Snowflake Kenyan Earth from Williamson Tea

Snowflake-570x700Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: Williamson Tea

Tea Description:

Our take on the classic English Breakfast. Kenyan Earth is named after the coppery red soils that symbolize Kenya and this bright, brisk cup of tea. Grown on the high altitude slopes of Kapchorua and picked in the early morning sunshine our Kenyan Earth is an awakening, full bodied liquor that stimulates the body and mind.

Learn more about this tea here. 

Taster’s Review:

Before you read my review. You have to take a look at the tea tin this tea comes in. That tin is gorgeous! Makes me want to place several orders for the tins alone. Not sure what I would do with them but who cares, they are stunning 🙂

Ok, the tea geek out is over and we can move on to the tea itself. Ha!

Williamson Tea is a tea I’ve never tried before. I’ve see and heard other reviews and pictures of their tea before but I just haven’t ever ordered from them. I have a feeling that is soon to change.

This particular Snowflake Kenyan Earth tea that I tried was tea bagged form and I have to say, you could see some pretty huge tea leaves hanging out in each tea pyramid.  The tea itself has a nice sweetened aroma which I found a little difference since this is supposed to be a breakfast tea.  Typically those tend to be a bit more malty and astringent.

Brewed this up with water freshly boiled and allowed the tea to sit a tad too long, totally my bad, multi-tasking failed me! But after what I’m guessing was about a 7 minute steep, I took my first sip.

For being  a tea that I oversteeped, you really couldn’t tell at all! This tea was delicious at all fronts. Malty and rich with a slightly earth flavor here and there.  This is the kind of tea that kicks your taste buds into gear!  So rich and indulging.  The tea was on the point of asking for a touch of cream or milk to really drink it proper.   Towards the end while it cooled and became astringent (drink this one up hot if you don’t like astringent teas), there seemed to be a need for sweetening but wow. What a lovely tea to really give me a change of pace from the flavored teas I have been drinking. I’m not sure where that sweetness was coming from when I first checked the tea out but I have to say, this cuppa was just fantastic.

This is the kind of tea you want to greet you first thing in the morning!

 

Himalayan Golden Black tea from Nepali Tea Traders

Himalayan_GoldenTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: Nepali Tea Traders

Tea Description:

After a short summer season in Nepal, the Himalayan monsoon approaches the foothills with a magnanimous rush. The golden red soil of Sandakphu drinks in this moisture, producing a rare artisan tea that reflects all of nature’s goodness. After plucking, the leaves are 25 percent withered, then rolled in mechanical rollers. The tea is then placed in a shaping machine and further dried, producing uniformly curled leaves. The liquor is a distinctive rich golden color, with a cup that is mild yet flavorful, with a lovely balance of stone fruit and honey.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

On my Epic Sipdown, I came across a sample of this tea from Nepali Tea Traders.  I was quite excited to see if the description matched the flavor of this tea.

I brewed this up in my new Sei Sei Tumbler.  I was really craving those rich stone fruit notes that were described.  Brewed this up like a black tea and wow. This tea has it all.  Rich smooth notes of honey with an almost bread like background and apricot (?) flavors.  So well done.

What I really love about this tea is how smooth it is.  There is almost a silk texture to this tea while you drink it.  This tea is one of those that feels like it needs to be saved for special occasions. But this one is completely affordable for an extra day sort of tea.  I want to try this one as a cold brew for those hot summer days when you need a tea like this.  There is a refreshing quality to it that I’m really enjoying.

The description of this tea was spot on and this is another fantastic tea that has been hiding in my cupboard.  I’m so glad I pulled this one out today.  Loving this fruit malty tea to finish out my day with.