I have never been a fan of whisky. My step-dad likes it and so when a young me meandered up to the side of of my mom’s bed and looked at the glass of whisky on the night stand and then at my mom and then back at the glass and back at my mom, my mom had no qualms about giving me the okay to taste it. Why? Because I reacted in the very way she expected…I took the tiniest sip and then spat it out and yelled “EWWWWWW!!!” I did not like it then. I still do not like it now. So when a tea friend sent me a whole bunch of this Whisky tea by Whittard of Chelsea, I had no idea what I was going to do with it.
That is until the other day when my family made pulled pork, which required 2L bottles of coke. My mom bought the off-brand coke figuring it was going in the food and wouldn’t really matter thus no sense spending the extra money on actual Coca Cola. So when there was a bit leftover, we were unsure of what to do with it. I felt inspired and decided to use it in a teapop. That left me with the question of which tea to use and it was this one that came to mind.
I brewed up both a plain hot cup of the tea and a teapop. Both were steeped for 3 minutes in 200F water.
The hot cup is malty. Malty but brisk. The underlying flavor is dry, like alcohol. It is like a breakfast tea but with alcohol. Definitely not the tea for me. I like softer and more dessert-like flavors. Astringency and briskness with a touch of alcohol is just not for me. However, for those that like breakfast teas and whisky, this could be right up your alley.
As for the teapop, it’s more of the same but with the off-brand coke, it has a pretty strong medicinal quality. It latches on to the dryness and gives this a bit of a cough syrup element. Like cherry cough syrup but without the cherry.
This tea smelled good in the bag but ended up being quite the bust. I think that is more due to my personal tastes than a reflection on the tea. Plus, it was not helped by the off-brand coke flavor since I am a Coca Cola girl through and through. So while this was not good for me, I do see that it has potential for those that enjoy these flavors.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Whittard of Chelsea
Description
Specially for those who love a tipple, we’ve concocted a rich black tea laced with flavours of fine Scotch whisky, adding a highland fling of heather petals in true Scottish spirit. With its warm, rounded flavours and malty sweetness, this tea is as good as any hot-toddy – so you won’t be needing that hip flask after all…
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vanilla Caramel Chai/Tazo
A little while back the SororiTea Sisters shared teas in a traveling tea box. One of the sisters was kind enough to share several tea bags of Tazo’s Vanilla Caramel Chai. I grabbed a couple bags to try since vanilla and caramel are both flavors I usually love and lately I have been trying more and more chais and enjoying them.
Tazo’s Vanilla Caramel Chai is a black tea with cinnamon, licorice root, ginger, black pepper, cloves, and natural flavors. The licorice root has me a bit nervous but hopefully the other flavors hide the typical cloying sweetness of the licorice root.
Normally I would make chais as a latte but with only two tea bags, I didn’t think I had enough leaf for that. Consequently, I am trying the tea plain first but may add a splash of milk to get that latte creaminess.
Sipping on it now I am happy to report that the licorice root is nicely masked. There is a lot of cinnamon in the scent of the steeped tea which transfers over to the taste. I also get a ribbon of clove running through the sip. It is sweet and though I can smell vanilla caramel, nothing distinctly reflects that in flavor other than sweet.
I added a little bit of milk and unfortunately it doesn’t do much for taste. This tea is still cinnamon heavy though there is perhaps a bit less clove now.
Some people don’t like too much spice from their chai blends and if you are one of those people, this could be a nice option for you. As for me, I think spice is the whole point of having a chai and this falls short. I would happily forgive the lack of spice if it was in favor of highlighting the vanilla caramel but this falls short there too. It’s not bad per se but there is nothing all that great either.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tazo Tea
Description
How do you make a great cup of chai tea taste even better? You add rich notes of vanilla, delectable caramel, and the classic spices of chai into the boldest black teas. It’s a sweet twist on a spicy favorite. It’s not just better. It’s better-er.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
photo credit: Tazo Tea
Two Seasons/teakruthi
teakruthi is a company that focuses on Ceylon teas. Personally, I did not think I was a fan of Ceylon teas since I always found them to be rather tannic and astringent. However, teakruthi was wonderful and shared generous samples of their teas in exchange for honest reviews. I have tried several of their teas now and I am happy to report that they have really changed my outlook on Ceylons. While I have not loved all of their teas, some have been quite enjoyable. In the enjoyable category is a blend called Two Seasons.
Two Seasons is one of a few blends that teakruthi carries as their focus is mostly on plain teas. Two Seasons is a mix of Pure Ceylon Black tea, Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (FBOP), ginger root, and peach. I steeped the tea per teakruthi’s recommended steeping parameters: 3 minutes in 95C water.
Drinking the tea, Two Seasons definitely seems like a fitting name. It’s got warming ginger notes that are flavorful but not very spicy and to balance that, it has a soft fruitiness from the peach. As such, the tea captures both flavors that represent Winter and Summer. The flavors are present but mild which allows the full/medium-bodied base to come through as well. The base tea is floral, which the peach plays off nicely. Also, It can be a touch astringent at the end of the sip but not overly so.
This tea is a nice bridge between flavored and unflavored teas. While it definitely has flavoring to it, it’s not overwhelming which allows you to appreciate the base tea as well. Softer flavoring also means you are less likely to tire of it quickly, which makes this easy to drink over and over again.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: teakruthi
Description
Mild in flavour, the high- and medium-grown black tea perfectly supports the delicate flavour infusion of ginger and peach. Hand-selected from the Sri Lankan wetlands on which it grows, the ginger in this tea boasts a subtle spiciness that harmonises with the flavour of the black tea. The sweet flavour of peach brings balance and peace to the spiciness of the black tea and ginger blend. Brewing to a deep copper in your cup, this tea is brimming with a tantalising blend of spicy, floral, and woody notes that are exclusively designed to exhilarate your taste buds while bringing peace to your mind.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Easy Cold Brew with Hario Cold Brew Bottles. . .
It’s summer in Ontario, Canada and the days are long, hot and often disgustingly humid. That means cool tea is all the rage. However, iced isn’t the only way to cool your tea down. Cold brewing is a great way to infuse tea into everything from water to milk to lemonade to wine. The sky is the limit and with these cold brew bottles from Amazon, cold brewing is SO EASY!
Prior to owning this kind of bottle, I used to add tea to water bottles and when I was ready to drink them, I’d have to get a filter or gravity steeper to strain out the blend. That meant getting multiple things dirty and often creating a lot more waste than necessary. Then one glorious day Bird and Blend Tea Co had a great sale and a free shipping deal which made this type of bottle from them affordable for a Canadian. It arrived and I was in love because the filter in the lid made enjoying my cold brew so simple. No additional pieces to get dirty, just pour and go. Plus, the wine bottle-like lid shape made pouring a breeze.
Unfortunately, I’m a bit of a butterfingers and the bottle from Bird and Blend met a sad end when I dropped it and it shattered. I was spoiled though and couldn’t be without my cold brew bottles. Ordering from Bird and Blend wasn’t an option between exchange rates, shipping, and the price. That is why I was so happy when I found the same bottle on amazon.ca! And not just the same bottle, but I also found it in a smaller size and a larger size (which was plastic!). I bought all three sizes and have been cold brewing up a storm ever since.
Like I said, the bottles make cold brewing so easy. Just drop in the tea, top it with a liquid and wait for it to infuse. When you’re ready to drink, just pour it out and you’re ready to drink. The filter also separates from the lid making for easy cleaning of each piece.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I do have two minor complaints. Complaint #1 is that depending on the size, these only come as glass bottles and if you’re anything like me, you could end up breaking them. And complaint #2 is that the filter is not as fine as the filters I’m used to so some tea particles might sneak through and end up in your glass. With that said, these cons don’t even come close to the pros of these bottles. Plus, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, getting your hands on these is just a few clicks away!
Want to Know More About This Bottle?
Leaf Type: Teaware
Where to Buy: Amazon
**please note, by purchasing this item through the above picture- you will be participating in the SororiTea Sisters Amazon Affiliate program and help support SororiTea Sisters’ mission to support tea companies**
Nepali Breakfast/Nepal Tea
When prepping breakfast, I learned that I can’t use my toaster oven and kettle at the same time. That was an interesting discovery that made for a two-step breakfast: bagel first (since the toaster oven was already on) and tea second.
Another discovery: Nepali Breakfast by Nepal Tea is not a straight black tea like I thought it was. When I opened the package, I immediately got a big whiff of masala spices which surprised me. Upon closer inspection of the package, it turns out the package says black tea + spices so I guess this confusion is just on me. Oops.
Anyways, when brewing this up, I did so according to the company suggestion on the package which is to steep the tea in boiling water for 5 minutes. That is against my usual steeping parameters but hopefully Nepal Tea knows best.
After steeping the tea I brought up the Nepali Breakfast page on the Nepal Tea website only to notice that the site says to use not quite boiling water for 4-5 minutes. I also noticed on the Nepal Tea website they recommend steeping this with milk and/or sugar. Again, I did not see this until after I steeped the tea so I did not do this.
Trying the tea, the first thing I noticed is how much sugar probably would have helped this tea. I normally don’t add anything to my tea (unless I am having a latte or smoothie, etc.) but this tea is more bland than the scent of the dry leaf would have you expect. I think perhaps sugar might coax out those spices nicely since nothing really stands out. With that said, despite the fairly harsh steeping parameters, there is no bitterness or astringency here. Mostly just some cinnamon, a touch of clove, maybe a little pepper and a smooth black tea that doesn’t really impart much flavor.
I think this tea has potential but for me it fell short. The smell of the tea really had me thinking I was in store for a punch of spice but barely got a tap on the shoulder.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Nepal Tea
Description
Start the day the Nepalese way with our unique Masala Chiyah.
A blend of Orthodox, CTC teas and our special masala spice mix. Experience the color of CTC, flavors of Orthodox with the ‘zing’ of the home-made spice mix.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!