Arctic Fire

I love the name of this tea – the word “Arctic” conjures up the image of Northern Lights! I knew it would be a beautiful tea even before I tried it! I had a hot cup of this in a cold morning in Geelong, Australia. It was just like a fire in the Arctic… so warming and comforting that it made me forget about the chilly weather. The fruity flavour was pronounced but since it came from flavouring, there was no tartness in it at all. The fruity and floral notes complemented each other and I absolutely enjoyed both. The dreamy fragrance was simply hard to forget!

At my first cup, I like the refreshing mint aftertaste and the black tea is solid, only there’s a bubblegum flavour in there somewhere I haven’t quite warmed to. Will try again though. An interesting and unique tea if nothing else.

This, like most T2 brews, smelt scrumptious but tasted pretty lacklustre. The soft minty aftertaste was this tea’s saving grace, and I enjoyed it the most when it was lukewarm, rather than piping hot or cold. When steeped for longer than three minutes the light fruity flavours were completely overpowered by the standard black tea taste, so I’d stick to a brief steep time for this one.

It’s not a particularly well balanced tea, unfortunately – the delicious fruity smells translated disappointingly and I couldn’t find any real trace of spice.

All in all, not terrible, but not brilliant either – the aftertaste is quite unique and lovely, but otherwise it’s just a good smelling, average tasting black tea.

Black loose leaf tea with a mid-sized leaf and generous sprinkle of blue cornflowers. Very fresh and clean, with fruit in the mid-mouth and spearmint flavours on the aftertaste. Low tannin; the cup refreshed four times without losing flavour quality, though the intensity faded. A good working afternoon tea.

So-so. Smells great, a bit lacklustre in performance. Wouldn’t buy, but was very glad to get a sample, because otherwise I might have.

Another tea from MissB oh to be involved in all the crazy things she is! :) Miss you!

This one is an interesting tea. I wasn’t quite sure what i was smelling when i brewed it, but the first few sips of this were for sure apricot. the mint addition to this one is a really interesting take on a tea and one that i’m fond of. There’s something neat about sipping on a tea that smells like fruit and summer and then tastes more like winter heh. I am a fan :)

Sipdown!

Decided to go ahead and finish this one off today. This is everything that I wish Harney & Sons apricot was. Its similar in flavor, but this one doesn’t have a weird chemical taste or need sweetener like that Harney one.

This tea has fruity and floral notes with a mint aftertaste that I can’t quite get used to. This one is not for me, I think. I’ve tried it hot and chilled and I definitely prefer it chilled, but fairly weak and with a shot of vodka :)

So… this is one weird tea. It brewed up a really light orange, and I wondered if it was a black. It is. I smell something apricot-ish, yet my tastebuds tell me it’s more strawberry than anything. My lips are burning from I-don’t-know what. It’s got a hint of creaminess to it, and there’s a definite floral edge as well. I wish the burning would stop so I could figure out if I like it or not, but I suspect there’s some sort of strawberry flavoring and thus my reaction. Refraining from rating this one.

I go into my T2 store weekly even if its just for a sample or a chat with the staff. Each time i go i ask them to forward back my request for Arctic Fire to be promted to the “Big Tin” size. Why you ask such devotion? Arctic Fire is the most underated gem of the T2 range. Fruity with a electric minty backtaste is best appriciated by under rather than overbrewing. Also let it cool of a minute or two before that 1st sip. This elixir hints at fruity grapefruit and subtly spiced apricot & peach. The more you brew by the more the cornflower will develop the mint over the fruit. This brew is worth the time to experiment to get the best out of it. Please grab a sample and try it.