Bayswater Tea Co.

Had this again today…double steeped for kid’s mug and timolino since it was cool and wet out this morning (though the sun did poke through eventually and warm up some). It was careful on my steep time, and I got a nice earl grey tea with a slight grapefruit taste at the end of the sip. With milk and sugar. I’m sure the milk makes the grapefruit a little less in your face.

I only have about one serving left, and I may bag it and have Starbucks or someone give it the London Fog treatment. :)

I got this tea as a last minute sample with our Vancouver meet up a few days ago. I’m a little hit or miss on Earl Grey tea. I like them, but sometimes the floral is too strong. This one is medium on the floral scent, but it is a strong smelling tea, which is actually ok with me, but proper storage would be better. I just have a small amount that was pilfered from ShayneBears sample.

Um, shifty eyes I might pilfer a little more of this before I give him the rest. It’s actually pretty good. At least with the steep I made this morning, I found that the predominant flavour profile was the bergamot, and the grapefruit gently mingled with but, but at the back. This could be because I added a little raw sugar and milk, so maybe the milk made the grapefruit less tart. I am gonna try this iced, and maybe in the style of a London Fog.

I don’t know if this is a repurchase or not yet, but we will see how the rest of my sample goes. It is very spring/summery, and as we head into cooler weather, this may not be on the top of my go to list.

When you search for ‘Lemon Basil Oolong’ on Steepster, there are 5 other versions of this that come up. So I’m guessing they’re either mostly purchased from the same supplier, or someone decided they liked the idea and made their own.

I cold steeped this one overnight, and am drinking it with lemonade syrup and ice today. I really enjoy it this way. Lots of fresh basil, but the lemonade syrup brings it more into sbux ‘lemonade iced tea’ territory rather than a potential savoury mess.

Yum.

This one is strange. Very strange. It’s an almost savory tea, and yet I can consider it iced with some honey or sugar syrup.

The basil is prominent. The tea is smooth, and even though I accidentally let it sit out and cool for an hour and a half, it still tastes nice. The lemon is more lemon oil or lemon zest, but I think with sugar added it’d turn more lemonade.

I’m not sure how frequently I’d ever drink this (I’ll have to try it iced… maybe I’d go through it faster!) but it’s definitely something to consider trying.

(I let the water cool while I washed my tea dishes. IDK what the temp was. I think it took about 10 minutes?)

Edit: It’s really good with my batch-cook of the day: ham, pea, roasted squash and goat cheese pasta… :) If I had added some basil to the food, it would have been perfect!

I was too harsh on this tea the first time, and too quick to send it off to send it off. There’s nothing wrong with malt, nougat, and nutella spread. It even managed to cancel out the homemade and lethal spicy kimchi jigae I ate today- I need to work on my spice measurements, big time.

I probably should’ve gone with a tea full of ginger and food as bland as socks, with the painful stomach bug I seem to have, but sweet and spice generally win out too often in my life.

Omg, this is Sweet. I ate one of the nougats from the dry blend and the tea tastes just like it. Along with hazelnut creamer. And a little salt. I added milk and the creamer got creamier. This is almost too rich, guys. I feel like my mouth is coated with butter, sugar, and nutella.

I’m putting this one under potential late fall and winter blends.

Had earlier (much earlier) this morning, with some sugar. I prefer it with milky stuff, but couldn’t be bothered to open another packet of coconut milk.

I had to get up suuuuper early (for me!) because the water was being shut off and I really wanted to shower at home instead of at work. Haha. Amazingly, I was successful, but it’s time for a coffee break. Tea just isn’t doing it for me right now!

Mmm. Grapefruit. Bergamot. Milk. Caffeine.

Such an odd tea, but so delicious.

This is so good! SO grapefruity. Makes it quite different from regular EG.

I had this with a bit of milk this evening, and it was delicious. It’s really good iced with honey as well.

Sipdown! But this wasn’t in my Steepster cupboard, boo. Oh well.

I had half a cup left so I made it this morning and chugged it before I left the house. Yum. Definitely want more of this one.

I steeped this up and added milk and sugar crystals this morning. It’s cooling on the table outside the lab, and I take a sip (gulp!) every time I walk past. It really does go well with milk, the grapefruit flavour lends a bright summery note that is no where near “furniture polish” territory.

I think this one would be AMAZING iced, maybe with a couple grapefruit juice ice cubes.

A 2.5 minute steep was perfect. No astringency or bitterness or anything. 3 minutes for the Creme Brulee I had last night was almost too long, so I’d suggest being a little conservative with your steep times.

This is a tea I can see buying again. It’s an Earl Grey, yes, but it’s different enough that it’s refreshing the flavour in my mind instead of being the same old thing.

Hmmm.. I had Ruby Pie earlier so this was a bad one to follow up with as it just doesn’t compare. It DOES have Strawberry, but… it’s no Ruby Pie.

Woo! First tasting note for this tea! (i.e., no pressure?)

This wasn’t on the website so we weren’t prepared for this tea when we came in to the shop. We leaned in to smell it and the aroma overpowered our senses and intoxicated us. We all had to have some. Or most of us.

“And, how is it?” you might ask. Or probably are, seeing as you are reading this on Steepster.

It’s great. It’s warm, and cinnamony and comforting, and the strawberry is sweet while the rhubarb is tart and sweet. It’s very nice. I keep expecting a bit of pastry in there too, but it’s not fair to compare it to Butiki’s Ruby Pie. It never pretended to be more than Strawberry Rhubarb, and it delivered.

ETA: A minute or so after my last cup, and I notice that the rhubarb just lingers in my mouth. I thought it was the dreaded astringency I hate so much, but it was just slightly tart and slightly sweet rhubarb. :D

Cold brewed 24 hours! WOW!

So delicious. Haha. The kick of spice goes perfectly with my nachos.

I’m sad to see this one go. I’ll have to pick more up for summer!

Much better with a 12 hour steep. :)

Just a bit spicy, but not overwhelming.

I had coffee again this morning because it was easy. Tea tomorrow, I hope! (It’s too late for what I want to drink tonight, but I’ll put some more cold brews together and maybe have something uncaffeinated tonight.)

I made the last of this and accidentally left it in the fridge for about 36 hours.

O. M. G. My tongue is burning, and I keep sipping thinking it’ll make the burning go away, but it doesn’t stop.

Head. Desk.

Cold steeped about 24 hours before I remembered about it. Oops?

Oh well, it’s still good. It’s a hibiscus based fruit tea with moderate orange-ness, and a kick of chili. Goes well with Kapha Organic.

:)

I got more of this tea, because I remember liking it so much.

And it doesn’t disappoint. Cold brewed 1 tbsp in a canning jar (4 cups? 1L or so) for 24 hours. Yummy. A pinch of sugar brightens it up a lot. It is quite tart, with a chili kick at the end. The chili does come out a bit more when iced, but it’s good this way too.

Yum. 1 tbsp of this in hot water for an undetermined amount of time. I poured it into a glass and added some ice – enough to make it lukewarm. I really like this one.

It’s super tart, the lemongrass is a fairly strong flavour, and sipping this is giving me some nice heat on my tongue. Not super spicy, but enough to make me aware of what I’m drinking.

I think I need to pick some more of this one up.

Mmm. 1 tbsp in my 16 oz mug.

I also added some cranberry honey. I couldn’t resist.

It smells so nice. A little perfumy, probably because of the lemongrass, but sweet and sour all at once. I can definitely tell there’s cranberry.

This one is really good. I can see it being an amazing iced tea for summer, especially with the bit of warmth from the chili. I’ll have to try it cold steeped at some point, but this one is a fruit tea winner for me.

Oooooooo, spicy!

Also sour, but that’s to be expected of a cranberry tea.

It’s really nice, iced. A good option to the very sweet or very sour herbal iced tea options out there. Tart, juicy, and then POW! some spice. I did sweeten it with a little sugar, because when I tried it warm it was a little too tart for me.

Yum, I’m glad I didn’t share this with anyone! ;)

Sipdown!

The scent has faded a bit now, and the grapefruit is no longer as sharp. I guess the single clear ziplock sitting in the sun wasn’t the best way to store it. Oh, well. For an Earl Grey I still really like this one. I’d consider getting this one again (for summer).

I used some milk today, and now it tastes more like a typical earl grey, and less like grapefruit juice with brisk enhancements. The grapefruit is more subdued behind typical bergamot now, yet it’s still distinguishable.

I think I like it slightly more without milk, but this isn’t a bad cup either. That this tea is flexible with the milk makes it an attractive option for the summer-fall transition.

Unsweetened grapefruit juice meets earl grey! Boy, is this straightforward and tart, but in a good way. I think it hit its full potential as a refreshing citrus tea when it cooled down to lukewarm/cool.

Despite not being a fan of earl greys, and being a tad skeptical on the shopkeeper’s enthusiasm for this one, I enjoyed this cup tonight. It’s definitely a summery tea, with some appeal to quiet evenings, curled up with a musty, old book on the family’s couch.. Geez, not quite sure how I’m still awake right now.

I’m glad I decided to split 50g of this with Cavocorax after all, and hope everyone from today’s meetup enjoys their new teas! Goodnight.