Tag: The Virginia Tea Company

Winter Cheer by The Virginia Tea Company
Black Tea / Flavoured
$15.00USD for 2oz (20 pyramid tea bags)

The Virginia Tea Company has provided me with Winter Cheer for the purposes of providing an honest review. I received this product at no charge to me and received no other compensation.

First Impressions

Winter Cheer came in a cardboard carton, but unlike the other teas from The Virginia Tea Company that I’ve reviewed so far, this one came preportioned in tea bags. Another option that they offer, this one is 2oz of tea in 20 pyramid tea bags for $15.00USD. For ease of seeing the tea itself, I cut open the tea bags to get a better look at the tea. There’s a strong smell of peppermint and cinnamon in this tea blend, I quite like it. The smell of peppermint and cinnamon both remind me of the holidays. It may be March, but it snowed this past week where I live, so it still feels like winter!

It’s very easy to see all of the ingredients: black tea, peppermint, and cinnamon. As per the product page, all of the ingredients are organic. This tea is 66% fair trade and 100% organic, which is quite nice to learn! I like knowing that the people who helped to produce the tea are being paid a living wage for their area.

Preparation

The Virginia Tea Company recommends steeping Winter Cheer in boiling water (100°C/212°F) for 2 to 3 minutes. I steeped it for 2 minutes for the initial steep. They suggest that the tea leaves can be resteeped up to 3 times.

First Taste

Winter Cheer steeps to a clear reddish orange liquor. There’s a strong peppermint smell to it that’s quite inviting. On first sip, I can make out the black tea base – it has wonderful malty notes to it. The cinnamon is warming, and it provides a light amount of sweetness to the tea. The peppermint offers a minty freshness with each sip that reminds me of candy canes during the holidays. It’s been a while since I’ve had a tea blend where I could make out each individual flavour, it’s quite nice to be able to do that and taste how well balanced the flavours are!  They complement each other nicely.

A Second Cup?

Because it was suggested that the tea leaves could be resteeped up to three times, I had to give it a go – and three resteeps was right on money. The mint and cinnamon flavours were still present by the third resteep, they were just a bit weaker. I think the flavours would be more muddled if I had attempted a fourth resteep. I added 30 seconds for each additional resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved The Virginia Tea Company’s Winter Cheer. It may seem like the wrong month for it, but the crazy amount of snow I’ve been experiencing lately has gotten me into a bit of a sour mood so a cup of Winter Cheer suited me just fine as a pick-me-up. I found the flavours of all three ingredients to be well balanced in creating an enjoyable flavour. The fact the tea leaves can be resteeped up to three times is quite nice, the flavours are still present – just getting a smidgen weaker.

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

Chai by The Virginia Tea Company
Black Tea / Flavoured
$11.50USD for 2oz

The Virginia Tea Company has provided me with Chai for the purposes of providing an honest review. I received this product at no charge to me and received no other compensation.

First Impressions

Without a doubt, I am a fan of The Virginia Tea Company’s choice of packaging. The card stock carton is nice in that when I’m done with the tea inside, I can put it into recycling (or reuse it for something else). As with Earl Grey and English Breakfast, Chai came with empty tea bags, a wooden spoon, and a tea infuser ball (I had a photo of these with my first review of The Virginia Tea Company’s teas – Earl Grey). Again, the loose tea came in a waxed paper bag, so as soon as I opened the carton I could smell the tea. The most prominent aromas in this tea come from the cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Like the other two teas I’ve reviewed for The Virginia Tea Company so far, the $11.50 option is just the loose leaf tea, while the $15.00 option has the tea with all the accessories needed for any new tea enthusiast (or as a gift option!).

Preparation

The Virginia Tea Company suggests steeping Chai for 2-3 minutes in boiling water, and that it can be resteeped an additional two times. I used my trusty Breville IQ Kettle’s black tea setting (100°C/212°F) for getting my water to the right temperature and my initial steep of Chai was for 2 minutes (click for my review of the Breville IQ Kettle).

First Taste

Chai has a beautiful deep orange colour after steeping for two minutes. The aroma of the tea is like an amplified version of the dry leaf – I can make out the ginger and cinnamon the most. The taste of Chai has a nice warming sensation to it, which I contribute primarily to the ginger in the tea. The cardamom is a little bit lost, but the cinnamon and ginger are the stars in the first steep. The vanilla flavour is there at the end of each sip, but it can be a bit hard to taste from time to time. Because I do love my Chai as a latte, I added a bit of sugar and milk to it just to see how it would taste – I think it tastes perfect. The milk adds a layer of creaminess, but the warming sensation that the ginger provides is barely toned down so it’s still very much present.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Chai a total of three times (so four steeps overall). The second steep had the strongest ginger and cardamom flavour – it has a strong spice flavour profile than the first steep, and overall this steep was my favourite. The third steep was very similar to the first, a nice milder version of the second steep. The fourth steep was a bit watery, so The Virginia Tea Company was right on the button when it said to resteep two times.

My Overall Impression

I loved The Virginia Tea Company’s Chai. I love the flavours of all the ingredients that are in this tea blend. While I didn’t taste the vanilla too much, I don’t think it was really all that needed given the fact that it was competing with some very strong flavours – cinnamon and ginger. The warming sensation of the ginger is quite nice in this black tea blend, and I really enjoy Chai with some milk and sugar (although it doesn’t need the sugar like some other teas do). I made this one with water, as that’s how the steeping instructions went, but I think it would be really good as a proper latte (with a mound of foam on top) or even prepared steeped in milk. If you’re looking for a tutorial on how to make lattes at home without fancy equipment, I’ve got you covered.

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