What a clever tea! For those who don’t already know, Bad Wolf is a pop culture reference from the long running British tv show, Dr. Who. The Doctor’s companion in that series was named Rose. She was a street smart, brave, adventurous working-class British girl.
If you have seen the full Bad Wolf series, you know that Rose is no shrinking violet. (See what I did there?) So a tea named Bad Wolf can NOT be a foofy, princessy teatime blend. It has to be STRONG! But it has to have the essence of Rose, too, and the love that never, ever died.
Don’t go into this tea expecting a Victorian romance novel. They named it Bad Wolf, not Rose!
This is a bold black tea base with a hint of rose, the peppery kind of rose, running beneath. I have found that when rose flavor in tea is subtle, it tends to lend subtle sweetness rather than tasting full on floral. That’s the case with this tea for me. The lingering aftertaste is a little sweet, but not overly floral or cloying.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Description
Black floral rose tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Le Creme from The NecessiTeas. . . .
I know lots of people hate bergamot. They are easy to spot. They almost always refer to it as “blergamot.” You know who you are!
But lots of novice tea drinkers start with Earl Grey and its variations and consider it to be the pinnacle of fine English tea. It is often associated with crumpets and scones and clotted cream, with fine china and linen napkins and lofty classical music playing. Civilized and refined.
My opinion is somewhere in between. A good cup of Earl Grey is very relaxing to me. Citrus scents do seem to lift my spirits and make me smile, but if a cup of tea goes TOO lemon-y or sour, I am not a happy camper and the blerg gets tossed.
This Earl is essenced with bergamot, vanilla, and cream flavors, all on an organic black tea base. It is a very pretty tea with the blue cornflowers mixed in with the deep, rich looking tea leaves. It would be lovely to display on the table in a tea scoop, tea boat, or dainty cup.
Will it get tossed? Not on your life! It has a lovely, smooth, sweet flavor even with no sugar added, though if you like sugar in your tea, a little sprinkle would do no harm to this cup. The bergamot flavor is pretty mild, and the cream scent is right on top and very noticeable even while it is steeping. The vanilla adds sweetness and body.
And get this! I like the resteep even better! Woohoo!
Advertised as an afternoon tea, I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to have this for breakfast, as well. I think the only people who would object to that would be folks who like ultrastrength builder’s tea in the morning, but I can’t take that sort of manhandling in the a.m.
Though out of stock at the time of this writing, hopefully it will be back in stock soon. Otherwise, I might feel guilty about making you want some.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
Our Earl Grey Le Creme is a forgiving indulgence essenced with bergamot, vanilla and cream. Go ahead, treat yourself!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dimbula Tea from Zesta Tea. . . .
Dimbula Plantation teas are mostly grown around 5,000 to 6,000 feet on the island of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon. The different altitudes make a lot of difference in the taste of the tea grown, and teas typically retain the name of Ceylon tea, this one being further identified as a High Grown Broken Orange Pekoe or BOP. Orange Pekoe refers to the size of the leaves that were picked and therefore also their location on the branch, as tip leaves are smaller, and broken tells us that this isn’t whole leaf tea.
While whole leaf tea is usually more expensive, that doesn’t mean that broken leaf can’t be good. If it came from good leaf, it just becomes broken good leaves. It can mean you need a fine strainer, and it does mean there is more surface area and therefore, you need to cut your steep time short to prevent bitterness, but made properly, broken leaf teas can be quite delicious.
This tea has a hearty, classic tea scent and bold flavor. The citrus notes are high enough to tingle your nose when you sniff the steeped tea. The liquor is dark orange and medium bodied. It has a nice briskness and goes well with food. I drink almost all of my tea plain, and this one is palatable that way, but if you like milk and sugar in your tea, this one can certainly take it. It also makes a good iced sweet tea.
I would have no trouble serving this as a breakfast tea, but it also does duty in my house as an afternoon tea with sweets, which is how I think I most like to use it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zesta Tea
Description
Enjoy our regional tea packs featuring teas from five tea growing regions of Sri Lanka – Dimbula, Ruhuna, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Uva. This variety from such a small island is what made Ceylon tea famous – try it – from the low grown Ruhuna teas to the high grown Nuwara Eliya – a true journey in Ceylon tea, packaged in teabags for convenience and offered in a pine wood box. Perfect for gifting.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Tea With Jasmine from Taylors of Harrogate. . . .
My daughter has recently gone mad for Taylor’s of Harrogate Green Tea with Jasmine. When an opportunity came up to review it, how could I pass it up? I don’t do many tea bag teas, but I love jasmine and I want to see what all the fuss is about.
These bags are individually wrapped – a MUST for freshness, in my opinion – and when I turned the wrapper over to tear it, I saw prominently printed on the back, “We are a member of Ethical Tea Partnership.” Okay, points from the start!
The instructions say that for a perfect cup I should boil fresh water and let cool for one minute, then infuse for one to two minutes. Since I have a variable temp kettle, I heated the water to 175F and infused for two minutes because I am a brave soul.
Steeped in my biggest, fanciest mug, I am not disappointed. I am being treated to an event of spa-like proportions. This is not green tea scented with artificial jasmine flavor, but rather green tea leaves that have been mixed with jasmine flowers and left to infuse with the flavor overnight.
I understand why my daughter loves this one and buys it in bulk now. It is easy to make at work, eco-friendly packaging, and it is a really decent cup of tea. It has just enough of the green tea flavor to make it a nice pairing with lunch, and enough sweetness and smoothness to make it very drinkable on its own. It lacks the sour taste that so many bagged jasmine greens have. This is a great choice for easy to make, easy to drink tea. No sweeteners needed, and doesn’t need milk to soften any astringency.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Taylors of Harrogate
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Heritage Hard Water Tea from The Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co.. . .
Here is an idea that was quite unique to me, though having looked into I see there are other companies doing this as well! This company is blending tea with the water of a specific area in mind, but I suppose that anyone who uses tap water for tea in a hard water area would benefit from buying a special blend like this, especially in an office where it would hard to keep spring water around.
First, this is true British builder’s tea. It is a blend of teas from Assam, India, Kenya, and Rwanda. It is listed as broken orange pekoe and was very fine when I measured it into my strainer. I was worried that a lot of tea dust was going to pass right through the mesh and leave me with bitter tea, but when I lifted the basket to check for dust in the pot, there was none. Hooray!
Since it was so fine, I only steeped for two minutes even though it says you can go as long as three. At two minutes, this is plenty strong enough for me. In fact, it was so dark it was scary! It almost looked thick when I poured it, so I warned my guests that it might be a tad strong. When they sipped, they said they liked it and had no problem with it. Nice!
I did not have to add milk, but it could very easily have handled it. I did not use sugar, but again, if that is how you take your breakfast tea you could easily enjoy it with sugar.
If you live in a hard water area and find that you water is keeping your tea from tasting “up to snuff”, and you are a fan of good, old-fashioned British builder’s tea, here is one for you to try. Tingle to the tongue, boot to the derriere, and out the door with you! Face the day!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co.
Description
This blend of strong black teas has been mixed for your local tap water. Living in hard water areas can affect the taste of tea and the water, ensuring that you get a proper cup of tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!