Summer Tea; Blissful Sleep, Chocolate Mint and Cherry Almond

Hello to all and what wonderful weather August has brought us. Of course, sunshine and clear skies are not all August gave to me, oh no, I have, of course, got more tea. At the beginning of the month I recieved not only my usual London Tea Club box, but also a sample of Taylors of Harrogate that I sent off for. Exciteaing times!

In truth, I had forgotten that I had applied for the free sample of Taylors of Harrogate teas, so it was a nice surprise when it arrived, in a little white envelope. The packaging itself is white with a vibrant yellow border with flowers pick out in a very summery manner. The front of the packaging informs me that Taylors of Harrogate supply 'vibrant range of fruit, herbal & green teas', and that this sample pack is 'celebrating the world of flavor with bees'. When unfolded, there are three, sealed tea bags tacked to the 'pages' along with information about the Kew Gardens partnership (with a shout out to bumble bees for pollinating the flowers they use in their infusions), a list of other flavours available and details of a competition. The three teas I recieved were Sour Cherry, Green Tea & Mint and Sweet Rhubarb.

As of yet, I have not tried these teas, but they do look exciting (I am not so elitist as to deny the simple pleasures of a good quality herbal/fruit infusions) and they smell amazing from what I can detect through the wrapping.


London Tea Club's delivery felt less sunny in comparison, but no less intriguing. Before I had even opened up the package, I noticed that there has been a slight change to the labels. The labels are a little more bold and striking and have lost that subtly ornate flare. The same is true of the labels on the test tubes and the descriptive cards, which are now white instead of black. While I don't mind the change (it's not really that overt, I just always notice the nuances), I did prefer the old design; I felt it had a little more character. (I was also a little disappointed in the use of 'Fall' in place of 'Autumn' in the newsletter as, as far as I am aware, this is an English based company.)

But you're not here to read about my opinions on a bunch of labels. That would be a very different blog entirely.

August's box brought with it Cherry Almond, Blissful Sleep and Chocolate Mint.

The first tea I tried was the Chocolate Mint, which I had one evening after dinner. Chocolate Mint is a black tea; a Ceylon base, then flavoured with chocolate essence and blended with peppermint*. Upon opening the test tube you are struck with the distinct smell of mint, although it is not as powerful as many mint infusions. Upon brewing, it creates a deep, chocolate coloured liquor and becomes even more fragrant. This one my boyfriend was very excited to try. As I sipped I realised that, unsurprisingly enough given the name, it tasted exactly like an After Eight. As my boyfriend said, this tea is exactly as it says on the, uh, test tube. It's delicious though and I imagine would be even more indulgent with a splash of milk. It's not like a mint infusion, which tastes fresh and invigorating; this is more like that guilty mocha or hot chocolate you treat yourself too. It's a slightly more subtle flavour than a mint infusion, and sweeter, with rich, chocolatey undertones. Mmm, yum! I would definitely recommend this tea to those who like something sweet or want something more sugar free than a minty mocha/hot chocolate (to be honest, I would probably recommend this to those who don't even like tea, assuming they like mint). My brother doesn't trust After Eights (it is a long story), so I'm half tempted to chase him around his house with this one.

*Flavoured, or scented, is when  the tea is 'infused' with a certain flavour, either naturally or artifically; this is usually by the addition of essence or placing dried tea leaves with the extra ingredient (for example, jasmine) so that it absorbs the aroma (but the ingredient is then removed before packaging). Alternatvely, blended tea is the addition of other ingredients, such as dried fruit, petals or spices. I am in the process or writing up a tea glossary that I will include on this blog when complete.



The second tea I tried was Blissful Sleep. This tea is actually a herbal infusion; presumably so as o make it caffeine free. And what a herbal infusion, containing a mix of (prepare yourselves), camomile, lemon balm, lemon verbena, linden flowers, anise, cinnamon, oat straw, hops, passion flower and orange peel. Phew! The dry leaves are not hugely aromatic, but there is a natural sweetness to it. The liquor is surprsingly dark, but still golden in colour (although much less green than I imagined). The taste is rather complex, as to be expected from such a dearth of ingredients, but has a honey like quality. Despite the citrussy ingredients, there is only a slight tang, manifesting itself in candied notes rather than sour. It is very soothing and calming, definitely a brew for after a long day.

The third, and final, London Tea Club tea is Cherry Almond. I already have a tea called Battenberg, which is similar mix of almond and berries, so I had anticipated that this tea would have a comparable taste. Cherry Almond, much like Chocolate Mint, works with a Ceylon base; it is flavoured with cherries and blended with slices of almond (quite large pieces, easily identifiable beteen the leaves), cranberries, sunflower and calendula petals. The dried blend has a very pungent, fruity aroma that is not at all unpleasant. When I brewed the tea (which I ended up having in bed, because I can), the liquor was surprisingly pale; I had expected something rich in colour, but instead got much more golden tones. The heady scent was a that of berries, reminiscent of English hedgerows and utterly amazing. The taste was a little unexpected; I had expected it to taste like my Battenberg tea. However, it tasted much more like jam tarts; it is one of the most powerful flavoured teas I have ever experienced. I imagine that this tea is what people expect when they buy pre-packaged fruit infusions from the supermarket. It was, quite simply, wonderful. This is easily one of the most delicious flavoured black teas I have ever sampled and I would recommend it to anyone. It is both sweet and fruit, with strong cherry notes. Truly, this tea is one that should be tried by tea newbies and conoissers alike. I love it.

Overall, while August's box may not have offered up the rarest or most sophisticated of teas, it gave me a delightful trio than I am very pleased to have recieved. Although London Tea Club have ever let me down with a delivery (in fact, I have been thrilled with every one), I would say this is probably one of the best I have recieved. Truly, August is shaping up to be a wonderful month for teas.