I mentioned a while back that for the first time ever, I bought a tea because of the a book – Henrietta’s book, to be exact. Her memoir of her life in tea was so fascinating and her tea descriptions so enticing that I bought the Rare Tea Discovery Box even before I finished reading. I can’t find it on the site now, but I’ve finally finished drinking and posting about the teas and wanted to have a place where all my thoughts sit.
If you already follow my Instagram, you can skip to the bottom for my overall thoughts and what I’m probably going to buy after trying these five teas.
No.1 Ladies Wild Red Bush
RAF Traditional English Breakfast
Lost Malawi English Breakfast Tea
Green Tea
As it turns out, I didn’t actually post about this tea but it’s okay because I’ve been keeping a tea diary so I have notes! This tea was one of the less impressive teas in the box – the smell from the dry leaves were pretty subdued and that carried over to the tea. The tea liquor was a very light yellow and it had the same subdued notes; something between nutty an vegetal? It wasn’t a bad cup of tea but it didn’t wow me like the others.
Silver Tip Jasmine White Tea
Earl Grey
Overall Thoughts/What Would I Buy?
Overall, I really enjoyed this sample box and there were more great teas than there were unimpressive ones. It’s a pity that I can’t find it on the site anymore because I would 100% recommend people who are on the fence about trying Rare Tea Company to get this – it’s such a great way to know the type and quality of the teas that they sell.
From this box of six, I’m planning to buy the Lost Malawi English Breakfast Tea (now to switch my family over from tea bags to loose leaf!), the No. 1 Ladies Wild Red Bush (seriously the best rooibos I’ve ever had), and the Silver Tip Jasmine White Tea. I’m considering the Earl Grey but I still have the Mariage Freres blend in my cupboards and as I need to finish that first.
The minimum for free international shipping is £40 but I don’t think I’ll have a problem hitting that because there are other teas I’d like to try, such as the Malawi Puer and Malawi Antlers White Tea. Maybe I should just grab the Malawi teas first and do a deep dive on teas from Malawi, that should be fun.
Thanks for the reviews and references to the Rare Tea Company. I went to their site and feel compelled to order from their tea selections!
I had the exact same compulsion! I’d really recommend getting Henrietta’s book Infused (either through the library or from a bookstore) – she writes about her adventures in tea and her descriptions will make you want to drink everything she mentions!