Napoleon

I packed up 6 samples to go out to various members of the Steepster community and still have a couple to go…in the meantime, I decided to reward myself by steeping Napoleon.

I really cannot say that I am disappointed at all but my expectations get very high for some tea brands. If this were a TeaVana or an Adagio I would probably rank it close to 100. Keeping that in mind, the brew smells and looks rich, honest, and sincere. The predominate flavor that I get is a great solid black tea with generous vanilla overtones. As a lover of vanilla, I am certainly pleased. There’s nothing synthetic here, nothing cheap or cheesy.

Overall, I’m delighted and will almost certainly reorder unless I find a better black vanilla. TWG stands for “The Wellness Group,” by the way. I can most certainly see this tea promoting wellness. Named in honor of Napoleon, this tea makes me feel a bit more successful and a bit European!

ICED TEA: I put this on ice last night and the results are very pleasing. The appearance is cloudy (does not bother me but I might not serve it to guests) but the taste is delicious—the vanilla comes through loud and clear. Very nice!

This one courtesy of Doulton!

Again, I was so looking forward to trying this one!

My first impression was that it tasted like flavored coffee. The caramel was pronounced for me, and very toffee coffee. Dark. I didn’t pick up on vanilla or spice. It was a very enjoyable after dinner cuppa, but it was almost like an after dinner cup of coffee! Because of that, and the high cost of this tea, it is probably something I wouldn’t go ahead and order. To totally misconstrue James Joyce for my own purposes:

When I takes tea I takes tea, And when I takes coffee I takes coffee …

My first tasting note!

Made my first visit to the lovely Urban Tea Merchant shop in downtown Vancouver yesterday. What a lovely shop! (Did not realize it was right beside my dentist – will have to pay a visit now each time I go for a check up!)

Was thinking I wanted their caramel black tea, but the staff guy suggested this one – Napoleon smelled a bit sweeter, so i chose it instead, and I love it! Very smooth black base, can taste the creamy caramel and mocha. Having it with cream and a couple of swirls of the rock sugar wands they also sell….it’s very good! So good, I am drinking it at 930 at night….lets hope I sleep! A wonderful tea, highly recommend.

I picked up this tea along with another flavoured black at the urban tea merchant in Vancouver, which is all TWG teas.

I don’t have a lot of black teas at home so I’m really glad I got this one. It’s not too strong of a black tea and it has a nice caramelly sweetness to it, kind of like a dessert tea. It has really caramel pieces in it too which, unfortunately, means it does contain milk but it also helps with the flavour. The aroma of the tea is stronger than the actual taste of the brew, but it doesn’t really let down the tea too much.

This tea was a bit pricey considering I could probably find something similar for cheaper at another tea shop, but it does come in a very beautiful tin. So, overall, I’m happy with this tea. Now I just need to figure out how I’m going to refill this when I’m out. :(

Somewhat unrelated, I took a picture of my tea collection today. It’s small but still beautiful. I wish I had more room in my cupboard or I’d probably have more. :P
- http://instagr.am/p/Ohw1ScuR-l/

I had to restrain myself form eating the big chunks of caramel that were scattered throughout the dry tea. It was worth it though, as the liquor had a yummy, rich, caramel flavour augmented by creamy notes of vanilla.

Delicious(ly expensive). I can certainly agree with reviewers who have commented on the tea’s coffee taste. The guy who helped me buy my tea earlier today mentioned that Napoleon has “hints of mocha” so that may be your answer.
As for my experience with this tea, it’s very vanilla-y, very caramel-y, with a definite mocha nose. The liquor is a beautiful warm amber and, thanks to carrying the tea around in my purse all day, it has left my purse smelling like goodness and yum as opposed to receipts and hand sanitizer.