Monday 24 February 2014

Clipper Organic St Clements Infusion: So Much Potential, So Little Flavour

"Laura" my friend said. "I've found a tea I think you'll really, really like. Can I bring it over this afternoon?" my friend texted me last Saturday. "Of course" I replied, whilst secretly thinking, please make it be ginger bread indulgence!

When she got here, she popped a tiny box on the work unit. It was a box of Clipper St Clements Infusion. Now, this is a tea that seems to have bombarded my computer as I've seen adverts for it everywhere, and, to be frank, I quite fancied it as I love tea's with citrus tones.

The design of the box is very pretty. Bright, colourful and appealing. And I really like the fact that you seem to get "tester" boxes, which contain 10 teabags (as this box does) so you can try the tea without having to buy a full box.


So, I brewed a cup each for Pauline and I. It was weird to see it brewing because it started off a green colour, then turned lemony and ended up a strange and odd light brown colour!


The tea, in theory, should be right up my street. I love orange and lemon flavoured teas, in fact any citrus based brew. But I just couldn't get the flavours here. Neither the orange nor the lemon stood out. In fact the only thing that I recognised was the slight, sweet, after bite of liquorice root, which I know so well from Twining's blends.

I imagined this brew would be very refreshing, slightly bitter from the lemons and sweet from the oranges. Instead, what I got was a tea that tasted artificial. There is a slightly unpleasant soapy taste too, rather like drinking washing up liquid. It's just so bland and tasteless.

Believe me I've tried brewing this tea every way. I've tried leaving the bag in, I've tried using two bags. But it just lacks that fruity taste, that I really wanted to like. There is a flavour there. But I can't detect what it is. It just was there,in the cup, a water that vaguely tasted of... something.

I really, really, really wanted to like this tea. I've seen it advertised and I was interested enough to want to taste it as it looks refreshing and interesting, and the packaging was bright and attractive. But it just sadly didn't deliver.

I have to be frank and admit I don't know much at all about Clipper tea. I can't recall trying any of their tea's before this but I could be wrong. I won't be put off if a opportunity comes up to taste their black tea blends. But, I can't say I'm impressed with their fruit infusions.

Summary of Clipper Organic St Clements Infusion

- Brew for 3 to 4 minutes
- No milk needed.
- Available from all the major supermarkets. Price for boxes of 10 envelopes is £1.49.

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