Tea At The Empress

The Fairmont Empress Hotel is a downtown landmark here in Victoria, BC, and it is known around the world for its famous "Afternoon Tea". Having lived here my whole life, it might be surprising that I have never been to the Empress for tea, but the $58/person price is probably why I have never been (plus, there is the idea that tea at the Empress is what the tourists come here to do!). I never thought I would ever get around to reviewing the Empress' tea collection, but a coworker of mine happened to go for tea and came home with a box of 10 teabags of the Empress blend. Now, this coworker of mine is allergic to caffeine (poor lady!) and therefore cannot drink the tea she was given, so she passed it on to me, hoping that I would enjoy it.

From the Empress' website:

 The Empress blend is a selection of seasonal, quality teas, created exclusively for The Fairmont Empress by the Metropolitan Tea Company. With components from Assam (thick malty and full bodied), Kenya (floral-like flavour and a golden coppery infusion), South India (superb fruity and sprightly flavour), Ceylon (airy, almost piquant flavour), and China (burgundy depth with light oaky notes), it is truly one of the finest blends in the world.

She says she was told by the server that this blend of tea was not only created for the Empress Hotel itself, but also specifically for the water of Victoria, so that it would be perfectly steeped in Victoria water. Now this made me extremely curious to try this tea, just to see if the taste actually lived up to the hype (and that's some pretty big hype to live up to), and I was expecting to be amazed by this tea.

I was underwhelmed.

I drank two cups to give it a real try, but it just didn't grab me. It reminded me a bit of the English tea, PG Tips. I definitely think the overwhelming flavour in this blend is the Assam tea, of which I'm not a huge fan. It left a strong aftertaste in my mouth which turned to a smoky/burnt taste after a few minutes.

At some point I will use up the teabags in this box, but they won't be my first choice when I open my tea cupboard, and I won't be buying this for myself when I go to the Empress Gift Shop.

For those of you who live in Victoria and the surrounding area, the Empress has a program called Friends of the Empress in which you get a membership card and enjoy discounts in the restaurants, gift shops, lobby shops, spa, hair salon, the hotel itself, and various nearby attractions. I've used the card myself in both the Bengal Lounge and the Empress Room, and I'd like to go down to the gift shop to pick up some of their Mauna Lea fruit tea, which is divine.