#distinctly tea

[alicefab]

This is 'monks blend' from Distinctly Tea in my university town Waterloo! It's a gorgeous tea.

[fooddrinkthink]

Irish Whiskey Cream

This black tea from Distinctly Tea creates a drink that is think and heavy with hints of bitter cocoa. After our first sampling, we wrote "honey required" on the package to remind ourselves that this tea needs a bit of sweetening to lighten the flavour. The addition of milk dampens the taste, though, and milk-only creates a bitter, milky drink with very little nuance. This was a Christmas gift that we finally got around to finishing, so clearly we didn't love it, but it does make a good post-skate drink - perhaps with a shot of real Irish whiskey. f

[fooddrinkthink]

Tea: Divine Temple White

Distinctly Tea lists their Divine Temple as a white tea, but it's really a mix of white, green, Darjeeling, Sencha, Lung Ching, gunpowder, and jasmine teas with lots of dried fruit and citrus peel. With all that going on it's expectedly complex but surprisingly harmonious. It succeeds by balancing the tea flavours against the sweetness of the fruit and the floral of the jasmine. A little bit of honey enhances the flavour, but certainly isn't necessary. It also holds up well to being iced. We'll definitely get this one again for those days when we want a light tea with lots of personality.

[fooddrinkthink]

Tea: Christmas Rooibos

Happy Holidays! Well we finished the bag of Distinctly Tea's Christmas Rooibos just in time for Orthodox Christmas. This red tea makes a good dessert beverage and no sweetener is needed. Spiced with (what we think is) star anise and cinnamon, it certainly tastes like Christmas. Not sure if we'll get it again - it's pleasant enough, but nothing special.

[fooddrinkthink]

Mid-summer's Night Black

We know - a odd time of year to be posting about a "mid-summer" tea, but we just finished the bag and thought it was high time to write about this tasty blend from Distinctly Tea. Mid-summer's Night Black succeeds in being remarkably light and refreshing - no doubt owing to it's mix of black and green tea, along with dried fruit and sunflower petals. We enjoyed it on its own or with a bit of honey, which highlights its fruity flavours. Equally good iced, we'll definitely be getting this blend again after the snow melts.

[fooddrinkthink]

Tea: Creativity Rooibos

We like to keep a large selection of non-caffeinated teas as we end almost every day with a cup or two. Lately we've been drinking a lot of rooibos including the "Creativity" blend from Distinctly Tea in Stratford.  It's a savoury tea with lots of spice though the rosemary is the most distinct flavour and sometimes it threatens to overpower the others. Because of this, the tea has a slight medicinal quality.  It's a tasty tea for an after dinner beverage but it's not a "must have."

[fooddrinkthink]

Tea: Bold Leaf Pu-Erh

The tea sommelier at the Stratford branch of the Distinctly Tea franchise has pushed us outside our comfort zone of flavoured teas to try more varietals. Her recommendations have been so good that we resolved to seek out some on our own. This week we grabbed a packet of the Chinese dark tea Pu-Erh off the shelf. It's an earthy tea with notes of seaweed. We imagine it would be a great accompaniment for sushi, but we don't think pu-erh is a great sipping tea. We enjoyed it more on the second brewing - the flavour was softer and less intense. Although not traditional, we also found that a bit of sweetener mellowed the flavour. 

[fooddrinkthink]

Tea: Ginger Lime

We are often disappointed by fruit teas - so often they smell great but taste weak - so we were delighted to find this one from Distinctly Tea.

Strong on the fruit with a pleasant balance of tart and sweet and with enough ginger to give it some zing without being overpowering.

Works well on its own or with a bit of sweetener.

We can't currently find this one on their website, so we'll be sure to check the shop next time we're in Stratford.