A Lovely Brew

We interrupt your irregularly scheduled London Tea Club tea reviews to bring you something a little more romantic. Perhaps I should really have waited until next month (the month of highly commercialised lovey doveliness), but instead, here we are.

I introduce to you Love Tea.

Earlier this month (as I'm sure none of you care) it was my third anniversary with my boyfriend. As such we were taking a break away (a delightful converted wagon shed in the middle of nowhere for the clearest views of the night sky, complete with wood burner for heating and a hot tub for star gazing), and as such one day ended up exploring a city that happened to have a Whittard of Chelsea. For those of you who don't know Whittard is a chain tea shop; while it has interesting teas and paraphernalia, I feel that it does cater more to the casual tea drinker rather than a true tea enthusiast (unlike specialist independent shops, such as the truly amazing Imperial Teas of Lincoln). Still, it's always enjoyable to peruse and it had been quite literally years since I had visited as I no longer have one that is local. I primarily went in to look at teapots and teacups because, in my humble opinion, one can never have enough. The shop was tiny, so their collection was small, although I was drawn to the back where much of the 150th Anniversary Alice in Wonderland collection was on sale. I already have the mug, teacup and teapot, as were bought for me for Christmas by my boyfriend's mother, but I was intrigued to see what else they had. I spotted a little set of three Alice tins, each labelled with English Breakfast, Afternoon and Earl Grey; all staples for any deserving tea collection. They had been marked down to £7 and I thought the caddies were not only cute but, once empty, would be useful for 'travel' tea (I do a lot of camping).

Love at first sight

As we were walking back to the front of the shop to pay, by the counter we noticed a new, limited edition collection of vivid swirls of pink and orange packaging; tea, hot chocolate, mugs. It was a beautifully bold design and I noticed that the tea was labelled 'Love Tea', priced at £10. Right before February, hmm? At this point my boyfriend noticed that the shelf below, in a clear glass tea cup, they had the aforementioned tea. Betwixt the dried apple and hibiscus leaves we both spotted tiny, pink sugar hearts, truly a tea befitting of the title Love (if not the 'tea' bit, given there is no Camellia sinensis present, instead being a 'fruit infusion'). For the novelty (noveltea?) alone the two of us knew I needed it in my collection and, after all, it was our anniversary; we just had to get souvenir tea labelled Love, right? Of course we did.

When we got back to our little cabin (after some delectable ramen at the Japanese restaurant Momo-No-Ki in Shrewsbury), we decided to curl up on the sofa in front of the fire and ward away the January chill with a cup of our new tea/infusion, as invited to by the words curling across the tin; 'Love tea? So do we. We couldn't resit adding a confetti of pink sugar hearts'. The cabin was self catering, but despite having a wide array of pots and pans and tools there was no teapot (let alone infuser) to be found. A sign, perhaps, that I really ought to start packing reusable teabags or infusers in my handbag at all times. There was, however, a cafetiere; by no means perfect, but would suffice at not only brewing the tea, but keeping the fruit pieces out of our cups.

Tea, sweet heart?

So, to the tea itself. Visually, it was deep raspberry tone. Taste wise, the first thing we both noticed was how intensely sweet it was. This was clearly the addition of the sugar hearts, which had now entirely dissolved into the brew. As neither of us ever have sugar in our tea, we both found this a little overpowering. It was not the same natural sweetness of the Caramel Cream, but quite artificial. I feel that for someone who often has sugar in their tea, this would be a delightful treat, but for someone who does not, it was a little sickly. It was a shame because underneath the sugary taste there were some complex flavours. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, but both of us agreed it was not the most exquisite tea we had ever tasted and that it was not one that would be partaken of regularly.

Still, no regrets in buying it. The novelty of the sugar hearts still delighted me and I now had a gorgeous tea caddy (Whittard caddies seem wonderfully made, with a second internal lid to help maintain freshness). Plus, I knew I'd have friends who would appreciate the drink.

A few days later, when we were back at home (and back at work), my parents came over to deliver some yarn for a future knitting project. We got talking about our time away, which prompted me to ask my father (who, if you recall, enjoys an interesting tea as much as I do) if he would like to try some Love Tea, although I did forewarn him of the overwhelming sugar sweet taste. I had offered to remove the hearts, but he decided to first try the drink 'as it was meant to be'. He accepted, so I disappeared to the kitchen to make a pot (in my Whittard Alice teapot, of course). Once again, the first thing that struck about the tea was the sweetness. However, my father also noticed there was a sharp note at the back of the throat; the complex flavours that were, unfortunately, masked by the sugar.

Whittard Alice teapot and teacup (right) and my hand printed
Alice teacup (left) from my mum that made an
unintended pair.

My father also said there was a hint of caramel and queried whether it came from the hearts or not. So I fished out a couple of the tiny pieces of pink confectionery from the caddy for us to try; no, the hearts were not flavoured (they were very much like sprinkles). Unexpectedly, however, eating the hearts alone (how brutal does that sound?) had somehow masked the sweetness of the upon our next mouthful. Finally, a chance to taste the fruit infusion as it was meant to be.

There were a lot of different flavours, but the main body was hibiscus. I felt it tasted both (naturally) sweeter and sharper than hibiscus alone, which was probably the dried apple and the raspberry pieces, respectively. The caramel flavour, upon looking at the ingredients, came from the hazelnut brittle, which no one had realised was in there. This will have also contributed to the sugary taste, and was begin to explain just why it was so strong. There is also beetroot (which I imagine helps give the tea its rich red colouring, alongside the natural rose tones of the hibiscus), cocoa husks, liquorice root, sweet blackberry leaves, coconut pieces and safflower and cornflower petals. It is something quite exotic without bringing in tropical flavours, such as pineapple or passion fruit.

My dad says; 'very sweet. Caramel taste with a bitter undertone, probably from hibiscus. Good if you normally drink tea with sugar. Bit too sweet  if not. Maybe try without the hearts as an option.', while my boyfriend's opinion is 'I found it a bit too sweet. I enjoyed it because I think the name of the tea and the fact it contains sugar hearts make it quite cute for couples but I wouldn't drink it regularly. It might be a good tea to have after a sweet dessert, as the sweetness in the tea would be less obvious.'

My mother actually had a sip of the tea (after imbibing a candy heart) and said it was reminiscent of a summer's day; I would agree. This is the kind of tea that would be perfect on a lazy, summer's afternoon, alongside a scone, whilst relaxing in the garden as a butterfly floats by. One to be drank all in the golden afternoon, you could say.

Leaves a lot of sediment after!

So what is the final verdict of Love Tea? Firstly, the title is misleading; there is no 'tea' and I'm not sure it is one I would recommend, for its taste alone, to someone who loves tea. Someone who loves the idea of tea, or loves enjoying a variety of hot drinks, but I'm not convinced it is one for the connoisseur. Not that there is anything wrong with enjoying something less prestigious; this tea only intends to be fun and in that it succeeds. Secondly, for me, I felt the tea was massively improved by the lack of sugar hearts. It was much more pleasing to my palate and one that I look forward to enjoying again in the warmer months. For those who are prone to adding a spoonful (or five) of sugar to their daily cup, then this will perhaps be perfect addition to the tea cupboard.

Overall, it's a wonderfully whimsical tea with its pretty little hearts, and a cute way of showing your feelings for a loved one, even if it requires a little tinkering to make the perfect cup. Even though it will never be one of my highest rated teas in terms of flavour, in terms of presentation it receives full marks and will forever be a welcome reminder of my time away in the little wooden cabin.