Test Teas Thursday
10Hey all! We’re back again. This time with some black teas.
@riskybryzness will undoubtedly have more information, but I wanted to set the stage, as it were.
Turns out we had 2 slightly overlapping teas from different places, both were “London” teas, so we brewed 2 pots (206 F water for 5 minutes. We used 1tsp/8oz) and pitted them against each other in a gauntlet of taste, smell, and look challenges.
Before we get into the scores, a bit of information.
The teas we tasted for Test-Tea Thursday did not include any milk or sweetener. We were tasting just the loose leaf tea version of this. The typical drink London Fog contains Earl Grey, Milk and Vanilla.
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Victorian London Fog and London Tea
Tea history you probably didn’t ask for
Surprise! Earl Grey isn’t just the drink the brave and admirable Captain Picard orders. Earl Grey is a black tea with bergamot oil added to it and it’s the “base” for both of our teas today.
A plot twist I was not expecting while researching this, the London Fog started in Vancouver, Canada and not actually London. The tea Earl Grey is noted as early as the 1800’s. If you want to dig more into it, an interesting article can be found here.
Turns out, there are numerous variations and names of this drink which makes it even more interesting and provides options for anyone who is willing to experiment. A few examples are:
Oregon Mist – The same as London Fog, substituting Green tea and amaretto for Earl Grey and vanilla. Popularized by the Glenwood restaurants in Eugene, Oregon.
Victoria Fog – The same as a London Fog, substituting lavender scented tea for Earl Grey.
Maui Fog – The same as London Fog, only substituting coconut for vanilla syrup.
Seattle Fog – Soy misto (½ water, ½ soy, steamed) with 2 pumps of vanilla syrup and one pump of hazelnut syrup, in 2 bags of Earl Grey Tea.
Halifax Fog – Same as a London Fog, substituting Nova Scotian maple syrup for vanilla syrup.
The two we sampled today were from different companies. The completely biased “opinion” of @chadp “ They both suck, that’s my official review.”
Art of Tea London Tea “London tea elicits sweet, fragrant floral notes followed by a rich and citrusy finish.”
Looks: 9.5
Smell: 8.5
Taste: 8.25
From the crowd: @nommynoms said “sure does look like tea”
@troy made the clever pun and said that this is “taste-tea.” We were also advised that it “tastes grassy, leaves that flavor.”
Harney and Sons Victorian London Fog “This blend evokes the aroma of a London Fog, with hints of vanilla and lavender blended with bergamot.”
Looks: 8.75
Smell: 7.5
Taste: 7
From the crowd:
@nommynoms believes it “tastes like a traditional breakfast tea, I’m not really a fan of those” while @cardiganb isn’t really a huge fan of vanilla so this may not be the tea for her.
Others have said that this one is sweet, maybe too strong.
It seems that The Art of Tea has another great option. They scored slightly higher than the one from Harney and Sons. For taste, smell and look.
@cythwulf and I agreed, our personal favorite is the Victorian London Fog just because it doesn’t need any additional sweetener. It has a nice smooth vanilla flavor that you just can’t beat. All in all, both are great options if you’re looking for something savory! In addition, Harney & Sons has that price point you really can’t beat for what you get.
Previous Test
Let us know what you think! What are you drinking today or this weekend! After reading this which one would you be interested in?
I’d just like to point out that a proper tea-bagging would be performed using one’s test-teas.
That is all.
@DennisG2014
@DennisG2014 How to find out a girl is ticklish? give her a couple of Test tickles…
I’m leery of any drink called “London Fog”. The 1952 London killer fog did in 12,000 people in four days. The 1834 killer fog (a Victorian London fog, as it were) hung around twice as long but was less lethal. I don’t know how that relates to your teas, but I hope they don’t contain sulfuric acid like the originals.
I’m also not sure I want any drink that “evokes the aroma of a London fog” - because a real London fog has the aroma of damp stone and diesel fuel, with just a lingering whiff of open sewer.
@rockblossom - and let’s hope they’re not making tea out of London Fog raincoats. These coats, which were the first to have a patented removable liner, were sold in Philadelphia, where they became very popular. At one time 2/3rds of all raincoats sold in the United States were produced by the former Londontown clothing company, founded in 1923 by Israel Myers.
On an unrelated note, I once saw a Burberry trenchcoat in a consignment store for a little over $100. It was in my size and in GREAT condition, but I thought, ‘Over a hundred bucks used?!? Do I really need another raincoat?’ Because including windbreakers and such I’ve got, like, four raincoats. But later I was in the same store looking to see if they had shoes in my size and I noticed the Burberry was now priced at around $300!
So anyway, I don’t really care for Earl Grey tea.
@aetris Half a lifetime ago, I bought a Burberry coat in a little shop in Winsor (town, not castle) when they were still reasonably priced. I loved it, and then it disappeared in a move. It would probably be worth several times what I paid for it. Which is probably why it disappeared.
I actually love a good Earl Grey tea, but I want it with nothing else added. In England, I had to guard my tea from overenthusiastic servers who wanted to add cream and sugar. I kept having to explain that I was an uncivilized American who liked my tea plain. It got me concerned looks, but unadulterated tea.
@rockblossom - I like a good Lapsang souchong when I can get it. I can drink a fine Lapsang with no sweetener, but usually I like a little in my tea, the equivalent of maybe half a teaspoon sugar.
That London Fog tea sounds really good. Did you get it at a local place?
Looks like their website has free shipping. Nice! I ordered some. They also have sample sizes for sale.
@sammydog01 I haven’t found either tea in store yet. Which one did you end up ordering from?
I’ve actually been looking for some good local loose leaf tea places here in DFW, there’s a couple places I want to try so we will see.
@riskybryzness I ordered from the Harney and Sons website. You can order a $3 sample with free shipping before committing. I love free shipping.
@sammydog01 They have an Indigo tea on there that I plan on ordering this weekend, it’s gorgeous. We’ve been doing the sample packets as well to try them out. It’s the perfect size so you don’t get tired of it.
@riskybryzness That looks so pretty! But it’s got rose hips in it so it probably tastes like crap. I can’t wait for you to tell me!
@riskybryzness @sammydog01 I’ve had the London Fog tea drink before at a farmer’s market before.
@chadp’s review makes me feel right at home. Since I don’t really know much about tea, this is the kind of sampling I can get behind. I’d love to be able to taste stuff prepared by someone that has a clue about how to make it.
@riskybryzness Want to sample our tea? Shoot me an email! dan@twinflametea.com
@TwinFlameTea One of our team members is going to reach out to you. We’d love to hear from you!
@riskybryzness Looks like they’re into CBD- gonna try it?
@riskybryzness @sammydog01
Earl Grey, plain, when I could drink tea. Love the flavor just like it was.
Harney and Sons makes a great Black tea with Bergamont oil called “Paris”. I drink it every afternoon. Give it a shot.
I’ve been drinking iced cinnamon orange spice tea from Market-Spice up in Seattle. Comes in half-gallon sized tea bags and two will fit in my ice tea maker. Fair warning, my grandson tells me it tastes like melted cinnamon red-hots, but I don’t think his palate is very sophisticated.
@ajdillon That is one of my all time favorite teas. I miss going there and getting it!
@ajdillon @riskybryzness have you ever compared it to Harney and Sons hot cinnamon spice? I love the Harneys one and that sounds similar.
@ajdillon @chellemonkey I haven’t, but I’d be curious to try it. We just had some from Market Street that was really good–not quite as “spicy” but still tasty.
@ajdillon @chellemonkey @riskybryzness I had hot cinnamon spice for breakfast. It’s good and you can get it at Target.
@riskybryzness I wouldn’t let geography interfere with access to my favorite tea. I’m down in Texas and have been ordering on-line from Market Spice for several years now without a hitch.
@ajdillon I’ve ordered it a few times online, just miss the smell of the shop.
I bought some of that tea you liked from Harney and Sons and just got a coupon- 20% off samplers. Samplers are fun!
SAMPLERSX758M8C9
https://www.harney.com/collections/samplers
I ordered a little wooden box with random tea bags in it. I hope they don’t suck.
I went to order another thing and the code isn’t valid. I guess I shouldn’t have posted it. Oops.