St. James Tearoom

We really enjoyed this one during afternoon tea. It’s such a great balance of black tea and fruit. They sent us home with some extra, and this time it tastes quite floral and like dried strawberries. It’s a little lighter than I’d prefer, but interesting!

Hmm I’m not a big darjeeling person, though this one didn’t seem to have the usual qualities I would expect. Actually, it was a little bitter/harsh for me. With milk and sugar, it was okay, but I wouldn’t choose it. My friends at afternoon tea really liked this one, so I left most of the pot for them.

The spices here are so warming and nice. It’s perfect on the rooibos base with sugar and milk. It’s like a cake or cookie or something.

I know St James gets some of its teas from Adagio, and I don’t like Adagio’s chocolate or cherry flavoring, so I’ll admit I was nervous when this one was served. I’m pleased to say this was great! Upon further research, it looks like this one is from somewhere else. The chocolate and black tea were well-balanced and tasty. There was a hint of cherry beneath that. Nothing was too fake, just smooth and delicious with milk and sugar.

This tea came with our first course during our Pooh themed afternoon tea, probably my favorite theme yet. This was quite a pleasant, well-balanced tea. I enjoyed it with sugar and milk. It had a good amount of body. I’d drink it again!

This was my favorite tea of the afternoon. The carrots and fruits were super tasty, and they said not to put milk in it, but I did anyway, and I felt like that only made things tastier. They gave me a sample to take home, which I had cold so I could try it in a different way than they served it. The flavor is really layered and interesting. It’s a mixture of herbaceous and fruity flavors, but it all works. Not one of my favorites herbals, but one I certainly don’t mind drinking. The berries come through really well with sugar.

This is pretty peachy and nice with some sugar! It was served hot, but I bet it would be great cold. The fruit is a little tart, but not overly so.

St James sent us home with this free sample for their Willy Wonka themed month. It smells like fake low quality chocolate, but I tried to be optimistic. Yeah, the flavor is mostly fake alcohol-tasting chocolate, unfortunately. I get a bit of black tea too, but sadly I think this is my least favorite tea I’ve had from St James. I didn’t have this one while I was there, and they’re brewing magicians, so maybe they can make it taste good if you try it in-house.

I liked this a lot more than I expected. The base tea was plantlike, but somehow in just the right way. The berries were really authentic and light. It was served hot, which was tasty, but I bet it would be even better cold. I would totally drink this again!

This mostly tastes like hearty EG with a teeny bit of something else in there…maybe I can taste the jasmine! It’s not something I necessarily need again, but it was enjoyable warm with sugar and milk.

I don’t love fruity red rooibos. Here, I tasted berries and the medicinal rooibos, and at first I didn’t really like it. It’s supposed to have white chocolate and persimmon, but I don’t taste that. Milk makes this taste more desserty and pleasant and a little bit fruity. I guess most teas can be tasty if dressed up enough.

This tastes like strawberry and decent green tea, though there’s a little bitterness. I prefer green tea cold, and this was served hot, so I added some milk. I wouldn’t necessarily want this one again. As it cooled, the candylike strawberry showed up more, which I enjoyed. I like the strawberries and cream vibe the milk adds.

The strawberry flavor is delicate and candylike. I added some milk, and it gained a wonderful strawberries and creme type vibe. I do taste some puerh at the end of the sip, but it’s very subtle. I would have guessed black tea if I didn’t know. This was my favorite tea of the afternoon for sure.

We went to St. James for afternoon tea today, and this is the first tea they served. The lavender is really strong and tasty. The black tea is hearty and nice. It was delicious sweetened with milk. The bergamot shows up a little bit, but not enough for me to really call this a lavender EG.

This is a fantastic EG. It’s floral and herbaceous in just the right way. The black tea base is strong and tasty. It all combines perfectly. I love the herbs and bergamot together.

When I had this at St James, I thought the spices were pretty clear and strong with some sugar and milk. I tasted clove and maybe ginger and some other things. The rooibos base was perfect. They gave me a sample of this to take home, and I didn’t enjoy it quite as much – I guess they’re better at brewing tea than I am? At home, it was a little thin and I tasted something almost like turmeric. The spices also weren’t quite as strong. Still not a bad herbal chai.

This tastes mostly like bordering on bitter black tea, though I know St James steeps their teas a little longer than I would. It was still pleasant enough with milk. I could taste a little bit of cherry, but it’s much more of a subtle hint than I would prefer. I don’t notice the vanilla at all.

This has to be the best tea I’ve had at St. James. It’s so rich and chocolatey with some milk and a little sugar. The black base is smooth, and the chocolate is so authentic and satisfying. I’m not sure where they source this one from, so I may just have to buy some from them.

This is really warming. It’s a little fruity and very mildly spiced, mostly floral really. Actually I could see it being orange spice. The cinnamon is delicious without being too prevalent, a nice cinnamon bark type of flavor.

This reminds me super strongly of a Teavana tea from long ago…maybe toasted nut brulee? I taste some warming cinnamon with some tasty nuts. I’m enjoying it sweetened with milk. It’s slightly fruity, but really mostly nutty.

The flavor here is simple and mildly appley. It’s not really better than bagged chamomile, but I happen to really like bagged chamomile. The fruit flavor is authentic and not tart, just warming and pleasant. I had it warm sweetened with milk. If I’d been at home, I would have liked to put some in the fridge to try it cold to see if more apple appeared that way.

The first time I had this, I thought it tasted nutty and mildly spiced and really pleasant with milk and sugar. It was a little fruity, but mostly nutty, and the spices were warming and nice. They often include this tea as an herbal option at St. James, and the second and third times I had it, it tasted really grapey, but in a nice sweet way. The apple and nuts are still there way in the background. The last time I was there, I finished all my teas early and they brought me an extra pot of this, which was a nice surprise.

I taste some warming lemon rind and a bit of a floral element. It all combined perfectly with just a little sugar. I would normally drink something like this cold, so I was surprised by how pleasant it was warm. St. James is always broadening my horizons!