Author: Michelle

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Tetley’s Earl Grey

Earl Grey by Tetley
Black Tea / Flavoured
$4.74 for 48g (24 sachets) via Amazon

First Impressions

Taking on Tetley’s Earl Grey was a bit of a challenge for me. Not because I find it difficult to review Earl Grey teas, or teas in general, but because I know that it’s quite beloved by a lot of people (including a lot of my coworkers). It’s a classic tea and it’s a readily available classic tea, which makes it all the more popular. Earl Grey comes in a familiar canister, with a plastic lid that fits snug into place and a foil seal that kept the tea bags from getting stale.

Each tea bag is a familiar round bag with no tag. The dry leaf has a light bergamot aroma to it, I was hopeful for a little bit more. Earl Grey consists of black tea and natural flavour. The packaging mentions Orange Pekoe, but it’s not listed under the ingredients to specify the type of black tea.

Preparation

Tetley recommends steeping in boiling water (100°C/212°F) for 3 to 4 minutes, and suggests “serve clear or with milk and/or sugar”. My initial steep was for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Earl Grey steps to a reddish brown. I found that the flavour to better than I expected considering how light the bergamot aroma was in the dry leaf. I can taste both the black tea base and the bergamot flavouring. Although I did steep it according to the recommendations, I found that there was a slight bitterness at the end of each steep. I did a second initial steep at 3 minutes and found that it was still present.

I did add a touch of honey and evaporated milk to my cup, and found that it covered up the bitterness easily.

A Second Cup?

My attempt to resteep Earl Grey was disappointing as the flavour of bergamot was missing. I would say that Earl Grey is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Tetley’s Earl Grey was just okay. For the price, I was pleasantly surprised by the initial steep of Earl Grey (although I think for future attempts I’d do even shorter steeps). I found that this tea took very easily to being doctored, since the bergamot wasn’t overwhelming. I think it’d be a great candidate for milk tea if you’re looking for an easily accessible tea to use!

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Rose Matcha Latte

I recently tried a rose matcha latte at a cafe and it tasted like drinking perfume (and I don’t like drinking perfume, or potpourri…). But I was really intrigued by the idea of a rose matcha latte that didn’t taste like a dried bouquet so I set off on determining the right ratios of rose to everything else in order to get the flavour profile balanced, so I hope you enjoy trying out my Rose Matcha Recipe!

Bonus fun fact! Today (August 22nd) is One More Steep’s birthday! I’ve been posting reviews and recipes since 2015. To date, I have written 336 reviews, and this is my fifth recipe!

Rose Matcha Latte Recipe

1 tablespoon matcha
100mL water
1-2 tsp Rose Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
250-300mL milk (or dairy-free alternative), frothed
1-2 crushed petals from rose buds.

Sift the matcha into your bowl (or blender bottle if you’re using that).
Whisk with the heated water, and then pour into a cup.
Stir in the Rose Simple Syrup.
Froth milk – use your milk frother or (my personal favourite method) shake up a mason jar.
Pour milk into the cup of tea, spoon foam over the top.
Sprinkle crushed rose petals over top.
And enjoy!

Rose Simple Syrup Recipe

1 cup sugar*
1 cup water*
1 Tbsp dried organic rose buds

* You can make more or less simple syrup depending on how often you want to have a Rose Matcha Latte, as long as you use equal parts water and sugar. You will want a clean jar/bottle on hand to store the Rose Simple Syrup.

Combine sugar and water into a saucepan and place over medium heat.
Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Allow syrup to simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Add rose buds, stir, allow to simmer for an additional 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Once cooled, strain/remove rose buds
Pour Rose Simple Syrup into a jar or bottle and refrigerate.
The Rose Simple Syrup will keep for at least 2 weeks in the fridge – don’t forget to label it with the date!

If you make this Rose Matcha Latte, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!

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Aroma Tea House’s Tieguanyin Oolong

Anxi Tieguanyin by Aroma Tea House
Oolong Tea / Straight
$12.00 for 100g

First Impressions

Anxi Tieguanyin is one of my Vancouver Tea Festival purchases that I’m finally getting around to reviewing and sharing. This oolong came to me in a cardboard tube with a bright green label telling me what type of oolong it is. The leaves are tightly bunched together, with an almost reddish-brown hue to the colour of the dry leaf.

Aroma wise, this straight oolong has a woody aroma to it, with a hint of stone fruit and some roasted notes to it.

Preparation

There weren’t preparation recommendations on the packaging. I did an initial steep of Anxi Tieguanyin in 195°F (90°C) for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Anxi Tieguanyin steeps to a beautiful golden yellow, it’s quite vibrant and very pleasant to look at. There’s a nice honeyed sweetness to the tea, a light amount of creaminess with a pleasant fruity flavour that reminds me of dried apricots. There’s some roasted notes to this tea, that have a touch of woodsy flavour to it, but it’s not overwhelming the rest of the flavours.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Anxi Tieguanyin a total of six times (seven steeps total), adding an extra 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the fruity notes got stronger while the woodsy flavours subsided into the background. Very pleasant mix of flavours and it’s well balanced.

My Overall Impression

I loved Aroma Tea House’s Anxi Tieguanyin. I found the flavour of this oolong to be really enjoyable, with a nice balance of flavours between the sweet, roasted, and woody notes. It resteeped really well, and made for an enjoyable tea drinking session. It was complex enough to hold my interest throughout each steep, and just had a well-balanced flavour profile that made me want to drink more. I think it could have done a few more steeps, since the sixth resteep that I did was still quite flavourful.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.