TWG Tea Company

First sip was a little green and bitter. I couldn’t make out the flavors at all. The subsequent sips are much better! I get the green base mixed with the strawberries first and then the mint comes in at the back and rides out the aftertaste. I don’t think I have ever had strawberries and mint, which is why this tea sounded so intriguing. Adding sugar really amps up the berry flavors! It is almost floral at the front of the sip, then I get sweet berries, then more floral and mint in the aftertaste. I must try this cold brewed and iced sometime! I bet the mint would perk up quite a bit! So far I like this!

Cold brew is the way to go on this! I cold brewed the tea bag overnight with some sugar added in (a little too much sugar) and it is way better than it was hot. The pineapple flavor really comes out nicely, but there is still that dirt/ginseng flavor. Don’t think I’m a ginseng hater, I like it and it’s alkaline taste, but it is a little odd mixed in a fruity tea. It blends okay with the pineapple at the beginning of the sip, but the aftertaste is all ginseng and reminds me of when I was younger and would get the liquid ginseng shots from some of the Asian markets near where I worked. I loved the little bottles they came in. As I get closer to the bottom of this cup, the ginseng seems to fade or maybe my brain is just muting it out, but the pineapple is more prominent and that is nice. I like this a lot better now! I still don’t feel like it is something I’d pick out and buy, but I’m glad to have tried it.

I was sniffing this tea bag while waiting for the kettle to heat up and was trying to pin the familiar scent. Pineapple. It smells like pineapple candies I used to have when I was young. It still smells faintly of that once steeped and the pineapple comes out well in the flavor. I first get the pineapple flavor and when that trails off at the end of the sip, the ginseng creeps in and tastes a little like alkaline desert dirt, which is oddly nostalgic this time of year with the big burn in the desert coming up and all my friends who build the city posting that they are off to the playa already. Even so, it’s an odd aftertaste that I’m not exactly at peace with. Adding sugar perks up the pineapple, but also amplifies the ginseng, which isn’t what I was hoping for. Adding cream changes the whole thing again! Pineapple at the front of the sip is gone, but creeps in a little at the very end leaving just a suggestion of pineapple and the ginseng is really muted. I don’t get any berries in this like the description says. This tea is interesting, it makes me consider trying more pineapple teas in the future, but I certainly wouldn’t follow it to the check out lane and invite it home with me.

Summer fruits they say? Smells like peaches to me! It tastes very peachy, but there is something else in there too. The peach flavor reminds me of Lupicia’s Momoko, which is the first peach tea I have had that I like and tastes like real peaches. This tea is like that, but is a slightly less intense in both peach and cream. I’m having it without anything added and it is really nice. The green tea is hidden behind the peach and is pretty smooth. If I hadn’t tried Momoko, I’d be pretty ecstatic about this tea. As it is, Momoko is less expensive, easier to obtain and has a slightly better flavor. Even so, it’s still a great option if you are looking for a good peach tea!

This tasted a little tart when I first sipped it. I may have put too little water in it, but cream and sugar fixed it right up. I’m getting mostly fruit in this cup, but I can’t say what kind. I can’t really pick out the tea in there. The aftertaste is floral, smooth and nice.
It’s a nice tea, but it’s boring and doesn’t make the cut. I’m glad to have tried it tho! Yay for free samples with my Urban Tea Merchant order!

I may have found the first TWG tea that is definitely not for me! I’m getting mostly bitterness, but I’ll try cream and sugar to see if it mellows out. OMG, that is so much better. It still has a harsh edge to it, but it is drinkable now. I’m getting a little maltiness in there and it is smooth at the end of the sip. Still… I don’t like it.

I have had the Misfits song London Dungeon stuck in my head since seeing this tea in my cupboard earlier. I love the Misfits. sigh Anyways… tea! I’m getting some of the deeper darker chocolatey notes this time in this tea. I’m still able to pick up the brighter notes that I was referring to as lemon in a previous review. It is a perfect tea for a little cream and sugar. It is reminding me of TWG’s New York Breakfast and I’m wishing I had some of that to compare the two side by side. Unfortunately none of the places I can buy TWG from has both in stock which would make the higher shipping cost more worthwhile.
I’m getting a little bit of malt with the chocolate on the sip. The higher lemony taste comes in and out throughout the sip. I would like to get my hands on more of this someday.

I got a free sample of this with my Urban Tea Merchant order! It smells really good… almost like a lemony custard dessert. I think I didn’t add enough water because the tea has a little bite to it, but the lemon is really nice. I don’t get red berries at all like it says in the description. Adding a little cream and sugar mellows out the bite. Mellow creamy lemon goodness!

This is a really nice cup! The heartiness of the tea balances out well with the fruit… what ever kind of fruit it is. This is a tea I could see ordering in the future!

Looks like this tea has been sitting untouched in my cupboard for two years now! Unfortunately it hasn’t gotten any more exciting with age. I cold steeped it overnight in the fridge. It tasted of generic fruity green. I added a little sweetener hoping that might better define the fruit, which cut down on the slight green bite, but really didn’t do much to make the flavors transform. I get a light fruity floral flavor, but nothing very exciting.

TWG teas have been so hit or miss for me. There are a few that I really enjoy, but so many of them strike me as unremarkable.

I must have chosen this tea because of the pomegranate blossoms. It’s the first time I have heard of them being used for anything and I have no idea what flavor they are. The tea is nice and well balanced. The green base is even, but hidden behind floral flavors. I can’t pin what type of floral (probably because I have no reference for pom blossoms), but it is pleasant. My mouth feels a little dry after I sip the tea.

It’s nice, but not a rebuy.

Cold steeped this. I’m getting a green bite along with what tastes like rose (also with a bite), but I’m guessing is the cherry blossoms. I think I added too much tea and ended up with a slight concentration which I am cutting with a little cream. The cream mellows out the flavors and makes for an okay cup, but I’m not getting the “addictive” finish mentioned in the tea’s description. It’s a miss.

Light, fruity and floral is about all I’m getting from this cup. A little flatness at the end of the sip as it cools. Eh.

I think I like this a little more than the first time I had it. I’m not getting that cranberry taste I noticed before. I’m having it without any additives. I still get the pom and blossom flavors, which ends up being a fruity mix. It is a little more fruity and light than I had wanted this morning, so it’s on to something heavier for me!
Still need to try this cold brewed!

It seems like a few of the TWG teas I ordered don’t have Steepster profiles which is always surprising!

I bought this one because of the pomegranate. It isn’t a fruit I have come across in tea before so I wanted to try it. It smells like rich tart fruit. I added a little sugar to perk it up. When I taste it I can pick out the cherry blossoms and a little of the pom, but the aftertaste almost has a cranberry like flavor to it. It is interesting, it’s nice, but it isn’t captivating. I could take it or leave it. I added a little cream to the last of my cup and it did nothing for it. I’ll have to try it cold brewed next.

I buy too much tea! LOL! Looks like I have had this in my cupboard for a couple years now, have just finished the bag and liked it much more in the beginning when it was fresh. I had it cold steeped over night in the fridge for these last few cups and it wasn’t very remarkable at all. Hard to say if it was the preparation or the age of the tea, but I’m not feeling like I need to restock this. Ever. At this point in my tea journey I feel like honing in on my favorites instead of trying everything in sight, finding one or two gems per dozen or so that I try. I still have so much tea to go through before I can really get my cupboard dialed in. :/ Rough life, eh?

Having this again today with a little sugar. I can smell the chocolate as I go in for a sip and I can taste it laying low underneath the bergamot flavors. The bergamot is a little sharp and I do wish the chocolate was a little more intense and could match or nearly match the strength of the bergamot, but I still enjoy it anyways. The chocolate has a really natural flavor to it like other TWG teas I have tried, which is nice. At this point I’m thinking this isn’t a keep in stock tea, but that could change by the time I finish the bag.

This has a bergamot kick to it! More than I was expecting. I can pick out a light chocolate taste which rounds out the bergamot nicely. The tea base is plesant and rich. I’m having it with a little sugar and am now adding some cream.
Huh, I’m not sure I like this with cream. It dampers the bergamot and I can ’t really taste the chocolate.

It’s a really nice cup and so far I’m impressed with TWG. Their teas haven’t been mind blowing at this point, but they have been solid, consistent and interesting.

Not sure why I still have this around and how I’ve gone through so much of it without having been left with much of an impression about it. I find myself agreeing with my previous note, puzzled as to why it’s a breakfast tea and barely being able to pick out ginger as the lone flavor.
It’s been a long time since I ordered this tea so I decided to check out what is new on the Urban Tea Merchant site where I bought it from only to find out that UTM has been closed for some time! I didn’t order from them often, but I’m sad to see they are no more.

I’m not sure why this tea is called a breakfast tea. It isn’t malty or hearty or have any of the other traits that one thinks of when they hear breakfast tea. It is a little lighter and I’m picking out ginger. I’m not impressed this time around.

It’s a black…. no, it’s a green… no, it’s a blend! I couldn’t tell what it was when peering into the bag. These blends throw me for a loop with trying to figure out how to steep them. I can smell vanilla and muted spices in my cup. The spices are blended together so well that I can’t pick them out individually. It tastes like spice on top of floral flavors. There is a little bit of a green bite on the sip. It has a hearty depth to it too that I’m attributing to the black tea. Adding cream seems to distract from the flavors of the tea.
I’m not sure about this one.

Oooooh! I like this! I’m getting a heavy base, which I’m guessing is the black tea. I always compare tea to perfume where you have base, mid and high notes which together make for a well rounded scent. There are higher notes, ginger I’m guessing. It reminds me of Mariage Freres’s La Route Du Temps, which I have never been able to get an awesome cup out of. It was always all high notes and kind of sharp. This one is very well rounded. I’m enjoying it with a little bit of sugar.

Deciding how to brew it was a little tricky since it is a green and black blend. In the past I have had success cold brewing blends like this, but this time I decided to go with a lower green temp and it worked out pretty well.

I’ve been doing tasting flights of my TWG teas today to weed out the ones I don’t favor. This is in between supervising a 5 year old cleaning up the marks they drew on the wall (grrrrrrrr) and making Tide jello shots for a party tonight, because at the moment on the internets eating Tide pods is a thing and meme, which makes the shots funny.
This tea is pretty mellow. The flavors are pretty subtle. Very mild sip with the strawberry opening in the aftertaste. The strawberry isn’t bright and fresh, but more rounded which I would take to be the creme brulee part of the tea. It livens up a bit with creamer. The front of the sip is sweeter and more creme brulee like, the strawberry stays about the same. This tea is good, but not quite captivating. Just under captivating. Which doesn’t bode well for remaining in my cupboard.

I ordered ten TWG teas from The Urban Tea Merchant for my birthday and they are here to greet me on my return home from summer travels! Happy birthday me! :)

So far I like this, but I’m not really getting the crème brûlée that the name suggests. To be continued and further explored!

What a perfect little afternoon treat! I could imagine myself drinking this at high tea with scones (the classic British kind) smothered in cream and strawberry jam, cucumber sandwiches and shortbread (ok must now head to World Market to pick up Walkers Shortbread ASAP). Upon opening the cutesy little container you’re met with the prettiest mix of black tea and long golden marigold leaves and a sugary, candied, buttery aroma. Upon brewing it has the perfect little kick of sweetness to it thanks to the inclusion of vanilla. The perfect afternoon pick me up!