The London Tea Room

So far today I did a little yoga, had a yummy breakfast (broccoli, poached eggs, & bacon), taught 2 students, re-tuned the 2 harps I recently restrung, & I just finished off an excellent lunch: a salad with homemade caesar dressing (I love my immersion blender!).

I’m having this tea because it is very bold! I need something bold like this to reset my taste-buds after a very garlicky salad. Usually I have students from 10am to 7:30pm on weds, but due to spring break my teaching calendar is clear until 6:30 tonight. That’s a good thing, as I have 3 different projects I’m practicing for (& also still haven’t finished my taxes). This tea packs a pretty nice caffeine punch, which will keep me focused for awhile!

This is such a nice bold cup! I don’t really feel that it compares to a yunnan, more like an Assam in my opinion. Definitely what I needed to start moving today!

This is a real contrast to the Yu lu I was just drinking.
It is earthy & rich, with a bright blackberry like flavor. It’s also very bold, & packs a jolt of caffeine! This is tea that would appeal especially to lovers of Irish Breakfast, of which I am one!

This is my first cup of the day. The first of many cups. I plan to sit around drinking tea all day, while my students come & go. I think I’m meeting someone for lunch at a place 5 minutes from my house, but that will only take about an hour out of my tea drinking…

This is a rich & earthy brew, as it says in the description. The store description compares it to a yunnan, but I find that it is more like an Assam, with an edge of bitterness & a fruity brightness. Maybe I’ll have another cup.

Second cup, to enjoy during my first student of the day. An earthy, deep cup, and a nice contrast to the other tea I had.

A wonderful cup, and a nice simple start to my day of tea drinking!
It went down quick and smooth, & I’m ready for something else. Next!

Good morning Steepsterites!
This is my first cup of the day. I’ve been on Steepster for about 5 weeks now. Previous to joining this community, I drank a lot of tea, but it tended to be mostly teas I could source locally (at Teavana, Whole Foods, The London Tea Room). I had a pretty nice collection that I rotated through, heavy on the black teas. This was one of those teas.

Then I started reading & writing reviews, visiting tea websites, & drinking things like Laoshan Black & Puerh. Now my kitchen is full of samples of all kinds, my rotation of breakfast teas has gotten longer (really longer!), & I’m drinking a wide array of brews! I actually ordered the “Farewell Ponds” blend from Adagio, even though I’m not really into flavored teas much, don’t really care that much for Bergamot, & I really almost never like anything blueberry flavored (although I love real blueberries). I just had to have that one to drink with my son (age 23) when we watch that Dr. Who episode…LOL

So I’ve finally rotated back to the Kenyan. He is still tall, dark, and handsome! A deep brew, with a blackberry acidity that becomes more prominent as it begins to cool. This is a bold tea that would satisfy lovers of Assam & Irish Breakfast types. I’m thinking it might also be tasty with some vanilla bean blended in. hmmmmm…I think I need a 2nd cup…

I just finished my first cup of the day, the wonderfully deep & mellow Kenyan from The London Tea Room (oh how lucky I am to live in St. Louis!). It’s beautiful reddish brown color & aroma speak of unsweetened dark chocolate & hints of a coffee-like, but not coffee-like earthiness. This is a tea that I enjoy often, usually with breakfast. It doesn’t have the malty character of my beloved Assam, but it still gives a great caffeine jolt & is not for the faint hearted!
Although I’m not always a fan of re-steeping, what the heck! While it’s brewing, I’ll mention that I love the Teavana app on my iPhone, specifically because it has a really fun tea timer!
So, cup #2: Still mellow, more of an amber color now, more of a mineral taste, slightly bitter, more like a basic cup of tea. I suppose if I were scrimping pennies here (& I probably should, being a musician), I’d re-steep more often, but I don’t drink, smoke, binge on sweets, or do anything else, so I’m allowed to indulge in teas, good foods, & musical instruments!

Sipdown! 823.

Uh… should have read my previous note before brewing this one up. BLECH. 3-minute infusion, and this tastes like sour hibiscus medicine. Down the drain it shall go. I wonder why there are no other reviews for it…. not.

Hmmm, I think this is what Azzrian sent me… (Thanks!)

This is sadly not a cup of tea for me, really. I’m 95% certain there’s hibiscus in it due to the colour and tartness (although it’s manageable), and I’m pretty sure there’s red rooibos giving off a medicinal taste. I am getting a fruity flavour, but it’s quite masked by the tart hibiscus that it’s difficult to distinguish. This one might actually be rather nice sweetened, and it’s not terrible as I’m drinking it, but there are other teas I’d prefer to have.

Here’s another Azzrian Tisane! Thanks Azzrian!

It smells like rooibos/sweet cigars, mint, and an UN-identifiable berry!

The mint is like a warming mint and not necessarily a cooling mint if that makes sense. The Berry and Rooibos morphs the mint, I think. This is very different than I expected. Not that THAT is good, bad, or indifferent, just something I noticed.

I can’t quite put my finger on what isn’t really jiving for me in this blend. Maybe it’s just the way the 3 ingredients are dancing with each other…not sure. It’s not bad, by any means, it just apparently confusing my palate.

The aftertaste is minty-fresh – I like that! During the sip – it’s throwing me off…not sure why.

I am glad I got to try this one, tho!!! Maybe I am looking for more berry…maybe I am wanting the mint to be cooling instead of warming…maybe I just want to see the ingredient ratio a bit tweaked…not sure…I’m puzzled. LOL

Thanks to Azzrian for another tasty sample!

This one is very good. It’s sweet creamy coconut milk. Like a coconut sorbet in a green oolong. It reminds of Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong. I’d love to do a comparison but I don’t have any of the other one at the moment. :(

Mmmm….heavenly scent. yum.

I had some of this after my interview and it was just what I needed.
The role is Technical Recruiter. Not sure if I will get it but… well I am confident that I’d do well. The location is really outta the way so I’d be miserable, not being close to the city I so love working in and all the places it affords access to. Bah, it is a job and I need a job so who am I to complain right.
Anyhow, this tea is like an old friend, the kind you can lean on in weary times. Creamy, coconut goodness. A touch harsh on the scratchiness. Sighs. Does it get any better?
Raising the rating a bit.
On another note, I have my ratings bar back. Yay!!
Rating: 88

Backlog from yesterday! was too tired… after my spinning class and last day of work before my boss goes on vacation. Phew!
Anyhow, thanks so much to Azzrian for sending me this lovely tea!!
It’s a lovely roasty coconut.And slightly creamy to, I really like that part! Though… it hides the oolong a little too much for me in the first infusion. The second and third were SO good!!
Mmmmmm. Thanks Azzrian! :)

Backlogging and based on memory

Experience buying from London Tea Room Positive.

My wife loves mango flavored tea (she drinks Trader Joe’s Mango black tea iced EVERY SINGE DAY), so we bought two ounces some of this last summer (at the time I was trying to break her of her ‘tea bag’ habit). We brewed it up both on it’s own and as a blend with another tea (I think a green tea) and both were tasty. I LOVE smelling this one. We tried it iced, and it was good, but not as good as Trader Joe’s black tea version, so it never did replace the Trader Joe’s Black Mango as her everyday tea. Still, this is a tea I would consider buying again (and I’m not a big ‘fruit tea’ guy).

Sipdown! 303/365!

This was delicious, and now that I’ve finished this I kind of want more! Delicious oolong + delicious coconut flavouring (and no actual coconut therefore no rancidity).

Sipdown! 837.

This is only a sipdown of the tea I got from Azzrian – pretty sure Sil “gifted” me with some more that’s lurking somewhere…

Anyways, this was my attempt at making this one into iced tea. I didn’t cold-steep, as I often get too much astringency when I do that with “real” tea, so I just brewed extra strong normally (3min/90C), then diluted it and chilled it in the fridge. In fact, it got so cold in the fridge that the top layer was ice! Perhaps I should bump the fridge temp up…

For whatever reason, I was kind of “over” coconut oolongs as hot drinks… sure they’re good, but something wasn’t really working for me anymore, and I wasn’t really craving them in spite of having a few different (yet very similar) options. However, I’m really enjoying it cold, and it kind of reminds me of coconut water, with a bit of toastiness – and the coconut flavour lingers after sipping. It’s really quite tasty and refreshing. I just guzzled the entire 2-cup glass of it that I retrieved from the fridge. I think I may make more of it this way…

In other news… my back is still pretty painful, and I am having trouble sleeping partially because I can’t get comfortable. It sucks. I’m currently waiting for more painkillers to kick in in the hopes that they knock me out a bit… and meanwhile getting my veggies in by snacking on a giant bowl of snap peas (not from my garden, sadly, but the pea plants still live! Haven’t been munched to the ground by bunnies yet!)

Smells much like other coconut oolongs I’ve had. Taste is a little bit sweet and nicely coconutty, without much oolong aftertaste. I have some of Golden Moon’s coconut pouchong left (and some more on the way from iheartteas.com); I should compare the two. Unfortunately I did use up the sample from Spice & Tea Exchange, so can’t compare that one with it, but it would be nice to narrow down and choose the best coconut oolong!! Hopefully more infusions this evening.

Thanks for the sample, Azzrian!

ETA: Second infusion, 180F/3min, is toasty and light. Still pretty tasty, so I suspect a third would work well. (A day passes) Yep, the third, 180F/3:45, is still pretty flavourful. I wish I could taste more oolong though, that’s my only complaint. I love that toasty coconut flavour. The leaves don’t smell like they have much left in them now, so I think I’ll stop there :)

At the risk of sounding ungrateful for the lovely care package Azzrian sent to me…

This is absolutely the worst tea I’ve ever drank. It smells like Country Time Lemonade and kind of tastes like it, too. It is incredibly artificial.

I know I shouldn’t say anything at all if I can’t say something nice, but seriously, folks. This is disgusting.

Yum. Managed to sweeten this one perfectly today so it’s just sweet enough to be noticeable, but doesn’t overpower anything, so I can taste the delicious fruitiness alongside the smoke. I do so love lapsang blends with milk and sweetener – otherwise I can find them a tad harsh. I think I prefer other smoky blends to this one, but it’s still quite good (and better/more interesting than drinking a straight lapsang with milk/sweetener).

Decided to be a grown-up this morning. I couldn’t sleep, so am just going to work without sleeping in the hopes that I am tired tonight. It’s my own fault. Anyways, the adult part is having two cups of black tea for breakfast! Not that it’s black… I milked and sugared it up nicely, because I don’t think straight tea would sit well with me right now. My stomach is finicky in the morning.

Anyhow, this one’s pretty tasty done up this way; I like smoky tea when it’s lightened with milk and sweetened. Initially I could taste the berries in this blend, but all I can taste is the smokiness, now. Hopefully this sits well!

Hmmm, my tea definitely doesn’t look like the picture here – there were bits in it! I didn’t look too closely, bits of fruit, perhaps?

Last tea of the evening. Have been half asleep for a while now. Thinking the caffeine in this one will do diddly-squat because I’m just so exhausted.

The aroma is sweet, smoky, and fruity. Mmmmm. Loving these lapsang souchong blends.

Flavourwise I’m definitely getting all three as well. It’s a touch on the weak side though – I was worried about the 5 minute infusion instructions so went with four, perhaps a mistake. Too tired to review further.

I kinda like this :) Definitely want to keep trying more LS blends. Thanks Azzrian!

Steepster is so lonely… there are hardly any notes on my dashboard between the notes I managed to post last night, and the one I’m posting now. So few it only took me a couple minutes to get through. So sad :(

Cold-brewed the rest of my sample of this one overnight in a cup of water. It is so crazy sweet it’s ridiculous. I highly doubt this is a calorie-free tea. It’s almost too sweet, actually. Anyhow, it’s pretty good iced, but there’s a lingering bitter flavour that I am not enjoying. It’s possible that it’s from the orange slice in the mix, but I’m not sure. Turns me off a bit; although this one is ok, I don’t think it will make a reappearance in my cupboard. But thank you again for giving me the chance to try it, Azzrian!

Side note: the fruit somehow still tastes quite sweet! So I ate some :D Usually cold-brewing sucks everything out, but not this time apparently!

Ooh, bad me. Thanks to Azzrian for this sample!

A bad time to be trying a new tea apparently, what with my mouth being all mad at me for brushing my teeth before some teas (yeah ok, I knew it was a bad idea.) But, it’s steeped and sitting here, so I may as well drink it!

This one smells much like Mango Madness (DavidsTea) to me, although stronger, and without the (useless) white tea. OH WOW. So sweet! Way sweeter than I’d expected. Like, so sweet it’s literally juice. And I’m pretty sure there are calories in this. Too sweet not to have any (and it doesn’t taste artificial). But anyways, other than sweet, this tastes slightly citrusy, and… (surprise), like mango.

… cannot get over how sweet this one is. It would be a great juice substitute. I mean, I know people talk about teas being “juice-like” and whatnot, but this one blows them all away… Also have just realized that brushing my teeth was totally in vain now that they’re probably coated in fructose…

ETA: Second infusion in practically 1/3 cup water (oops) was great too. Third infusion in a larger amount of water will be too weak, I think. Pretty impressed with this tisane though!!