Category: Review

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California Tea House’s Titanic Blossom

Titanic Blossom by California Tea House
White Tea / Flavoured
$3.00USD for 1 ball

California Tea House has provided me with Titanic Blossom for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I love blossoming teas. There’s just something really magical about the artistry that goes into these beautiful hand-tied works of art. If you’re not familiar with blossoming teas, they are these tea balls that open up when steeped to reveal beautiful flowers inside – and I personally think they’re a real treat. These are definitely not teas that you would pop into a travel mug – you’ll want to sit down and enjoy the full steeping process and watch these balls open up!

Titanic Blossom came to me as an individually packaged tea ball. For this particular blossoming tea, it consists of silver needle (white tea), globe amaranth, jasmine, and peony flowers. The aroma from this tea ball is very subtle – I mostly smell the jasmine.

Preparation

California Tea House recommends steeping Titanic Blossom in boiling water for 4 to 6 minutes, until the flowers have opened up. I steeped Titanic Blossom for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Titanic Blossom steeps to a reddish orange, with full blooms of the globe amaranth, jasmine, and peony – one of each. The aroma is very floral, and has a hint of sweetness. As you can see from the image below, the flowers open up and are in nest of the silver needle tea leaves.

The flavour of this tea is quite floral – there’s a touch of sweetness, and I can taste the white tea base as well – it lends a nice crispness to this tea. I like the smoothness to this tea, it has a great flavour to it. I really enjoy the sweetness in this tea though, I’m not sure if that is a quality from the flowers or the silver needle, either way it goes well with the floral notes. The jasmine is noticeable and can be picked out, but isn’t to the point where it overwhelms the other floral aromas and flavours.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Titanic Blossom twice, and found that the floral notes were considerably less compared to the initial steep. The silver needle flavours were still present, so it was less floral but still remained sweet. It makes for a nice cup of tea still, even with less floral notes.

My Overall Impression

I loved California Tea House’s Titanic Blossom. I love blossoming teas because it’s entertainment and a tea, all in one. I would definitely recommend steeping this tea in a clear glass teapot, so you can get the full experience. The flavours in this blend of silver needle and flowers is delicious and well balanced. I think it would make an excellent iced tea – and how appropriate would those flowers be in the summer? I understand that blossoming teas always seem to be on the more expensive side, but I think you do need to take into consideration that it is a hand-tied floral arrangement inside of tea. It’s obviously not really an ‘every day’ sort of tea, but more of a tea for a special occasion or a #treatyoself moment and $3USD for a fancy treat doesn’t sound too bad!

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DavidsTea’s Green Spiral

Green Spiral by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$12.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Green Spiral is the last of the trio of DavidsTea’s latest straight tea offerings. This Chinese green tea, which comes from the Yunnan Province, came to me in a resealable silver bag as I had purchased it in store. The tea leaves are rolled up, although not uniform in size or shape. The multi coloured dried tea leaves have a grassy aroma.

In the description of Green Spiral, DavidsTea suggests that the tea is rolled up “like a cute little snail shell”. If you know Chinese green teas, you’ll know that this describes biluochun, a tea with a name that translates to green snail spring.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Green Spiral in hot water for 2 to 3 minutes, where “hot water” is specified on their product page as being 75-80°C (167-176°F). I did an initial steep of Green Spiral at 175°F, which is the green tea setting for my Breville IQ Kettle, for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Green Spiral steeps to a pale yellow. The aroma that comes up from the steeped tea is grassy. On first taste, I note that there’s a grassy flavour, with a slight sweetness that lingers at the end of each sip. The tea is smooth, and has a nice mouthfeel to it. There’s nothing unpleasant about this tea, but also nothing that really makes it stand out in my mind either.

I did pour some of this tea into a glass and tucked it into the fridge. It makes for a nice refreshing glass of iced tea as well, if you’re wanting a iced green tea as the weather (finally!) warms up.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Green Spiral four times and enjoyed watching the leaves open up more and more with each steep. The flavour was stronger for the first resteep, and slowly began to wane with each subsequent steep. Overall, the flavour balance remained constant and was a pleasant cup of green tea.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Green Spiral. This green tea resteeped well, and had a lovely grassy flavour to it. The one thing really stopping me from wanting to keep a big bag of this tea in my tea stash is the fact that it doesn’t really stand out for me. There’s so many green teas out there that are equally good, but this one is also on the slightly more expensive side (in comparison) and it’s not wowing me over to want to keep it on hand. That said, if you’re wanting to try a good quality green tea, Green Spiral does fall into that category and it resteeps very well, so you know you can definitely get your money’s worth with this green tea.

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Harney & Sons’ Paris

Paris by Harney & Sons
Black Tea & Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$8.50USD for 4oz

First Impressions

I bought Paris at Harney & Sons SoHo location in New York City during my visit back in October 2017 and I couldn’t resist getting it after one of the salespeople working in the store told me that it was one of  Harney & Sons’ best selling teas. So of course I had to give it a try. Paris came to me in a metal tin, the tea itself is loose in a tin (not like Bancha where the tea was in a foil package inside of the tin). The aroma of the dry leaf is primarily fruity with a hint of vanilla.

Paris consists of: black tea, oolong tea, black currant flavour, vanilla flavour, bergamot oil, and caramel flavour. If you asked me to pick out the oolong tea in this blend, I’d probably laugh at you. There are some leaves that appear more twisted and long than others, but the aroma of this tea is beautiful. I love the fruity aroma – I’ve actually never eaten black currant before (but I have had black currant candy so I can pick out the flavour), but it smells so good.

Preparation

Harney & Sons recommends steeping Paris in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 minutes, and then to “Remove the tea leaves. Relax and enjoy.” Well, don’t mind if I do! I steeped Paris for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Paris steeps to a beautiful golden orange, the aroma from this tea is nothing short of enticing. There’s the aromas of vanilla, citrus, and black currants. I can’t make out the fragrances of black or oolong tea in the steeped tea. On first sip, I note some sweetness to this tea. The vanilla notes make the tea have more of a cream flavouring to it, as it reminds me of baked goods. The citrus and black currants have great flavour, and there’s a robustness to this tea. It honestly reminds me a lot of an Earl Grey because of the bergamot, with an added lightness with the vanilla and fruitiness from the black currant.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Paris twice. I found that the flavours weren’t as strong as the first steep, but still palatable. I found that there’s still a sweetness to this tea, and the vanilla and bergamot was mostly still present However, the black currant is missing. The second resteep was very watery and not nearly as tasty. I would say that Paris is good for just one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Harney & Sons’ Paris. It’s a lovely black tea blend, and has a lovely fruity aroma and flavouring to it. I really enjoy the addition of vanilla, and the bergamot really reminds me of the classic Earl Grey – which is one of my favourites. The creaminess that the vanilla adds to this tea is a welcome change from a classic, and I can see why Paris is one of Harney & Sons’ best selling teas. I think this tea would make an excellent afternoon tea selection with the sweetness and vanilla to compliment the macarons and other desserts.

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