Posts

Posted on

Tea Experience: Honeybee Centre

Honeybee Centre
Surrey, BC
Fry’s Corner Beestro
Afternoon Tea $20 for Adults, $12 for Children

I went to the Honeybee Centre a few weeks ago with a friend for their afternoon tea. I think the last time I ventured into the Honeybee Centre was probably for some sort of field trip in elementary school to learn about bees and pollination. If you’ve never been to the Honeybee Centre, there are tours offered for school and seniors groups, a shop to buy all things honey, and their Beestro – where you can have afternoon tea or a more practical meal.

Each table included a honey bear for all your honey sweetening needs – I quite liked that touch. The servers were friendly and enthusiastic whenever they stopped by the table. While I was there for tea, there was a very large (read: 3 large tables worth of people) party that was loud and did manage to take up a lot of the servers’ attention, as one might expected. There’s also an outdoor patio if you want to eat outside.

I usually opt for a black tea with afternoon tea, but because it was such a hot day when we visited, I wasn’t really feeling it. For my tea choice, I had Nana’s Fruit Garden, which is described as a “bright, flavourful fruit tea with berries, apples, and hibiscus” while my friend had the Blossom Organic Green Tea. Our teas came in French presses. Nana’s Fruit Garden steeps to a deep red. It has a lovely fruity sweetness to it, I could taste both apples and berries in it, and it had a touch of tartness from the hibiscus. Nothing a little bit of honey couldn’t fix!

 

The afternoon tea goodies were placed on a two-tier stand. The bottom tier contained all the sandwiches. There was the chicken, brie and red pepper jelly panini (2 pieces per person), egg salad roll, and the artichoke ciabatta. I wasn’t blown away by the egg salad roll or artichoke ciabatta, but I loved the chicken, brie, and red pepper jelly sandwich. It was a delicious flavour combination.

Chicken, brie, and red pepper jelly panini.

The honeycomb scone was paired with a devonshire cream, which also had honey in the small bowl. The devonshire cream wasn’t as thick as I’ve experienced it before in other places, but it was tasty. The scone was really tasty, it definitely had a nice sweetness to it.

Honeybee cupcake.

The sweets included French macaron (we received a strawberry macaron and what tasted like vanilla bean), honeybee cupcake, and salted honey tart. The salted honey tart had an alright tart shell, but the salted honey filling was divine. I’m not sure what they put in there besides salt and honey, but it made my mouth so happy to be here. The cupcake was moist with a sweet frosting on top, and it had a great honey flavour. My friend and I wound up getting a knife to cut the macarons in half so we could each experience both flavours. My favourite was the strawberry, it had a very nice brightness to the berry flavour.

French macarons.

After the tea, we took some photos of the blossom trees, and shopped the gift shop – I picked up some honey and bee pollen (to help with my seasonal allergies!). There’s some beautiful blossom trees right out front, and I saw a lot of honey bees flying around!

I had a really fun time with afternoon tea at the Beestro at the Honeybee Centre. The service was great and I really enjoyed the food. I think next time I go, I’d opt for a more traditional black tea with the afternoon tea service. It’s a fun location, definitely kid friendly if you opt to take any children with you. There’s honey facts everywhere, so you might even learn a little something.

Posted on

Wize Monkey’s Earl Grey

Earl Grey by Wize Monkey
Herbal Tisane / Flavoured
$10.49 for 35g (15 sachets)

Wize Monkey has provided me with Earl Grey for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I am not going to lie, I was a bit apprehensive about trying Wize Monkey’s Earl Grey. If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while (or following me on Instagram, where I share tea photos every day), you’ll know that I love Earl Grey. I love Earl Grey so much that I’ve published two recipes on One More Steep using that very tea because it’s one of my absolute favourites. There’s something relaxing about a good cup of Earl Grey, and seeing that it’s one of my favourites it made me nervous about trying this one – if only because I probably have absurdly high standards for a good Earl Grey (sorry, Wize Monkey).

With that in mind, I opened up the packaging on the Earl Grey sachets with enthusiasm (it is Earl Grey, after all!). The pyramid sachets emitted the very familiar aroma of bergamot oil. The citrus aroma overwhelms the coffee leaf base just enough that it makes me think it’s a regular Earl Grey. Wize Monkey’s Earl Grey consists of arabica leaves and bergamot oil.

Preparation

Wize Monkey recommends steeping Earl Grey in 95C (203F) water for as long as you’d like, since coffee leaf doesn’t get more bitter the longer you steep it – which is fantastic if you’re prone to steeping a cuppa, walking away and forgetting about it until it’s too late. My initial steep of Earl Grey was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Earl Grey steeps to a golden orange that is quite similar to most of rest of the Wize Monkey tisanes that I’ve already tried (and reviewed). The aroma that comes up from the steeped tisane is that of the bergamot oil, so we’re already off to a good start. The flavour of this coffee leaf tea is both familiar yet… not. I can definitely taste the bergamot oil, it’s something that I can smell from the tea and taste as I sip it. The nuttiness from the coffee leaf tea is very much present, and I thought it’d make me a bit sad that it’s not a cup of black tea, but it doesn’t. It adds a certain something to this version of Earl Grey, but it lacks the pep that I’ve come to expect from previous Earl Grey experiences. I think the coffee leaf tea makes for a different type of Earl Grey experience, but still presents itself well as a black tea alternative.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Earl Grey twice. I found the first resteep to be fairly similar to the initial steep, while the second resteep was lacking some of the bergamot oil that I was hoping to find. I would say that Earl Grey is good for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Wize Monkey’s Earl Grey. I’m probably overly critical because I love Earl Grey tea so much, but I really did enjoy this coffee leaf version of Earl Grey. The bergamot oil played a good role in presenting itself as an Earl Grey, while the coffee leaf made for a lighter version of Earl Grey. I’m really used to Earl Grey made with a black tea base, so with that punch of flavour and caffeine. I found that the coffee leaf made for a milder base, which lacked that pow of caffeine, but still held its own. I think if you’re looking for a milder version of Earl Grey, Wize Monkey’s would be a great choice. It retains the trademark qualities of an Earl Grey but holds itself up with the coffee leaf base well.

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

Posted on

Metropolitan Tea Company’s Organic Earl Grey

Organic Earl Grey by Metropolitan Tea Company
Black Tea / Flavoured
$15.00 for 100g

Mint and Honey has provided me with Metropolitan Tea Company’s Organic Earl Grey the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I was tickled to see Organic Earl Grey in the package that I received from Mint and Honey, if only because I’m a huge fan of this classic black tea. It came to me in a sample packet, a resealable kraft bag with a little window to see the tea. When I opened it, I could smell the bergamot oil. I’m always a fan of bergamot because I find it to be rather inviting. Since I’ve been drinking Earl Grey for so long, I find it to be like a familiar hug in the form of a tea.

Metropolitan Tea Company’s Earl Grey does not disappoint in that department. With the familiar aroma of bergamot that just overpowers everything, it’s pretty much what I look for in any Earl Grey. Organic Earl Grey consists of high-grown Ceylon tea (at 4000-8000m above sea level) with bergamot oil.

Preparation

I wasn’t able to find any recommended preparation instructions. I steeped Organic Earl Grey in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 minutes for the initial steep.

First Taste

Organic Earl Grey steeps to a lovely orange colour. The aroma that comes from my cup is primarily that of the bergamot (so inviting!), with the hint of something that I had difficult identifying just from smell. On first sip, I mostly taste the bergamot flavouring, and then the black tea base makes itself known. There’s a bit of a smoked wood quality to it, a touch of earthiness that mingles well with the citrus brightness of the bergamot. I was a bit surprised by the strength behind the black tea base, especially considering I couldn’t really smell it from the dry leaf or when I was just smelling the steeped tea. At a 4 minute steep, there was no astringency noted.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Organic Earl Grey three times (four steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the bergamot oil was noticeably present for the first resteep, and began to weaken after that. In contrast, the black tea base became more and more bolder, perhaps because the bergamot wasn’t as strong.

My Overall Impression

I loved Metropolitan Tea Company’s Organic Earl Grey. It had everything I wanted (and look for) in an Earl Grey – strong bergamot presence and a bold black tea base. I really enjoyed how well this classic black tea steeped up, and the smokey woodsy earthiness was a pleasant quality from the Ceylon tea. I think this tea would do great plain, which is how I drank it, or with the addition of a sweetener and cream.

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