Whittard of Chelsea

I got this sample from Liberteas and held off making it so I could serve it for a tea party day, plus I was hoping for cooler weather to serve it. I got my wish today! Well, I consider 70F cooler weather, anyway.

I am a little leery of some spiced teas as they sometimes overdo it for me. Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice is one that makes me hide under the bed, but several of my friends love it. This one smelled really good but I was afraid I would be assaulted by cinnamon. Instead, I was sweetly wooed.

I really agree with Liberteas on this one. I felt that I tasted more clove than cinnamon, though, but even that was mild. I was really excited to have this since my daughter gave me a few sips of her spiced apple cider from Starbucks last week and it was sooo good. This reminded me of it, though I drank it unsweetened and I am sure the SBucks stuff was full of sugar.

The tea base could be a little stronger for my taste, but I am seriously inspired to try to make a mulled tea this good. this was really tasty. Thank you, Liberteas, for the delicious tea!

I regret to report that this is sweepings and dust … at least the half tin I spilled on the floor. Too many precariously stacked tins and packages.

However, the portion that I did have is quite good. I’ve mentioned elsewhere that Ceylon often gets a bad rap because that’s the name that gets slapped on mediocre and less-than-mediocre grocery store teas. This one is the slightly more elegant cousin of a meaty builders’ tea like PG Tips.

Even looks like PG Tips in the tin, but steeped up a rich, deep burgundy this morning. Lighter and a tetch fruitier (I used coppery in a previous review) than a PG type. Good on its own, but milk accentuates it nicely.

Straight up this morning; a good, sharp, coppery basic. Teases you awake instead of bulldozing you awake. A little milk would likely tone it down from a C sharp to a B flat but I don’t need toning at the moment.

This tea was actually the first tea I ever purchased for myself, way back in 2002 when I was 15. Angrboda recently sent me a care-package of tea, and the dry smell of the Raspberry Oolong made me think of this tea quite unexpectedly. (disclaimer: similarities end at the dry smell!)

In the London Trocadero (right by Picadilly Circus), there was a little Whittard of Chelsea store. At the time, “tea” to me was just an icky bitter taste that I covered up with tons of honey and milk. I couldn’t understand what it was that everyone else in the whole country seemed to enjoy about tea… so I avoided it (as I still do with coffee).

So when I went into Whittards after a Saturday at the arcades or wandering around HMV with my friends, the sweet smells and samples were completely outside the realm of my experience. Instead of icky, they were super sweet and tasty. Like Kool-Aid! “Yum yum!” I said, and used a £5 note to pick up a tin of this instant Dreamtime Tea. I stirred the pink powder into hot water and cold water, and thought it tasty enough to buy some and bring it back home on holiday for my Mom (I was going to boarding school at the time, since my parents were living in Angola and English language schooling in Luanda only went up to 8th grade).

I had this experience in mind when I made my next big purchase of tea a few years later (fruit-flavored tea bags from Pier 1… they were on sale, and I received an employee discount). The teas were labeled apple..strawberry..etc.. so I steeped them up with great anticipation. After about three minutes, I sniffed, and my nose detected no hint of sweet strawberry or apple! So I let it steep several minutes more. Still no smell, but I thought I should give it a taste. I was so sad to discover the bitter, drying brew I had muscled out of those teabags. Who knows what pleasant brew i would have tasted if I’d just let the tea bags be themselves? Sometimes, I think expectations (especially for blended teas), sometimes keep us from enjoying the great thing we have in front of us. Searching for the kool-aid taste of Whittard’s DreamTime instant tea, I thought the lack of berry-bursting-sparkle was due to my clear inability to steep “real” tea. I retired the remaining bags to a shelf, and sadly realized that I would never “get” tea.

I was saved a few years later by some bagged genmaicha my future-husband brewed me up. When he offered to make me tea, I was definitely nervous (oh no! should I tell him that I am tea-challenged? But no, that would be so rude!). As I’ve learned since then, I always enjoy anything he makes me, and this was no exception. Yum! Tea could be full and delicious, even if it wasn’t purple and didn’t taste like KapriSun.

I remember this tea fondly, if only because it was my first ever. It’s amazing to look back and see how much I’ve grown.. and how many amazing teas I’ve been privileged to try since then. Instant magical powder is pretty fun sometimes, but how much more amazing is the natural magical brew I get from steeping whole leaves gong-fu-style?

Thank you for the introduction, Whittards. You sure were sweet to me.

This tea is amazing. It tastes wonderful when left to brew for a minute or two and then add milk. Not overpowering but a subtle blend of spices. I just love this tea and I am trying to find a stockist for this in Ireland or even to purchase online.

Can anyone help me out there ? I have checked whittards.com and it seems to be out of stock….

I recently discovered this in a Friends house and I am unable to find any shops in Ireland that stock this product.

Hmmm. When I opened the package, the smell was very strong but when brewed it lost almost all of this scent and I could really only taste the white tea. I am going to hold off rating this one until I had it a few more times.

I got through this entire box without ever feeling the need to blog it. So I guess it must be a bit non-descript. It’s fine for a teabag but nothing special

My first impression of this is actually quite good. It’s not really “tea” in my book. It’s an infusion or a tisane or whatever you want to call it and I don’t usually go for those. However, it’s quite pleasant, not disgustingly sweet, and has gone down very well with my housemates. Thanks Ellie!

I really have to be in the right mood for darjeeling, especially a poor quality teabag one like this. I’m not often in the right mood for this tea, but I’ve had it at work a bit, and that’s ok. I can’t really complain, because it’s teabag darjeeling and it’s not meant to be top of the range. So by that score it’s not at all bad. Just don’t expect a MightyLeaf taste or anything like that