Sloane Tea Company

A few months back, Sloan had a big sale & I was in WANT mode, their teas sounded so wonderful. Luckily my dear friend & tea sister Sil saved the day (and my wallet) by offering to order some things & send me samples.
Thank you Sil!
As it turned out, I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the Sloan teas I tried, except this one, which she sent in the BBBBox awhile back. And of course, that’s probably because it’s just tea, a potent Assam without anything added or taken away. Very robust. I made a 16oz pot of it, poured myself a cup, & that’s all I got because my sons, Drew & Leif, each had a cup too. Now it’s gone!

Can you spell ASSAM?
I think I am in super taster mode for ‘bitter’ today. Most of you probably know this, but there are basically 5 tastes: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, & Umami (the savory taste). In Ayurveda & some other Asian cultures there are 6 tastes: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Bitter, & Astringent. Anyway, this is a bold & somewhat bitter cup, & the last tea I drank was also a bitter cup. Either I’m really picking up the bitter taste today, or I’m over-leafing, or I’m just drinking bitter teas, LOL.

Sometimes when I am tasting the bitter taste, I take a moment to ask myself, “Am I feeling bitter/resentful towards anyone or anything?” (including myself) If I am, I take a few moments to wish that person happiness, prosperity, good health, etc. If there is something I need to do or say, the best thing is to just do it or say it, & then let go & move on. In this way, tea contributes to my mental state, but giving me a moment to reflect, by reminding me that I have choices today.

1 satchel for 200 ml

Bergamot present in the aroma. Flavour does not have full cream taste. Black base has a sharp edge of astringency which I find to be too strong. Bergamot and vanilla flavours present.

Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing!

This is a sample I received from Sil.

This tea tastes like Nutella, but without all of the sweetness. I can taste the chocolate/cocoa and some nutty flavours. I would not necessarily say it was almond, although at one point while the tea was really hot, I thought of almond butter. But as the tea cooled to a more drinkable temp, it really reminded me of hazelnuts. As the tea cooled it became a little bitter, like dark chocolate. The black tea base is strong and thick, robust.

Thanks Sil.

1 tablespoon for 300 ml

A little astringency. Melon-hay note. Faint peachy-ness.

Rating: 62

Steepster isn’t letting me search for the tea’s I want to log, so I came here to whine…. cuz apparently I can edit old posts, just not make new ones! Hmph.
Oh well. The world will have to wait for my review. No biggie :)

I love my chai but not when the spices are wrong for me and I’m super picky about it. This falls into that category, of having some sort of spice that I just don’t love.
It’s sweet in an offputting way that I really can’t place. Not cinnamon, surely, as I love cinnamon. Is there a such thing as sweet ginger? I don’t think I have an issue with nutmeg, but perhaps that’s it… Bah!
It was a serviceable cuppa with milk and a dash of sugar, got the job done and once I got past whatever that odd spice was, it was enjoyable. Still, I won’t be buying this one again, not for myself anyhow.
It also could have had something to do with the base tea…

It isn’t often I find this available at a storefront level, so I was happy to have the option for my fave Oolong Creme! yumm.
And it resteeps well in cold water so I had a great but mild second infusion. Oh happy day! That said, I wouldn’t pay for a full tin anymore, not at that price…

I had given up on this one because the last few times I had some all I got was a mild floral taste blended with a bit of butter and my paranoia was telling me… a moldy sort of flavour (we had a leak in the kitchen… we’re doing endless renos in an old house!)
Anyhow, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it out and I’m glad I didn’t! This time I got TWO good steeps, not just one, and really rich layered ones too.
I’m almost at the end of the tin. If I ever get it again, it’ll have to be when my cupboard is down to a manageable level and I can reasonably drink it fast enough to not let much of it go stale. Hah! First world problems much????

Note to self: this tea does not age well for the second steep. When fresh, you can go on for three or four infusions. But… after you’ve had it for awhile, the second brew has notes of stinky sock :(
Ah well, that first cup was bliss!! So sweet and creamy. Mmmmmm

Sipdown. The creamy vanilla flavoured faded a bit with age but it’s still quite tasty especially if you add some milk to it. I like how the bergamot is nice and subtle as some earl greys tend to overdo it and the tea ends up being quite bitter.

I had to double-check the label on the tin because this smelled very much like an earl grey when I opened it and I thought I’d mixed it up with the Earl Grey Classic in my sampler set. I’m glad to be proven wrong though because, even though there is a distinct tang of bergamot, it’s definitely the vanilla cream that dominates. The tea has such a sweet, rich flavour even though I brewed this cup plain with no milk or sweeteners. I’ll try it with a longer steep and milk next but even as is it’s an excellent blend.

I knew I was going to like this one based solely on the smell. Strong and sweet oil of bergamot with a black tea base lingering in the background. The tea brews up a nice dark orange colour. It is a smooth with a light to moderate black tea base, it is not bold and there is no astringency. The bergamot is strong but not overpowering, just the way I like it. It is sweet, orange/lemon flavoured. It doesn’t say that it is natural oil of bergamot but it feels natural on my taste buds and there is none of the chemical taste that sometimes comes with just flavour of bergamot. I bought the Sloane sample pack a long time ago and forgot I had not tried this one yet. I am mad I waited so long, but also happy that I know have the whole 1.1oz to savour. I will most likely be purchasing a large tin of this whenever I find it on sale.

Received this as a surprise sample from the amazing Sil. It is in sachet form. The dry tea smells kind of vanilla-nutty.

The brewed tea smell reminded me of bergamot but I don’t actually taste any bergamot. I get undertones of vanilla and caramel. Almost like an Earl Grey Cream but without the Earl Grey. I am finding the black base to be moderately strong and am tasting ceylon more than Assam tea. This is a delicious morning tea. Not too sweet, but not so strong it is knocking my socks off.

I am enjoying this one. Thanks Sil!

This tea brews up surprisingly dark for white tea, and I was worried that it would end up being harsh. However despite the appearance the tea base was still quite smooth with a slight vegetal tone to it. The peach flavour wasn’t as distinctive as I thought it would be from the smell of the dry leaves, although the tea still had a pleasant fruity taste that I enjoyed. This might be another blend that would be good as an iced tea.

Another Sipdown, & although the dry tea smells wonderful, I don’t really find the cup of tea particularly interesting. Plus, there is a weird after taste. Oh well, you can’t love them all I guess. :)

thanks to Sil for the chance to sample some teas from Sloan, including this one.

Admittedly, this one isn’t doing it for me.its ok, but there’s an odd aftertaste I just don’t care for.
Oh we’ll, I guess you can’t like everything! Still worth trying, & I still have a bag left, so I’ll try again another day.

NEXT!

Sil Sample Sipdown
This is a nice fruity evening tea, lightly tart but not tart enough to make me pucker. Drew & I added enough stevia to bring out the berry flavors, & it is tasty! Thanks Sil!

Sipdown!
This is the last of this sample from SIL, & probably my favorite of the sloane samples she sent. It’s dark chocolate liquor with some almond essence. I added stevia. My only wish would be a thicker or creamier mouth feel, if that makes sense to anyone, as it feels ‘thin’.
Not really a problem though, it’s tasty.
Thanks Sil :)

This is a tasty sample from Sil. A lovely dark chocolate covered almond flavor, with a little boldness to the bass.

Sil sent this to me awhile ago & today it is a sipdown.
Not much to say about it. Today I’m finding it to be fairly bland. There are hints of cream & caramel, but the tea base is weak.
Still, worth trying! Thanks Sil. :)

Thanks for this sample Sil
Hmmm…this is a pleasant cup. I’m not getting any bergamot, just some caramel & vanilla flavors & a decent base. There is enough for me to try again, & hopefully pay more attention, as today I’m rather distracted with gardening projects!

1 tablespoon for 248 ml

Too much astringency near the end of the sip. Very rosy and floral flavour. Wheat-like mouth-feel. Spices present in the background. Leaves a pleasant lingering aftertaste with citrus notes.

Rating: 46

sipdown! haha I realised while going through some of my teas this afternoon that i only had a sachet left of this so i figured what the hell! Again, this smells so much more amazing than it tastes. I’m not a fan of bergamot and it’s not super strong in this but it ruins the caramel trying to come through in this. I just want this to BE BETTER lol or at least be like it smells. POO! anyway still drinkable but there are others i’d rather have!