Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Darjeeling
Where to Buy: English Tea Store
Tea Description:
Mim Estate from English Tea Store: This is a 2nd flush Darjeeling, grown at 6800 feet above sea level. The tea has a distinctive Muscatel character, with a hint of currant and an almost wine-like taste. It come from Mim in northern India, where you can see the tip of mount Everest on a clear day.
Due to the superb taste and limited production of Darjeelings, these teas are quite expensive. There are many who wish to take advantage of the high prices and as a result there are Darjeeling blends. Regrettably these blends are quite often very poor copies of Darjeeling and in some cases only contain 10% true Darjeeling teas; the balance made up from other production areas. A true estate Darjeeling is your guarantee of quality and genuine Darjeeling tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mim Estate from English Tea Store, while good, is not my all time favorite Darjeeling from Mim Estate. I do love the English Tea Store and have been very happy with most all of my purchases there. I won’t try to suggest I know the difference between one tea from Mim Estate to the next. To me if the tea comes from Mim they should all be comparable right? Perhaps not. This is an area of my tea education I need to do more research on.
I know that English Tea Store states that they are selling a true darjeeling and I have no doubt of the accuracy of that as I have found the English Tea Store to be reputable and having excellent customer service. Perhaps I have been spoiled by the impostors and simply prefer those or perhaps I have been very blessed to have some beyond excellent darjeeling. Whatever the case may be I find this Mim Darjeeling to be good, very good, but not excellent.
Now please, don’t get me wrong, this tea is quite good! It is robust, has the muscatel note, but I would prefer a bit stronger on the muscatel. I have also found some Darjeeling to be somewhat peachy in flavor and I adore that note, which this tends to be lacking. There is just the right amount of astringency however which is notable as a positive.
It is a smooth tea, perfect for morning or afternoon with some tea sandwiches. I am having a cucumber sandwich with mine today and it is lovely. I think however the reason it is so lovely with my sandwiches is because it is fairly bland and does not compete with my otherwise mellow food flavors.
Overall this is noticeably darjeeling and a good robust cup with the right amount of astringency, a mellow muscatel note, and a typical darjeeling drying effect, excellent for food pairings, but I don’t think I would enjoy it as much as a tea to sip on without a meal.
Vanilla Cream from The English Tea Store
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The English Tea Store
Tea Description:
A delicious synergy between excellent high grown tea, rich fresh vanilla and a lovely cream character.
This is a naturally flavored black tea. We use natural high grown Ceylon tea from estates at more than 5500 feet above sea level. We add natural flavor to give a clean true taste with no chemical aftertaste.
Packaged in a vapor proof triple layer bag. Product of Sri Lanka.
98% or more of this tea comes from estates that are part of the Ethical Tea Partnership. The ETP is an initiative started within the tea industry to monitor and regulate living and working conditions on estates around the world.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Another fine tea from a friend at Steepster.
A creamy delight. I find this tea not to be excessively creamy or excessively vanilla flavored – meaning – not artificially flavored. There is such a distinct difference between teas that are blended with natural ingredients and those that are not. It takes time to appreciate the difference I believe, I know it has for me. I can appreciate both types as there is a place for both types however when I get a tea this good that has no additives and is part of a Ethical Tea Partnership, I just swoon.
The mouthfeel is on the heavy side from the creamy flavor – more thick than heavy I suppose, as the tea base is nice and light yet bold enough to carry the “weight” of the cream and vanilla flavors.
I could see this taking very well to a milk or cream, as well as sugar if you cared to add more sweet to it but truly it does not need any of those elements whatsoever – its just perfect on its own.
Now for the record, this is not my all time favorite from The English Tea Store as they carry a couple of my perma stash teas such as Angel’s Dream and Lady Londonderry, however this is a very lovely tea and I am so thankful to have tried it!
Lady Londonderry from English Tea Store
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: English Tea Store
Tea Description:
Our Lady Londonderry Tea is a delightful afternoon tea with a malty floral flavor and hints of strawberry and lemon. This tea is made from black tea, dried orange, daisy white, and natural flavors. This tea is delicious hot or iced, and either way, your family and guests will feel like royalty!
Tea has been a British delicacy for hundreds of years. Royalty, lifestyle, and tea have long been connected. Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza brought the tradition of tea to Britain after she married Prince Charles II. She served it to her aristocratic friends at Court, and soon it became fashionable in London to have afternoon tea. With its light and elegant flavor, Lady Londonderry would have been a hit with ladies and gentlemen!
For the best brew, Lady Londonderry Black Tea should steep in water that has been brought to a rolling boil for 2-5 minutes.
50% or more of this tea comes from estates that are part of the Ethical Tea Partnership. The ETP is an initiative started within the tea industry to monitor and regulate living and working conditions on estates around the world.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea has pleased and delighted so many, just even judging on those I shared this tea with in tea swaps, everyone has commented back raving reviews, and good times shared with others and this tea! One lovely lady had a sweet tea party with her daughter and granddaughter, and this is the perfect tea for that! Lady Londonderry steeps to a really intense looking reddish brown cup which you would think by looking at it would really have a strong “in your face” flavor or be really robust but it’s a dainty tea. However it boasts such wonderful flavor offerings that it has also been enjoyed by the men I have shared it with as well! Now, if you are a male reading this and feel its too much of a girly tea for you, just simply order it as a gift for your wife or girlfriend and she will love you for it and you can sneak it from her!
Lady Londonderry is wonderful hot, and excellent iced it has such divine fruity and floral flavors in a rich base that does not get covered by all the added goodness!
While there is no added sweeteners to this tea, it is lightly sweet yet not so sweet that you could not add sweetener of your own, also it takes to milk or cream quite well!
You may not want to add any cream though as in my opinion it already has a sweet creamy flavor and mouthfeel! Add to that the berry notes, along with a light citrus taste, and the best silky malt base flavor that just floats around and dances playfully on your taste buds like butterflies in a garden of flowers.
When I first bought this tea and tried it, I clung to it ravenously! I was sure I would never want to share this tea – letting the cat out of the bag about just how good it is. Yes I wanted to be selfish and savor it all myself, but in time, I realized something this wonderful should not be kept to oneself. It was truly MEANT to be a tea to be shared with others. A tea deserving of everyone experiencing its loveliness. The Lady, as I call this tea, is perfection in a cup. She melds all of her qualities perfectly into this mysterious brew that everyone seems to get a slightly different taste from. Just like women, this tea is complex, but gentle, and LADY-like.
Its interesting that sometimes when reviewing teas, some of the most difficult to review are those that I adore so much. I believe that is because when I really love a tea it is because it is so unexplainable! Some things we just need to try for ourselves.
Lady Londonderry however has been one of my long time favorite teas and has a permanent place in my collection!
I also love the English Tea Store, their pricing is excellent, they have a wide array of tea ware, and treats, and their tea selection is amazing, not to mention the pricing is shockingly affordable! Some have reported that shipping is a little slower than most places but I feel that it is well worth the wait!
Tutti Fruity from English Tea Store
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: English Tea Store
Tisane Description:
This tea is blended to appeal to the taste of children. These teas can be enjoyed by children and adults alike – either hot or cold! Why not keep some in the refrigerator?
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I recently ordered some of this tea to give as a gift, and my friend was nice enough to share a bit of it with me so that I could try it too, since I hadn’t tried it before.
There are a lot of different fruits in this: apples, raisins, currants, and sweet orange peel. There is also hibiscus. As m0st of you know, hibiscus is not my favorite herb, but, I am hoping that there is enough other ingredients in this to keep me sipping.
After steeping for five minutes, the tisane is deep, ruby red. Hibiscus! Ack! Fortunately, though, the hibiscus does not contribute a lot of tartness to the cup, nor does it give off that syrupy texture (at least, it doesn’t after the five minutes steep time).
That is not to say that the tisane is not tart, because it is, but, it is a mild tartness that contrasts well with sweetness of the apple and raisin. I can also taste the rose in this, which is a really nice touch. It’s hard to pick out specific notes, the flavors all pretty much meld together to create a cup that is a little tart and a little sweet, fruity and a little flowery.
It’s a nice cup. Not something I’d drink daily, I’ll leave that to my neighbor!
