Lady Londonderry No. 20

Advent Tea!
This is very smooth and slightly berry flavored. A nice easy drinking cuppa that seems to be mostly gone already. Maybe there’s a sage or mint note at the end? Interesting enough that I might need this one in my cupboard.

I’m fairly certain I’ve had Tea Chai Te’s Lady Londonderry before, but I don’t seem to have a review of it, only one for English Tea Store. I got a sample of this in an order last year, and it was the last flavored black tea sampler left in my stash, so I figured I should just finish it off.

They recommended a 2 minute steep, but I did my typical 3 minute steep in 350ml 205F water for half the sample (about 2.8g). The other half of the sample was brewed the same for the work thermos. The tea has a nice aroma; a jammy strawberry scent, but something about the smell sort of reminds me of Red Vines or cherry cola. Though I didn’t get it on the nose, taking a sip the lemon citrus note is very forward, and it has a very juicy feel to it; like freshly squeezed lemon juice. There is a touch of tanginess from it, but mostly that is mellowed by the sweeter strawberry note that comes in later in the sip and sort of lingers on the tongue in the aftertaste. The strawberry is definitely a more subtle flavor than the lemon, and I get a vague, sweeter strawberry lemonade sort of vibe from the taste. The black tea is very smooth prepared this way, and I don’t have any astringent aftertaste.

This seems to be pretty spot on to my impressions on the English Tea Store version, re-reading my notes, and I would be tempted to believe maybe they both source from the same place, except I did notice mild astringency from the other version, leading me to think this might be a slightly higher quality base tea. Regardless, this is a lovely cuppa and one I probably wouldn’t mind having in my cupboard again at some point, especially for iced tea season.

I’m continuing to work my way through my Tea Chai Te samples…

Of the teas I’ve encountered that combine strawberry and lemon, I’d say about 95% of them are fruit infusions. I was very pleasantly surprised to see a black tea that featured the pairing. I had this blend (over ice) this afternoon, and I was really quite pleased with the flavor payoff. The flavors of the strawberry and lemon were both present, and they complemented each other very nicely. What’s more, the black tea base was smooth and mellow which really allowed the juicy, fruity notes to shine.

If you’re looking for a tasty iced tea blend that adds a bit of oomph to your standard citrus black tea, I’d recommend.

First steep is primarily a black tea with fruity aromas.
Second steep (steep forever) is so good when it’s cooled down to warm-ish. The fruity flavours come out, and a nice nutty mouthfeel at the end.
Doesn’t get bitter. Increasing the rating!