I have a lovely little system in place now. A system that allows me to try all of the wonderful tea's that Northern Tea Merchants have to offer. Each month I'll replace the missing "essential's" from my tea collection and order a small amount (50g's) of a new tea so that I can try it and blog about it here.
The latest acquisition from Northern Tea is their Mandarin Tea which consists of Chinese black tea with the addition of dried mandarin peel and mandarin oil.
I have often written on here that I love tea's that have citrus elements to them, which is why Earl Grey, for instance, is a popular blend with me. So, when deciding what to purchase this month I felt I had no choice but to opt for the Mandarin Tea.
Northern Tea use Keemun tea (a particular favourite of mine) as the base tea. I love Keemun tea as it strikes the right balance between being tasty and full of flavour but lacking the overpowering quality some black tea's can have.
I fired up the tea maker, added the right amount of tea for the amount of water and waiting for this delightful tea to infuse. Whilst that was whirling away I had a lovely smell of the tea and first impressions were it was absolutely gorgeous. I reserve a special caddy for my monthly purchases from Northern Tea and when I took the lid off, oh the aroma was delightful. Very different to orange based tea's. The mandarin was a lot stronger then I'd imagined and I couldn't wait to try a cup.
I brewed the tea for three minutes and it seeped to a wonderfully golden colour.
My initial impressions of this tea (and an impression that would stay with me for the entire cup of the tea) was that it was wonderfully light and refreshing. Perfect to take when the weather is warmer, but, at the same time comforting enough for those greyer days. This is a shining example of a feel good cup of tea - it instantly lifts your spirits.
Firstly, the Keemun is a wonderful base for this tea. As I mentioned earlier on in this blog, Keemun is a great tea to add flavouring too because it has the ability to give you a satisfying and tasty brew but is light enough to accept mandarin, lemon, rose or whatever the added flavour is. The Keemun works hand in hand and quite often the flavour compliments the tea, and vice versa of course.
I absolutely loved the mandarin. I have tried quite a few orange tea's but the mandarin offers a totally different sort of taste. It's a fair bit stronger then the orange flavoured tea's that I have tried previously and there is a very slight sharpness to the mandarin flavour. I think it has far more depth of flavour then what you would normally experience with a citrus based tea.
It's very hard to describe in words exactly how refreshing this tea is. Unusually for me, I actually felt thirsty when I was preparing this tea. I don't normally feel thirst as I always have some sort of drink with me, but this afternoon I was in desperate need of a drink and this is a real thirst quencher tea, and it didn't take me long to drink two mugs of this fruity and spectacular tea.
I love the aftertaste that is left in your mouth after drinking this tea. It leaves your mouth feeling pleasantly fruity.
Northern Tea Merchants have really come up with a perfect, fruity cup of tea. It has a bit of zing to it and certainly makes an impression.
Between you and I, this was my second infusion of this blend. The first I had with a bowl of Weight Watchers orange jelly and it was delicious, so this is great to take with citrus based foods. Or with afternoon tea, when your serving a wonderful orange or lemon cake. To be honest, it's pretty much perfect with most things, but these are just handy hints!
I was delighted with this Mandarin Tea. It's a refreshing, spirit lifting, fruity tea with a very slight kick.
You'll come away feeling a bit more happier after drinking a mug of this wonderful blend. Well, that's how I felt, anyway!
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