Whittard of Chelsea

Day 10 of the Whittard advent.

This is one of the nicest chocolate teas I’ve tried in a while. It’s not over-sweet, but it’s not bitter either; it walks a good line right between those two things. It’s also not watery or thin, in the way that a lot of chocolate tea can be. Obviously it’s not got the thickness or texture that a hot chocolate would have, but it’s a pretty close thing in my opinion. I know which I’d rather drink!

This could become a go-to chocolate blend for me. I reckon it would make a pretty good latte…

Day 9 of the Whittard advent. There’s some exotic stuff in here; amaranth and cactus blossoms! There’s also mango and chilli (obviously…)

I was surprised this was a black tea in some ways, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. The standard Whittard base, which has just about got to be Ceylon, is fairly citrussy and so it works pretty well. There’s very little malty sweetness to interfere with things.

There’s quite a lot of chilli heat initially, and loads of mango. Very juicy! The pepperiness of the mango and the background warmth and spiciness of the chilli pair pretty well, although it’s a fairly savoury combination. I quite like that, though. It was a nice change of pace from the sweeter teas I’ve been drinking recently. I’m basically finishing up my T2 cubes at work, so it’s been dessert teas a-go-go for quite some time now.

This probably isn’t a blend I’d want to drink all the time, but it’s one I’d definitely come back to from time to time. I’m glad to have tried it, since it’s not something I’d have picked off the shelf for myself. Got to keep challenging those preconceptions!

Day 8 of the Whittard advent calendar.

It’s a pretty standard chai. Nice, but not exciting.

Back to day 6, which was a fruit-based tea. Evening drinking, basically.

The scent of this one reminded me immediately of David’s Movie Night, but in practice it’s not that good. Sadly, because I adore that stuff.

It’s buttery and there’s lots of toffee, but the apple is lacking. It could stand to be a lot sharper, or even just better defined. There’s a light nuttiness from the macadamia, which is nice.

I enjoyed this one well enough, but it’s on the watery side and not overwhelmingly interesting. At least there’s no hibi!

I skipped ahead to day 7 this morning, as 6 is a fruit tea. It’s morning. I want caffeine. Also, this is another tea I’m convinced I’ve tried already, but no notes or rating…

I’m glad to try this one again, though, because it’s unexpectedly good. I had it down in my head as nice but ordinary, but it’s actually deliciously malty with the tiniest background hint of pepper. It’s strong and pretty tannic, but I don’t mind that too much. I mean, I couldn’t drink cup after cup after cup, but it’s ideal as a motivational morning kick.

I have new respect for this one.

Day 5 of the Whittard advent.

Another white tea; I feel like I’ve not had any white tea in a really long time, so it’s a nice change of pace to find some here. This one has coconut, apple, cocoa and carob, and (no surprises here!) it’s really sweet.

In terms of flavour, I’m on board with the name. It does taste like a coconut truffle, at least up front. It has a nice creamy white chocolate-ness initially, but the more I sipped the more I realised it was actually carob. Caramel and coconut are what I could ultimately taste. It was still nice, but it had drifted from the initial flavour which was (fleetingly, at least) fairly spot on.

As it cooled it developed an aftertaste that reminded me of the way the air tastes in a nearby head shop, but I’m not going to examine that too closely!

Day four (?) of the Whittard advent calendar. Only a few days in, and I’ve already lost count. I’m also already behind, but there’s nothing particularly new about that.

This is a white based Earl Grey, and I don’t honestly know whether I’ve ever had one of those before. It’s a slightly strange beast, but it actually works. Who knew? It’s very creamy; lots of vanilla and milkiness here. It’s also quite floral, which is a slight downside for me, but I can overlook it because there are so many other things about this that are good. Like, good good. There’s definitely rose in here, maybe a little jasmine too. My first sip was bergamot heavy, but that seems to have faded as it’s cooled. It’s hard to believe now that it was ever there; I get milk/cream/vanilla and rose, primarily. And I’m enjoying it!

A good start to the day, for once.

I got this as part of a present from an old family friend. It came with the Dreamtime instant tea, which I actually ended up liking even though it was about 99% sugar and 1% actual tea. This is the same deal, basically, except it’s lemon/lime flavoured.

It’s pretty sour initially, like those fizzy sour sweets, but the sugar soon overwhelms that. It’s sort of lemon-limey, but – no surprises here – pretty much mostly just sugar. I drank it hot because it’s winter and it’s cold, but I can see this being pretty nice fridge-cold in the summer. It’s a no-fuss sort of thing, too, which appeals to me at the moment. I’m really having an absolutely can’t be arsed kind of time right now. This suits that mood perfectly.

Third day of the Whittard tea advent. I know for sure that I’ve drank this literally loads of times before, and yet there’s no record on here of it ever having happened. Hmm…

It’s a pretty decent Earl Grey, and I’ve really developed a soft spot for it over the years. I’m one of those perverse people that will sometimes put milk in an EG (but only sometimes, I promise…) I didn’t today, but I know from experience that it holds up reasonably well.

This one has just a touch too much bergamot for me to be absolutely over the moon with it, but it’s nowhere near as blergh as some. It was nice to revisit this one today. It’s definitely been a while.

Second day of the Whittard tea advent. I’m hoping to catch up today, since I’m working from home. I feel like I’ve tried this one before, but there’s no record of it on here. Either I’m confused (likely) or it’s been eaten (entirely possible).

Either way, it leaves me with good tea. Because it is. I’m not usually a fan of floral blends, and the rose in this is pretty strong. What sells it to me is how candy-like it is. Sweet. Sugary. All the things I want at the moment. It also holds up to milk really well, so bonus!

I’d probably not always want this one around, but it’s a nice novelty.

My mum bought be the Whittard advent calender this year, and this was the tea for the 1st December. (I’m a day behind already!)

It smells really good. Sweeter and creamier than I’d expect given it’s name, but there are definite hints of whisky about it in a peaty, smoky kind of way. I added a splash of milk, because the Whittard base isn’t one I’m super keen on ordinarily. It was probably the right decision; it’s not subtle, so the flavouring wasn’t overpowered in the least.

I’m struggling with whisky a little in flavour terms. There’s maybe the very slightest hint, but I mostly get chocolate. Really nice, milky, creamy, chocolatey-chocolate, but chocolate all the same. If this one was called whisky chocolate, I’d be there, because that’s what it is.

It’s pretty delicious, though. I’d buy it because it tastes nice (but not if I were looking for whisky…) If I were looking for Whisky, though, honestly, I’d probably just buy whisky!

Nice bouquet of orange peel, cloves and vanilla, very warming, very wintery.
Very balanced taste, with base black tea nicely complimented by peels and spices. But also very mellow, one could even say a bit bland and boring.
Not bad. Just not distinct enough.

Preprared this tea in French press for family, steeped for 5 and something per liter of water.

Well, it is quite nice, ginger – based tea, but quite sweet for me. Reminding me ginger lemonade a bit. But nothing really great or unique – for example I do not feel cucumber at all!

But thanks Izzy for sample! I would not rate it.

Very sweet, but delicious. Love this tea.

I had a tooth for something traditional. So Earl Grey was good choice, although probably quite old. But as it was in foil bag I hoped it won’t be so bad. And it was not! Actually it is full of flavour, mostly bergamot and little of citrus zests, bold black tea base, what more to want?

Decent Earl Grey by my opinion, especially, when it is tea bag.

Another I’ve apparently tried before…like, when?

It’s back to day 15 of the Whittard advent, because I could finally be bothered to pay attention enough to make a green tea well. The ingredients actually consist of pineapple and mango, but I can actually taste passionfruit which is a bit of a surprise…

It’s fruity and juicy, although I’d have liked more mango just for a peppery edge. As it’s predominantly passionfruit, it’s quite sweet with little to temper it. It’s also maybe a touch too floral for my tastes…

I’m thinking I’d probably prefer this one iced or cold-brewed.

This came as a sample with the Whittard gift box I received recently. I’m not a huge fan of Whittard’s green tea, so I wasn’t expecting a lot, but it’s actually pretty nice. There’s a lot of mango, and it’s nicely peppery. I didn’t really get passionfruit. The green base is probably gunpowder, and it was a touch dank for my tastes, at least in a blend that’s presumably supposed to be light and fruity. It was okay, though. I mean, I wouldn’t go out actively seeking this one, but it was perfectly drinkable.

Gave this one a try last night. Instant tea isn’t generally one of my go-tos, but this was a gift and I’m always looking for a decent sleep tea. It’s way sweet, though. Like, seriously. So. Much. Sugar. The fruitiness is nice, if you can find it – I got mostly apricot. According to the ingredients, this one has a black tea base. That seems kinda counterproductive in a sleep tea, but I figure it’s probably so barely there as not to make any real difference – at least not to a hardened caffeine fiend like me. And let’s face it, this is mostly sugar…

That being said, I quite liked it. I wish it was less sweet, just because that’s not really my thing, but I did get a good night’s sleep. Whether this tea helped or not remains to be seen, but I’ll give it more chances in the days ahead.

A tea bag from Izzy I drank in the afternoon. Thank you Izzy!

I made same steeping parameters as in the morning. So, boiling water, 300 ml, 3 and half minutes. Worked as a charm again.

When I took the tea bag out of its foil prison, strong (too strong IMO) aroma of lemons, bergamot and limes hit my nose. Moreover, it smelled like some cleaning agent, not really enjoyable.

But when steeped, and sipped, it is completely different world. It is like earl grey, but something more is there! Tea base is light, but noticable. I think the more is jasmine and/or rose petals in. On tongue it is mellow, as well when drinking it. It is really nice to drink something hot when there is 15°C outside, foggy and rainy – typical autumn weather, or typical English (never been there) weather. It seems that summer is all gone.

This tea, well it is far from best teas I had (loose leaf is loose leaf), but from bag – I have to rate it really high. Mostly for great drinkability, no funky notes and tastes, just do not avoid it because it is over perfumed. It was punch into face, which turned out as great tea. Another example how dry and wet aroma can be different!

Rating 83 – as for tea bag. Maybe loose leaf will cause drop my rating a bit. But for tea bag?

Hanging onto summer to post my final summery tea blend reviews. It’s currently in that in-between stage – sunny and bright like summer, but slightly too cool for shorts and tshirts.

Anyway, about the tea. It’s quite good but very light, unlike limoncello. It’s sweet and gentle with a lemongrass dominant flavour. Little notes of woody herbs pop up too, with a lingering sweetness in the aftertaste from the apple. It’s really pleasant and soothing… I just feel like maybe it’s missing that final ingredient to make it pop.

Speaking of apples, they’re popping up all over the place this week like a theme. The cooking apple tree by my house is starting to drop apples as they ripen – faster than we can eat them. They’re slowly rotting and creating this slightly sweet smell in the air that weirdly I love. It’s one of the first signs of autumn. I’ll collect them later this week for the compost heap.

https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/whittard-limoncello-tea-review/

Picked this up in a boxed collection from T.J.Maxx. While I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, it’s pretty decent for bagged tea, and considering what a hodgepodge T.J.Maxx is, I think I lucked out.

Cold brewed a few teaspoons of this tea overnight. It smells nice but obviously artificially peachy. The flavour is quite nice too but it needs sweetening to taste really good. I didn’t sweeten this time to cut down a few calories. It’s astringent sencha with peach flavouring – not sweet, just peachy. Refreshing? Hell yeah.

Personal note:

It’s the hottest day of the year so far at 31c where I’m living. For me, that’s too hot. I can’t function well above 25c. Predicting this in advance, I had the good sense to make a pitcher of this tea the night before to cold brew in the fridge.

Of course, it all went wrong. I was drinking this outside in my smoothie cup because it has a built in straw and lid so the flies can’t get to it, when a cherry from the tree above me landed on my head. No joke. My head jarred forward in surprise and the hard plastic straw lodged itself in my gums. Blood went everywhere including down the straw into my tea. Now I’m sulking inside with a painful, bruised gum and only a small amount of blood-free tea left. I hope everyone else is having a better day!

Enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. I’m usually guilty of overbrewing this tea and then quickly gulping down the bitter liquor to finish it as quickly as possible. But, as this is review time, I made sure to time it perfectly. 1 minute 30 seconds was just right.

The aroma is tantalising. Dry, it has a lemon and lime zest aroma – like when you’re zesting a lemon and that fine spray goes everywhere. Pour over water, and suddenly it’s smoky and earthy which was completely unexpected but I love smoky so I was breathing that in deeply. About 2 or 3 minutes after removing the tea bag, the aroma switched back to bergamot, citrus and floral notes. The smokiness just evaporated but I’m certain I didn’t imagine it.

The flavour is delicate and refreshing. It’s a pretentious tea in my opinion. Supposed to be eaten with tiny sandwiches and cakes. The texture is silky smooth and I love how it glides over my palate – sometimes citrus sticks to my throat and gets a little tingly, but that didn’t happen here.

The body is medium-light but the floral and citrus notes are undeniably pungent – it’s a weird light/heavy combo that upsets my stomach if I drink it without food. It’s also weird that this tea contains a mix of black, green and oolong teas. It works!

The 70 score is accurate though. I’m not falling in love with this tea or craving another cup. A once-a-month tea when I have to be in the mood for it.

Full review with some nice pictures: https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/whittard-afternoon-tea-review/