TWG Tea Company

Nice flavour. I have to admit that I’m going to experiment a little because I used it in my new Cuisinart PerfecTemp tea maker. I can taste the ginger, but it doesn’t dominate the tea.

A quicky from the iPod! My sister and her husband received this as part of a wedding gift in the summer.

Not bad at all; a smooth black tea with some prevalent peach notes to make it softly sweet and fruity. The light astringency comes off as rather pleasant.. Maybe it’s that way because I always understeep my black teas.

I’m glad I got to try this! I had completely forgot about it until I opened my sister’s and brother-in-law’s pitiful tea cupboard. What they lack in tea they make up with (unwanted) pigeons on “their” apartment “balcony”, however. City birds are fearless and better at sleeping through the whine of the sirens that ricochet off buildings than I am!

I am grieving… because after having been stored in my cupboard for a year, this tea has become stale and lost its charm. When I bought it in Singapore a year ago, it had the most amazing aroma, whether dry or brewed. It’s the refreshingly sweet aroma of fresh mint and strawberries! The green tea base was lovely too. Somehow, I think the tea was too wonderful to be named “Weekend in Shangahai”, for I had visited Shanghai and didn’t think it’s such a nice place. I had a hard time deciding whether I liked it or Weekend in Casablanca (which I bought at the same time) more. My rating for this tea was based on my first tasting experience with it.

And what did I find today? The sweet bouquet was still there when I opened the tea tin, but it was much less intense. That did not really bother me… but the weird, foreign taste in my first brew did. I couldn’t really describe it but it tasted like Chinese herbs. You know, herbs stored in the old drawers of Chinese pharmacy for ages and sold for medicinal purpose. I was shocked. Then I thought maybe it was because I used the same cup to brew a hibiscus tea yesterday (Of course I washed the cup after using it. But evil hibiscus does sound like the culprit right? I admit that I’ve never liked hibiscus :P). So I got more dry leaves from the tea and brewed in another cup.

This time, there was less foreign taste. In fact, there wasn’t much taste in the liquor. It was bland, with only the faint aroma of mint+herbal medicine. That really broke my heart. I guess this is the punishment I deserve for buying tea at a rate much faster than my consumption. :( Oh god… I promise that I will drink more tea every day from now on…

This tea smells absolutely delicious. It has an aroma that is both sweet and rich. It’s a scent that’s very… busy. Much like New York itself, I suppose. The cocoa in this blend really comes through in both smell and taste (though less in the latter).

This seemed to be a red tea, instead of the usual black. There was the same sourish aftertaste that I had gotten from a rooibos tea once. Also in the aftertaste was a herb-ish taste from the bergamot. The bergamot aroma and flavor were not as strong as TWG’s Earl Grey Gentleman Tea. I love bergamot, so this mildness disappointed me. I couldn’t detect much citrus flavor; I was more preoccupied with the floral notes of the cornflowers. Unlike ‘regular’ Earl Grey, I don’t think this tea could stand up to the addition of milk.

From the second the tea was poured I could smell a very strong, sweet vanilla aroma. Apart from that I could not smell much else. Taste-wise, it wasn’t bitter but it was rather tasteless and delicately sweet. I have the suspicion that it was diluted a tad too much. No tea, however ‘delicate’, should be this bland. The vanilla was definitely there though, judging from the scent. There was also a sourish aftertaste, probably due to the natural flavor of the rooibos.

It’s been over a year since I first started out with this tea. Since then I’ve tried various other Earl Greys, but this one tops the list. There’s something about the bergamot in this one that isn’t as sharp as the others, and there’s a sparkling note it that I can’t put my finger on. Finished my canister a while back, and I find myself missing it dearly. Saving up for a new one! This tea is going to be a permanent presence in my cupboard once I find the space for it!

Earl grey is my favorite tea, and it was TWG that introduced me to it! Needless to say i fell in love pretty quickly. The bergamot aroma is very strong, and the taste almost equally so. Apart from the bergamot, I’m not getting any citrus flavor, but that’s fine with me. The flavor holds up well to milk, which I love.

Quite a lovely gourmandish green tea, good to kickstart an early morning in the office! The caramel note seems to come out more in loose tea version (can someone else pls confirm, thks) but I prefer it bagged for convenience.
PS: DO NOT steep for too long! Honestly 1-2 mins is quite sufficient to get a flavourful cuppa for the 1st steep. Remove the bag for a 2nd steep (mine’s usually 3 mins).

I found this rather rich both in fragrance and taste. The fruity note is fairly sweet and tends to dominate the green tea. Still nice enough but if you’re after green tea, you might be disappointed.

I came across tea while visiting Singapore. Upon first smell I was almost put off by the strong aroma. It was hard to pinpoint what it was but something was a little off-putting but that said there was also something intriguing. Having just gotten into tea I was hesitant to buy a quantity in case I didn’t care for it. Luckily they offer sample sizes and I brought one of those home with me.

I’ve now had three cups from the same groups of leaves – over about a two hour period. This tea has a great flavor (despite my initial smell reaction) and is very easy to drink. As the leaves are refreshed for subsequent cups the flavor mellows out quickly and now on my third cup is not assertive at all – though still pleasant.

The green tea serves as a canvas for the cherry blossoms so it is definitely not a dominate flavor component. It comes more to the forefront the longer you refresh the same leaves.

Delicious(ly expensive). I can certainly agree with reviewers who have commented on the tea’s coffee taste. The guy who helped me buy my tea earlier today mentioned that Napoleon has “hints of mocha” so that may be your answer.
As for my experience with this tea, it’s very vanilla-y, very caramel-y, with a definite mocha nose. The liquor is a beautiful warm amber and, thanks to carrying the tea around in my purse all day, it has left my purse smelling like goodness and yum as opposed to receipts and hand sanitizer.

I picked up this tea along with another flavoured black at the urban tea merchant in Vancouver, which is all TWG teas.

I don’t have a lot of black teas at home so I’m really glad I got this one. It’s not too strong of a black tea and it has a nice caramelly sweetness to it, kind of like a dessert tea. It has really caramel pieces in it too which, unfortunately, means it does contain milk but it also helps with the flavour. The aroma of the tea is stronger than the actual taste of the brew, but it doesn’t really let down the tea too much.

This tea was a bit pricey considering I could probably find something similar for cheaper at another tea shop, but it does come in a very beautiful tin. So, overall, I’m happy with this tea. Now I just need to figure out how I’m going to refill this when I’m out. :(

Somewhat unrelated, I took a picture of my tea collection today. It’s small but still beautiful. I wish I had more room in my cupboard or I’d probably have more. :P
- http://instagr.am/p/Ohw1ScuR-l/

This is my everyday tea for the most part. I’ve recently been drinking a lot of first flush Darjeeling, but it might be too expensive to become a habit. I went to Singapore a month ago and this tea changed my life while I was there. Singapore Breakfast tea made me quit coffee and completely switch to tea!

Amazingly quick nose, with the most enjoyable aftertaste. Hints of orange, but not enough to distract from the complete experience. A strong tea with strong characteristics.

Classic black tea with yellow petals and a strong and pleasantly waxy honey flavour. Good with milk. Not something I drink every day, but quite lovely when in the mood.m

The dry leaf smells sweet and of cherry.

Accidentally left this for a little bit to talk to my sister.

Brew smells slightly savoury with a hint of cherry (not as strong as dry).

The taste is slightly mineral, wouldn’t say vegetal or buttery. A sweet cherry comes about slightly in the after taste, mostly as I breathe out. Quite slight. I think it would be more noticeable with a second steep.

Edit: Accidentally forgot about it, and it went cold. The cherry is much more noticeable cold. Mmm very nice.

Made some more today. Transferred the tea to a nice clean tin, and realized just how fresh it smells. It’s very potent, and reminds me of hay (although much sweeter).

This transferred into the taste this time around too. My initial sips, sweet hay. Sharp astringency already, that’s building as I drink it.

Made it with less leaf and a longer steep time today. And boiling water.

This had just recently come in, first flush for 2012 (so I was told) (forty dollars! Fifty grams; I think I was tired, I don’t usually make such purchases).

First steep: One level tsp of tea leaf in 100ml gaiwan, 1 min steep (intent: lessen time, more leaf), ~90ºc water.

Wet leaf smelt fruity, floral. Very grapey.

Tasted fresh, floral, and dry (but not biter, although I knew it would become more bitter as it cooled). I don’t drink wine (or any alcohol), so I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand what muscatel tastes like, but I found it like a dry, grape fruit taste.

I was nibbling on toast as I sipped, which it went all right with (I remember a while back there being a post for a toast-and-tea pairing program, will have to check that again).

It’s got a nice tang, almost. The bitterness which came on more as it cooled is, as always (or as I always fine) like walnuts.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p22/supermoon10/100_0793.jpg
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p22/supermoon10/100_0791.jpg
(dry, it was much greener than Steepster’s/UrbanTeaMerchant/TWG’s photo, but that may not be from this year)

Twisted green leaves when dry. Bits of white, red and orange mixed in as well. The leaves look very fresh when wet (although quite broken), orange mixed throughout. Many stems. Like other Darjeelings (that I’ve found) (at least with first flushes), it’s implied “black” but is only lightly withered and greener in taste, bordering more in oolong, I figure.

Fruity green, but not quite vegetal, almost fruity and savoury.

Second steep: Two minutes; still smells fruity and floral, almost like wine.

Brewed darker, and taste is much more sharp than the first. More bitter, but it may be because some of the leaves got through when I strained. Bitterness hits in the middle of each sip and trails off to linger in the aftertaste. Not getting the floral and fruit from the first steep.

Overall, not full-bodied. Light, bitter, fruity. Didn’t find a range of notes, but I’m no judge of Darjeelings. It’s nice, and I think I’ll like it on days that I can handle the bitterness. Will probably come back to it.

Aromatic. Fragrant and mild subtle floral tones that linger quite nicely. A calming tea.

Nice blend of bergamot with green tea. The rose and jasmine are very detectable in Silk Water and blends nicely with the other elements in this giving a lovely delicate floral aroma. I can’t think of a better word than “elegant” for this stuff.