Tea Review - Nasturtium Tea (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)




I recently travelled to New England to visit family and friends, all the while continuing my role as a Tea Traveller. I know I drank my weight in Tea (grin). On my last day in Boston, I finally visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. For those of you who have no idea what or whom I'm talking about, Isabella Stewart Gardner was a patron of the arts in all aspects in the late 1800s/early 1900s. She built a museum in 1899 and moved into the fourth floor in 1901 as she continued to support the arts with her ever growing collection. If you ever find yourself visiting Boston, or you have just moved to that area, do yourself a favour and visit that museum. As I walked into the courtyard area, I remembered that I kept saying, "Wow." I'd never seen such a beautiful home and museum before and at one point I whispered to myself, "Isabella, I HAVE to know you better." When I left some time later, I had to stop in the gift shop and it was there that I discovered the Nasturtium Tea Blend. Nasturtium is a plant with red, orange, or yellow flowers, while the leaves are edible. Although there were several tea blends for me to choose from, my eyes kept returning to this tea blend. It had to return to Memphis with me!


I allowed the tea to steep for three (and some change) minutes, then poured my first cup. The scent instantly reminded me of walking through a garden in which someone just planted delicately scented flowers. As I walk along, my feet make contact with the freshly turned earth, giving off its scent as well. All in all, a pleasant fragrance! I allowed the tea to cool down so that I could better enjoy it.

First Slurp: The taste was very much how it smelled - flowery, earthy, and above all - fresh. The flowery part was not heavy like perfume, but rather delicate. I rolled the tea around in my mouth, allowing myself to really savour the flavours. However, the more it cooled down, the more I was able to taste the fruity part of the tea - pineapple and lemon. Although the flowery and earthy parts were still there, they took a back seat to the pineapple and citrus. I think I preferred the flowery part more than the fruity part, yet all in all this tea is amazing. This is the kind of tea one would brew and serve to friends while out on a picnic, or perhaps sneak in a cuppa while walking through a botanic garden. It would also be good during the winter months, serving as a reminder that Spring is coming.

To wrap up - here are some photos from the Museum. I truly hope you can visit and make sure to purchase the Nasturtium Tea!








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