English Tea Shop Organic White Tea with Blueberry and Elderflower: A Tea Review

One of my biggest tea drinking locations, believe it or not, is my workplace.  I have a draw of my desk full of little tins of various tea bags, something for every situation. My lovely work colleagues and I often have a few conversations about tea too. So since I have been on leave taking care of the newest additions to our family I have missed those interactions, not to mention I haven’t really been out and about that much to my favourite tea shops. Anyhow, I popped in for a visit the other week and one of my lovely friends was drinking an interesting blend, so I had to go out and buy it myself!

I discovered teas by English Tea Shop about six months ago at a really lovely organic café and market store near the hospital. While hospital cafeteria food isn’t terrible, it has nothing on this place. Naturally, in that case, ETS teas are organic and some are also fair trade. You could debate for hours about whether or not that makes them taste better however anything that makes you feel good about what your consuming surely would taste better on a psychological level.

This lovely tea is a White Tea with Blueberry and Elderflower. It is a light fragrant tea with a really feint sweetness. If you have read my post about Pickwicks Green Tea with Cherry and Elderflower you will know about my affections for elderflower and also cherry. I happen to also enjoy blueberries just as much as cherries.  The one thing I enjoy about the weather warming up is that the price of fresh blueberries comes down, yum! So this tea is a perfect spring tea with its mix of delicate flavours.

White tea comes from the same plant as black and green tea. The different types of tea are produced during the processing of the leaves and buds and different levels of oxidation or fermentation. During this process the leaves and buds are left to dry out and the longer they are left the darker they turn. This is where some science comes in to play when we discuss tea as the chlorophyll is broken down and the tannins are released. The tannins are allegedly where the health benefits of tea come from. So in this case white teas have a shorter fermentation process which results in the leaves and buds having a silvery off white colour. This results in a beverage that is a pale yellow colour and also light in flavor.

Where I live ETS teas aren’t easy to come by, being only available in a handful of organic shops that I’m aware of. They have an Amazon shop however in Australia I would be wary of buying some tea blends online from overseas as there is a chance, depending on the blend, that it may not pass quarantine. This is especially so for teas containing fruity bits like citrus peel. The price of these teas is surprising at around $5 for a box of 20 tea bags. Now depending on how much you love great tea that $5 may seem expensive or a really good deal.

If you can get your hands on this beautiful tea you must give it a try!

My tea place for this tea is here. Wandering through a beautiful field of white spring flowers.

***UPDATE: I have found an Australian online store selling all of ETS' lovely teas, see below!

The Verdict

Tea: English Tea Shop Organic White Tea, Blueberry and Elderflower

Store: ETS Amazon shop, Australian Distributor Online Shop

Rating: 4/5

Comment: A light fragrant tea perfect for spring. I’d enjoy a stronger fruity flavor but that’s just me.