Taylors of Harrogate

I had forgotten I hadn´t reviewed the other 2 teas I received in the Platinum Collection I had ordered from Taylors of Harrogate (of their range of rare teas and coffees).

Let me share what Taylors of Harrogate say about this tea :
“This is a collaboration between Taylors and the prestigious Imenti Tea Estate – in our view, the best black tea growers in Kenya. It’s Imenti’s first ever orthodox tea, delicately plucked and beautifully hand rolled, and the flavour is absolutely lip-smacking. It’s a sweet mouthful of biscuit and caramel, with a sublime orange blossom finish.”

In the first place, this is a Kenyan tea, which allows for a stronger backboned tea, in my opinion. I like this in a black tea, especially in one I normally take when waking up. I take my tea black, but I could understand other people preferring this tea with a cloud of milk. No need to add sugar to this tea either, as it naturally has a sweeter taste (must be the “biscuit and caramel” described above). I guess here it´s quite important to stick to the lower of the steeping times, as the tea does get bitter.

243/365

Last week was pretty busy for me (strangely, since I was actually on holiday!), so the next few notes are mostly just the bullet points I noted down while sipping on the tea or soon afterwards. I’m back at work today, sadly, and it feels all the worse for having been away. I’m still waiting for a contract for my new job, which has been a bit of a rollercoaster if I’m perfectly honest. I’m sure I’ll feel a lot better about things once I’m finally able to resign, and hopefully that’ll be soon. In the meantime, there’s tea!

So:

- This one smells gorgeous; really autumnal!
- Unfortunately, the flavour is mostly hibiscus; quite tart & sour.
- There’s a hint of red apple underlying, quite sharp & crisp. Definitely not floury/floral.
- Spicing is light, but pleasant. Vaguely reminiscent of pumpkin spice spices – cinnamon, clove, maybe a little ginger. Could be stronger.
- On the whole, not a favourite. It’s too similar to lots of other bagged fruit blends – too much hibi, and consequent sourness.
- Repeated sips begin to remind me of cherry tunes? Sweet/medicinal artificial cherry flavour.

Free sample which was included in the Platinum Collection I had ordered from Taylors of Harrogate.

Not a lot of information available on the sample pack, but online I can read : "Take the best Sri Lankan tea that money can buy – fresh, floral and gloriously lemony – and muddle it with the flavour of rhubarb, apple pieces and hibiscus. That’s Black Ruby: a mixed-up medley of fine winter harvest Ceylon and juicy, sweet-tart fruit infusion. Seriously refreshing.

Ingredients: Black tea, hibiscus, rosehips, sweet blackberry leaves, apple, natural flavourings, natural rhubarb flavourings (1%)."

Essentially a “black tea with rhubarb flavoured herbal blend” I´m quite impressed because for once hibiscus and rosehips don´t take over the subtleties of the black tea, but on the other hand the rhubarb isn´t very present either : as a matter of fact, I can only lightly discover it in the tea´s aroma. Overall a nice black tea, and while the flavourings don´t dominate, I still have the feeling it would´ve been better without them.

This is one of the rare teas Taylors of Harrogate offers online in its Discovery range. When browsing through the teas and coffees of this range, I decided to try the “Platinum Collection”, a collection of 3 black teas. Moreover, this “Three Kings” is a blend of a Darjeeling, an Assam and a Kenyan black tea, bringing out the best of both, no, three ;-) worlds. Not overwhelmingly fragrant, but brewed for 4 minutes the result is very balanced. Maybe missing the wow factor I recently experienced with other teas, but a very solid blend indeed! Complex taste but will need further tasting to define all flavours.

According to the pundits I am not supposed to like this tea because A. It’s decaffeinated and B. It comes in a tea bag. Another Steepster reviewer called this tea “bland and tasteless” but I disagree!

Decaf tea does have a bad rep, and with good reason. Most ARE bland and flavorless. The decaf process has simply leached the flavor out and replaced it with hints of chemicals. So I was very surprised by Yorkshire decaffinated. There is plenty of flavor here and good body to enhance the drinking experience. The flavor is malty with hints of camphor that result in a woody flavor that remind me of how freshly sawn red wood smells. I don’t mean “pencil shavings” but an earthy, almost spicy, taste.

This is my first experience with British blended teas and frankly, I am smitten! After my first cup I found myself craving the flavor the next day. I have not tried the cafinated version yet but if it is ever more flavorful than the decaf, I didn’t buy enough!

I had a 20% coupon from a grocery vendor, and got free shipping at a certain point, so I used it for more tea! Wanting something convenient to keep in my desk drawer, I ordered a big ol’ box of these Yorkshire Gold teabags, knowing the worst case scenario would give me something for iced tea.

Not the worst case, at all! I have actually enjoyed many morning cups so far. Nothing fancy, just a brisk, malty blend that brews a deep copper cup of flavor. Perfect for the morning, but I’ve enjoyed several cups after dinner, too.

I purchased a 4-ounce tin of this to round out an order for free shipping recently, and am quite pleased. I don’t really have a daily go-to, but I like a brisk drink in the morning, and this fits the bill. I have to take the edge off with milk and stevia, and that makes it a perfect cup for me. I steep it at 205° for 4-1/2 minutes for the best cup – or at least the cup I enjoy most.

Cold brewed because American hotels and hostels suck for the most part at providing hot water for tea. And even when they do at times it tastes like coffee water cause they use the same carafe for coffee! Argh. Anyway, this is quite enjoyable cold. Light and fragrant just like its label says. Perfect black of black tea and bergamot flavor.

A good strong British tea. A staple for me.

Strong and flavorful with milk. Smoky.

I have had this tea for a while but I wasn’t impressed at first. I think my tastebuds were baked by too much strong coffee and nicotine. Since I’ve given up those vices I am enjoying my tea much more. I am not in love with Taylor’s and Harrogate Earl Grey but I do like it very much. The tea base has always seemed a little light to me but the bergamot has a good amount of intensity. Over all the tea has a wonderful floral nose and a light citrus after taste. This tea also holds up well to a second steeping. The second steeping is lighter on the citrus of course but hints of vanilla and actual tea taste come through. Both the first and second steeping are good hot or cold but room temp might be the best of all.

Top 3 reasons I’ve had…. a distinct difference from any other tea especially the high end brands

I don’t generally like this kind of tea, but Amazon sent it to me as a mistake, so I gave it a shot. Was even worse than I expected – had a bad sour taste, with some bitterness. Even adding milk didn’t really help. I ended pouring most of it out. This tea will live in the work kitchen for others to drink. It is a very fine loose leaf – would not recommend for someone using a normal tea ball, needs a very fine strainer.

My favorite tea to date. Fantastic rich, strong flavor. Can be very bitter if steeped too long, but its fine otherwise.

Still my favourite Earl Grey, made even better by a splash of oat milk – and a digestive biscuit.

I’ve yet to find an Earl Grey that can topple this as my favourite. It’s not too rich, easy on the bitterness, and perfect on its own or with milk.

I liked this a bit better this time than last time. Still just a standard English breakfast. Maybe I brewed it a bit more because I remember it being a bit thin, and it’s fairly robust this time. Perhaps forgetting about it was a good thing this morning!

I found this a bit weak in flavor, and I don’t think it was my steeping, but it might have been that I have been drinking fuller flavored tea for a few weeks before this. I’ll have to give it another try. It was just meh for me on first tasting – good but not special.

This is a tea I like serving to guests, since I think it’s a very approachable black tea. I find it malty, strong, and not bitter. It also takes milk and sugar well. It’s not fancy, I don’t find it to be very complicated in its flavors, but is hearty and servicable.

Interesting flavor palate: bitter, malty, with a slight resinous taste. Very strong and filled with caffeine.