Townshend's Tea Company

This is a very good variety of Earl Grey. The black tea is strong here, robust and tastes very rich and smooth.

The bergamot is subtle… and a bit different than some other Earl Grey/bergamot flavored teas I’ve encountered. I’m not getting a strong “flowery” essence from the bergamot, instead I’m getting a very juicy citrus-y note possessing an interesting complexity. It is sweet, fruity, and instead of the “sharp” note that I usually get from bergamot, I am getting a tart citrusness – yes it’s a word, I just made it up – from this bergamot.

I like it very much. I don’t know that I like it as much as I like Lupicia’s… or even Stephen Smith’s… but it’s right up there.

Having another cup of this before I send the rest off to TeaEqualsBliss.

I really like this blend a lot. It’s sweet, fruity and tart with a pleasant spicy note to it. Very nice.

I must admit that this one scared me after I brewed it. It brewed to the deep, ruby color of heavily hibiscus-laden tisanes. I fretted that this would be a STRONG hibiscus tasting tisane.

Fortunately, it just LOOKS like hibiscus – but doesn’t taste like it. Well… yes I can taste the hibiscus, but, it isn’t as strong as the appearance might suggest.

It has a sweet tropical flavor. I can taste berry, tangerine, passion fruit and mango notes. I can taste a hint of the spices as well as just a whisper of the licorice. It’s really an intriguing, tasty blend. YUM!

There is a lot of coconut flake in this blend!

Toasty and delicious! The coconut is sweet and toasty… and the Wen Shan Bao Zhong is smooth, rich and slightly roasted which lends itself very well to the flavor of the coconut. Very pleasant!

A nice mouthfeel – not as heavy as an Ali Shan, but very silky. The coconut and Wen Shan seem to be made for each other!

For those of you who are considering purchasing this particular tea, I would recommend purchasing more than just an ounce – which is what I purchased! The steeping parameters call for 3 tsp per cup, and you really need it because there is a LOT of coconut flake in the blend, and I believe that you’ll be sacrificing flavor if you use less leaf. I used about 1/2 of the ounce for this infusion in my smart brewing device! Fortunately, however, it IS an Oolong and will be subjected to many infusions!

This is so refreshing. I really like how strong and vibrant the flavor is. Most pear teas I have tend to be kinda weak or lack the tartness of a true pear, but it’s all here :) The pomegranate’s pretty light. I could sorta taste it, but only as an afterthought compared to the pear.

This is a very pleasant summertime tea. Thank you, LiberTEAS, for sending the sample to me! I’ve got to see if I can get some more :)

Leafy, Vegetal, a little grassy…more of a sweet grass tho. It’s almost like a mellow gunpowder taste…much smoother than gunpowder.

This is pretty good!
Special thanks to LiberTEAs for letting me try it!!!

I came across this tea in my stash last weekend… what a happy find! I love this tea. It is so soothing and deliciously floral. A beautiful tea experience.

I purchased this a few weeks ago when I went to Townshend’s.

I love the fragrance of this tea – the roasted hojicha, the lavender and of course the jasmine!

Yum! How delightful it is. The jasmine is strong in this blend – I had worried that it might be overwhelmed by the hojicha. But it is nicely balanced. The lavender is also strong. The green tea is soft, but does present itself on the palate… and then there is a toasty essence from the hojicha which is also soft, but so pleasant the way it presents itself. I am loving it.

More pear than pom today but still lovely!

Another lovely tea from LiberTEAs…thanks girl! :)

This is lovely! The aroma is awesome!
The tea liquid post-infusion is a medium colored brown but nice.
I love the fact that I can still taste the black tea taste but can also taste both the pear and the pom – it’s great!

I’m thinking this would be awesome iced too…

Wow! This is a tea by which I am so very pleasantly surprised.

This tea is really tasty! The pear flavor is there – and stronger than I would have expected. Succulent, sweet pear! The pomegranate is there too – and softer than I expected. I thought it would completely overwhelm the pear. But it doesn’t. Instead, it offers a pleasant tart finish to the cup. Nice!

I only purchased 1 ounce of this when I visited Townshend’s last week, and the rest that I have is going out to some steepster friends… so I am going to definitely have to put this one on my list for my next visit! And I will definitely have to buy more than just 1 ounce of it!

While at Townshend’s the other day, I purchased several different teas from them, this is one that I purchased. It’s one that I’ve been meaning to try from them for a while, but, one that my local Whole Foods does not carry, so I had to wait until I could make my way to their tea shop.

This has a very pleasant vegetative flavor to it, not so much grassy, just vegetal. Very smooth and a very nice sweetness to it (it does NOT need sweetener – it would completely overwhelm an otherwise delightful tea!).

It will be good for at least one more infusion (if not more) because the leaves have not completely unfurled with the first.

This morning, hubby took me down Alberta Street in Portland – and let me go into Townshend’s Teashop WITH money in hand.

So, I’m totally in love with Townshend’s. Think Starbucks with tea instead of coffee – which would make starbucks so much more awesome – and this much more awesome place is Townshend’s.

The Matcha Latte was tasty. Creamy, smooth, sweet, very little bitterness. I found more bitterness with it in the beginning with the matcha froth that was oozing out of the lid than with the actual liquid. YUM!

This tea is very similar to gunpowder, and it does have notes similar to sencha without being too “green.” It also has a nice natural sweetness, so drink it plain!

Ok, so there might be a little too much cinnamon oil in this than is appropriate, but i don’t care! I love cinnamon! I prepare it like a masala chai, bring to a boil in a sauce pan with water, milk, and sugar. If you want to tone it down a bit, just add some plain black tea, though I don’t know why you would want to do that!

I was in the grocery store when Townshend’s Vanilla Rooibos caught my eye. I absolutely love rooibos but have unfortunately disliked most blended versions. I had tried Stash’s Vanilla Rooibos, but it wasn’t very good.

This, on the other hand, is delicious! The vanilla really comes through but doesn’t taste artificially sweet. It is a bit like a dessert treat. I like to brew it darker (two teaspoons per cup, steeped for at least 5 minutes), but I’m also eager to try it iced. I’m glad to have another caffeine-free option to drink at night.

I also just found out I live by the Townshend’s on Alberta. I can’t wait to make a trip to the shop itself.

Finishing off the last that I have of this tea. I have quite enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would.

Delicious and rich. Yummy.

IT’S HERE! Today finally got here!

OMG I’m so excited.

And yes, I’m drinking another cup of this to celebrate!

Wanna see what I’m going to be doing? Check this out:

http://tinyurl.com/22v25so

Yes… again this morning!

Tomorrow is my class and I’m all excited about it, and drinking this tea in honor of my visit to Alberta Street to meet my favorite artist.

So, I brewed this one up slightly stronger than I did previously. Mostly just because I need to shake off the desire to go back to bed and curl up under the covers. The flavor is rich and delicious and it surprises me just how much I like this tea, given its ingredients.

I guess it just goes to show that just because I didn’t like one Lapsang Souchong, doesn’t mean I’ll dislike them all.

I’ll be on Alberta Street on Wednesday to attend an art class, so I felt that this tea was appropriate.

This is a good chai. Lots of rich flavor, and strong enough to withstand my brewing method and still be flavorful.

I like this a lot better than I thought I would after I bought it, and I decided to give it a few more points on the numeric scale.

I’ve been enjoying this tea as I prepare dinner for the family. Tonight, I chose to serve it latte – with a splash of warmed, frothed milk. YUM!

As most of you probably are aware, I’m not a big fan of Lapsang Souchong, nor am I big on yerba mate, but in this blend, they work together perfectly. There is just enough smoky flavor and earthy quality to this tea and it comes together so nicely with the spices. The spices, in contrast, do not have a typical chai BITE to them, but together, this works to become a very palatable beverage.

The touch of vanilla brings out the caramel-y tones so nicely… The more I drink this tea the more I am liking it!

I have tasted this only once before. I was rather curious to see how my taste buds would pick up on this blend’s smoky and earthy qualities.

I can really taste the yerba mate – more so than the Lapsang Souchong – in this blend today. Perhaps it’s because of my palate’s impaired state that the smoky qualities of the Lapsang are not so off-putting for me.

In fact, I find this blend rather enjoyable – and who knows, perhaps it’s my “gateway” to the strong, smoky type – although I rather doubt it. What I will say with absolute certainty though is that this is a great tea to enjoy now as my taste buds aren’t quite up to par, because I can actually taste something… subtle flavors would be totally lost on me at this point.

I did not steam and froth milk for my cup this time around, although I did add a generous dollop of honey. This right now seems less of a “chai” blend than a spiced blend, because the spices are less of a focus than the earthy qualities of the mate and the smoky, caramel-y flavor of the lapsang souchong. But again, that may just be because my palate is not right, right now.

Before Tasting: I must admit, this tea scares me. I purchased a tin of it a couple of weeks ago from my local Whole Foods Market, because Townshend’s is a local company and I wanted to support them, and I like chai tea, and this one is named after a street in Portland. But, I didn’t take a moment to read the description of the tea or the ingredients. This tea has Lapsang Souchong. I’m worried. I’m scared.

The aroma of the tea while brewing is very strong and smoky. Still scared. But I decided to make the most of it. I warmed some milk, got out my frother, and prepared myself for chai. I do like chai, after all. Maybe this can be my gateway into smoky tea… but I’m still skeptical.

OK… it’s not bad. The smoky flavor lends itself well to the spices. It has a caramel flavor to it that is quite pleasant. I can taste the nutmeg which is one of my favorite spices. The flavor is a bit earthier and smokier than I am accustomed to, but, I think that the spices help detract from some of the stronger notes that would normally be off-putting for me.

I’m glad I finally tasted it – it’s really quite good.