Murchie's Tea & Coffee

I’ve been very, very curious about this tea since AJ first wrote about it a year or so ago, so I jumped at the chance to pick it up while visiting Vancouver earlier this week.

I would imagine it must have been very, very tricky to balance the flavours of this blend. However, I think AJ had done a truly spectacular job at making sure everything is present without any one quality eclipsing the others. It’s smooth and more medium bodied with elements of both richness through the creamier and more custard-like notes of the coconut but also delicate and fragrant in the fresh, floral top notes and silky smooth oolong. Smack dab in the middle of that is a lychee note that it so juicy and lively, yet at peace with more fragile and silky sweet elements.

I so fully agree with the description of this as sophisticated, but it’s also kind of playful as well!? I really think I’m quite in love with the blend. It’s unlike any other lychee teas I’ve had before, but in the best sort of way.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKLEcaThsY9/?img_index=1 (Eighth Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWm0cPPm2BM&ab_channel=B%C3%98RNSmusicVEVO

Cold Brew!

I did try to mostly focus on picking up new (to me) blends from Murchies, but I couldn’t resist picking up a little of this beautifully straight forward black currant blend too. It may be simple, but that black currant note is so plump and purple tasting with a jammy thick sweetness and the perfect dense, “low hitting” fruity note to make it feel so rich without coming off as artificial or candy sweet. I really enjoyed this cold brew, which I made in a giant water bottle so I could sip on it throughout my work day on my first proper day working out in the city.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKLEcaThsY9/?img_index=1 (Seventh Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4cMQyxYs44&ab_channel=InfinitySong

Cold Brew!

I am absolutely loving the trend of Gardenia scented teas that I am very consistently seeing grow in North America, so I was SUPER excited to get a chance to pick this one up.

It made for such a lush and well balanced feeling cold brew with a crisp sweetness to the initial sip before being hit with that mouth-enveloping note of gardenia. I think part of why I like gardenia so much is that it’s naturally sweet and it hits a really good balance of fresh, delicate florals and the most pungent, thick and heady ones. Very, very rarely ever dipping into perfume zone either. This was just so clean tasting and thirst quenching.

I will 100% take a gardenia green over a jasmine green any day of the week.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKLEcaThsY9/?img_index=1 (Sixth pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAqG1a37NWc&ab_channel=Parrotfish

Next up from my Murchie’s order! One of the many fruity black teas that I selected, this one was actually part of their Summer Fruit sampler, which came with 2 ounces each of Tuscany Orange, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Peach Rooibos. I was already interested in some of those teas, so I figured why not?

Sadly, this is just okay IMO. The raspberry is a bit hard candy-like. It makes me reminisce about when my grandmother lived in her own small apartment, and always had a crystal candy dish on her coffee table with ribbon candy, those sliced hard candies with the cute images inside (no idea what they’re called), and assorted fruit hard candies – including the raspberry ones, which were round and had the bumpy texture of a raspberry. I think they had some kind of syrupy filling too?

So even though this isn’t a fresh raspberry flavor (as promised), and has a bit of a chalky edge to my tastebuds, I still appreciate the memories it activated. Will perhaps try it as a creamy raspberry milk tea one of these days.

This was the main reason for my Murchie’s order. It’s a summer seasonal tea, and I love orange-flavored things. I will say, I became less excited when I saw that it also has spices in it, because why? They describe it as a transitional tea for late summer and early fall, but I guess I’m confused by that decision when they already have two other orange spice teas? So I hemmed and hawed on whether I even wanted it anymore, but ended up taking the plunge because retail therapy. I did remove all of the whole cloves out of protest! (Ashmanra will understand XD)

It is mostly orange, thankfully. I would describe it as being close to a true orange flavor, with just a touch of gummy orange slice and a bit of that essential oil sort of zestiness. The spices show themselves near the end of the sip, and the finish tastes very similar to their Christmas Tea (which is an orange spice black tea).

It does seem similar to Christmas Tea, though perhaps more orangey. I might have to try them side-by-side to remind myself. In any case, it’s nice, but definitely a fall-to-winter tea for me, and not a summer one.

Let me know if you have any recommendations for a nice, juicy orange tea, preferably without hibiscus or spices!

Just got my Murchie’s order, placed mostly because I was intrigued by the seasonal Tuscany Orange tea. I was in a fruity mood I guess, because I ended up getting three additional fruit-flavored black teas to try, this being one of them.

I have to say though, for something called “Lemon”, this actually just tastes like an Earl Grey. Maybe it’s the combination with the acidic base, but I’m getting more bergamot than lemon. Not that I mind bergamot or Earl Grey, but it’s not what I was expecting from this tea. Oh well! I’ll use it for lattes and milk teas.

This has a lovely darjeeling base with some other green and black teas thrown in. I purchased this because I thought it would be a nice addition to the TTB for folks who want to try some Canadian teas.

Light bergamot with floral citrus notes and a hint of perfumy floral but more honeysuckle than distinctly jasmine unless you look for it. There is a nice balance of tannins and it is not overly bitter but has enough flavour. It is not your typical heavy hitter all tannin CT black tea. This has a more well rounded profile with multiple notes adding to its complexity.

It’s like how 50/50 iced tea and lemonade creates its own better-than-the-ingredients drink. This is a nice darjeeling mixed with Lady Grey and its a great union of flavour but distinct in its own right.

Sipdown! (6 | 83)

Finished off this delightful infusion from Murchie’s, which really does taste like carrot cake IMO. Even though I’m not a rooibos lover, I think the base here works well because of the addition of green rooibos and honeybush. It certainly doesn’t have that traditional rooibos woody/medicinal flavor. It’s sweet but not overly so, and has nice subtle warm spices with a touch of cream cheese creaminess. I’m not a fan of chocolate chips in tea, but there don’t seem to be a ton included here, and they also don’t melt all that well, so it’s not an overly oily cuppa.

I made a Murchie’s order a few days ago, as I want to try their summer orange tea, and another bag of this made the cut!

Gosh, this tea is fantastic. With flavourful, especially when brewed strong. I had this iced, brewed strong (500 mL cold water, 25 minutes, 2 tsp leaf).

Strong floral, fruity lychee and some lovely creamy coconut. The milk oolong is a nice base (I would have liked more oolong and less black tea, personally) with a complex tea flavour under the obvious notes. The after taste is even better than the initial.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – February 2025 Tea #8 -A tea best for afternoons

Well, it’s in the name!  Afternoon!  An obvious choice, as usual. :) This is from Cameron B, thanks very much!  I like this one.  It’s unique and intriguing. It has a gentle smokiness, like a fragrant campfire.  Probably because there is rose here too.  So maybe if some roses were thrown into that fire.  So drama. There should also be vanilla and bergamot here, but I’m not noticing those as much.  I wish I were tasting all of these… what an interesting combination:  lapsang, rose, bergamot, vanilla.  Though I like the general effect of this tea, I guess I was imagining a better balance of the flavors.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

The jasmine really comes through, which normally isn’t my favorite, but with the gunpowder and ceylon, it really blends for something both flowery and musty (postively) to remind you of books.

Kelmishka Homemade Advent Day 3! I’d been considering a Murchie’s order for a while, but I never got around to it, so I was happy to see this one this morning! The scent is so desserty too! I’m drinking this at room temperature sweetened with milk, and I’m really enjoying it! The spice combination strongly reminds me of S&V’s blueberry cinnamon crumble tea, though that has a rooibos base and this one is green/black. I’ve bought the S&V blend many times and would probably still choose that one because I prefer to minimize caffeine intake, but this version is a great option for people who prefer the opposite! I love a tea that somewhat approximates a baked good! I taste a light, baked cinnamon flavor along with a touch of fruitiness. It matches its name well!

I have limited experience with Assam, but I really like this one. Full bodied, delicious. I prefer this over Murchie’s Assam Superior Golden Loose Tea, which is considerably more expensive. That said, Murchie’s Darjeeling Estate is even more to my liking, and although different, Assam and Darjeeling play similar roles in my tea drinking habits. So I’m more likely to go for the Darjeeling, but this is a close second.

I’ve only tried a few Darjeeling teas, but this is the best I’ve had so far. Rich, full-bodied, not bitter. Delicious.

This was my winter 2024 Tasting Lab. Gently woodsy and pleasantly sweet, the cinnamon bark isn’t enough to make it spicy, but is evident in the smell and adds a sweet note in each sip. I picked it to pair with the birch bark because that has a light ‘wintergreen’ spearminty sweetness.

There’s no flavouring in this tea, so the wintergreen and cinnamon are gentle, melding in with the slight smoke of the Keemun; Nepal brightens this with a nutty floral, and the Nilgiri adds good body, oaky without being bitter.

I liked how this turned out. Really turned out to be a pleasantly fragrant tea. My office at work is a mishmash of vintage and antique containers I pilfered from around the warehouse and repurposed to hold my test-batches, so I had to go looking to figure out where I stashed this one.

Tried this with oat milk and sugar this morning, and it was much better. There’s a maple-y note to it, along with the rich toasted chestnut. I do still get a hint of that odd savory/herbal flavor, with the milk it leans a bit more toward fennel than dill maybe. It’s not a bad thing per se, just odd, and I mostly taste it in the finish. I assume it’s just part of how I’m interpreting the flavoring, since I’ve had plenty of their other black teas and never noticed it before.

I’m not sure if this is one I would reorder, since I happen to love Lupicia’s chestnut teas, but definitely a good one to have on hand for the colder months.

Another seasonal tea. Not gonna lie, finding this one just okay. There is a buttery, nutty quality to it with bits of dark caramelized sugar. But I feel like the astringency of the base really works again those nice, smoother flavors. There’s also a hint of some odd herbal quality, almost dill-like? Not sure where I’m getting that from, but it’s a bit of a clash as well.

Will have to try this one out with milk, as that would help smooth the tannic base a bit.

This sounded interesting based on the description, but I’m mostly just tasting the Assam. There’s a hint of gunpowder I think, but the strong and malty Assam dominates. It’s not unpleasant, with dark caramelized brown sugar and raisin notes, but I guess I was expecting something more nuanced or complex? They claim it tastes like whole grain toast, but not really getting that at all.

Oh well, we’ll see if my opinion changes over the course of the 2-ounce bag!

One that I picked up in my fall and winter seasonals order, because why not? :P

It’s very nice actually, as orange spice teas go. I am not a clove fan, so I’m happy to not find a strong clove presence here. The orange flavor is quite bright and zesty, and there’s a touch of cinnamon adding sweetness and warmth. I’m not sure I really taste vanilla here, though I wish I did. The black base is nicely balanced between brisk and smooth, and flavorful without being too drying or bitter.

It’s not super Christmassy to me, just because the spices are very mellow, but it is an enjoyably zesty orange black tea that I’ll have no trouble sipping through. :)

Sipdown! (28)

The last of my Murchie’s teabag samplers! I do still have some loose leaf to sip down, but still nice to get the teabags cleared out.

I’ve been really interested in trying all of their green-black blends, and this one is similar to the No. 10 (one of my favorites). It seems to just include a stronger Ceylon base, which looks to be a CTC (and the description mentions a touch of bergamot, but the No. 10 already has that as well?). It’s lovely though, a nice balance of jasmine and citrus with the green and black teas. I always steep these using green tea parameters, so the difference in the Ceylon may not be as pronounced as it would be if you steeped it hotter. It does have a brisker edge to it, and I do think I prefer the No. 10, but it was fun to try!

Teabag sampler! After enjoying their No. 10 Blend, I figured I would give this a try, since it’s described as being quite similar. The ingredients lists are actually identical, but apparently the Ceylon used in this tea is stronger (from the photo, it looks like a CTC).

It’s quite nice. There’s a good balance of tea flavor with the lemony bergamot and soft jasmine. The description implies that there is more bergamot in this blend, but I think I would have to compare them directly to notice that. I will say, the black tea part of this is tasting a touch cardboardy to me, not sure if that’s the CTC or if for some reason I’m tasting the paper bag. Haven’t noticed that in any of their other teabags, so I assume it’s the Ceylon.

Enjoyable tea, but I think I do prefer their No. 10 Blend. And a good thing too, since I picked up 2 ounces of the loose leaf version in my last order! :P

Sipdown! (13 | 156)

Mostly sipped this with milk and sugar, but finished it off plain. Not a favorite for me, as the herbaceous peppermint and tannic base seemed to bring out the worst in each other. The peppermint wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best either, so it did have a bit of a wet rag note to it as opposed to being super fresh. Also not enough vanilla for me.

Sipped with additions in bed this morning. I’ve started a habit of making myself a cup of tea (usually with milk & sugar) and going back to bed for an hour or so after I feed the puglets at 7:00. Really been enjoying that extra time to wake up a bit and scroll on my phone or read.

Anyway! I do think I prefer it this way, as the creaminess of the oat milk and a touch of raw sugar brought out the vanilla notes much more. However, this does have a prominent peppermint leaf herbaceousness to it, and to me, that part is a bit odd with milk.

Will definitely sip through the pouch, but this one won’t be a reorder for me. To be fair, I am almost always disappointed in these “Santa’s Secret”-style peppermint & vanilla black teas. And yet, I feel compelled to keep trying them LOL. I guess I can’t really blame the tea at that point! XP