Bill Walsh reviews teas bursting with flavor, but without chemicals or sugar.
By Bill Walsh
Subject: Le Palais des Thés
Coffees Mugged: Le Citron and La Poire 
Having recently finished up a weekend at the NYC Coffee Fest, I am always amazed at how much of the coffee and tea industry involves flavoring. Of course flavored coffees I forcefully embargo, and syrups rarely pass through my lips (I try to keep my sweetener intake low), but natural flavoring in teas seem to be the one instance where an additive to the medium has some legitimate ability to add some quality flavor without using harsh chemicals or sugar.
Recently, I took some tea from Le Palais des Thés for a spin, trying out their Le Citron (Lemon) and La Poire (Pear). Both teas are flavored and each claims natural flavorings and refreshing results. I sampled each tea according to the brew recommendations on the product pages.
The Le Citron smacked of lemon candy, cherry blossoms and cake, followed by a strong backbone of Sri Lankan black tea. While the taste of lemon was more akin to a sugary lemon concoction than an actual lemon, the tea all in all proved light and tart with some fairly solid qualities.
The La Poire also had a sweet, albeit more subtle, candied quality of fruit about it (in this case pear), along with notes of lemongrass, chardonnay and flecks of a deep green tea. Complete with marigold petals, this tea makes for a pretty sight and a decent brew.
While, I can’t say that these two teas were my all-time favorites (I usually prefer my fruit flavorings from a fresh source), they each made for a fairly refreshing cup of tea. For a taste of France, check out these as well as the numerous other tea options on the Le Palais des Thés website.
