| Product: |
Whittard's Vanilla Tea |
| Date: |
07/02/06 (192 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: tastes lovely with cakes or chocolate
Disadvantages: if prepared wrong, it tastes rather disappointing
If I ever left the United Kingdom, the place I would probably miss the most is Whittard’s. In my humble opinion, there is no other tea company that produces such an extensive and fine selection of delicious teas. As I am a creature of habit, I usually stick to my favorite teas, which happen to be Mango and Earl Grey. On a recent trip to Whittard’s, however, I was urged to be a little more adventurous in my selection process and was guided towards a box of tea bags labelled “Vanilla”.
***The product***
Like every flavour in the Whittard’s tea bag range, this product comes in a rectangular dark box containing 50 round tea bags. On the front of the box you wull see an artistic rectangular picture with different shades of beige and yellow in the background and a long brown vanilla bean in the foreground.
Whittard’s tea bags come in three different strengths: light, medium and strong. The vanilla tea bags are marked “light”. The tea is described as tasting “soft, sweet and light”.
On the side of the box there is a chart that indicates how many tea bags are needed for a pot of tea. Whittard’s recommends using freshly drawn water for best flavour. The recommended brewing time is 3 to 5 minutes.
***Price and availability***
The tea bags are generally available from all Whittard’s branches and from the website. A box of tea bags will cost you £2.15, but they are often on a 3 for £5 offer. There is no need to buy three boxes of the same kind - it is perfectly acceptable to mix and match. Incidentally, if you are not a fan of teabags you can buy the tea loose – at a price of £3.15 for 125g. The picture of the package containing the loose leaf vanilla tea is pictured alongside this review.
***My opinion***
On opening the box, I was faced with a silver pouch which guards the freshness of the tea bags. I opened the pouch and was greeted by a fresh and natural smell. The main aroma was earthy and woody behind which I could identify a subtler tone of vanilla that made my stomach work overtime and my mouth water for a taste of it.
I put a tea bag in a cup and boiled some fresh hot water. After brewing the tea for about 3 minutes, I removed the tea bag and added some milk. The vanilla aroma steamed up from the cup and filled my nose with pleasure. I raised the cup to my lips … .
A first sip proved to be somewhat of a disappointment. While I could smell the vanilla, I could not taste very much of it. The tea was more like a strong woody-tasting black tea verging slightly on the bitter end. Not unbearable to drink, but certainly not what I had expected from a vanilla-flavoured beverage.
On the basis of my first experiment I would probably not have bought the tea again. But since I had a further 49 tea bags sitting on my counter, I decided to experiment a little. I quickly discovered that the tea would develop a more intense vanilla flavour if left to brew for the full 5 minutes. If I brewed the tea longer than this, however, it would become to bitter to enjoy.
I also experimented with sugar and milk. I noticed that the vanilla flavour would crystallise better when adding one or two spoons of white or brown sugar. I tried adding soy milk instead of ordinary milk, which is naturally sweet. This made the tea a lot more softer in flavour and consequently a lot more enjoyable.
One of the things I noticed is that I started to crave the tea (unsweetened, but with milk) whenever I was about to eat something very sweet, for example, a piece of cake or a nice assortment of chocolates. The tea has the hidden talent to neutralise the effects of overly sweet foods and to eliminate the feeling of nausea that sometimes can be associated with eating them.
***The verdict***
While this is not one of my favorite teas, it certainly is tasty and is an ideal companion to that Sunday afternoon piece of cake. I would highly recommend that you experiment with that first box of vanilla tea bags you buy after reading my review. If you do not enjoy that very first cup of tea you make, try increasing or decreasing your brewing time, adding different types of sugar or milk. Like that catch of a man that at first instance may seem clumsy and slips away from you and later turns out to be the catch of the century, this tea may just make a misleading first impression on you. Just give it another chance!
***Further info***
Whittard of Chelsea
184 Kings Road
London
www.whittard.com
Summary: A refreshing lack tea that goes down well with sweets and treats.
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Last comment:
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salem_witch - 24/06/06 I think I'd like this. I am boring when it comes to tea and stick to normal tea and maybe the odd peppermint one. I migh thave to try some of this! |
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