Saturday, September 17, 2011

Teaopia White Butterfly

Ahhhh, Teaopia. My first experience with loose leaf tea was the Teaopia store in Mayfair Mall. I had noticed two of my coworkers drinking loose tea and thought it looked cool, so I decided to get in on the action as well. My original plan back then was to eventually try all of the teas that Teaopia had to offer, and I decided to start with the white teas which is how I came to buy the White Butterfly.

From the website:

White Butterfly is produced in the Fujian province of China where only the youngest leaves are gathered in the few days of early spring. The spiral twisted leaf and naturally white downy appearance makes this a delicate, clean, sweet and mild cup of tea. Not only is White Butterfly revered as one of the finest Chinese White Teas, but it is also naturally low in caffeine which adds to its widespread appeal in the tea community.
When I open the tin to smell it, I get a very faint scent of licorice, even though this is just straight white tea, nothing added. It looks like wrinkled little worms, which makes me giggle to myself when I think about it. I steeped this at 80 degrees for 2.5 minutes, and it has a nice clean flavour. This one, though, I can only drink when it's warm. Most teas I can still drink if they've cooled down, but this one I just can't make myself drink once it's less than warm. The flavour is great for warm water, but as a cold beverage it doesn't work for me.

All in all, a good white tea for someone starting out in the world of tea, or someone looking for a mild flavour.

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.

Monday, September 12, 2011

DavidsTea Pumpkin Chai

DavidsTea has just brought out its new Fall Collection, which consists of Pumpkin Chai, Buttercream, Caramel Spice, Copabanana, and Mom's Apple Pie. Tonight I decided to try the Pumpkin Chai, because it felt like a cool autumn night.

From the label:
This autumn treat has it all. Add a little steamed milk and a spoonful of brown sugar for maximum mmm!

I opened the bag to scoop out the tea, and WOW!!! The smell is amazing! I could literally taste pumpkin loaf in my mouth just from smelling this tea. The label on the bag lists the ingredients as: Chinese black tea, caramel bits, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pumpkin candies, and natural flavouring. The pumpkin candies are bright orange, which looks great with the black tea, and made me think of Hallowe'en. Following the serving suggestion on the label, I added some milk and brown sugar, and this is downright yummy! I was expecting a bit more flavour, just because the aroma was so strong, but next time I might steep it for a bit longer and see how that turns out.

All in all, a good tea for those cold and dark autumn nights!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Twinings Lady Grey

Let's start with my all-time favourite tea: Twinings Lady Grey. I love Earl Grey tea, and all the Earl Grey-inspired teas out there. But there's something about the Twinings Lady Grey blend that is just a cut above the rest. It is an Earl Grey (black tea with bergamot scent and flavour) that has had lemon and orange flavour added to it. I always add milk and sugar to this one, and as I smell it before I drink it, I feel like I'm in the midst of a fruit orchard. A non-tea drinking relative of mine said, "It smells like Fruit Loops". To each his own, I guess!

But I love this tea more than words can say, and I always have a tin of it in the kitchen, ready to go.

New Blog

Well, I'm finally getting around to starting the tea blog that I've been thinking about for so long. A few months ago (after saving my pennies for quite some time!) I bought myself the most amazing machine, the Breville One Touch Tea Maker and I love it. I can use both loose leaf tea and tea bags with it and I honestly think it's the best gadget I own. As a side note, I bought it at Teaopia and was able to use a 25% off coupon that I had received by e-mail, so it was significantly less than the $300 price tag. If you're a serious tea drinker, this machine is a great investment.

From here on in, most of my posts will be reviews of the teas that I try, and maybe some other tea-related merchandise. If you have any suggestions of products for me to try, feel free to post them here!

DavidsTea Advent Calendar Day 13

Day 13 is Ginger Turmeric Tonic (not listed on the website) which is a low-caffeine green tea. Ingredients: Ginger, genmaicha (green tea, ...