Tea tasting: Republic of Tea's Downton Abbey English Rose

I am a bad Anglophile.  I've just never been able to warm up to Downton Abbey.  Even my great love of Dame Maggie Smith hasn't gotten me through an episode.  Ah well.  You may heap your scorn upon me.

I was given a tin of Republic of Tea's Downton Abbey English Rose herbal (http://www.republicoftea.com/downton-abbey-english-rose-tea/p/V20177/) and was quite skeptical.  It bills itself as a blend of raspberry, hibiscus and rose hips.   Regular readers know my dislike of strong hibiscus flavors in tea.  There's something too tart and astringent about hibiscus; it needs to be handled carefully.

I was pleasantly surprised by the English Rose.  The overwhelming flavor is a mellow, smooth raspberry.  There's some tartness from the hibiscus, but it's only the barest hint.  There's also none of the overwhelming potpourri rose aroma that I found in the last "rose" tea from Republic of Tea that I tried.

I like the smoothness; I can't imagine wanting to sweeten this tea.  I'm going to make a pot for icing when the weather finally turns spring-like this weekend.  It expect it will be excellent.

Adagio's Wild Strawberry Herbal

It's unseasonably cold today with another winter storm on the way, and I am in dire need of something spring-like.  So I opened my sample of Adagio's Wild Strawberry (http://www.adagio.com/herbal/wild_strawberry.html) herbal tea.   It has a rich, fruity aroma that smells more of apples and hibiscus than strawberries.   When brewed, however, it has a lush, mellow flavor with just a hint of sweetness.  There are no strong hisbiscus notes, which I tend to dislike, and very little aftertaste of any kind.

Adagio recommends using heaping tablespoons when brewing this tea and I agree.  I find that about one and a half teaspoons produces a nice flavor.

I don't think the brew needs sweetening, but in the interests of science, I tried a cup with a teaspoon of honey.  It's not my favorite honeyed tea (that remains the blood orange herbal I reviewed several months ago) but it has a nice fruit punchy quality.

I look forward to the day when drinking this blend iced is an option.

Tea tasting: Harney & Sons's Fruits d'Alsace

I'm drinking a delightful cup of Harney & Sons's Fruits d'Alsace black tea (https://www.harney.com/fruits-d-alsace.html).   It's a quality black with a light fruity overtone.  I can't pick out the individual fruits.  There's definitely something citrus, but there are a number of other tones as well.   The fruit is not the star of the show, so that's one of the reasons why parsing the exact fruit is difficult.

Tea disasters

I just narrowly escaped a tea disaster.   I had brewed the water and poured it over 3 balls of Teavana's Black Dragon Pearl, which has a brewing time of 3-5 minutes.

Then I got on a call for work.

Twenty minutes later, I returned to find the tea still brewing in the ball . . .

I am pleased to report that the tea remained eminently drinkable, not bitter at all, and very flavorful without being overwhelming.  It needed only a little refreshing with about 1/4 cup boiling water to make it the temperature I like.

However, this got me thinking about tea mistakes and disasters.  We've all had them, whether it be from under-brewing, over-brewing, bad tea or bad things put into tea.   What was your worst or funniest tea disaster/mistake?

Harney & Sons bottled teas

I was quite surprised to discover that Harney & Sons is selling bottled iced teas.  I found them at the local Supermarket With Pretensions, but they were not any more expensive than a bottle of Snapple.  You can also buy them on-line in cases of 12.  (https://www.harney.com/bottled-beverages/iced-teas.html).

I tried the Black Tea with Black Currant, which I found to be sweeter than I generally like my black teas, but nowhere near as sweet as a Snapple or Lipton bottled tea.  It was sweetened with cane sugar, rather than High Fructose Corn Syrup.  To my mind real sugar always produces a better quality of sweetness.  The black currant added just a bit of fruity flavor over the tea.  While it didn't excite me as the best drink ever, I will definitely pick up the Harney & Sons Black Tea with Black Currant as long as it continues to be in the same price range as other bottled iced teas.

I also tried the Green Tea with Coconut, which I liked a great deal.  Again, there was a light bit of sweetness provided by cane sugar.  The coconut flavor balanced out any bitterness from the green tea without eliminating the inherent flavor of the tea.  As between the two, unless I need the caffeine, I'll take the Green Tea with Coconut over the Black Tea with Black Currant all the time.

Tropical Greens

I very much enjoy the blending of tropical fruit tastes with green tea.  The grassy tones of the green tea pair exceptionally well with the brightness of tropical fruits.  I'm currently drinking a delightful tropical blend from David's Teas.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to carry this particular blend any more.  So I'll tell you that it is a grassy green with pineapple and coconut notes.  Since David's seems to have a seasonal rotation of teas, I'm hopeful they will bring it back in the spring or early summer.

Meanwhile, here are a few easy-to-find  tropical greens for your consideration:

Mighty Leaf's Green Tea Tropical (http://www.mightyleaf.com/loose-tea_green-tea/green-tea-tropical-green-tea/) isn't specific about the "tropical" flavors it includes, other than bits of pineapple.  The aroma is entirely fruity; I don't detect anything like coconut or lemongrass in either the scent or taste.  The taste is a complex green that nicely treads the line between floral and grassy, with elegant fruity overtones.  Any grocery that carries Mighty Leaf generally will carry this blend.

Harney & Sons Tropical Green (https://www.harney.com/tropical-green.html) has coconut, lemongrass and pineapple at play along with a fruity-toned green tea.  The aroma is more heavily fruited than the taste, but it is still makes for a complex, refreshing cup.  I have been able to find this blend in Barnes & Noble fairly regularly.

Revolution's Tropical Green (http://www.revolutiontea.com/16-Count-boxes/Tropical-Green-Tea-16-count) also focuses on pineapple, but uses a slightly different base green than the other two.  The resulting blend is sweeter, but less fruity.

All of these teas are wonderful hot or iced.  I tend to brew them slightly longer if I am planning to make iced tea with them.