Tag: Gypsy Soul Tea Co

Posted on

Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Lavender Earl Grey

Lavender Earl Grey by Gypsy Soul Tea Co
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.40 for 40g

First Impressions

Lavender Earl Grey came in a sealed foil bag, with a clear window on the back. The ingredients are easy to see, I can easily see lavender and rose petals mixed in with the black tea leaves. There’s a creamy aroma to it, that’s a bit of a buttery quality to it with a light floral aroma from the lavender and rose petals.

Lavender Earl Grey consists of: black tea, rose blossoms, bergamot, and lavender buds. The ingredients are so easy to see, the bergamot isn’t as strong as the lavender in aroma, but it’s still very pleasant.

Preparation

Gypsy Soul Tea Co recommends steeping Lavender Earl Grey in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 7 minutes. My initial steep of Lavender Earl Grey was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Lavender Earl Grey steeps to a reddish orange. The lavender aroma is quite strong in comparison to the bergamot. There’s a nice creamy mouthfeel to it, with a mild citrus flavouring from the bergamot. I found the rose flavour to be a bit lost compared to the lavender, since the lavender is so strong in comparison.

I did add some sweetener to it (locally harvested honey), and found that it helped to improve the rose flavour notes in the tea.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Lavender Earl Grey, and found that the floral notes were not as strong compared to the initial steep. I would say that Lavender Earl Grey is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Lavender Earl Grey. I think that Lavender Earl Grey is a lovely take on Earl Grey on its ow, but it’d also be an excellent candidate for a London Fog with a touch of vanilla extract. I found that the lavender flavour had nice strength to it, and the creaminess of the Earl Grey in general was really enjoyable. I do think that the tea improved with a touch of sweetener, as it helped the rose flavour come out more.

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

Posted on

Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s China Jasmine

China Jasmine by Gypsy Soul Tea Co
Green Tea / Flavoured
$7.25 for 40g

First Impressions

Whenever I’m trying a new-to-me tea company, I generally like to try a few things: usually a blend that seems unique to them, a straight or minimally blended tea, and an Earl Grey – only because I love Earl Grey and it’s one of my tea staples. This one was one of my choices from Gypsy Soul Tea Co because it’s a minimally blended tea. China Jasmine is a green tea, flavoured and blended with jasmine blossoms.

I’ve mentioned the packaging that Gypsy Soul Tea Co uses in my last review of one of their teas (Pumpkin Spice), but I do still like it. The label on the front tells me everything that I really need to know, and the clear plastic back lets me see the blend itself. I can easily see both ingredients: green tea and jasmine blossoms. I can also see that it’s full blossoms and petals, and not little tiny pieces. When I opened the bag, the first thing that hit me was the aroma. This blend has a beautiful floral fragrance from the jasmine, and I can smell both the jasmine and the green tea.

Preparation

Gypsy Soul Tea Co recommends steeping China Jasmine in 80°C (176°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes. My initial steep of this green tea was for 2 minutes.

First Taste

China Jasmine steeps to a light yellow colour. The aroma is very floral, the jasmine shines in this tea. On first sip, I can taste the floral notes from the jasmine, there’s a pleasant sweetness along with some grassy notes from green tea base. I think two minutes was a good amount of time to steep this tea, there’s no astringency or bitterness when steeped for two minutes. It’s a very pleasant jasmine green tea, I like that the green tea base isn’t too vegetal as I think that would distract from the floral flavour.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped China Jasmine four times, adding an extra 30 seconds of steeping time for each subsequent steep. I could that the colour of the tea got darker for the first resteep and lighter after that. The flavour of the tea remained fairly close to the initial steep, although I think that the floral notes weren’t as strong in comparison to the green tea base after the first resteep. The flavour balance was still enjoyable by the fourth resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s China Jasmine. I thought that the flavours were on point for a jasmine green tea, and had a nice balance between the jasmine floral flavour with the green tea base. The recommended steeping time of 2 minutes was perfect for myself, and I found that it resteeped beautifully. It’s definitely a nice green tea blend and is worth resteeping a few times, which shows off the quality of the ingredients.

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

Posted on

Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Spice by Gypsy Soul Tea Co
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.35 for 40g

First Impressions

I stumbled across a little shop in Pitt Meadows, BC a few weeks ago called Tomes & Tales. The one thing that really drew me to it was the fact that there was a sign outside that said that there was luxury loose leaf tea inside – it’s basically like a beacon to me whenever tea is mentioned! So of course I went inside and checked out the tea selection and bought a few to try. I figured it’d be seasonally appropriate to share my thoughts of Pumpkin Spice on October 31st, so here it is.

Pumpkin Spice came in a sealed (and resealable) foil bag. The other side of the bag is clear plastic so that you can see the tea itself, which is nice (but not always nice for storage if you’re not keeping your tea somewhere dark). The label on the front tells me pretty much everything that I really need to do to make the tea – from ingredients to steeping instructions with a brief description about the tea.

Pumpkin Spice consists of black tea, cinnamon, ginger, sweet blackberry leaves, pumpkin pieces, and cloves. The aroma of the tea is very strong from the spices, it does remind me of the smell of pumpkin pie/spice mixes. The ingredients are easily identifiable, which is nice.

Preparation

Gypsy Soul Tea Co recommends steeping Pumpkin Spice in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. My initial steep of Pumpkin Spice was for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Pumpkin Spice steeps to a deep golden orange that is really quite fragrant. The aroma smells very strong of the spices that were present in the dry leaf as well. I can taste the black tea base, which is nice and smooth with no bitterness or astringency when steeped for the 3 minutes. I found that I could definitely taste the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. I can’t really taste the pumpkin, but pumpkin is a significantly milder flavour than the spices and it does smell and taste like a pumpkin spice mix – so it still evokes the memories of pumpkin pie.

I did add a bit of honey for a sweetener, and found it worked really well in bringing out some of the pumpkin flavour – although it really does linger in the background quite a bit.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Pumpkin Spice once, but found that the flavours were a little lacking. I felt like the spices just weren’t as strong as they were in the initial steep. I would say that Pumpkin Spice is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Pumpkin Spice. I felt like the flavours did really well at representing pumpkin spice, and it had good warming qualities to it. While the pumpkin flavour wasn’t very strong, it did make me think of pumpkin pie/pumpkin spice, so it certainly did a good job. If you’re not a fan of plain black tea, I would recommend trying this one as a tea latte because it’s the season for PSL and not everyone is a fan of coffee!

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