338 Tasting Notes
A slightly grassy tea given the blend of green tea leaves and lemongrass. It’s very smooth and refreshing – just the kind of tea that you would love to have after an invigorating spa treatment. I like the use of ginger oil instead of ginger pieces in this tea, as it adds a subtle note of spiciness and a touch of exoticness to the tea, without overshadowing the mellow flavour of the tea leaves. I spent my tea time today happily with a pot of this and a good book. Life is good :)
This is one of the 30 tea bags from Lupicia’s “The Book of Tea”! It’s the Christmas gift that I purchased for myself. :) Like all of Lupicia’s tea gifts, it has a gorgeous package, with the tea bags in different shades of rainbow! I had great difficulty deciding which tea to start with because I haven’t tried most of the teas in this gift set… but then I saw this. ROSE HIP TEA! “Tartness enhanced by hibiscus”, according to the description on the package! I knew it would be the perfect tea because I would not feel sorry AT ALL to see it go!
This tea had a ruby red colour when steeped. It’s truly beautiful, but it looked dangerous too. Even though I had given myself full psychological preparation beforehand, the tartness of hibiscus was still too much to take. :0 I totally agree with other reviewers – it tasted like tomato sauce, especially when it’s hot! It’s weird that something totally unrelated to tomato could taste so strikingly similar to it. Definitely not meant to be consumed as a beverage, in my opinion…
I am sure that after the tea has cooled it would be slightly more drinkable (in my experience, the tomato flavour will be less prominent), but if tea-drinking is supposed to be enjoyable, I just can’t see the point of forcing myself to finish the whole cup! I look forward to my next tea from The Book of Tea!
Preparation
I’ve just realized that no matter how much I like a flavoured tea, I tend to get tired of it within a week if I drink it every day. But pure peppermint is totally different. It is my favourite everyday tea, and it’s the only tea that I would crave for when I’ve had too much flavoured tea (yes, on a daily basis for a week I mean!). I guess that says how refreshing it is ;)
A delightful after-dinner surprise! I didn’t expect to find T2 tea in Hong Kong, not to mention in a hospital canteen! I love peppermint tea, especially after a dish of creamy risotto. As a peppermint tea, it is on the sweet side – makes me wonder whether it is really just peppermint or blended with a bit of spearmint. A refreshing cup of tea. And all of a sudden I miss T2 so much!
I finally opened my precious box of Milky Oolong purchased in Australia! It’s still as good as EVER. This time the tea even had an aroma resembling that of milk chocolate!! It’s just amazing. I am now officially a fan of milky oolong!
Preparation
Southern Cross is only available in Australia. It is one of the many tea souvenirs I bought for myself in Melbourne. It is super tangy. I have tied the bag containing the dry leaves with a rubber band and put it in the original tin. I then put the tin in my drawer and guess what, now I am overwhelmed by the aroma of passionfruit every time I open the drawer! I guess that says how much flavouring they have added to the tea… it’s really too much I think. Not to mention that I am getting fed up with the scent because it never goes away….
When steeped, the aroma is equally powerful – anyone who enters my office can tell I am having a fruity tea. Taste-wise, it is deceptively sweet and citrusy. I say “deceptively” because it’s actually rather spicy too, but the spiciness is masked to a large extent by the sweetness of marigold. I wasn’t aware of the piquancy until I sensed a mild tingle on my tongue and found my mouth getting drier and drier as I continued to drink the tea. I didn’t enjoy the sensation, and that’s why I am never a fan of spiced tea. Too bad… now I’ve learnt that eucalyptus is spicy!
This tea reminds me of Arctic Fire by T2 because they are both black tea scented with fruity flavours and cornflowers. Though my verdict is that it is no match to the dreamy Arctic Fire, which is subtly sweet and fragrant, non-spicy and with a floral undertone. Ooo, I am missing Arctic Fire so badly…
Preparation
A less impressive tisane from Messmer. The sweet apple and vanilla flavours are present in the thin-bodied liquor but too light! More or less like drinking scented water instead of tea, if you see what I mean. This is a tea bag so either the formula of the tisane is not quite right, or they have put too little ingredients in each bag…
