328 Tasting Notes
Alright, I like it. It’s an odd combo of cranberry juice and sour hibiscus, but it’s quite lovely. I’d compare it to sour cranberry candy, hold the sweetness.
I brewed it up hot. Maybe not ideal, but it’s really working for me, in a very odd way. I’ll probably drink the remainder of my 50g bag (less now) iced. I typically don’t drink cold stuff in the winter (with the exception of cold filter water), but I can get behind it. My wife will probably go crazy that I’m making tea HER WAY. ;) She’ll definitely enjoy this, too. Maybe a lot.
Flavors: Cranberry, Hibiscus, Tart
Preparation
I absolutely love this tea blend. The hint of smoke is hardly present, and the creamy fig note is heavy on this brew. It’s borderline a “dessert in a cup,” but in the healthy sense. I’m reminded of yogurt with figs. I’ve already sipped on bag of the tea and working on the second.
Flavors: Caramel, Cream, Fig
Fig? Definitely going to look for this one! (So much for not buying any more tea…)
That’s where I’m at too on my tea journey. 2022 is a year of sipdowns. It’s a fantastic tea. I’ve not had a tea I didn’t like from The Silk Tea Co.
Well, whaddaya know? I didn’t remember adding this to my wishlist but I just got it as an early birthday gift!
Happy birthday! That’s quite a nice gift to receive. Happy sipping! :)
Thank you!
I’d probably receive some hate over this review. I don’t like the Tower of London. I don’t hate it, but it’s not the cup I’d go for often. I disliked it plain. It was bitter. I could partially blame the water at work. I could partially blame my own fault at using the filter boiler/warmer and letting it steep for 3 minutes. I’m too lazy to drag my kettle back and forth. I’ll note that it’s quite lovely with cream/milk, but it’s still nothing I’d rave about.
I love the Paris blend. I love Earl Grey. I think it’s the cranberry (?) in this blend that is killing it for me. I like that citrusy punch with Earl Grey. I can tolerate this one, but that’s it. I would drink it if someone’d offer me a cup, but I’d probably ask for milk. I feel like I’ve letdown the YouTube followers that told me to try it. I don’t think I’ll post a video because it’d only lead to the harsh judgement that befalls amateur tea reviewers. I gave it a try. I did my best to like it.
Flavors: Cranberry, Vanilla
Tower of London is blackcurrant rather than Cranberry, with black tea, oolong, vanilla, bergamot, caramel, and honey flavors in addition. Any chance you had something else or was it tainted in the container?
It was a fresh sample. I’ll give it another go. It didn’t have ingredients listed on the sample, so I was going off of flavors. It could be the blackcurrant.
I wasn’t fond of it either. If I steeped it short, there just wasn’t much in the way of flavor there. If I steeped it longer, it just got bitter.
I gave it a second chance. I thought that maybe it was the popcorn I ate, so I gave it a couple hours. I don’t think it’s for me. I shared some with a coworker and they thought it grand, so it’s me. I’d say it’s good with cream.
It’s unfortunate it was not for you. How similar are Tower of London and Paris? It sounds like Tower of London is Paris with honey flavor added. Harney & Sons also mentions stonefruit in the description but it is not in the list of ingredients, so I am a little confused as to what flavors this tea actually contains. Is it like Paris with honey or is it completely different from Paris? I have a tin of Tower of London on the way and I am curious to try it. I love fruity blacks so I will most definitely enjoy it.
I think that it’s good with cream. Maybe I’m not into the fruity black teas at the moment. I feel like this tea would’ve been something I’d’ve liked at some point, but maybe my palate has changed. Maybe it’s the season. I’m the type of person who’ll go for a certain cup at a certain season. This could just be one of those “not for winter teas.”
No hate from me, by the way! This is a really great community and we all like different things. Sometimes I am into fun, flavored teas and then I go through a streak of just wanting premium leaf served gong fu. One day a tea tastes magnificent with friends at a tea party and then the very same tea falls flat when drinking alone. It is good to hear your opinion!
ToL has a special memory for me. When I was new to good tea I wanted to try it and it was sold out everywhere, even on the Harney site. My husband tracked some down in a distant gift shop and surprised me with it for our anniversary.
That said, my beloved Boston does not taste the same anymore, and personally I think it has to do with the vanilla prices skyrocketing. I suspect that just as Vieux Paris is Paris with artificial vanilla, some of the real vanilla is being substituted in other teas perhaps because they just don’t taste the same. I gave away my tin of Boston.
@ashmanra- I didn’t read anything as hate. It’s always good to see a connection to tea. Paris was one of those teas in my early days that I sipped on and instantly loved. I simply feel bad for not liking it as much as I wanted to. So many people recommended it to me. I’m not typically overly picky and try to find the good in any cup of tea. With cream added, this is a good cuppa! I love the story you have with this tea though :)
I don’t do other social media, but in my experience with steepster, I don’t think you need to worry about “hate” or “judgement” here - if anything we like dissenting opinions on a tea, keeps it interesting, maybe narrows down the wishlist for me.. and I’m a fan of Tower of London! I’m definitely a suggester of “try all the steep parameters possible” for each tea like cooler water & a short steep – even 45 seconds might be better for some flavored teas. But yeah, I like seeing all the opinions on tea here! Welcome to steepster!
I don’t think there’s too much “hate” on going against the majority on any tea. IG doesn’t have too many, and if there are, I’ve been fortunate enough to not find them. I try to try different approaches to tea, too. It could always be my cause for the tea to not sit well. Thank you for the support :)
I was just surprised by your mention of hate and judgement and thought you meant other social media places had a lot of that (I don’t partake, so I wouldn’t know). But I have never had to worry about that on steepster. :D
I should’ve used another term. I just saw that it was highly rated and I thought, “uh oh. They’re going to eat me alive.” :p But nobody did. You all welcomed my review with open and arms, and that’s totally welcoming! :)
Open arms*
Sipdown
I’m sitting in a big open office, alone. I was supposed to be here training, but it was pushed back for a later time. Yet another 10-12 hour day. On the bright side, I’ve tea to sip while I help my team get some work done, and the new hires to arrive at a later time.
Holy moly, I like this one. That watermelon really pops! I wasn’t sure I wanted a cup of this since I stay clear of watermelon teas in the winter. This was a good tea. So much so that I made two cups; thus becoming a sipdown tea. I would totally repurchase this tea if it were available!
Flavors: Fruity, Watermelon
This was from the Adagio CommuniTEA December box. I fell behind on sipping the teas daily due to a schedule change to midnights for two weeks. My motivation was lacking and I numbly sipped on everything else. I decided to stop going through the list until I had enough time to take proper notes with each cup.
I made one 8oz cup with the sample. I threw 205F water in the cup and let it steep for 6 minutes. I typically increase the steep time for Rooibos blends because I think it helps extract the flavors more. I wouldn’t put this on my list of teas to restock. It was slightly boring and the flavor profile weaker than I expected. I assumed that since this was heavy with ingredients, there’d be a lot of depth to the flavor profile. I found that the main flavor was the rooibos and maybe a hint of cinnamon. Heck, I’d give it a better rating if the honeybush was more present, but it wasn’t. It was a pretty basic and boring tea.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Rooibos
Preparation
I read another note here that it’s reminiscent of cleaning products and I GET it. The dry leaf reminds of Goo Gone + Windex. Shrug
The flavor isn’t as harsh though. It’s mildly sweet and has a spice that I can’t quite place. The brew is kind of weak, so I’ll make sure to add more to the next cup. The color of the liquor is pretty, so there’s that.
Flavors: Fruity, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
I was grateful to receive a care package from David’s Tea a couple of weeks ago. They gifted me 4-5 teas plus a teapot set, with two massive mugs. I gave the Cinnamon Oolong the first try of the teas…and I was in heaven.
First Session: Western Brewed (195F, 3-4 mins)
I had to take pause to allow the tea to absorb on the palate. It was deeply rich and warming; it also reminded me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I also thought about my great Aunts who’d boil cinnamon sticks in water to make us “herbal tea.” A flood of memories and good vibes joined me on this tea journey.
Second Session and On: Gongfu’d
I decided to give this a try gongfu’d. I finished the sample with 8g in 120ML gaiwan. I let the first steep run 15-20 seconds. It was very rich and cinnamon-y. It was soothing and really opened the sinuses. I brewed the following steeps at 15 secs (3x), 25 secs (2x), 30 secs (1x), and 60 secs (2x). I lost the flavor after the first 60 second mark, but I wanted to do my best to extract everything from the leaf. I find that this one brews well gongfu cha a lot more than western, but if I were to brew for friends/family, I’d make it in the big glass pot that David’s Tea included with the gift set.
PS. I DID order 100g after I received a mysterious gift card in my work email. I cannot get enough of this tea!
Flavors: Cinnamon
Sipdown
This is my first tea review on Steepster for 2022. :)
I was happy to snag 50g of this tea when it was first released. It was recommended to me by a tea vlogger (Tea With Jann), so I snagged some. Earl Grey’s typically the staple for when I’m not craving anything else in the cabinet. I was interested in this simply for the new approach to Earl Grey…with Pumpkin. I’m a huge fan of pumpkin flavors in the fall, plus the recommendation, I was sold.
I finished the last few grams of this today. I have this bad habit of hoarding small amounts of teas that I like/love. I sure LOVED this one. After trying it the first time, I wanted to get a lot more, on the account it was seasonal. Unfortunately for me, it sold out. Therefore, I drank all of it with the exception of two teaspoons…until this morning. It was perfect.
This cuppa is warming, spicy, nutty, and loaded with pumpkin-bergamot flavors. I usually drank it plain, with the one time I added oatmilk (which was perfect). The tea doesn’t need anything else to make it a good cuppa. I like to add 195F water to the leaf, steep for 3.5 mins, and sip it up. I make another cup with the same leaves (195F, 6-8 mins, and sip). The second cup isn’t as in your face with flavor, but it still holds true to the warming effect. It was a good cup for a mildly chilly day or for these unexpected warmer days, too.
Flavors: Bergamot, Pumpkin, Spices
