Royal Wedding

So this is a white tea…with coconut. As i mentioned to Kittenna after looking again at the teas i swapped with Lala i think i was channelling my inner kittenna that day. Not that I’m not happy to try new teas but i think every tea i picked had coconut in it or a base i don’t typically prefer lol.

However! This tea? It’s quite nice. I think the vanilla helps to calm the coconut down so that it’s not jumping down my throat. It still wouldn’t be a cup that i’d have every day but it’s a pleasant cup.

Thank you so much to Lala for this swap! Loving it!

This sounded so nice, I had to look past the almond and get a sample. Such a pretty tea, I can’t believe they don’t offer a 4 oz tin on the site. Thinking of this tea in a sachet makes me sad because it needs to be seen!

I really want to still be sleeping but I’ve been up since about 7:30, since the woman who lives above my boyfriend does not know how to move around silently, or at least close to silently, which usually doesn’t involve hearing vibrations in the ceiling, things hitting the ground, etc. Oh I should also mention I have no idea where my boyfriend is. So that’s cool.

I wish this tea would cool off already. It smells so good: creamy coconut, floral vanilla. But I don’t want to burn my tongue just yet. I feel like too much time has been wasted not having this tea, I mean its name makes me feel really slow on the uptake.

I have this coconut vanilla scented thing in my car, and this is how I imagine it would taste if it smelled less like suntan lotion. (I actually had someone ask me if I just got back from the beach, hahaha. I do still have my parking receipt from the one time my car was near a beach?)

First I’m glad it’s not all bitter/oversteeped because I didn’t realize this was a white tea until the water was boiling. The coconut is really creamy, so it almost gives the impression of white chocolate with the vanilla flavor. I wish it was a bit floral given the pretty petals in the dry leaf, but that’s really not contributing anything here.

This is delicious though, everything has a nice balance of flavor. I can taste the white tea in here and it blends in well with what feels like the vanilla. I thought it was going to be much sweeter than it is, so that’s nice too. It’s more rich than expected, especially for a white tea.

Would I get more than the sample? For now, no. But if I was ordering something else from H&S maybe another sample size would just pop into my cart. It’s good but not something I would want to drink regularly.

Of course the almond is in full effect now so meh.

Chinese mutant white tea buds, with almond, coconut and vanilla to tas- Wait, what?

Oh Mutan! Riiiiiight. Anybody could’ve made that mistake!

The dear QuiltGuppy included this one in the package she sent me a little while ago. I was dead-lucky with that one because it contained among other things a number of things I had been curious about and one thing that I’d had before and liked. And she didn’t know anything about that when putting it together, so I’m thinking she must have access to some powerful psychic powers.

This has been widely appreciated across Steepster and I’m glad I got to try it as well, even though it’s been a long time since the actual wedding took place. I’ve got some pretty high expectations of it. Of course I should have actually looked it up before putting the kettle on, but at that time I hadn’t chosen a tea yet. And then I discovered it was a white, so I had to wait for my already boiling water to cool so that I could heat it again. It sounds pretty stupid put into words and it felt pretty stupid too. (And as for why I didn’t just get new tap-water, it’s because I filled the kettle all the way so that I can just press the button the next time I want tea water. It’s easier, and while I’m aware that I’m technically supposed to use fresh tap water every time, frankly I can’t taste a difference, so why bother?)

Now, let’s get down to business here. This cup is important as it’s also the first one I’ve had all day, and I’m finding the fact that it smells like a Bounty bar extremely up-lifting. It’s not my favourite type of chocolate bar at all and I’m not generally one to have a lot of luck with coconut in tea, but anything that smells like sweets surely must get a goodly amount of points.

And you know what? This is actually one of the few where coconut in tea works for me. It’s there and it’s very obviously coconut, but it’s not assertive. It’s just sort of standing there, a bit to one side of the room, making a presence of itself but not causing any sort of fuss. Just quietly minding its own business and chatting with the almond, which is behaving in the same way.

The vanilla is a bit more lively, but not as obvious. As opposed to the coconut, the vanilla is trying to get the attention of the room, but failing spectacularly which in turn causes it to behave in an adorably desperate and cheerful way. Refusing to accept that nobody has discovered what it’s trying to do.

Let’s stick to this metaphorical room of party-goers and turn our attention to the white tea itself. It’s quite grassy in flavour and nicely framing the rest of the flavour profile. The tea obviously represents the room itself. The surroundings. The barkeep, polishing pint glasses and asking younger notes for ID. The decorations. All those guests that are there, but you don’t know who they are.

All in all, as befits the name, this tea is a party in a cup, and therefore it’s probably not quite as bizarre that it’s reminding me strongly of carrot cake. With coconutty icing on it. Gosh, I wish I had some carrot cake to go with this.

Not bad for a mutant tea. ;)

Thanks to Sil for this one (via Lala)!

I brewed up one of the sachets while at my boyfriend’s house today, and was pleasantly surprised… but also disappointed. Disappointed because I clearly screwed something up (perhaps water:leaf ratio… are these teabags meant for 12 oz. cups??) and the tea was fairly astringent/bitter, but pleasantly surprised because what I could taste was delicious! So I’m quite looking forward to trying a second cup of this (I brought the bag home to re-steep, and also have at least one more to try). So, pretty much, this is a totally useless review because I can’t tell you much about the tea, except that I drank it! Haha :P

Thanks to ashmanra for sending me a sample of this so I could face my fear of roses in tea.

Since this was in a sachet, I can’t say much about the tea prior to steeping. Once prepared, the fragrance was of vanilla, carrot and banana, with the faintest floral note. I may be carrying the wedding metaphor too far, but the overall aroma can be summarized as clean linen.

The tea was pale amber in color. The taste was on the grassy, vegetative side with a slight astringency- but no rose. (Yeah!) While it’s a blend, everything is so well balanced that it doesn’t come off as noticeably “flavored.”

The ingredients list includes coconut and almond, but these didn’t present themselves until the cup cooled. However, they lingered providing a pleasant aftertaste.

This may turn out to be one of my favorite H & S teas. (Which would figure since I just placed a large order and didn’t include this one.) I hope they keep it around past the Royal Wedding this weekend!

I have the ever lovely and generous to a fault QuiltGuppy to thank for sending me a sample of this beautiful tea. I’ve always had a soft place in my heart for Harney & Sons. My mother always had a tin or two in the house, and I don’t remember drinking the tea so much as using the empty tins to store my treasures.

This tea comes in a lovely sachet and really doesn’t have much of a fragrance dry. After steeping, it has a wonderful vanilla and but slightly floral aroma. A first sip I definaly taste the white tea, and then the flavor moves to a creamy coconut and vanilla flavor. I don’t really detect a floral tone at all, and I get almost a smooth black tea finish. Which is strange but very pleasing to me. I used a bit of raw sugar and coconut cream in mine and it made for a wonderful morning cuppa.

I fear I may be chastised for saying this, but something in this tea’s profile reminds me of Tetley tea… in a good way. I’m in no way comparing this gourmet tea to common market tea, but there’s something there. I grew up on Tetley and it has a good nostalgic connection for me. Back when having tea meant at least two biscuits, and more sugar and milk than actual tea.

I decided I could go for a little more tea this afternoon, and thought that one of the Royal Wedding sachets that ashmanra sent would be a lovely treat! Thank you ashmanra!

I taste cocoa! which morphs into coconut – then I taste white tea. I’m not getting a nutty taste, or any rosey tastes. Maybe a little vanilla.

My taste buds are little stubborn mules, or maybe barbarians, or foreigners! but they kept on saying, “This is not black tea! Don’t think you can trick us! We don’t really like anything but black tea! Maybe an oolong every now and again, even a green oolong, but that’s it!!”

Yes, I can taste that white tea. I get a bitter taste, and an astringent tongue. I don’t think this is a quality issue, but a preference issue. I am just not a white tea person (unless it’s loaded with black currants! But I digress!).

I think anyone who loves white tea, and loves flavors would adore this tea. It’s done really well, like a French one! Subtle! My second steep is mostly white tea with just a touch of flavor. I do like it, but it’s not that OMG true love that I experience with black teas. It’s just not the way my barbarian foreigner tastebuds are wired ;)

(If you are wondering what I mean about the barbarians and foreigners -

Black Tea History from http://narien.com/tea/types/black

[Black Tea]

Until China’s Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD), only green tea was produced and consumed. It was during this dynasty, however, that oxidation was discovered and the Chinese realized that it could completely change their tea production. While the tea makers considered this newly created tea fit only for “barbarian foreigners,” it solved one of their major problems.

Green tea did not travel well over long distances and had the propensity to mold. When the tea was allowed to oxidize and then baked, the resulting leaf could retain its quality longer. This black tea was far more suitable for the lengthy transport to Tibet and Mongolia. This type of tea is now the most popular tea in most of the world beyond Asia.

Like Jenn, I have QuiltGuppy to thank for this. Also, like Jenn, today seemed like a good day for this. I love the delicate nature of this blend. It almost demands the best china to be used when serving. So I broke out an heirloom cup and saucer and made it my profile picture. That is Royal Wedding in the cup. (I did this days ago, but just felt inspired enough to log it)
I love the color of it after steeping, a rich gold in my cup. There is a hint of vanilla or maybe a note of honey. I agree with Jenn, the floral aspect is very light. This tea is formal, detailed, even complex, but wonderful. I can count the white teas I have tried on one hand, if they are all this good, I may be adding to the list!

The first of many teas I received in a swap with our beloved QuiltGuppy (who, yes, she may be a tea pusher, but I know it is about her love of tea and wanting to share the experience with kindred spirits). Thank you for your generous heart! And the awesome tea, of course!

I had really been wanting to try this one. It is a white tea blend, so not typical of what I normally drink. And for a white tea, I have to say it has the most complex flavor profile that I have sampled. I did slightly sweeten mine, just enough to bring out the vanilla, coconut, and almond. I do taste all three flavors, and I love that the vanilla or the almond (two flavors which can easily overpover others) are light enough that I still can detect the coconut. This blend works because it is all light, and really does blend well with the lightness of the white tea base. If I were a steady white tea drinker, this would definitely be high on my list. But, alas, I love the tea of foreigners and barbarians (remember that the Chinese mostly drank green tea, and made their black teas for foreigners and barbarians.)

1.25 tbsp for 282 ml

Slightly overpowering astringency. Astringency is subdued by coconut and vanilla notes. Coconut flavour is very full and quite authentic. Strong white tea flavour present. Overall, the tea feels fragmented as if the flavours don’t meld together very well.

Thanks to Sil for sharing this with me!

Thank you to the adorable Jenn for sending a sample of this to me!

I was a little nervous about this especially since it has rose petals in it… I’m not really a fan of roses in tea. Fortunately the taste is largely of white tea with coconut and vanilla, which I DO like! There is a faint rose/floral flavor but it is very slight in my opinion. This tea is very lovely, and a little girly, so how perfect for a wedding!

I thought this was a nice flavored white tea but I don’t think I like it enough to buy any… I’m glad I got the chance to try it though!

I love coconut! and almond! and vanilla (not as much, but I do quite enjoy it if done right. which it was here)
All these things in one smooth, buttery white tea??? yes please :)
Two infusions of this one, the first one a bit too strong (when will I learn…) but the second was perfect.
Again, not enough time to savour, but oh how I wish I had been able to! No sugar added either, but then there is no surprise there given the coconut!
Thankyou QuiltGuppy for sharing this one, you made my afternoon at work go by so much faster!
Now if only they had a shop here in TO :)

I can’t believe this tea wasn’t already in the database. I may have done something wrong in looking it up, but I tried several times and didn’t find it.

When I opened the tin I was reminded of a scented candle called Baking with Grandma or some such thing. It smelled quite good, like the best sugar cookies that are made with a little coconut oil – like Mystic by Pepperidge Farms. The flavors listeed for the tea are coconut, vanilla, and almond. No wonder it smells like a great cookie! When brewed, the tea was darker than I expected a white tea to be. I drank it sans additions and it was quite good – very mild and smooth with a nice, soothing aroma.

I knew I would like this tea as soon as I saw the ingredients list. Thanks Dinosara! I love coconut and nuts and vanilla and white tea. One of my favorite Harney & Sons Blends so far. I received two sachets in my swap and I will be sharing the other with my local friend who is a big H&S tea fan! :)

Honestly, I’m a little shocked that I could wait this long to try this tea that QuiltGuppy so kindly sent me. I’ve wanted to try Royal Wedding for quite a while now, but I haven’t gotten myself to the Harney Soho store so I just keep waiting and hoping it doesn’t disappear from their inventory any time soon. But yay I get to try it now!

I smell primarily a sweet vanilla-almond of the dry leaf through the sachet. Unfortunately I forgot to start my timer when I poured the hot water, so I think I probably steeped it about 3 minutes, but who really knows! Well at least I have another sachet for a proper steeping. The brewed tea is a medium amber color (actually almost identical to the amber earrings I’m currently wearing) and the slightly vegetal aroma of the white tea comes through now as a grassy back note to the otherwise very sweet smelling vanilla and almond aromas. I guess I get coconut as well, but I’m having trouble currently distinguishing it from the nutty-sweet-vanilla scent in general.

My first thoughts were this is delicious! I do get a slight bitterness/astringency from the white tea, but also a rush of vanilla-y sweetness, which only gets stronger as it cools. The primary flavors I get are vanilla and a bit of almond; it is a sweet almond, not as much a raw nutty one, but it’s light and thus not quite marzipanny. I can also detect a creamy coconut note, but for me it’s not very strong; I agree with ashmanra that it reminds me of a great cookie. All the sweetness is tempered by the ever present white tea in the background, which grounds things and keeps it from being too cloying (who am I kidding, I wouldn’t think it was cloying anyway, but for some it might have been without the substantial white tea flavor).

All in all… a keeper! I’ll definitely have to make sure I grab a tin, and I hope the run isn’t too limited!

A delicious blend that at first comes off like just plain hot water at first but let it cool and the flavors start to shine. It was very creamy and lightly sweet. It tasted similar to fresh rice pudding. I just can’t adequately describe it.

I first saw this tea in a local book store around the time of Will and Kate’s royal wedding. I was determined not to buy into the whole gimmick of this royal wedding thing, so I passed it by. Then I went home and wanted it so badly. But when I went back it was all gone, too bad for me.

I finally made an order from Harney and Sons and couldn’t pass up on this. Although I was disappointed I could only get it in bag form.
The silk tea bags have a generous sized amount of loose leaf tea in them, not the broken dusty bits, but real nice loose leaf.

The smell of vanilla and almonds had permeated the whole box before I even opened the tin. Smells delicious.

On brewing, it makes a lovely golden liquor which does remind me of a wedding or celebration. It tastes like vanilla, nutty, creamy, almond. Very delicious. It is slightly sweet, but not too sweet, which works well with the nutty flavour. It has a slight astringent aftertaste but it is not unpleasant.

It reminds me of sitting outside in late season summer, in the evening, with Disney cartoon birds chirping, just enjoying a cup of tea. As I drink it I am craving Scottish style shortbread. I would not call this a dessert tea, but I think it would be great after an evening meal.

I think it tasted best when it cooled to about 75C, I’m just guessing on the temp. As it cooled even more, it had an increasing astringent aftertaste.

Because the tea bag was so large I re-steeped. It made an excellent re-steep, however the taste was much more vanilla and not so nutty.

I was so excited to see this tea in honor of the Royal Wedding. I’m such a sucker for anything limited edition or a product produced especially for an event. I’m usually not a white tea drinker as I prefer black tea and rooibos blends. This tea has a sweetness that lingers on the tongue long after you’ve finished the cup. I can’t really detect the vanilla or coconut as separate notes, but just a general sweetness. There is also a floral note in the background (not exclusively rosebuds) that blends well with the white tea flavor. Although it’s not my favorite, I might have to purchase more of it just because it is delicately tasty and rather different.

This treat and review comes courtesy of ashmanra and it made my week! I adore (and there’s a vocabulary word I don’t throw loosely or often) coconut in tea, and with the almond and rosebuds to sweeten the deal, this definitely takes the wedding cake! I was so entranced with the fumes while it was steeping, I think I took it a little over the edge (almonds can go bitter quickly) … but I hope to rectify that with an encore cup soon.

I’m feeling a bit under the weather today, so I decided to finally crack this tin open. It was a great decision. It’s a beautiful-looking tea with lots of colorful buds in the sachet. It has a wonderful flavor, surprisingly strong for a white tea. It has hints of vanilla and rosebud. I will have to leave a more precise appraisal when I’ve had another cup in better health, and with my taste buds recovered. For now, it’s just what I needed, and definitely made me feel a little better, if only mentally ha