*My apologies to John Donne for tweaking his work a bit.
No this post isn’t about death, the opposite really…sort of. Listen my brain has turned on vacation mode so things might not make perfect sense, but it does in my head so let’s go with that.
Right so a week or so ago I received my first of many orders from @thedevoteas US distribution office. I had ordered Lord Petersham and Finbarr’s Revenge, but I also received a sample of all five of their offerings to sample and review too! Double bonus. Well, I finally have time to answer the tolling tea bell that has been dinging in my head for the last week and a half. In fact the sound was so loud the other night I couldn’t sleep (and I needed to in order to prepare for our 12+ hour drive). What happened was nothing like the experience of @lazyliteratus, but it was troublesome none the less.
So here it is…finally.
See awesome sample sizes!
I dug into Lord Petersham first as it was billed as an anytime tea. I truly enjoyed this one and it’s tied for first place with Finbarr’s Revenge from the US offerings. Lord Petersham is a very smooth tea and full of flavor. I’ve shared it with friends and coworkers who all found it to be a well rounded cup of tea that no one should find any fault with. It really has something for everyone…it should as there are five different types of tea in the US blend (at least I’ve been told there are five in this one)!
The following day I brought Finbarr’s Revenge to work with me. I really, REALLY love this one. I’m a sucker for a fine Irish Breakfast tea and this is a damn fine Irish Breakfast. This particular tea does give your day a really nice kick start. Not an in your face kick start, but a slightly gentle/slightly not “Hey, hey you, get it moving!” Very bold and rich and amazing. I have yet to try it with the suggested milk and sugar – but I didn’t think it needed anything else. I’ll have to try that out in the future.
I then moved on to the samples of the other three teas… Persian Princess, 1910: English Breakfast, and Two Tigers. Persian Princess smells very bold and rich with the dry leaf. My first sip offered a nice little kick to the system and my taste buds. This certainly is a hearty tea even if Princess is in the name.
This morning I stared my day with the 1910: English Breakfast. I have to tell you I’m a big fan of English Breakfast, but I have had my share of EB’s that have been less than stellar. This was not the case with the blend from The Devotea. In fact (and I’m not just saying this because I know Robert and his US distributor) this is the best English Breakfast I’ve had to date. Very nice and mellow…a sipping tea if ever there was one. Not that all teas aren’t sipping teas, but this one really got me to slow down and enjoy my first cup of the day!
As I’m writing this I started and them proceeded to drink down Two Tigers. Let me tell you this tea is like Chuck Norris in a cup…offering a solid roundhouse kick in the face. But again in a good way! It is a good solid cup of tea, but of the teas I sampled this one ranked in at number 5. It will certainly be my go to tea when I really need my morning kick in the rear.
As for the others I’m going to say Persian Princess comes in at number 4 because she’s a lady who with a little fight in her. The 1910: English Breakfast arrives in the number 3 spot as a beautiful all around awesome tea to simply sit and enjoy. I’m going to give the top spot to Finbarr’s Revenge because I’m a sucker for an Irish Breakfast tea, but the good Lord Petersham isn’t far behind at number 2.
These teas are five solid offerings from The Devotea. I’m hoping the US shop will soon be offering some of the other blends that the Australia shop offers as some of those blends also sound amazing and I would love to get my hands on them (hint, hint).
Coming up shortly a review of a new product that I was lucky enough to get my hands on!
