When purchasing tea, there are many reasons why I might gravitate toward a specific one: the type of tea, name, etc. This one drew me in because of a unique ingredient – tea flowers!
Description: “Hand picked and organically farmed, this full leaf black tea brews a light delicate sweet up with a unique tea flower taste that isn’t quite floral.”
Instructions: 1 teaspoon | 98°C | 3 – 5 minutes*
* Note: the packaging and the website had slightly different recommendations. I used what was listed on the packaging for this review.
Review: I’ve tried a handful of tea from World Tea House and some of the teas I enjoyed the most were the black teas, so I was looking forward to trying this one as well. The dry black tea leaves were long and wiry and nestled among them were pops of canary yellow tea flowers. The blend had a mineral, wood barrel, and raisin smell.
After brewing for 4 to 5 minutes, the liquor became a golden brown colour with a sweet, roasted, and malt smell. Similar to the smell, the taste of the blend also carried the same notes: woody, toasted, fruity/dates, with a hint of floral and briskness at the end of the sip. There was also a trace of astringency on the tip of the tongue and throat. Once the dryness disappeared, the floral note re-emerged and lingered in the mouth. The wet broken chocolate brown leaves smelled woody, damp, and mineral.
Overall, this was an easy drinking blend and had a nice balance between the more woody and sweet notes. The recommendations on the website had a lower steeping temperature, so I wonder if that would have removed the hint of astringency. While I am not always a fan of puckering feeling, in this case, it gave the blend some depth and character. This would be a nice blend for someone who is looking for a black tea on the sweet or delicate side (3.5/5 rating).
- Type: Black tea
- Origin: Sri Lanka
- Caffeine: Unknown
- Ingredients: Back tea (Sri Lanka), tea flower
- Company: World Tea House
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