Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Fortnum & Mason
Tea Description:
This blend of Indian and China teas is also perfumed with the delicate aroma of orange blossom to produce a subtle, floral flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
So this review is for the bagged version of this one; and dry it doesn’t smell like a lot. I don’t really know why but my first thought was “Fresh Linens” and then just simply “Fresh” when smelling, even though I couldn’t really identify anything in particular flavour wise.
Steeped up there’s something REALLY appealing about the smell; it’s just a tiny bit fruity and really, really floral. I know this is supposed to be orange/orange blossoms so I’m not really ‘surprised’ per say, but it’s a lot better than I expected. I really hope the steeped smell carries over into the taste! Also, I should point out that orange blossoms are actually my favourite flower and have been since I was in highschool and had to read the screenplay for Federico Garcia Lorca’s play ‘The Blood Wedding’. However, despite that, I’ve never actually seen one in person let alone smelled one so I don’t have a lot of familiarity (or really any) with how they should taste.
I actually didn’t like the first few sips of this; it seemed a little harsh and perfumey. However, once it cooled down a little bit the flavours seemed to calm down as well and I got really into this one! I don’t taste anything actually like orange and I don’t know if I should be – do orange blossoms actually smell like oranges? I wouldn’t think so. The description for this one is kind of unclear as well: it says “scented with orange” do they mean the fruit or the flower?
What I do taste is this really aromatic and fresh floral note that reminds me of rose, but not rose. I want to describe it as a combination of my Grandma’s perfume and roses on steroids – in a good way on both fronts! It’s quite sweet and soothing. It’s making me feel like, ugh, I don’t know quite how to phrase it? The simile that springs to my mind is “Innocent young adult discovering her first love through a summer romance”. It’s like Nicholas Sparks version of tea! I’m totally in love with this blend! I need more!
Camellia Rose Black Flowering Tea from McQuarrie’s Tea & Coffee Merchants
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black/Flowering
Where to Buy: McQuarrie’s Tea & Coffee Merchants
Tea Description:
An exquisite medium body taste profile. A smooth cup with hints of fruit and soft rose notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Picked up a single bloom of this one at McQuarrie’s (my local, privately owned loose leaf store) when I was there earlier in the month. It cost about $1.50 if I remember correctly – $2 tops. It’s been a little while since I had a bloom tea, and when I was skimming the selection they offers this was the only one I noticed with a black base, so I figured I’d give it a shot since blooms with black bases don’t seem to be a super common thing. Like I usually do with bloom/flowering teas, I made it in my 25 oz. mason jar from DT so I could see it clearly. I apologize that the pictures I took are pretty crude; my options were webcam or cell phone, and neither are the highest quality…
Aesthetically speaking this was pretty; the black tea when fully spread out did look a little frayed and tattered, but the flower in the center was really pretty. It’s hard to see in the pictures, but it was a little pinker than they’d lead you to believe. A lot of the lavender ‘woven’ in place also got loose as well and ended up as floaty bits at the top of the mason jar.
This was actually pretty decent as far as bloom teas go though; since a lot of the lavendar broke off and was drank by me early on it didn’t get a chance to get super strong/perfumey and instead just imparted a nice light, but still present flavour. Other strong flavours were malt, stewed fruit and raisin from the black base and then quite a bit of rose from the actual rose in the blend. It tied in together pretty well. If I was a fan of raisins I think I’d have personally liked it a little bit better. There was a nice mix between flavours contributed by the tea itself and the additional floral ingredients. Given most bloom teas are just a pretty aesthetic this had some solid flavour to match.
It was a bit bitter by the end; but given that I drank it during an hour and a half movie and it was essentially steeping the entire duration of the movie I think it held up incredibly well. I know McQuarrie’s sources almost all of their teas from different companies, but this one isn’t listed like they usually do – so maybe it is one of the few teas they carry that are actually their own blends.
If that’s true, than it’d definitely be harder for most people to get a hold of since it’s a local store (with pretty steep shipping prices for delivery outside of Saskatoon) – but I do think it’s worth a try! However, if I had to guess where they probably sourced it from I’d wager Metropolitan Tea Company, since that’s where most of the flowering blends they carry seem to be from.
Summer Solstice Herbal Tea from Tealux
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tealux
Tea Description:
Summer solstice is the name for the mythical night of the 21st of June ‘ the shortest night of the year. Midsummer is often described as a pause in-between a change in nature and provides us with the opportunity to pause for a moment in order to align ourselves with the energy changes of the natural forces. We have united the taste of ripe sun fruits and fresh herbs with the Swedish midsummer tradition of blossoms, in order to keep the rays of sun a little while longer in your cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s not quite the Summer Solstice yet, but the weather is definitely getting warmer! Perhaps that’s why this particular blend really spoke to me today. It’s hard to tell from the description exactly what you’re going to get, so I jumped right in and brewed up a cup. The first thing of note is the size of the fruit pieces contained in this blend. There are whole raspberries, generous slices of freeze-dried strawberry, and large pieces of apple, pineapple and papaya (about 1 inch square.) There are smaller pieces of hibiscus, small flakes of nettle leaves, and a scattering of sunflower blossoms. The blend as a whole is bright and colourful – very summery-looking. It smells quite rich and fruity, rather in the manner of fruit cake.
I used approximately 2 tsp of leaf, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. It’s by no means easy to measure, due to the large leaf size, but I did my best! The resulting liquor is golden brown, and the scent is mildly fruity – I’m picking up blackberry and coconut primarily.
To taste, the raspberry and strawberry are a lot more prominent than I thought they might be. They’re juicy and natural-tasting, sweet initially and then a little tart. The more “tropical” flavours develop in the mid-sip; a lot of coconut, a hint of pineapple, and a slight pepperiness from the papaya. It’s a slightly odd combination, like two halves of two different teas have been unexpectedly brought together. It’s not unpleasant, but the transition from summer berries to tropical fruit is a little jarring. The fruit flavours linger well into the aftertaste, and I can detect a splash of blackberry at this point. It’s tart and a little sour, but again incredibly juicy, and I could see this working well with the initial strawberry/raspberry combination. Somehow, though, it’s not quite what I wanted after the tropical explosion that preceded it.
I quite like this one, purely for it’s accurate fruit flavours and sheer juciness. It’s a great thirst quencher on a warm day. I would have preferred it to be either berry or tropical, though, rather than both. The two flavour sets aren’t a brilliant match to begin with, and nothing is gained when they have to compete with each other for dominance. Still, it’s a pleasing cup on the whole, and I can imagine it working well iced in the warmer months to come.
Girlie Grey Black Tea from Jeeves & Jericho
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Jeeves & Jericho
Tea Description:
Now for something completely spectacular: our very own Girlie Grey blend. It’s a medium-bodied black loose leaf Assam tea with pretty rose buds and slivers of dried lemon pieces.Girlie Grey is a delicious dance of flavours with a decadent vanilla sweetness contrasted with a zesty citrus taste. It’s both a visual and gastronomic extravaganza…a boudoir in a cup!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I tried this Girlie Grey Black Tea from Jeeves & Jericho once a couple of years ago and after trying it that one time, I knew I had to try some more. Thanks to an online tea friend, I have that opportunity!
This is wonderful! It’s a delightful twist on the classic Earl Grey. The black tea base is an Assam tea and it’s rich and malty. I like the strength of this base, it’s bold and solid without being too aggressive. It’s not bitter or overly astringent. It has a light sweetness to it that interacts well with the notes of vanilla – creating a sweet, creamy, almost caramel-y sort of taste.
The tangy bergamot is softened by the vanilla and there is just a hint of tartness to this from the lemon. The rose adds a soft floral note that accentuates the natural floral tones to the bergamot in a pleasing way. It all comes together nicely.
Two thumbs up for this one!
Focus Green Tea from NudiTea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: NudiTea
Tea Description:
Clear your cloudy mind with our steamy FOCUS blend. Rare and ancient Japanese Sencha is blended with a sprinkling of passionfruit flowers and marigolds creating an intoxicating and flavoursome cup. With a delectable blend of natural caffeine extracts, it’s a better alternative to coffee and energy drinks. FOCUS won’t give you wings but it will help you fly through the day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this Focus Green Tea from NudiTea is extraordinarily fragrant! It smells amazing! Like wow, can I get this scent in a bar of soap or perhaps a wax tart that you melt to make the whole room smell like that! It’s strongly floral without smelling like a flower shop, because there are lovely notes of pineapple that balance the flowery notes. Lovely!
The brewed tea has a softer aroma but otherwise smells quite similar – beautiful floral notes with notes of pineapple.
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch. I measured two bamboo scoops of the loose leaf tea into the basket of the tea maker, and 500ml of freshly filtered water into the kettle. Then I set the parameters: 175°F for 2 minutes.
It’s a really tasty blend! The green tea is sweet and has a nice creamy texture to it. I like that the texture is light but there is a soft creamy feel to it. It doesn’t taste sharp or bitter, it’s sweet, lightly buttery with some grassy notes.
I taste passion fruit. The way the description is worded, it seems that it’s passion fruit flowers … but I’m tasting passion fruit. Sweet, luscious passion fruit! Yum! I also get a hint of pineapple from this. Just a hint.
As far as the floral notes go, I taste the sweetness of the rose and mallow flowers, and I taste the sharp sunflower notes.
The fruit and the floral notes are pretty evenly paired – neither is really stronger than the other. The fruit is sweet and with just a whisper of tangy flavor while the floral notes add a hint of exotic flavor to it and a touch of distinct flower sweetness.
Overall, this is a pleasant cuppa – it’s sweet but not in a cloying way. It’s got a nice layered flavor: layers of flower are the top notes with the middle notes of juicy passion fruit and the undertone of Sencha.
My one criticism – if you want to call it that – would be the addition of the chamomile to this blend. Why chamomile? Chamomile tends to be a relaxing herb, not one that I associate with being focused and alert. I don’t really taste a lot of chamomile in this, maybe once in a while I might pick up on a honey-like flavor that’s quite chamomile-ish but it still is an ‘odd’ ingredient in a tea that is to support a sense of “Focus.”
