The London Tea Room

I love almost all the teas I’ve tried from The London Tea Room, but this one was a rare miss for me. I was so excited to find a blueberry-flavored blend that didn’t have hibiscus in it…pretty much all the blueberry herbals I’ve ever tried have included it (presumably for the color?) and that flavor takes over. But while I’m glad this one doesn’t taste like hibiscus, it doesn’t really taste like blueberry either. The medicinal flavor of the rooibos base is front and center here and I actually taste more lemon than blueberry. While I’m excited to re-stock on some of their other blends next time I’m in St. Louis (hello Coconut Oolong and Maple Walnut Sencha!), this isn’t one I’ll be re-purchasing.

I didn’t get much tangerine from this one, just lots of STRONG ginger flavor! It was a comforting medicinal-type herbal tea for when I had a cold or an upset stomach, but not really something I’d choose to drink for pleasure. Finished off my two ounces and won’t be re-purchasing…The London Tea Room has so many amazing blends I love more than this one!

I love a good tropical green tea, but this one was a bit of a disappointment. It’s not bad by any means. The green tea base is nice long, unbroken leaves that brew up smooth and sweet. But the flavor is just generic “fruit” without anything distinctively tropical. I’ll finish my two ounces, but this isn’t one I’m likely to re-purchase.

This has become one of my very favorite coconut teas (tied with Fava’s Coconut Soufflé White…I reach for this one when I want a bit more caffeine and that one in the evening). It’s super smooth and creamy with loads of rich coconut flavor and it holds up to multiple re-steeping. Another one I’ll be stocking up on next time I get to visit The London Tea Room!

This tea is lovely! Heavy on the maple with a slight nuttiness in the aftertaste. This is one I’ll be re-stocking on next time I’m in St. Louis.

GCTTB

People are always very surprised when they learn I don’t drink coffee. Personally I just don’t like the flavor and I have never needed it for the caffeine so why drink something I don’t enjoy? What I do enjoy though is sugar. When people who know I don’t drink coffee see me with Starbucks cups, there first comment is “I thought you don’t drink coffee?!” to which I respond “I don’t, I drink sugar” which at the end of the day, most of the mixed drinks are more syrup and milk than they are actually coffee.

So, when I saw this blend in the teabox, I thought it would probably make a good latte. Sipping on it now, I would say it is quite nice though the base is stronger than I would like. It’s a little bit woody but there is also a slight caramel flavor that is working with the base and the milk of the latte. Does it compare to an actual caramel macchiato, maybe not so much because the flavor is far more subtle but at the same time there is less of the espresso component here so that caramel is more prominent. I suppose based on your preferences that could be good or bad. For me it would be a good thing but I find myself looking for another pump of caramel syrup…like I said, I drink sugar :P.

Thank you Sil for adding this to the box. It was a fun one to try!

Finished the last of this one off from Terri Perfect afternoon tea to sit in the sun with.

Latte of this one tonight before bed. I am exhausted. We did more fat biking today but we were basically creating trail which is damn hard work. It was of course fun since we bring the puppy along and she runs around off leash while we make the trail. That doesn’t make it any less draining though lol. Then we came home and finished untaping the one room and moved our bedroom in to the new room. 1 room down….2 to go. But once we’re done…we should be largely done with finally getting the house to where we want it to be. :)

Terri sent this one my way – surprising in some respects because it doesn’t seem like her cup of tea heh. The dry aroma of this one is downright amazing… creamy caramel, mocha…. noms.
Brewed (4 mins) this is a little less intense than the aroma would suggest – there’s a little of the honeybush taste that comes through, but it doesn’t interfere with the deliciousness. I think this one will be worth trying as a latte at some point as well. thankfully i’ve got more than enough to play with this, thanks to the generosity of my tea sister!

Had to cold steep… I have a microwave but only Styrofoam cups. I don’t like citrus teas so I dont know what made me want to try this one. Might be good with some rum in it. Its good. Smooth. With a bit of orange zing. Just not my cuppa.

Additional notes: I’m still in love with this heavenly tea. And it is… aging well. ha. It’s a perfect black tea and just hits all the flavors I love to find in a black tea. Raising the rating from a 91.

Today going over words with Dad for his aphasia he said ‘wheelbarrow’ instead of ‘wagon’ which was reminding me of Mr. Robot. Mostly because the book that goes with Mr. Robot is called red wheelbarrow but in the show there is a wagon (and the restaurant). I’m wondering what these things will mean because everything means something on the show. I love that genius show (and the book!) and really need to catch up. I’m only a couple episodes into the third season. Anyone else a fan? No spoilers!

Thanks for this one a while back, Nicole! I’ve sipped this one a few times from this big ole pouch before writing a tasting note. I’m not sure what makes this one “ancient” but it is delicious. It reminds me a little more of a ripe pu-erh than most other yunnan teas might. It has great depth and quite a dark steep! Perfect with two teaspoons. There are notes of dark chocolate, malt, chewy bread, a hint of smoke, hints of dried grass. Everything I love to see in a great Yunnan! And it’s overall just the sort of black tea I crave. Happy to have some of this in the cupboard. :D
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

Mostly I drink tea without anything added—no sugar, no milk, just the tea itself. The exception is a nice, chewy English Breakfast kind of black tea. Which can be difficult to find—though it’s gotten easier, at least around here, to get PG Tips, which is kind of my baseline for “the kind of tea you put milk in.”

I’ve bought any number of teas marked “English Breakfast” in the hope they’d be that (to me comforting and comfortable) milky tea hit, but mostly they’re miserable with milk and much better without.

This tea, though, stands up to the milk. Very nice.

Yes, I know, it’s Irish Breakfast, not English. And I could have bought English Breakfast instead while I was in the shop, but a while ago a friend of mine, when we were talking about the milky tea issue and the inadequacy of American teas called “English Breakfast,” told me that in her experience, Irish Breakfast was more likely to deliver the goods. She was talking specifically about Harney and Sons Irish Breakfast, and she gave me a sample, and I agreed with her assessment. It was the stuff.

So when I was at the London Tea Room the other day, I bought Irish instead of English. It’s the stuff.

Maybe some time I’ll try it without milk, just to say I did, but this is the kind of tea I drink when I want milky tea.

Ooh I like this a lot! Ordered a pot after lunch at the London Tea Room. I’d tried plain cherry blossom tea a while back, and found it…not to my taste. In large part because the cherry blossoms were preserved in salt. However. I really enjoyed the very subtle flavor I recognized as that same cherry blossom flavor, with the umami and sort of grassy taste of the sencha. I made sure to buy a couple ounces to take home with me. Now watch me oversteep it or something.

It’s been so long since I’ve had this one. It is now one of my two oldest black teas! Last time it wasn’t strong enough, this time I think it’s too strong. Added sweetener again, it helped but this still isn’t my favorite. I have over an ounce of this one left, is there anyone out there who would like to have it in their stash?

I have been stuffy since I got home! I have so many new teas to try but I don’t want to miss out on the flavors of them as I can barely smell. I knew I needed something to help me get up and go, this cold is zapping my energy. Black tea it is! I chose this one because I am able to get more easily from The London Tea Room. Last time I had this, I remember not being too sure about it as there are not many black teas I enjoy.

From what I can smell of the leaf, it makes me think I should love it. The first sip makes me think that I underleafed it, it seems watery. With the second and third sip, something is there but not vanilla or currant. Added some sweetener. That’s better. I think the black base is still a bit too strong for someone who usually drifts towards greens but some of the other flavors are coming out to play now. I will finish what I have but I am unsure of restocking. It is a nice cup of something different, just not something every day for me.

Another tea from terri that i finished up over the past couple of days. This + Maple syrup = yummy! another great smokey tea!

Smokey tea this is for sure! Terri sent me this one in the last round of tea we exchanged and i love it! This + a splash of maple syrup made everything right yesterday out in the cold :) I’m glad i have a little more to have again as i’m mostly out of smokey teas in my cupboard at the moment heh. This has got a great balance of smoke, malt and strength to be great in the morning! thanks terri!

What a smooth body this brew has! Its malty and very bold but just the right amount. I tastes like an Assam but more calm. The flavor is of a dark wood and slightly roasted. The aftertaste is sweet and robust. I like this brew, basic yet still enjoyable. This would make a great everyday black.

This brew surprised once I learned of its ingredients. What I thought to be a heavily sweetened ordeal turned into quite the opposite. I brewed this western styled with a generous amount of leaves. The steeped leaves smell of blackberry jam with just a hint of dark wood. The aroma of the brew is quite consistent. The brew itself is very bold. Its slightly sour with a roasted taste. I can distinctly taste a dark jam or currant. This has a very unique flavor profile and I love it! Its very heady and sweet with a sour fruit aftertaste. I will be enjoying this again and again in the new future.

Black currant and vanilla? Definitely. Heavily scented? Yes. It’s a sweet without sugar, nicely balanced flavored black tea. If I were going to keep a fruit and vanilla tea in my cupboard, this would be a contender.