Metropolitan Tea Company

This is my second cup of this in like three days. It is delicious! I believe I made this one a bit weaker than I should have, but meh, it happens.

I wanted to add all the details about the region in the description of this tea as I wanted to make sure that folks knew that it had more than just one black tea. This tea has three different black teas in it and it is amazing how great they work together.

This tea is nice and smooth. It’s got a nice flavour that isn’t too overpowering. I like that this black tea seems to have some depth to it. I love the maltiness of this one and how it isn’t too much either.

I wouldn’t think twice about getting this one again. I love the tea combination that this tea offers. I really like that it has some dimension. So delicious!!!

Let’s just say that for a tea who’s named after the Kama Sutra, I was expecting something a little… spicier! This is a very, very mild mix. It’s not bad, but it’s not exactly the spicy kick in the mouth you expect from a chai.

I made this in my to-go insulated cup this morning, and actually forgot about it for a good 10 minutes or so. Two teaspoons of sugar and a dash of milk later, and I’m not even sure if it qualifies as a chai.

It’s been on the shelf a while, but I don’t think that would change it to this extent. Even with the over-steep it’s so mild you can taste the flower petals more than any of the spices. I like my chai very, very spicy. This just isn’t for me.

I’m trying to decide whether or not to throw it out. I have 2 or 2-1/2oz left, and I think it’s about 2 years old. At what age should you throw out tea?

What a wonderful surprise when I opened my tea (a gift)! Ah, the intoxicating smell! I immediately brewed a cup, and found the flavor to excel the smell. I experimented with brewing temperature, adding additional black tea, steeping in milk, and using less or more of the tea. Final recipe is 2 heaping tsp tea, 1 1/2 cups boiling water, steeped for 10 minutes. Addding 3/4 tsp sugar and 1 TBS milk completes a wonderful cup of tea. I’ve tried for literally decades to find the perfect Chai tea, and this is it. Thanks to The Metropolitan Tea Company for this addictive tea blend!

I didn’t really know what to expect from this tea. It didn’t seem a very compelling tea, as I had always seen it sitting on the shelf as I walked past it in the store. I finally broke down and bought a bag, as I had tried all the other teas.

Upon first opening the bag, a gentle and extremely pleasing aroma fills the air. A very fresh and sweet scent of vanilla and fruit blend quite well with the tea, giving a more after hours cocktail feel. The leaves are long, rolled, and handsomely dark.

My initial steep of 3 minutes, with half a teaspoon of rock sugar, gave a brilliant and bright copper toned brew. The aroma very much like the leaves, fresh, sweet and slightly fruity.

The first couple sips gave me a surprisingly bitter flavor, followed by a sweet subtle fruitiness, which was then followed by a hint of astringency. As surprising as it was, considering how much black tea there is here, it shouldn’t be that surprising.

My second steep of 2 minutes and 45 seconds with new leaves, and this time with a whole teaspoon of rock sugar, gave a darker brew with a stronger sweet and fruity aroma.

The 15 seconds makes such a difference, giving a more flavorful brew. There is much less bitterness and a more subtle floral bouquet. There is something very distinguishing about the toasty sweet and dry textures, with a slight astringency that more compliments the overall flavor.

This tea is wonderfully complex, with so many textures, all working together for your complete enjoyment. I believe I have had this tea five times in the past two days now, which officially makes it a favorite.

I certainly agree that this tea is very smooth and flavourful! I would recommend it to anyone who is wary of drinking anything but the traditional ‘bag’ tea, they will be pleasantly surprised.

This has been sitting on my shelf since I bought it on my New Years weekend trip to Prince George, BC. I’m not quite sure why it took me this long to try it, seeing as I do have a particular and intense love for chai teas.

It is a very typical chai, with a difference in a slight yet noticeable scent of sweetness. Despite, I brew my cups of chai with a teaspoon each of leaves and rock sugar.

The brew is extremely dark and clean, and quite a handsome tone at that. The aroma is comfortingly warm and strong and spicy, like you’re getting a liquid hug.

Normally, I don’t put milk in chai; only when it’s added in restaurants and tea places. But, we had a carton of soy drink sitting in the fridge, and I have never had soy in tea, so I had to try it.

The soy definitely calms the spices down, not so much as to diminish the overall flavor, but to give it discipline. It helps the soy has a nutty flavor that adds to the strong black tea and spices.

It has been too long since my last chai tea. Thankfully, this is quite a respectable and strong chai, and quite superb with sugar and milk, or soy.

Sooooo….I went to George’s Tea Emporium with ShayneBear last week, and I picked up a small tin of this. I was intrigued by the description of blackberry and maple, as I had been looking at both maple tea and black currant (which I know isn’t the same, but whatever) but wasn’t sure what to get and didn’t want to get too much (I’m lacking in space until I finish more teas).

The scent of this is pretty mild, but sweet, and the green tea mellows the main black base, I think. This tea is a bit more stripped down and basic, compared to my normal assortment of teas. It doesn’t look terribly fancy.

Brewed up a dark rich mahogany color…milk and sugar were added. This tea is one where it is subtle flavour, but it is there. Although I could not taste the blackberry itself, I could detect a light fruity taste, but most prominent was the juicy mouthfeel that is in the description. As for the maple flavour, I could faintly detect it as it was not the same kind of sweet that came from the sugar.

Overall, this is a nice tea. It’s a step up from a standard black blend with a little extra juicy sweetness. Does it have a place in my regular rotation? Maybe. But DAVIDs is much closer to me, and Murchies carries the same level of tea, and I’m lazy, but perhaps if we do another visit there, I will get some. My tin, albeit small, will likely last a while.

I had this tea for the first time at a cafe. I don’t know it was the creme brule tart I was having with this tea or the tea itself, but I fell in love with it.

What I love the most about this tea, is that it is the only real orange “blossom” tea I have had here so far. Others usually have some kind of floral taste that is not necessarily orange blossom and accompanied by orange peel that isn’t bad if you’re looking for it.

The orange blossom with the oolong tea makes a really smooth blend that I really like. I have this tea whenever I am not feeling like a super strong tea.

This is one of my longtime favourites. Its not very fussy, steeping time and water temperature don’t need to be scientifically calculated. It lives up to its name of whole fruit, you can eat most of the tea dry (some of it would be much too crunchy haha). I have made quite a few people fans of this tart, juicy, bright red berry tisane. Makes great iced tea but tonight I am enjoying it hot. I usually have this on hand and its a good go-to when I want something familiar.
I would recommend this tea to anyone who likes fruity/berry and not too sweet tisanes.

I dig this tea. Not one of my all time favorites but very decent flavor.

Monks’s blend was one of the very first loose leaf teas I ever owned. I am not sure if it was becuase it one the first one, but I have not been able to find a monk’s blend that tasted as good since. This blend is ok. It tastes like generic ceylon tea flavoured with artificial sweet cherry flavour. It is not unpleasant but there is no “pow”. The vanilla becomes more prominent as the tea starts to cool. It leaves a slight cherry aftertaste.

I adore this tea. I’ve always been a fan of breakfast-style teas, with their mellowness and all-around pleasant flavour, but this is the queen. It’s strong and doesn’t need a long steep. It loves a splash of milk, but it comes with a hint of its own sweetness. It’s got a malty friendliness that makes it perfect for morning, though I’d take a cup of it any time of day. Wonderful; my very favourite.

Damn. This one is spicy, which is just what I look for in a chai. It’s so spicy that whenever I open the tin, I sneeze. Yeah, damn.

I was very wary about any of the teas from Metropolitan Tea Company after a disastrous encounter with their Cookies & Cream black tea. This tea, however, surprised me. I steeped 2 tsp in about 300ml of water (accidentally overleafed, whoops!) for 2 mins (I know it says 2m15s on the Steep Time dealy, ignore that, I just have no idea how to use it properly on my iPad) and added a tsp of honey to my cup. It’s still a little bitter, which is what I’ve come to expect from MTC.

I wish I had a milk substitute so I could make a proper chai with this. With most chais I’ve tried, I’ve found they lose quite a bit of their spice when milk is added but this one would still pack a wallop, I think.

This is an awesome tea when brewed with milk

I do not drink this tea often, however I find it enjoyable. The hibiscus can make it taste quite bitter so you have to watch how long you steep it. I also add sweetener to it. It makes a great tea latte as well.

I purchased this tea after smelling a cup my friend had brewed. It smelled absolutely delicious. However, I was disappointed in the taste. I found it to be very mild, if you steeped it for longer, or used more tea, the rooibos flavour just took over.

So, you’ve probably heard of the Champagne of Tea, but have you ever heard of an ice wine tea? Certainly not I, and certainly not before two days ago.

It was a happy surprise to find out that a long time specialty shop in Terrace actually sells loose leaf tea. What was quite amazing was the variety of teas they offer, and how relatively obscure the fact of them carrying loose leaf tea was.

In any case, the ice wine tea intrigued me. I haven’t really heard much about quality or experiences, but the fact that there was an ice wine tea was enough for me to purchase.

Upon opening the bag, you’re met with an overwhelmingly sweet and fresh pear and grape scent, not so much fruit but simply refreshing. It is actually very interesting, as the grape and pear make up most, if not all of the leaves’ aroma, as you cannot find one bit of tea scent. The leaves are a typical long and rolled black tea, with very dark tones.

I have taken heed to previous tasting notes and decided to steep a minute less my typical 3 minute black tea time. During the steeping, the black tea is brought right out with a very strong aroma. I have also taken heed to the bag’s recommendation of adding sugar, only adding half a teaspoon of rock sugar. Deeper inquiry to others’ past experiences make me think I should have added more sugar.

The brew appears very dark and very wine-ish. The color is deep and clear, the aroma strong yet fresh and subtly fruity. It’s a really soothing aroma, one I would imagine from an actual ice wine.

I also regret not having a wine glass handy at work for this tea.

My first initial sips allow me to understand the strong warnings of how strong the black tea can get, as I instantly taste the strong tea pushing through the other flavors. I am thankful for keeping my steeping at 2 minutes, as I could see this brew turning bitter.

The fruity notes are harmonized with the black tea, giving a wine characteristic of sorts. The grape is quite obvious, but there is also a hint of green apple, as I would imagine as there is also some sweet pear. There is a slight astringency, but due to the shortened steep, it is almost undetectable.

Overall, this is a refreshing and lovely blend. For these wet winter months, this is quite appropriate tea to enjoy casually. I wouldn’t mind sharing it iced with close friends… while watching Girls on HBO.

Thank you Reasoned_Melody for this sample.

The teabag smells strongly fruity and a little fermented. I can understand why people have been saying this brews up strongly.

Once brewed the tea becomes a reddy brown colour with a sweet yet strong grapey wine fragrance.

Despite the low steeping time of 2 minutes it’s rather bitter, making the whole tea sweet and sour. I can taste grapes and fruit and there is a little dryness there which has a wine effect. While it may not be the nicest flavoured tea it still has charm. Drinking it gives me a sort of…glow…like real wine does.

If the bitterness could be improved then this would be a wonderful bagged tea but for now it remains average.

This tea, to me, is a very mild and soothing tea. I prefer it in the afternoon with a little lemon added. I’d certainly recommend it.

The instant you open it’s packaging, the light and almost fresh scent of mandarin oranges brush upon your face. It is an interesting aroma, not quite as strong as I had imagined it would be.

The leaves are lightly contained within the mandarin orange peel. It is so light that upon opening the peel, the leaves just fall right out. The peel gives a dark detail, which mimics the tea leaves.

Steeping gives a familiar and very strong earth aroma to the wet leaves. The leaves themselves held together quite nicely after steeping, although I can see some twigs.

The liquor itself is also extremely earthy, in both scent and appearance, very clear with an extremely deep reddish tone.

Although I cannot find the sweet oranges, the strong earthy and damp moss flavors are very prominent. It is quite refreshing and such a great delight.

Knowing the pale and bitter truth, I decided to steep with less time, and add equal amounts of rock sugar.

The result: a less bitter, less pale, sweeter chai. There is a certain quality to it that gives a simple strong flavor. Very dark and oddly powdery.

Despite, it is still bitter and pale. The sugar improved, but just slightly.

I had just found this tea place called Empress Tea House, hidden away within Prince George on Nicholson Street. Despite being located quite near to Pine Center mall, it was an adventure to find it, especially in the late 2012 snowfall.

Apparently, they have been there for close to six years, but their website shows them established in 2004, which is more close to ten years. Despite, I had never heard of this place until I asked a taxi driver if there were more tea places other than David’s Tea in Pine Center.

The word penetrating doesn’t come up describing teas often, and seeing as I haven’t really purchased a chai in quite a long while, this particular one intrigued me.

The leaves give off a fairly familiar Masala chai scent, not as strong as I would anticipate, but strong nonetheless. Rose pedals concern me, as I associate that to a pale flavor, but it doesn’t seem to be present in the leaves’ aroma, which left me slightly reassured.

Steeping the leaves, though, brings out that hidden pale floral scent. I had also forgotten to add maybe equal amounts of rock sugar, so let’s hope the penetrating spices penetrate the unnecessities.

The first initial sips reaffirm my concerns. This chai is not penetrating enough. The pale characteristics overwhelm a potentially interesting blend of spicy and “sensuous” ingredients, as the flavor is attempting strength, but ultimately cannot go further.

I would expect rock sugar would improve the dull flavor, but probably not by much.

It is a shame; a good chai, the right chai, can be hard to find.