61 Tasting Notes
Yesterday, after riding the new Alien Swirling Saucer in Hollywood Studios, my husband and I ventured over to Epcot for a little of the Food and Wine Festival. Seeing as we’re passholders with plans to spend a longer time there in a few weeks, we just popped into a few shops around the World Showcase to look for anything they might have gotten in since we were last there in May. (We don’t do summer in Disney. Too hot. Too busy.) Twinings added some little drawers across from the register that you pull out to find some loose leaves under a plexiglass with holes in it for smelling some new teas. They only have 4 available to smell. As soon as I got a whiff of this, I was sold. It smells heavenly if rose. I want to wear it. I want to bathe in it. For now, I shall drink it! The aroma is so lovely and strong of rose, if you aren’t a fan of the fragrant flower, then this isn’t one for you. It tastes more of rose than black tea, and I find it absolutely amazing. The quality of tea is also new from Twinings. The tea comes in little pyramid bags filled with nice sized leaves. Looks like a much pricier tea. Apparently, it was a limited edition flavor in the UK, and now it is only sold in the Twinings shop in Epcot. Just one of the many unique Twinings finds I’ve purchased at Epcot. Highly recommend to rose fans!
Flavors: Rose
Preparation
It tastes nearly identical to the original, but perhaps it doesn’t get as thick when oversteeped (which is something I enjoy doing with my black teas – especially my earl greys). Worth purchasing if you like the original. Can never have too much tea in the cupboard – says the girl with over 100 teas.
Preparation
I always have some of this on hand. Very tasty and the dry leaf has a really good smell ive not noticed in other teas. Doesn’t really go into the final brew, but very nice.
Wise tea drinkers keep a stash of ungoofables among the fancier stuff. This definitely qualifies!
“Ungoofables.” I like this term. lol
“Heaven! Must be missin some tea leaves!”
:clears throat: Let me compose myself a little before I begin.
I recently visited a Persian restaurant that had a little market within that sold Iranian goods. From the description of their teas on the menu, I was more than a little curious to try some tea. Before I ordered my main meal, I perused the market and spotted this beautiful tin of Ceylon tea with bergamot. You know what that means, ladies and gents, don’t you? Why it means Earl Grey, of course. My absolute favorite of all the teas. So soothing. So refreshing. So delicious!
I quickly put it on my table so that it could be added to our bill. When the friendly host saw that I’d purchased a tea, he came to see which one and was happy to tell me the one I’d chosen was his favorite. That had me even more excited to try it!
I got home, opened the foil bag within the tin, and breathed it… heaven.
The tea leaves are nice and large, not ground up like some other loose leaf teas. And the bergamot is nice and heavy, just as I love! I now have this tea every. Single. Day. At least once, and I’m nowhere near ever getting sick of it. Also note, I’m a heavy steeper. I don’t remove the tea at any point (unless it’s one of the stronger black teas because I love it strong.)
Where my bergamot buds at? This tea is for us!
Flavors: Bergamot
Preparation
Harney & Sons is one of my favorite companies for black teas. No one puts out as many hits as them in my opinion. From their Earl Grey to their Holiday tea, they alway impress and leave me wanting another cup.
As for their green teas, I’d only ever had Cherry Blossom green by them. A surprisingly delightful tea considering I don’t tend to enjoy fruity teas.
Last night, I went to a Japanese buffet with my husband and one of our friends. They didn’t have pots of teas for the table, only cups. And only one tea: Harney & Sons Japanese Sencha.
At first, I found the tea absolutely delightful. However, when I got to the bottom, things got a little odd. Usually, I leave my tea bags in the entire time because I like it strong. Very few teas are too strong for me to handle the bag being kept in for longer than a few minutes (Yorkshire for example). When I reached the bottom of this tea, I was met with an extremely tart finish that I’d never experienced with a proper green before. When enjoying a cup of tea, you don’t want those last sips to ruin your entire cup. And that’s why this doesn’t get a very high rating from me.
