Whittard of Chelsea

Here is an EG that came from Auggy. Who lives in the US. This is relevant because Whittard of Chelsea is an English brand, so they sent European tea to America where she bought it and then sent some back to me in Europe. Detour-tea!

I remember when she wrote the email telling me that this year’s care package (I’ve noticed it’s been almost exactly a year since we last exchanged boxes) would be largely EG themed that she had some comments on this particular one, but I’ll be damned if I can remember now what they were. After I have had a cup, I’ll look it up, but right now I will treat those comments as I do other people’s posts in general on any given tea that I’m writing about. Ignore them and check afterwards whether anybody agrees with me.

The leaves of this one smell rather strongly of bergamot, and it’s bergamot and not just generic sort of citrus. There’s almost a slightly smoky aspect to it as well underneath the bergamot which makes me wonder what the base could possibly be. Another thing I’ll have to see if I can look up afterwards.

After steeping the bergamot seems much milder and the kind of smoky note much stronger. It even seems to have a sort of fruity-sweet sort of quality to it. How peculiar! I associate fruity-sweet in combination with smokiness with LS only, and this is most definitely not LS. I should be able to tell if it were, I rather think.

The bergamot is not really particularly mild in the flavour, but it’s not really strong either. It’s rather perfectly in-between. Obvious, but not overwhelming. It somehow manages to be dusty, floral and semi-smoky all at the same time, which is actually kind of weird. It’s okay, though. It’s quite drinkable. EG will never be a preferred flavour for me, but it’s not impossible that I’m warming to it a little bit.

Husband was quite pleased with this one. He found it greatly enjoyable, but did comment that it comes in direct comparison with a Lipton EG he had at work earlier in the day (against his better judgment) which he had found rather unsatisfactory. Fortunately for him, Auggy provided me with a large-ish amount of it, (in a tin which I’m actually quite certain was sent to her by me last year. Seems very familiar. I think I got it from ssajami originally, so it really is quite a travelling little tin. The stories it could tell!) and it’s something we could easily stock up on should he decide he wanted more of it. It’s just a question of remembering the next time we go to the UK as they have a shop in Cambridge and it’s not uncommon to take a day trip there to do a bit of shopping.

Now, the first part of this review is a few days old, and it’s not actually its turn to be posted yet, really, but I’m bringing it forward anyway because we had it again this afternoon. With a cream tea. That I made. Yes. Well, obviously, I didn’t make the clotted cream myself and I didn’t make the gooseberry jam myself (I bought them myself though!), but I did make the scones and the biscuits and the tea and laid the table. I bought the jam and cream at the newly opened AC Perch’s shop here in Århus and the scones recipe was from the AC Perchs 175 years Jubilee book. They were very easy to make and Husband said they were excellent. If anybody is interested, I’ll translate the recipe and put it in the comments.

Unlike the first time I had this tea where I thought it was okay but not really super-spectacular, THIS is where it really came to its right. It matched the scones and cream and jam perfectly, and felt very much like a luxury item. I honestly don’t think this would have worked as well with any other tea than an EG.

Of course, I had Husband take a photo before we dug in. We are ever so full now (and the biscuits actually all went straight back in the tin.)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iLjcpW7J2oA/UiNWzuImi4I/AAAAAAAABCY/j86UVUYkC0E/s800/IMG_9988.jpg

Back to Little Terri’s Sipdown Extravaganza! Week 2, Day 3 (since I skipped yesterday).
It felt good yesterday to slip into a full day of Gongfu sessions, but today I’m ready to get back to sampling ALL the TEas!
Admittedly, I’m not the biggest Darjeeling fan. This one is a on the floral, citrus, & somewhat astringent end of things. It’s not all that appealing to me, but I think I also overleafed it a bit, which only makes matters worse. This sipdown was brought to you by NofarS. Thanks!

Little Terri’s Sipdown Extravaganza, Week 2, Day 2!
I’m still working on my box from NofarS, thanks!
I realized that my numbers are a little off, as I drank 4 of the teas from this box while I was in Florida visiting my folks, so I’m starting the day @ 274 teas! I’m sharing this box with my tea sister, Sil, so she can sample All the Teas too, so as I polish of my share of each generous sample, I’m setting them aside & counting them as a sipdown. There are still a BUNCH of teas left in this box to try! Nofar, you are awesome! I hope you’re enjoying the box I sent to you as well :)

So this Yunnan is tasty, with the rich butter sweetness, slight mushroomy kind of taste, & thickness to the tongue that I love.
Enough said.

Another Sipdown from NofarS :D
Although I’m not a huge fan of white teas, this is without a doubt an excellent quality white. Long whole leaves, with a robust dense character about them, the flavor is gentle, as white teas are, but not flavorless by any means. I enjoyed drinking several steepings of this while teaching this afternoon.

The mango is not dominant in the flavor of this tea. The spicy kick provided by the “chili” gets your attention. Nice black base. Not for everyone but this makes an interesting cup. I enjoy it iced.

My experience with Whittard teas (after receiving several as gifts) indicates that they sometimes take some getting used to but they are worth the effort. This one is no exception.

Strawberries and raspberries – that sounds good; currants – not a favorite but OK; good balck tea base – like that. But then there’s this juniper which seems strange in a tea (to me anyway). I’ve tried this straight on its own and with both sweetener and a little milk. I think I prefer it with sweetener and milk. Unusual mix but it works.

This tea smells much better than it tastes. I found it takes a little more leaves than what I usually use to prepare a nice, tasty cup. Sweet and comforting. I like flowery teas better, but it’s still is a nice tea to offer to guests.

Backlog. Used 1 heaping tsp leaf to ~250 ml water.

Followed the steeping instructions on the Whittard website (which is fortunate, because I poured freshly boiled water over the leaves without even thinking). Taste was pretty unremarkable, but the finish was long and lovely. I just got my first gaiwan, so maybe I’ll use this stuff to practice before moving on to the finer oolongs.

Nice,natural taste of berries,smell is good too.

The smell is quite attractive.

I love the elegant and refreshing 、sweet and fruity smell of orange blossom!The tea is sooth,smooth ,light and delightful,,the tea and flower blend in very well,highly recommend it!

delightful 、 graceful with subtle floral flavor ,light and easy.You can’t be wrong choosing this one anytime or in any occasion.

Well-balanced,classic and pleasant, a nice choice for any time of the day

Once my favorite in winter times! Helped me go through the whole winter time in this extremely cold and windy place! I love the smell of vanilla,butter-like、leather-like、smooth and sweet ！I prefer the tea bag version to loose tea —— strangely I think the former is much better, while loose tea is more plum-like(tastes like some kind of salty-and-sour dried plums in China

Excellent when mixed with milk and a little sugar!As if it’s made specially for a nice cup of milktea!

The smell of delicate rose petals are very comforting ,and it tastes like my imagination of British garden or countryside in summer .Actually not bad.

The first time I brew it,it’s more like osmanthus and cream and sth else,surprising to me ’cause my family used to make our own osmanthus sugar with its tiny fresh petals ,and we wait for a long time to make them perfect for desserts and beverages.So I tried using some homemade osmanthus sugar to add the flavour,and turns out very good——creamy、princess-like (?)、ripe and sweet mango ,a perfect afternoon tea or a cheer up for the day.

from the traveling tea box!
i love a dark oolong.
idk why i waited until now to drink it.
so cozy comfy yummy.

I picked this tea up during our recent trip to England. I love this tea first thing in the mornings. The rose is quite subtle and mixes wonderfully with the black tea leaves. I love seeing the dry leaves, the rose petals are delicately mixed in with the leaves.

Cold-brewed this overnight in the fridge using 2 heaping teaspoons for 500 ml water.

I’ve been foregoing tea lately in favor of cold-brewed iced coffee (I know, I’m a filthy turncoat) but I’m still trying to chip away at my stash little by little. This was pretty nice; flowery with the bergamot and jasmine, and tasted quite fancy. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling particularly fancy when I drank this and would have preferred something more refreshing. Would probably be good served hot at a tea party with doilies and silly hats – which, mark my words, I will get around to one day.