Tag: Fox Tea Club

Forest Lake by Fox Tea Club
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.95USD for 2oz

Fox Tea Club has provided me with Forest Lake for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

With a name like Forest Lake, I wasn’t sure what to expect this tea to smell like. Would it smell like trees? When I opened the packaging, I was immediately smelling the smokey aroma that is unmistakably lapsang souchong. There are some light fruity undertones to the smokey dry leaves. I can make out the aroma of berries and it almost reminds me of late summer. The unfortunate thing is that there were a lot of forest fires near where I live this past summer, so Forest Lakes reminds me a lot of this particular past summer due to the smokey aroma.

Officially, the list of ingredients for Forest Lake is: black tea, cranberry, pine buds, rowan, and sea buckthorn. At the time of writing, the description for this black tea blend included mention of lapsang souchong, sorbus, and currant.

Preparation

Fox Tea Club recommends steeping Forest Lake in 205°F (96°C) for 3 to 5 minutes and suggests that the leaves can be used for 2 steeps. My initial steep of Forest Lake was at 200°F (93°C) for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Forest Lake steeps to a beautiful golden colour, there’s a bit of a musky undertone to this tea and when I smell it, I can’t make out the berries that were so obviously in the dry leaf. On first sip, I’m primarily confronted with the smokey nature of the black tea base. It’s malty, robust, and there’s a hint of sour at the end of each sip – not so much that it’s overwhelming, but just enough to know that it’s there. The smokiness is strong in this black tea blend, mostly because it’s covers the smell and the taste senses – but there’s also hints of sweetness and fruitiness from the berries, but that takes a bit more effort to come out since it’s overwhelmed by the smokey flavours.

A Second Cup?

I did resteep Forest Lake, mostly because Fox Tea Club suggested that it was possible. It was – I found the smokiness to be more subdued compared to the initial steep, which allowed the other flavours in the tea blend to come out more. I attempted a second resteep of this tea and found that it was quite lacking in flavour compared to the first two steeps. I would say that Forest Lake is good for one more steep only.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Fox Tea Club’s Forest Lake was just okay. I’m not generally a fan of lapsang souchong or smokey blends, and I think that did play a part in my rating of this black tea blend. I did enjoy the subtleties of the berries in this tea, when I was ale to taste them. A touch of sweetener may help in drawing out the fruity flavours more. I am always glad that I don’t have allergies or food sensitivities, but do take care if you’re trying this tea if you have any fruit allergies – I would suggest contacting Fox Tea Club directly for the full ingredients list if you have any concerns since some of the ingredients mentioned in the description are missing from the ingredients list on the product page.

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

Orange Cookie by Fox Tea Club
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.95USD for 2oz

Fox Tea Club has provided me with Orange Cookie for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I was intrigued by the idea of a tea named “Orange Cookie” mostly because I really like cookies. This black tea blend came to me in a sample packet from Fox Tea Club. I ripped opened the packaging and could smell the orange right away. The citrus aroma is rich and deep. There’s a mixture of spices in this black tea blend that mingle well with the black tea base – I can definitely make out the cinnamon in this mix and I can see the cardamom.

The listed ingredients at the time of writing are: black tea and orange. The description of the tea on the Fox Tea Club includes the mention of cinnamon and cloves, but they’re not mentioned in the ingredients list.

Preparation

Fox Tea Club recommends steeping Orange Cookie at 205°F (96°C) for 3 to 5 minutes, and suggests that the tea can be steeped twice. My initial steep of Orange Cookie was for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Orange Cookie steeps to a beautiful golden orange colour. The smell that wafts up from the steeped tea is primarily that of the spices. I can smell the cinnamon and the cloves, and the gentle hint of the orange. On first sip, I found the black tea base to be strong with a hint of astringency. I found that the orange fragrance of the dry leaf to translate well in the steeped tea. It’s light and adds a hint of refreshing citrus flavour to the steeped tea.

I added a touch of honey to the cup and found that the sweetness helped to boost the citrus flavour in this tea and made it taste more like orange.

A Second Cup?

As Fox Tea Club had suggested that this tea could be steeped twice, that meant I had to try a total of three steeps. The first resteep of Orange Cookie tasted quite a lot like the initial steep – the black tea based was more pronounced with the spices playing less of a strong role in the flavour profile. The amount of citrus I found to be similar to the initial steep. For the second resteep, I found that it was mostly the black tea in the flavour of the tea blend and the spices were all by forgotten. I agree with Fox Tea Club’s suggestion of two steeps for Orange Cookie.

My Overall Impression

I liked Fox Tea Club’s Orange Cookie. I really enjoyed the flavours of this tea – from the dry leaf to the steeped tea. I do agree with Fox Tea Club’s recommendation of steeping this tea twice. The orange flavour is enjoyable, but I didn’t really find that it reminded me of cookies. I think a touch of vanilla or a vanilla simple syrup would go a long way to making me think of cookies. Additionally, I luckily do not have any food allergies (that I’m aware of), so I don’t need to scour through ingredients lists constantly, but I do wish I knew what all the different ingredients present in this black tea blend are.

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