First, let me ramble at how excited I am to find the WABI brand in a store besides Tea Emporium!! I had resigned myself to consuming a latte, but then I saw the tin and my craving did a 180. I was a tad disheartened that I can consume only 3 out of the 5 types they carry… but hey, looseleaf is making it mainstream baby! :)
Anyhow, the tea…
Meh.
At first I thought it was me, since the shop girl said she can’t stand EB and usually has to add mountains of sugar/milk- only not with this one. I was expecting a malty, complex beverage that would bid me pause while xmas shopping.
Not the case. Blech!… and then I remembered that EB has never impressed me. Low on the malt and just plain boring! So I added quite a bit of 2% (my standard) and yet it still tasted weak so I went for some 3%. Barely tolerable.
With some honey swirls, it was better. Ah well. I figured it would improve as the cup steeped. and it did, moderately. Weak, but better.
I thought to myself… I’ll take the bag out when it tastes just right. Sadly, that never happened. I ended up throwing the cup out with the bio-bag still in it :(
The profile was just so flat! a bit bolder than the average EB mind you. However, it was not malty at all(ok maybe a smidge), which is my main beef with these blends.
Would I buy it again? I’m not sure. It was expensive at $3.00 for the bag and I enjoyed it about as much as I do a Tim Horton’s cuppa… which is about half that in price. If there was no alternative available, I would certainly consider it.
Well, I’m glad to have tried it anyhow. I’d been eying the tins at the shop for awhile now and this is the one I would have splurged on first!
Profile
Bio
Let’s see… I’m a tea and workout fanatic, I work in HR, and most of my friends consider me to be an egg. White on the outside, Asian on the inside :)
-from philosophy to food, I love it all
Otherwise, what you see is what you get! I can be very straightforward and yet shy.
Also, I’ve started taking tea sommelier classes and it is an absolute blast! Well, so far I’ve only finished the first out of eight courses, but I am really looking forward to the next one.
Anyhow, if your curious as to how I rate things, this is how I work…
0-25
Like eating dirt, or some other unsanitary indelicacy that mentioning in my profile here would likely get me banned.
I don’t think I’ve found cause to banish a tea to the wasteland yet though so who knows what it’d inspire ;P
25-50
You know that expression “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”? I imagine drinking that water would be terrible enough to warrant this rating!
I’d never make my enemy drink this, but perhaps I’d throw it at them. Good thing I don’t have any enemies!
50-70
This is “tea”?? I tried finishing the cup… but my body rejected it. There may be others who enjoy this tea, but it’s beyond me!
70-80
I tried liking it, and I can almost get there! I certainly don’t hate it, but something is holding me back. Allergies? Men in white suits? who knows… certainly not me!
80-90
Lovely tea! Not my all time fave but close. I likely wouldn’t repurchase, but may decide to based on many factors: price, accessibility, whether it fills a “tea gap”, medicinal applications, and how often I crave it.
Every once in awhile I find the sweet spot that bumps these up to 90+. Those are the days I need to buy a lotto ticket!
90-95
Sweet Camellia! this is realllly good tea! Don’t talk to me until I’ve finished my cup…
95-100
Tea of the gods. I would do anything to get my hands on more of this liquid gold!
Location
Toronto (Mississauga, but I work in TO)
