The Metropolitan Tea Company

Sipdown! (or at least pretty close to it)

I had my last little bit on its own yesterday. Funny story, I made this one, then when I went to add my milk and sugar, I found out I was out of milk! Booo! So, I went to Tim’s to get a cinnamon roll and I got a couple of the little milk thingys. They didn’t even charge me for it! So sweet!
Anyway, three mins is far too long for this tea. I needed to do more of a 2.5mins or so. It was too strong yesterday.

I’m not sure I’ll miss this one now that it’s out.

I got this from culinary teas not realizing it is a different brand of tea. It comes in bags and not the fancy kind. The tea smells very blueberry candy-y dry. Once it steeped, I took a few sips and realized that this would be much better iced. It’s chilling in my fridge now and I’ll update this when I’ve tried it. Hot, it was very much an artificially blueberry tea, which was disappointing. I think it has good cold brew potential. I hope…

FYI whatshesaid this one definitely wasn’t worth the wait :-(

A review of Maple Blueberry Tea by Metropolitan Tea Company, Ltd

Company: The Metropolitan Tea Company
Tea Name: Maple Blueberry Tea
Tea Type/Varietal: black
Region: India
Steeping Vessel/Amt Leaf: cup/ tea bag
Liquor Color: reddish
Leaf Characteristic:

1. Steeping:

1st Steeping:
Water Temp: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 5 minutes
I like this tea for its wonderful aroma. I use one tea bag and placing this in my cup I add in the boiled water and leaving it to steep for several minutes. This tea brews a very bright liquor and the teas’ aroma is that of maple; providing for headiness in the maple and syrupy when tasted.

2nd Steeping:
Water Temp: 200
Time: 3 minutes
My second cup of tea is similarly the same with a lessening in the taste for the maple and tea is still very bright reddish color; like wine almost. I taste more of the maple than the blueberry since I am not one to consume blueberry I don’t anything to compare it to.

Overall tasting notes: This is a wonderful tea that is easily blended with the maple and blueberry making for a good cup of tea. Tea is naturally sweet with not a need for anything else.

Classification: Year, and region of production; Product of India

Cup’s characteristic: sweet, smooth with a good body and blends very well with the maple and blueberry

Liquor color: bright reddish brown

Taste: tea taste sweetly; naturally sweetened with the maple

I’m not usually a big fan of fruity teas, especially herbals, so this strawberry green tea was something new worth trying…. What a nice surprise! The subtley sweet strawberry taste is really well complimented by the floral and slightly bitter green tea. Lovely!!!!

A review of Maple Blueberry Tea by The Metropolitan Tea Company

Company: The Metropolitan Tea Company
Tea Name: Maple Blueberry Tea
Tea Type/Varietal: Black
Region: India
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: Cup / Tea bag
Liquor Color: Golden amber
Leaf Characteristics:

1. Steepings

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

I reached for a cup of this tea just because I wanted to something comparable to maple syrup; well maple flavoring without the pancakes.

With one tea bag and adding in the boiled water and left to steep for a few minutes I am able to enjoy this tea. It is nicely hot with the maple flavoring delivering all of the right notes in aroma which is nicely sweet and woodsy like.

There is something to be said when sipping of this tea; that one cannot help but think of the great outdoors and being surrounded by maple trees and sugar fields.

This is a lovely tea!

Very dark and strong morning tea. I used the usual cream and sugar and enjoyed a scone with this one. I’m not familiar with Irish Breakfast teas, I normally drink English Breakfast blends but I thought this was a very good straight tea blend.

This is definitely a black licorice flavoured tea. The smell is of very strong black licorice. The taste is exactly like black licorice. But not sweet licorice, more bitter. It is not a bad bitter taste though, just like traditionally made black licorice candy. It smells like those licorice candies that you can get that are coated in sprinkles – licorice allsorts.
I did not much like this tea but I also am not a really big black licorice fan. It does, however, blend well with gunpowder green tea to mellow the licorice taste a bit. That blend also makes a good iced tea. Every once in a while I will pull it out and give it a taste or blend it with something.
I wish someone would make a red licorice flavoured tea, or a Nibs flavoured, Mmmmm.

A review of Maple Blueberry Tea by The Metropolitan Tea Company

Company: The Metropolitan Tea Company
Tea Name: Maple Blueberry Tea
Tea Type/Varietal: black
Region: India
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bags
Liquor Color: dark reddish brown
Leaf Characteristics:

1. Steepings

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

I fixed this tea quite hot and steeped it for several minutes. I pour the hot water in my cup with the tea bag in it and put this in the microwave for a couple of minutes more. As I said the tea is very hot and as I take sip of the tea, it burns my tongue and tea is just fine since the maple fragrant and mixture is nice for me to taste.

What is good for tea fixing is when I am able to fix just the cup I want and nothing else. I wanted maple tea and I am drinking and enjoying this tea. Thank you.

I had this tea iced today at lunch. It is like yummy fruit punch without all the sugar. haha. I always have it around for iced tea, great to have in the cupboard for people who prefer herbal blends. I’m not a fan of this one hot but most of these fruity herbal blends are better iced in my opinion.

No notes yet.

A review of Maple Blueberry Tea by The Metropolitan Tea Company

Company: Metropolitan Tea Company
Tea Name: Maple Blueberry Tea
Tea Type/Varietal: black
Region: India
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bags
Liquor Color: golden brown / color of maple syrup
Leaf Characteristics:

1. Steepings

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

I ordered this tea around Christmas time last year because I wanted to enjoy some of the maple flavors that is to be found in tea’s mixture and this tea seems to do just that. This is Ceylon tea from the Nuwara Eliya mountain regions of India; offering a combination of attraction, such as healing climate, scenic beauty and wooded wilderness, flowery meadows and its high plateau.

The teas’ produce in Nuwara Eliya are of a unique flavor as the air is always scented with the fragrance of cypress trees that grows in abundance and mentholated with the wild mint and eucalyptus.

It is a combination of all these factors that makes this tea so special. The tea bags are in a foil packaged and as I open the foil to remove one of the tea bags, I get a slight hint of the maple, as it is sweetly permeating the air. I place one of the bags in my cup adding the boiled water to it. I leave it to steep for several minutes.

The tea’s color is that of maple syrup with a sweet aromatic brew. Tea is very light when tasting/sipping of the tea. It is smoothly hot and lively cup of tea. The flavor flows through and through; lasting until the very last drop.

2nd Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 5 minutes

The longer the steep the maple flavor seems a bit less each time, yet still enjoyable. The tea retains its reddish brown coloring with slight hints of the maple for aroma; it is smooth with a good blend in body for the taste makes you want to have more and more of this tea. This second steep would make a very good iced tea. Since I like my tea hot, this is how I continue to enjoy it.

Overall, this Ceylon blend with the maple is exquisite and it is nice as one sip the tea to remember of the lush mountain where the tea originates.

A review of Maple Blueberry Tea by The Metropolitan Tea Company

Company: Metropolitan Tea Company
Tea Name: Maple Blueberry Tea
Tea Type/Varietal: black
Region: India
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bags
Liquor Color: golden brown / color of maple syrup
Leaf Characteristics:

1. Steepings

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

I ordered this tea around Christmas time last year because I wanted to enjoy some of the maple flavors that is to be found in tea’s mixture and this tea seems to do just that. This is Ceylon tea from the Nuwara Eliya mountain regions of India; offering a combination of attraction, such as healing climate, scenic beauty and wooded wilderness, flowery meadows and its high plateau.

The teas’ produce in Nuwara Eliya are of a unique flavor as the air is always scented with the fragrance of cypress trees that grows in abundance and mentholated with the wild mint and eucalyptus.

It is a combination of all these factors that makes this tea so special. The tea bags are in a foil packaged and as I open the foil to remove one of the tea bags, I get a slight hint of the maple, as it is sweetly permeating the air. I place one of the bags in my cup adding the boiled water to it. I leave it to steep for several minutes.

The tea’s color is that of maple syrup with a sweet aromatic brew. Tea is very light when tasting/sipping of the tea. It is smoothly hot and lively cup of tea. The flavor flows through and through; lasting until the very last drop.

2nd Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 5 minutes

The longer the steep the maple flavor seems a bit less each time, yet still enjoyable. The tea retains its reddish brown coloring with slight hints of the maple for aroma; it is smooth with a good blend in body for the taste makes you want to have more and more of this tea. This second steep would make a very good iced tea. Since I like my tea hot, this is how I continue to enjoy it.

Overall, this Ceylon blend with the maple is exquisite and it is nice as one sip the tea to remember of the lush mountain where the tea originates.

Another tea from my dad for Christmas!

I’m drinking a black tea without milk?! It’s actually really good. I knew I could taste something other than just pineapple and I think it’s the blackberry teas. The pineapple is very subtle. I do wish it was a bit stronger, but that’s okay. I’m enjoying it. I could see it mixing fairly well with other fruity teas.
Next time I steep it, I might even try it with some milk.

I gotta say, tea is such a wonderful thing. Every day it’s something different, even when you think it’s not going to be. And it’s amazing that sometimes all it takes for it to be different is for the water temp to be too high or too low, or if you let it steep a few mins longer or shorter… This world of tea is really something you can experiment with and never get bored.

And even when you think you might be getting bored, mix it up!

Hate that one kind of tea? Try different flavours or mix them together.
Try different amounts of sweetner or no sweetners.
Try that rooibos with milk! Try it straight up!
Try that black tea with honey! Try it with lemon! Try it in sipping cups instead of a mug!
Try a tea variety that you’ve never had before like white tea or pu’erh, or Oolong!
Try a plain tea instead of a crazy flavour, or vis versa.

Tea is really an expression of yourself, I’m finding. And depending on what tea you grab, can really share your mood and feelings about things.

I am constantly asked what teas I have that are good. What is the definition of good? I think all my teas are good in one way or another. And I know that my teas don’t appeal to everyone either. But, I know what I like, and I try to figure out what others like to help them along the way… which is another reason that I love giving friends samples of my teas.

Anyway, I should really get onto the tea!

Steeped this one for 2.5mins today. I’m finding it a lot more subtle and delicious. I almost wonder if I should stick with the shorter steep time for this one so it doesn’t turn bitter and it stays yummy!
I definitely recommend this one. It’s a very nice black tea with a flavour that isn’t too subtle. It’s lets you know that it’s there. It doesn’t get lost when you add things to it either. Very good!

No notes yet.

I don’t mind this tea, although it is not my favorite. There is a fine line between getting the right steep or steeping too long. If it steeps for too long it gets quite bitter. It leaves a harsh sour aftertaste in your mouth. I find it makes a good mint green tea when mixed 1:1 with spearmint (I used David’s Tea spearmint).

I will most likely finish the tea I have but will try other brands/companies for something a bit more smooth.

Loose
Appearance: med dark leaf
Aroma when Dry: smoky, aromatic oak/mesquite blend, slightly reminiscent of jerked meat
After water is first poured: early campfire sparks
At end of steep: campfire dimming
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light smoky quartz brown
Staple? No, might try type again, brand acceptable
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first?: bodied BBQ char
As it cools?: notes open up a bit, tea gets a bit more bodied
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, light wispy smoke on the palate

Loose
Appearance: deep green gunpowder pearls
Aroma when Dry: smoky, grassy
After water is first poured: grassy, slight nutty note
At end of steep: grassy, slightly sour
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: moss green
Staple? Type no, will accept when out
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first?: bitter, harsh, grassy
As it cools?: notes get harsher, rougher
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, sour grassy notes

There are several Belgian Chocolate options here; I clicked Metropolitan Tea because a friend sent this from a little tea house in Tennessee that I think private labels Metropolitan stuff.

This particular blend is nice—I am a calendula lover in blended tea and it adds a nice little kick to the cocoa-roo. Pairing it with some bittersweet dark chocolate highlighted the sweetness.

(Curious…anybody ever steep just plain calendula leaves? Just wondering how they do on their own.)

Backlogging, again.

The hubby and I decided to experiment with making hash browns from scratch Sunday morning, and since I did a lot of the cooking, he picked the tea to go with breakfast. He selected this one, which I would never have thought of as a breakfast tea. Surprisingly, I liked it very, very much! We had sausages with the hash browns, and so it was the combination of all those savory/smoky flavors with the earthy sweetness of this tea that made breakfast a complete success!

I honestly don’t get the butterscotch flavor unless I’m really looking for it (which isn’t a whole lot of the time). However, the caramel is there in full force, and the pu’erh is a complex enough flavor that I don’t mind not having the butterscotch. I don’t miss it. It steeps to an interesting reddish color, with hints of purple/magenta, especially when milk is added, which I did (that’s just how we do it—if it’s a black tea getting drunk for breakfast, it’s going to have milk in it). Anyway, been a while since I had this tea, and I’m glad the hubby dug it out! :)

It’s like getting punched in the mouth by a Russian, but in a good way. It reminds me a bit of Lady Grey, only a lot stronger. I think I can taste grapefruit in this tea but not quite sure… I like this tea, when I want a really powerful Earl Grey this is a good one to choose. When I want it a little more mellow I mix it with EG cream or Dorian Grey. Sometimes I add milk but usually just sugar.

I’ll have to play around with the steeping time because all I’m getting is a bit of chocolate and a lot of rooibos. Not my thing.

Amazing flavour! Like drinking fresh strawberries, you don’t really taste the green tea..

Very refreshing smell and taste. I have the package open on my desk and the smell of strawberry making me crazy. Excellent blend of green tea, strawberry and papaya makes this tea one of my top favorites. I do double infusion with a pinch of dry from package and enjoy it. Steeping time that I put 4-5 min with drop of honey.