338 Tasting Notes
Berry tea! I have several Raspberry Nectar tea infusers which came in the Dolce Vita Ribbon Box. I have been avoiding them for a whole year because I anticipate that the tea will be deep red in colour and taste very tart – cos there’s hibiscus on the list of ingredients! Today I finally give it a try and I have been proved to be right! :( I guess the rather extreme tartness is due to hibiscus + extra citric acid (god knows why they added citric acid?). I am so not going to buy any tea with hibiscus again…
Preparation
The name is self-explanatory: it’s the kind of tea that the English drinks every day. It’s probably not a memorable tea to most people, yet to me its familiar strong taste brings back so much memories of the UK: college days, tea time, trips, etc. A shame that I have no milk at home because this tea is truly best with milk!
Preparation
It’s almost 10pm but I am having English Breakfast! The dry leaves had such an enticing aroma that I decided to try out this tea caddy despite the risk of sleeplessness. This tea has a very lovely and natural aroma. I don’t know how to describe it – it smells sweet, a bit fruity, a bit flowery, and maybe even a bit caramel-y or chocolatey… my description is probably not accurate but I hope all these nice adjectives can give you some idea of how good it smells! :P I guess that’s simply the aroma of quality Ceylon tea. It amazes me that even plain black tea can taste so complicated and fascinating! I love love love this tea!
Preparation
Another Ginza special tea from Lupicia and is a twin of Bonne Nuit :)
I am so crazy about this tea that I am writing this review before I finish the first cup! It is the best chocolate tea that I’ve tasted so far! Many chocolate teas smell lovely but they don’t have much chocolate flavour in the tea. But this tea is DIFFERENT because it has real cocoa nibs in it! It has the dreamy aroma of chocolate truffle and tastes exactly like sinful dark chocolate rum truffle. So sweet, so yummy… a wonderful substitute for real chocolates for anyone on diet :P . A winter must-have!
Preparation
Bonne Nuit can only be found in the Ginza (Japan) store of Lupicia. Thanks my dear cousin Roger for getting me this! :)
This tea has the aroma and flavours of berries and grapes. The fruity notes are strong and clearly overpower the taste of the tea leaves. I should have followed Lupicia’s suggestion and drunk it iced, because it really tastes like a fruit cocktail! It would be a refreshing summer party drink when iced. And if you drink it hot – just imagine drinking a hot fruit cocktail – it is not entirely unfeasible but well, a bit strange after all. These days I have been thinking of buying Tea Forte’s brewing pitchers for iced tea, and now I have made up my mind to do so because this tea needs them! ;) Will update after I have tried this tea iced!
Preparation
This tastes exactly like Coco Truffle (also by Tea Forte) minus the cacao. It has the mildly spicy aroma of cinnamon and a nutty flavour. I am surprised that it tastes just as good as Coco Truffle despite the much simpler ingredients. Tea Forte has more impressive teas for sure, but this is a comforting tea after an exhausting day of work. :)
Preparation
This is an interesting tea. It’s not as chocolatey as I have hoped, but it’s definitely nutty. :) Normally I stay away from tea with spices like cloves, cardamom and fennel as they tend to overwhelm the flavours of other ingredients, but the cacao in this tea has kept all these spices in control, giving a balanced, mellow and smooth taste. I won’t recommend this as a dessert tea as it’s not sweet enough for the purpose, but this is worth a try if you are bored and looking for something unique ;P
