I woke up today to find that it was a miserable day. It's chilly, a bit overcast, and doesn't at all feel like the heat wave we were told was coming our way!
I needed a cheery tea to lift my mood and warm me. I knew what was the perfect tea: Cup Of Tea's Valencian Sun.
Valencian Sun consists of Oolong tea that is blended with orange pieces and vanilla. With the added extra of cocoa.
As you can see from the picture below, it's a vibrant and colourful tea. I love how the black tea is mixed with bright orange and yellow pieces. I love loose tea as there are so many pretty blends around, and this is one of them!
In it's pre-brewed form, this tea smells deliciously like oranges. I love citrus flavours in black tea, in particular orange, which is why I'm such a huge fan of Lady Grey. This tea felt like a little burst of sunshine in an infuser. I couldn't wait to try!
I placed a heaped teaspoon into the infuser.
This tea can be brewed for up to four minutes so I decided to time it exactly for four minutes. I tend to err on side of slightly under brewing black tea, but, I wanted to fully experience the orange flavour, so left it to brew for the full four minutes.
Whilst brewing, it was absolutely amazing. The bright citrus smell combined with the smooth richness of vanilla filled the kitchen with a scent that is so lovely.
When fully brewed Valencian Sun has a straw like colour to it. It looks light and refreshing, and was positive it would taste that way, too.
This is a utterly delightful tea to taste. It's full of flavour - this most certainly isn't a wishy washy tea, you know the sort, where you have to really try hard to detect what flavours you are drinking.
The first taste you'll experience (if your like me anyway!) is the rounded, strong taste of orange. It's very powerful and it packs a punch. I absolutely loved it! I love how refreshing the citrus flavour is, and how it makes your mouth leap with joy. Orange works so well in tea, and whenever I try a orange tea, it feels healthy, natural and good for you.
The vanilla is richly smooth and is just about balanced right with the orange. Vanilla in tea can be so strong it's sickly and difficult to drink, but there is just about enough to pleasantly flavour the tea without making your stomach churn.
Alongside the vanilla flavour I can detect a chocolate taste, but it's not overpowering and can barely be detected.
I actually think this is a really unique tea. I've not really experienced a citrus based tea blended with vanilla, and the two flavours work extremely well.
I'm really excited about this blend because it's luxurious (throught it's vanilla content) and refreshing (because of the orange). I really found this lovely and the kettle is brewing for a second cup.
I'm so glad that this tea was sent to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Cup Of Tea is a lovely company with a lovely and modern website. You will have fun browsing, I can be sure of that.
And just when I thought I've seen everything on there, just discovered another tea. Winter Fairy Tale ... yummy ... seems just up my street. ...
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