Hoogly Tea

Varietea Subscription Box (October) 1/30

So, I signed up to another tea subscription box last week, this time from Varietea. It’s a UK based, family run business and they send thirty different teabags each month. My first box arrived on Saturday, and after spending the last few days gazing adoringly at all the colourful little sachets, pouring over each different company’s website and basically just umming and ahhing over which teabag to brew first… I finally decided to pop Sparkling White from Hoogly into my mug.

I fully intended to sip this slowly, while I relaxed in a bath full of lovely bubbles this evening. But this went down so smoothly and quickly, the bath hadn’t even finished running by the time I’d finished it. Floral tasting teas are one of my least favourite, and considering this smelled heavily of elderflower as I carried it upstairs, I wasn’t expecting me and Sparkling White to become friends. Upon tasting though, I got more apple than elderflower and the floral-ness was completely toned down. This tasted elegant. It was light, refreshing and I just couldn’t put the mug down. I can see myself drinking this, hot or cold, out in my back garden on a warm, summer’s evening.

I love the fact that my Varietea box contained teabgas from companies I hadn’t even heard of, let alone ordered from. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of Hoogly’s range and I’m excited to try the other samples in my box, especially the ones from companies that are new to me.

252/365

This is a blend of Chunmee (which I feel like I don’t see very often) and Hojicha, which makes a nice change from the sencha-based green blends I’ve been drinking recently. It’s flavoured with apple, cinnamon, and clove, supposedly to create an apple strudel effect.

It’s pretty effective. I can taste the apple, although it’s relatively muted. It’s a green apple kind of flavour – sharp and crisp – and maybe not exactly suited to a blend that’s trying to achieve a baked flavour. That’s my main criticism of this one – there’s nothing that really makes me think strudel; no pastry, butter, or remotely bakey flavours, including the apple.

The spicing is nice. It’s more powerful than the apple, and sweet enough to balance out what sharpness there is. It does almost remind me of strudel filling, so it’s not completely without merit, but it’s not quite there either.

I’d try this one again, if I came across it, or other blends from Hoogly. It’s not the greatest thing out there, but it’s okay.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE ginger. But, for as much as I love ginger, theres another part that equally hates hot lemon. >.< The ingredients even state the blend is 50% ginger and a 50% mix of lemon peel and lemon grass. Ekkk! It could literally have gone either way and I was practically praying that ginger won out! The dry teabag is super zingy, so ginger smelling it’s unreal! It was exactly what I wanted to smell! But once soaked and steeping, lemon starts to override. D: Being brave, I took a sip anyway, the initial flavour is a strong hit of lemon, the kind of flavour I really can’t stand to drink, with a good fieriness in the finish, lasting for a few minutes between sips. Did I like it.. No. Was it good… yes. Ok, mixed message on my part. I hate lemon, but just because I hate it doesn’t mean this isn’t a great blend. It’s obviously very flavourful, and perfect for winters cold/flu season.

For more on tea: www.TastetheTea.co.uk

ou can see from the teabag that the leaves aren’t the typical dusty tea fannings that you would normally find in high street teabags. They taste as classic Chinese green tea should, with mellow toasted notes, a slight fruitiness and next to no astringency. Happy to report, I really enjoyed it.

For more on tea: www.TastetheTea.co.uk

A defiant herbal scent, mixed with cinnamon and cloves creates a really warming and autumnal feel. There are mild hints of apple beneath these spicy flavours, making it extra strudel-like. Again, it’s a very gentle flavour, but it’s tasty and comforting too!

For more on tea: www.TastetheTea.co.uk

The aroma hints at apple, with a faint whiff of elderberry mixed in. Whereas, the flavour is a predominant elderberry with a faint fruitiness underneath, followed by a slight astringency in the after taste. I’m not a fan of elderberry, so I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy this one. However, I know plenty of people who are elderberry lovers who would defiantly enjoy this!

For more on tea: www.TastetheTea.co.uk

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