps for 3 cups of water. Next time I will add one more tsp of tea.

When brewed the liquid was light yellow and there was a light brown rice scent. I taste the brown rice and little bit of the popcorn. When taking a drink there is a light after taste with kind of an astringent lingering flavor.

Overall I like this tea. When I go to a sushi bar I always have the tea and this tea just brings me there.

4tsps for 3 cups of water. The leaves were long and rolled with little flower petals. They smelled very good. You could faintly smell the grenadine and vanilla.

The liquor is coppery in color. You can smell the cherries a little more when brewed. There is a lingering flavor that I just can’t point out. I think this might be a characteristic of black teas but I’m so new to reviewing teas that I might be wrong. I feel like I have something still in my mouth, like there wasn’t a clean finish. I do like this tea and will drink it again but I will be adding something to sweeten it up.

There was a nice roasted brown rice scent. When looking at the leaves you could see the brown rice as well as little bits of popped popcorn. I used 4 tsps for 3 cups of water. Next time I will add one more tsp of tea.

When brewed the liquid was light yellow and there was a light brown rice scent. I taste the brown rice and little bit of the popcorn. When taking a drink there is a light after taste with kind of an astringent lingering flavor.

Overall I like this tea. When I go to a sushi bar I always have the tea and this tea just brings me there.

I wasn’t especially impressed with this tea; it wasn’t bad, wasn’t great. It was certainly fresh enough, had been stored well, etc. and the flavor was clean and not astringent or foul, but for the price—about $3.50 an ounce—there are dozens of whites I’ve preferred at half the cost. I like teas that are memorable, that leave an impression, that I’ll specifically crave later, and this was none of those. I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but among the snow dragons I’ve had… Adagio’s was preferable, and I usually find Adagio’s offerings mediocre at best. I will say this much: Metropolitan does a very good job with their packaging and the marketing built-in to their descriptions… the problem is when the descriptions aren’t very accurate to the tea. Maybe there’s a subliminal element where if they say it’s floral, you’ll find something floral and if they say it’s jammy you’ll find something jammy. In that respect, I tend to just look at the ingredients and the source and read descriptions AFTER I’ve consumed. I honestly wouldn’t have believed the tea I drank was the tea described if I hadn’t grown up seeing how silly the more common brands like Celestial Seasonings, Harney and Sons, Stash, and later Tazo are in romanticizing their leaves :)

Thanks to ColumbiaKate for the sample! I think I found the right tea… if not, lemme know and I’ll move things around.

I’m not normally a big earl grey fan. The term “watery fruit loops” is often a description I use. But I love lavender tea so I thought I’d take a risk on this.

When I sip, I only taste a subtle hint of lavender and plenty of bergamot (normally I am not a fan) and citrus. But somehow the medley works. This reminds me of the Lady Earl Grey from Twinings. It’s light on the Earl Grey (good riddance!) but still tastes bright and citrusy. The lavender complements the citrus just fine.

I may actually gasp purchase this one. It’s bold and strong, but the EG isn’t all in your face. Great for this morning – Monday morning, getting back into the work mode…