St. James Tearoom

I don’t love fruity red rooibos. Here, I tasted berries and the medicinal rooibos, and at first I didn’t really like it. It’s supposed to have white chocolate and persimmon, but I don’t taste that. Milk makes this taste more desserty and pleasant and a little bit fruity. I guess most teas can be tasty if dressed up enough.

This tastes like strawberry and decent green tea, though there’s a little bitterness. I prefer green tea cold, and this was served hot, so I added some milk. I wouldn’t necessarily want this one again. As it cooled, the candylike strawberry showed up more, which I enjoyed. I like the strawberries and cream vibe the milk adds.

The strawberry flavor is delicate and candylike. I added some milk, and it gained a wonderful strawberries and creme type vibe. I do taste some puerh at the end of the sip, but it’s very subtle. I would have guessed black tea if I didn’t know. This was my favorite tea of the afternoon for sure.

We went to St. James for afternoon tea today, and this is the first tea they served. The lavender is really strong and tasty. The black tea is hearty and nice. It was delicious sweetened with milk. The bergamot shows up a little bit, but not enough for me to really call this a lavender EG.

This is a fantastic EG. It’s floral and herbaceous in just the right way. The black tea base is strong and tasty. It all combines perfectly. I love the herbs and bergamot together.

When I had this at St James, I thought the spices were pretty clear and strong with some sugar and milk. I tasted clove and maybe ginger and some other things. The rooibos base was perfect. They gave me a sample of this to take home, and I didn’t enjoy it quite as much – I guess they’re better at brewing tea than I am? At home, it was a little thin and I tasted something almost like turmeric. The spices also weren’t quite as strong. Still not a bad herbal chai.

This tastes mostly like bordering on bitter black tea, though I know St James steeps their teas a little longer than I would. It was still pleasant enough with milk. I could taste a little bit of cherry, but it’s much more of a subtle hint than I would prefer. I don’t notice the vanilla at all.

This has to be the best tea I’ve had at St. James. It’s so rich and chocolatey with some milk and a little sugar. The black base is smooth, and the chocolate is so authentic and satisfying. I’m not sure where they source this one from, so I may just have to buy some from them.

This is really warming. It’s a little fruity and very mildly spiced, mostly floral really. Actually I could see it being orange spice. The cinnamon is delicious without being too prevalent, a nice cinnamon bark type of flavor.

This reminds me super strongly of a Teavana tea from long ago…maybe toasted nut brulee? I taste some warming cinnamon with some tasty nuts. I’m enjoying it sweetened with milk. It’s slightly fruity, but really mostly nutty.

The flavor here is simple and mildly appley. It’s not really better than bagged chamomile, but I happen to really like bagged chamomile. The fruit flavor is authentic and not tart, just warming and pleasant. I had it warm sweetened with milk. If I’d been at home, I would have liked to put some in the fridge to try it cold to see if more apple appeared that way.

The first time I had this, I thought it tasted nutty and mildly spiced and really pleasant with milk and sugar. It was a little fruity, but mostly nutty, and the spices were warming and nice. They often include this tea as an herbal option at St. James, and the second and third times I had it, it tasted really grapey, but in a nice sweet way. The apple and nuts are still there way in the background. The last time I was there, I finished all my teas early and they brought me an extra pot of this, which was a nice surprise.

I taste some warming lemon rind and a bit of a floral element. It all combined perfectly with just a little sugar. I would normally drink something like this cold, so I was surprised by how pleasant it was warm. St. James is always broadening my horizons!

This tastes quite floral. The apple turns out a little candy-like. The black tea doesn’t show up too much. It’s a little too floral for me, but still pleasant warm.

This is a pretty hearty plain black tea. It has some maltiness and is nice with milk and sugar. Not something I would order, but pleasant and brisk in the right way.

Gunpowder will never be my favorite. This was a little too smoky and bitter for me. It was still drinkable warm and sweetened, but it’s the first tea I’ve had at St James that I didn’t love.

The flavor of this one is like a caramelized pumpkin, and it’s really nice! I can’t taste the black base too much, but I love the added flavors here. The pumpkin and spices are both lovely. It was great sweetened with some milk.

This is a mix between pear and floral flavors. I feel like I’d prefer it cold, but it was surprisingly pleasant warm. It was maybe a touch too floral for me, but I enjoyed the authentic pear flavor. It was nice to have something light after all the heavier foods and milky teas.

This is a pretty classic EG creme, and I really enjoyed my cup of it sweetened with some milk. The black tea seems hearty enough, and the creme is really distinct, if a little fake. The scent is strongly vanilla, which is very enticing. The bergamot is there, but not super tangy. My partner thought this was the best tea of the six we shared at St. James.

I was worried I wouldn’t love this one due to the rose, but luckily that’s a minor flavor compared with some of the others. I taste a lovely raspberry on a nice black base. Sweetened with milk, this was very nice. The way St James brews their teas, I always seem to enjoy them regardless of the flavor.

This mostly just tasted like black tea to me. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say I noticed the jasmine at all. I didn’t really notice the vanilla either, but it could have just been contributing to the overall vibe. I now have a St. James punch card, so I’ve been trying to go monthly to try all the wonderful things!

I’m pretty sure this is the same blend I buy from Simpson & Vail, but it’s been a while since I’ve ordered it, so it was nice to have some at St. James. The flavor is a pleasant lavender with a lot of other supporting flavors and complexity. The undercurrent of woody cinnamon is perfect. There’s also a hint of mint. I had a pot of this warm, and it was truly lovely. My friend loved it too, so it may be time to order and split a bag from S&V.

We had this tea with our bread course at St. James. It sparkled, which was lots of fun. The flavoring was pretty mild, but it tasted nice anyway due to the high quality black tea. I could definitely taste something, but I wouldn’t have guessed cherries necessarily.