A basic tea. It's clean and refreshing with a good "brown" tea flavour, and drunk with milk it is fairly smooth with no astringency. £1.38 for 50. "Specially selected and blended".
Score: 3.5
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| Asda tea and coffee |
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Ceylon tea |
Tuesday 27 May 2014
Asda Chosen by you Ceylon tea
A basic tea. It's clean and refreshing with a good "brown" tea flavour, and drunk with milk it is fairly smooth with no astringency. £1.38 for 50. "Specially selected and blended".
Score: 3.5
Monday 26 May 2014
Palanquin Spearmint Herbal Tea
This spearmint tea is quite similar to peppermint, and makes a pleasant change, but drinking it side by side with a peppermint tea I find I prefer the peppermint. The aroma is that of chewing gum, and some of that taste comes through in the drink. It's slightly sweeter tasting than the peppermint, and less earthy, less rounded, less bright and less interesting. It feels somewhat one-dimensional in comparison, and the association with chewing gum is never far away.
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| Mint tea |
Saturday 24 May 2014
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Sidamo Ethiopian Coffee
Taste notes:
* Rather watery. Lime and green apple. Kind of similar to the Aldi Ethiopian coffee.
* Initially soft, then a burst of coffee bitterness comes through. Inclines more toward coffee flavour with less focus on acid or fruit than the other two. Bolder, brighter, and more distinctive than the other two. But, again, mostly a modest, easy drinking coffee suitable for all day drinking.
* Rounded coffee flavour some bitterness in the finish. Blackberry fruit. A bit powdery. A firm and pleasant coffee.
*Mild lime and violets, with some creamy chocolate. The more I have this coffee the more I appreciate. Has more character than other supermarket Ethiopian coffees. Seems lighter roasted, allowing more individual character to come through.
Overall, a pleasant coffee with some subtle character. Gentle acidity yielding lime, apple and violet flavours, along with gentle, creamy chocolate notes. Overall, a pleasant coffee with some subtle character. Gentle acidity yielding lime, apple and violet flavours, along with gentle, creamy chocolate notes.
The coffee costs £3.20 for 227g (£1.40 per 100g) from Sainsbury's. It comes from the Sidamo region of Ethiopia, one of the named regions that can command a higher price from buyers. The prominent flavour of Sidamo coffee is generally found to be citrus. Though Fair Trade agreements are being set up for farmers in Sidamo, they still struggle in primitive conditions, and when coffee prices are low, will change their crop to khat, an addictive stimulant. Unwashed or natural or dry processed Sidamo beans have a wild flavour.
Date: May 2014 Score: 7/10
***
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| Ethiopian coffee |
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Ethiopian coffee
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| Drying beans in Ethiopia |
Ethiopia is the home of the coffee plant. This is the country where it originated - the legend tells the story of a farmer, Kaldi, who noticed his goats becoming more lively after eating the plant.
The Limu region of Ethiopia, along with Harar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe, is one of the known regions of Ethiopia producing characterful beans. Some people feel the character is due to the beans growing among other plants, such as bananas, and so picks up extra flavours; others feel that because the beans are rounder than normal they may have the characteristics of a peaberry, and therefore be brighter and more flavoursome; others feel that the height at which the beans are grown - 1,400 to 1,900 metres above sea level, is the ideal height to produce the right balance of acidity and body. Whatever it is, the beans are sold at a premium, and are increasingly sought after. I love them.
The Sidamo region is one of the named regions that can command a higher price from buyers. The prominent flavour of Sidamo coffee is generally found to be citrus. Though Fair Trade agreements are being set up for farmers in Sidamo, they still struggle in primitive conditions, and when coffee prices are low, will change their crop to khat, an addictive stimulant. Unwashed or natural or dry processed Sidamo beans have a wild flavour.
Ethiopia produces some of my favourite coffees. I'm not fond of highly acidic coffees, nor do I like coffees to be roasted beyond recognition - I like a coffee that has a blend of coffee roast flavours and refreshingly fruity acid. A balance of character and drinkability engages my interest. I like a smooth, pleasant mouthful of flavoursome coffee which also has subtle notes for me to pick up as I drink.
Ethiopian coffees tend to be sold with either a medium to dark roast, UK strength number 4, or a lighter medium roast, UK strength 3.
Reviews
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| Asda Extra Special Ethiopian Mocha Limu Score: 8 |
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Score: 8 Price: £4.50 for 227g
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| Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Sidoma Ethiopian Score: 7 |
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| Aldi Ethiopia Sidoma Score: 6 |
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| Union Hand-roasted Coffee Organic Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Cost: £4.75 Score: 6 |
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| Morrisons Signature Ethiopian coffee Score: 5 |
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| Carrefour Ethiopia coffee Score: 4 |
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| The Little Red Rooster Ethiopian Shakisso Farm Yirgacheffe £6.50 for 250g. Score: 2 |
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| Waitrose Mocha Sidamo Coffee
Score: 2/10
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| Three Sixty Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Score: 2 |
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| Lidl Specially Selected Ethiopian Score: 2 |
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| Lidl Melangerie Ethiopian Sidamo Score: 2 |
Morrisons Signature Ethiopian coffee
Tasting notes:
* Smooth rounded coffee. Growing mild bitterness in finish. Modest fruit - some faint lime, some chocolate. A smooth and pleasant coffee.
* Initially creamy and complex, with an impression of a rounded and pleasant coffee, gradually more and more acidic notes came though until they began to dominate.
* Has more bitterness than true character.
Overall this is a modest coffee. It is mild and acceptably drinkable, though a little bitter. Has few peaks and troughs, so it stable and consistent, but the lack of true character holds it back from being a special coffee.
The beans are sourced by Finlays for Morrisons, and come from the "central highlands" of Ethiopia rather than one of the named regions. It costs £2.99 for 227g (£1.32 per 100g). It was shortlisted in the 2013 Quality Food Award for coffee; a promotional competition which is funded by the £500 entry fee per product. The winner was Aldi Ethiopian Ground Coffee, which costs £1.99 for 200g (99.5p per 100g).
Score: 4
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| Ethiopian coffee |
Tuesday 13 May 2014
Morrisons Pure Peppermint
40 bags for a £1. They are fairly generic these supermarket peppermint teas. They are the same price, same packaging, and same flavour. Possibly, they are all made by the same supplier. When comparing them side by side, there are moment when they taste different - one will taste brighter, and the other more earthy; then the next moment that is reversed. When compared next to the brand names, Twinings or Taylors, the same applies. Essentially, there is no difference between any of the peppermint teas. You can pay a bit extra for a brand name with attractive individual packaging, or go for cheap and cheerful job lots.
Date: May 2014 Score: 6
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| Mint tea |
Monday 12 May 2014
New English Teas Green Tea
New English Teas make gift packs, usually with an English theme, such as London buses and red post boxes. I suspect making quality tea is not their priority. This green tea is not nice.
Saturday 10 May 2014
Mint tea
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| Peppermint tea taste test |
Reviews
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| Taylors Peppermint Leaf Score: 8 |
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| Tesco Peppermint Infusion Score: 7 |
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| Asda Peppermint Tea Score: 7 |
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| Aldi Diplomat Reviving Peppermint Score: 6 |
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| Morrisons Pure Peppermint Score: 6 |
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| Lidl Lord Nelson Peppermint Tea Bags Score: 6 |
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| Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Double Mint & Lemon Verbena Score: 4 |
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| Palanquin Spearmint Herbal Tea Score: 4 |
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| Pukka Mint Matcha Green Score: 4 |
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| Dammann Freres A La Menthe Touareg Flavoured Green Mint Tea Score: 3 |
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| Twinings Pure Peppermint Score: 3 |
Peppermint and licorice
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| Tesco Finest Peppermint and Liquorice Score: 8 |
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| Lidl Deluxe Peppermint & Liquorice tea Score: 8 |
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| Tea Pigs Liquorice and Peppermint Score: 7 |
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| Morrisons Fennel & Nettle herbal infusion bags Score: 6 |
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| Pukka Peppermint & Licorice tea Score: 6 |
Friday 9 May 2014
Twinings Rose Garden tea
It's an attractively designed box, and I have discovered I have a fondness for flavoured teas, so I thought this might be interesting. Sadly, it's not. The rose flavour is mild and muted, with hints of Turkish delight, but mostly just muted, dull and cardboardy. The flavour of rose is not sharp enough to contrast the tea, nor to brighten or heighten it; nor does it enhance it. The flavours just don't sit well enough together for me.
Score: 2
***
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| Twinings |
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