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This was another tea I had the opportunity to try while I had Afternoon Tea at the Empress. Straight up, this Earl Grey lacked balance. The steeped tea itself was very aromatic thanks to the bergamot, but taste-wise, the bergamot was a little weak. And the tea base was too astringent for my liking. Perhaps they steeped it longer than I would have liked, who knows, but the astringency took everything over. It’s the kind of astringency that leaves an almost dry feeling in the mouth.

A disappointment, but there’s no loss, quite frankly. There are much better Earl Greys out there that brighten my day.

I had Afternoon Tea at the Empress the other day and they serve you this signature tea. It was a really cool experience, but to be honest, definitely isn’t worth the money doing it again.

I had this both black and with tea and sugar. Either way, I couldn’t taste any of the Assam in the blend, however, the Ceylon and Keemun stood out the most. I’m writing this from memory, but luckily they give you a box of this tea to take home, so next time I try it, I can always reevaluate it.

This tea takes the additives really well. It’s exactly the kind of tea I like to drink with milk and sugar. Kind of like a Tim Hortons steeped tea double double, but without the cardboard flavour you get from the TH. My mom had Afternoon Tea with me and she said that it reminded her of when she was a little girl, her grandmother used to serve her tea with milk and sugar, and it tasted exactly like this. So this tea definitely earns points for bringing back good memories.

I feel so bad that I’ve been so busy exploring this glorious island to check out everyone’s tasting notes. I finally have the time to relax with this cup of tea.

The chamomile is so incredibly fluffy and bright. And it smells like a bright, almost green chamomile. Not to mention, there is almost a gentle creaminess in the background. It’s barely there.

I know this is just chamomile, so big whoop, right, but it really does taste lovely. Probably the best chamomile tea I’ve ever had. Granted, because every other chamomile tea that I’ve tasted came from a bag full of crushed up, likely older buds.

It’s sunny, crisp, and oh so fresh. I find that some lower quality chamomile can smell and taste on the medicinal side, but that’s not going on here at all. Every sip blossoms.

If this didn’t taste so good, I’d totally steep a strong batch and rinse my hair with it.

Yay, I finally moved to the west coast. Now, this calls for some Murchie’s. I just got back from the store with a few one ounce pouches. Haven’t had Earl Grey Cream in a while, and have been craving it like crazy lately, so this was a must.

Quite different from all of the other Earl Grey Creams that I’ve tried. The bergamot is very light here. The steeped tea definitely smells like there is more bergamot in it than there really is. And instead of a creamy vanilla I usually get from other brands, this tastes like it has caramel instead. My taste buds don’t know what to make of this combination. I made sure to steep this for only three minutes since I was worried about bitterness. Seems like a good time length for it.

The aftertaste reminds me of a caramel candy or something. The bergamot lingers too but it’s gentle. I prefer Earl Greys that don’t shy away from the bergamot, although this one is very smooth and gentle, safe.

When this first came out, I loved it. A much better option than pop, or other bottled iced teas such as Nestea or Brisk, and I really enjoyed the sweetness coming from the honey, which was noticeable.

I picked one up for about 88 cents the other week, and seeing that it’s been around 34°C, I thought busting this out would be appropriate.

Definitely sweeter for me nowadays, but it still does a great job at cooling down from the sun rays of death. I think I like the one with apple a bit more, but ultimately, if you like adding stuff like honey or sugar to your teas, this may not be too sweet for you anyway. And come on, it’s cheap like whoa.

I tried this as my last free beverage at the hotel, as a double double too (two creams, two sugars). Steepsterites have heard me rave in the past about a local chai bar that makes the best chai ever, and how everything else mega pales in comparison, so I was expecting this to crash and burn.

It so did not crash and burn at all. Way better than expected. Usually the chai you get at restaurants taste slightly bitter and extremely watered, or even milked (?), down. Here, I was able to distinctly taste cinnamon and liquorice. Very nice combination. The liquor looked pure white. I kept steeping and steeping it, trying to draw out as much flavour as possible, and despite the white colour, which led me to believe it would be weak, it was like drinking a creamy cinnamon candy.

It doesn’t sweep me off my feet, but it’s decent. TH spicy teas in general seem the most promising.

I’m staying in a hotel for a couple days and during your stay, you get a free beverage and pastry from the Tim Horton’s downstairs, so time for some free tea.

Yesterday, I tried this because I wanted something mellow, and didn’t feel like pumping myself with caffeine. Honestly, I haven’t tried any higher quality chamomile teas. Up until now, it’s been random tea bags at restaurants and family’s, so I don’t know how bad or good this is supposed to be for chamomile tea.

All I know is it smelled like chamomile and tasted like chamomile. Pretty straight forward. Maybe I would have wanted a bit more depth. I definitely have had better. Make me want to go out and try some loose leaf stuff.

I tried this as a tea latte earlier since I couldn’t think of what to order, and Earl Grey is usually a safer way to go.

It was alright. It misses the liveliness that other Earl Greys have. Usually, the bergamot bursts like a ray of sunshine but here, it’s a little dull. I just simply left the tea bag in my cup since the milk was really overpowering the tea and I was hoping to achieve more flavour but alas, leaving it in did nothing.

Not horrible, but not memorable nor reorder- or purchase-worthy either.

Oy, is it ever hot outside. Drinking hot tea in this weather is borderline torture, but since I finally got this in the mail, I just had to try it out and see what the rave is all about.

Normally, I’m not a fan of pu-erh. I know it’s an acquired taste. I’ve tried it several times in the past and I just didn’t care for the earthiness, or even dirtiness, of the flavour. But I guess it goes with the territory since I don’t care for super earthy essential oils too, like patchouli. But green pu-erh! That’s a first for me, and this sounded a lot more promising.

The smell of both the tuocha and the steeped tea doesn’t remind of sticky rice, but more of salted popcorn, like when my grandma would oil pop some, add some salt, throw it in a brown paper bag, and give that to me. I got my mom to smell it too and right away, it reminded her of tortilla chips. So we’re both getting corn rather than rice here.

It tastes saltier to me too. Not as popcorny as the smell, but it’s like a salted starch. It’s way mellower than any other pu-erh I’ve tried. I’m getting a fuller, richer mouthfeel than most other teas that I’ve tried. As the tea cools down, the salt comes out a little more too. It’s like salted butter on my tongue.

Overall, there is something very wholesome about this tea, like drinking a warm bowl of carbs. I’m not rating this yet because I’m not sure what to think of it. I like it, but I’m just not sure how much I like it yet. So glad I’ve been able to snag some before CTG closes its doors.

I’ve prepared this tea in two ways: hot and cold-steeped.

First off, the dry leaf is pretty. Colourful from the various dried blossoms and petals. The aroma is deliciously dark, like black currant jam.

Hot, I steeped this for not quite three minutes at approximately 70°C. The smell of the steeped tea is full on black currant. When it comes to the taste, it’s simple, yet elegant. Mostly black currant, but the delicate white tea base comes through a bit. The whole experience of this tea, from the first sip to the last, is great. It leaves a delicate aftertaste of black currant, sweetened blackcurrant. I’m sure the cornflowers are lending a sweetened touch to the currants here. The smell and the taste bring me back to my favourite beverage while I was living in Sweden: black currant sparkling mineral water. Do I ever miss that stuff.

Cold-steeped, this smells way more heavy on the white tea than the blackcurrant. I can barely (I seriously just subconsciously wrote “berry” and was about to add the “ly” to it) smell the currants at all. My previous experience with cold-steeping white teas hasn’t been so swell. They tend to turn a little bitter for me, so the aroma here kind of scared me.

But, it tastes fantastically cold-steeped as well. A perfect balance between the white tea base and the currants. Very refreshing for the hot weather we’ve been experiencing over here. Oh dear, I’m sure if I added some club soda to this, it would make a reasonable facsimile for the Ramlösa mineral water.