To celebrate the Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar, Whittard have blended a fantastic limited edition blend. It's been given the number 600, and it's their Lucky Lychee.
I first came across this blend a couple of weeks back when I was browsing the Whittard website looking for inspiration to feature on the blog. I've become quite partial to Whittard over the last year. I love the quality of their tea, I love the fact they have actual stores that I can visit and talk tea to the workers there, and I love the fact that mix traditional blends with the modern.
I know you cannot judge a tea by it's packaging. However, this eye-catching design stirred my interest and as I love lychees, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I cannot find out how long this blend will be on sale for, but if it sounds like something you'd like, I'd get in quick - it is limited edition as stated on the web page.
The tea consists of Chinese black tea and lychee flavouring.
This tea is gorgeous to look at. It's beautifully dark and is made up of relatively small leaves. It comes in a box and wrapped in plastic within the box. I would of brought a caddy to place this in, as it is highly fragranced, but as it's a limited edition, I'm happily leaving it in it's original and very pretty packaging.
I heaped a generous amount of tea in the infuser and poured on the boiling water. Whilst it infused I enjoyed it's sweet aroma. Though lychee's are fruit it has a oddly floral scent about it, and it is utterly gorgeous and tasty. I infused the tea for four minutes.
This blend is a extravagant, rich blend. It is bursting with flavour and is aromatic, robust and tasty. As lovely as it is, it's rather like the tea equivalent of shortbread. A small amount is lovely but if taken too often it can become a bit too much. I think this box will last me some time, as it's quite full on!
The base tea is of Chinese origin and is lovely and smooth and is the perfect match with the lychee flavouring as neither flavour out does the other. I think Whittard are especially wise to have used a stronger tea with this strong flavour as we could easily of had a tea where one flavour over took the whole blend. This is blended exceptionally well and is a joy to drink. A ideal blending!
There is something lovely about the texture of this blend. It's smooth and easy to drink, and it's like someone is giving me a hug. I feel good when I drink this tea. I'm not sure if it's the sweetness but it's just delightful in how it makes you feel. It's soft, gentle on the palate and makes your tongue dance with flavour.
I am rather partial to lychees, but in my neck of the woods they are not always easy to find so I was hugely looking forward to tasting this -and I wasn't disappointed. The flavour of the lychee is incredibly fresh, natural and it tastes almost as if there are real, actual lychees floating in the tea. It's well rounded and just wonderful. When I've had a cup I just want more and more and more of it.
This is about as comforting a tea as you could possibly wish to have. There is something so lovely that it's hard to find the words for. There isn't any harshness or bitterness to this tea, even as it cools. It is a well balanced cup of tea from the first to the very last sip. Utterly delightful.
I will be rationing this tea. It's quite pricy for the amount you get and as it's a limited edition I don't know how long it will be available for. So I only have a couple of cups a day. You know what it like - you get to love a tea and all of a sudden you can't find it anymore. I've had that happen several times in my eight years of avid tea drinking so I've learned to treasure those tea's and drink little of it so it lasts for longer.
I think this is a great tea for spring. As the days get longer, with lighter evenings and mornings, it's like your welcoming in a whole new world. And this is the perfect companion. It's brilliant that Whittard have chosen such an exotic fruit to blend with the tea. A very good example of Whittard successfully mixing the traditional with the new.
I am utterly in love with this tea. It's familiar yet different and keeps you on your toes and it's glorious flavour lingers well after the cup has been finished.
So far, this is one of the best new tea's I've tried in 2018. For me it's exceptionally lucky that two of my favourite things have been brought together in a fresh, romantic, dreamy way. Whittard - I can only thank you!
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