Ceylon Idulgashinna Hand Twisted Blue Nettle Oolong from What-Cha

bluenettleoolongTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  What-Cha

Tea Description:

A delightful tea crafted by workers meticulously hand twisting and tying tea leaves together to form a ‘blue nettle’. The leaves within the ‘blue nettle’ show varying levels of oxidisation and as a result the tea exhibits characteristics typical to white, oolong and black teas!

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This is a very cool tea; and while I don’t know for sure that’s it’s unique to What-Cha I’ve personally never seen another oolong rolled like this. When I opened up my sealed package I was quite surprised too; the ‘nettles’/spears of tea are actually quite large and thick – maybe about the length of my pinky finger? And just slightly thicker across than the widest part of my finger. For my tasting, I used two of the nettles/spears since the suggested measurement was 1-2 pieces and I was using a mug just slightly bigger than 12 ounces.

The first infusion was very soft and delicate, like a very lightly oxidized oolong but with flavour notes traditionally found in white, oolong, and black teas  – exactly like What-Cha describes in the tea description! The notes I observed throughout the cup were apricot, overripe peaches, hay, flowers, malt, and a dewy/rainwater like flavour. The emphasis was on the really supple stonefruit notes though. It also surprised me a little that the nettles stayed almost completely the same shape as they were before steeping – just slightly ‘swollen’ from steeping.

The second infusion was quite similar to the first – though the apricot, hay, and malt notes all got increasingly more prominent and I wasn’t tasting overripe peaches or the same ‘dew’ flavour anymore. The mouthfeel was initially soft, but it left a tingly feeling on my tongue like I’d eaten too much pineapple recently. All subsequent steeps followed the layout of this one up until the flavour started to really suffer. The nettles never really completely unwound, either.

This was a fascinating tea, and I really enjoyed it quite a bit! However, that said, the first infusion actually was my favourite. There was something really perfect about the taste of apricot and fresh rainwater. It’s hard to put it into words.

Tequila Sunrise Black Tea from 52Teas

52teasTequila-SunriseTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tea Description:

A double dose of Tequila Sunrise this week. I couldn’t decide whether I liked it best as a black tea or a green tea, so I did both! Here’s our premium Pettaiagala Extra Long Leaf OP from Sri Lanka blended with freeze-dried oranges and cherries; and organic tequila-, orange- and cherry flavors.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

It’s been a mighty long time since I’ve had a Tequila Sunrise (longer than I care to admit to!) so I don’t have any recent memories to compare the flavoring of this black tea blend from 52Teas to.

And I have to say that this tastes a lot better than I remember a Tequila Sunrise tasting.  Hey, I liked them alright.  They just weren’t my favorite cocktail.  I preferred rum-based cocktails over tequila-based cocktails.

But this is really tasty!

I taste all the elements here:  I taste the orange, I taste the cherry and I even taste notes of tequila.  And, most importantly, I taste the black tea.  I really like the way the Pettaiagala tea goes with these flavors – it’s very smooth!  No bitterness and no astringency.

I’m not always really crazy about the cocktail inspired tea blends, but this one is really nice.  And the best part?  I can drink a couple cups of this without feeling hung over tomorrow.

No. 23 Kandy Black Tea from Steven Smith Teamaker

KandyBoxTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Steven Smith Teamaker

Tea Description:

Named after one of the most beautiful cities in Sri Lanka, Kandy brings together full and flavory Dimbulla with highly aromatic and intense Uva and lightly scented high-grown Nuwara Eliya. A tea made for sipping with pleasure all day.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I got Kandy no.23 black tea from a friend recently, and with the recent news of Steven Smith himself passing I wanted to pay homage to him by drinking one of his creations. He had many successful companies, one you might have heard of too. If anyone has had any of Tazo’s teas while they were still at Starbucks, raise you hand. If you want to read more about his legacy, there is a great article here.

Kandy is a blend of three different Ceylon teas. I’m going to disappoint anyone who thinks that this tea is going to tastes like actual candy; this tea is named after a city in Sri Lanka, not after a sweet treat. However, I am convinced that there is something sweet about this tea. In the large square sachet, smells of malted milk balls and raisinets waft into my nose. Smells like classic movie theater candy. Yum. Let’s get this started!

Now, I am not one to follow directions on packages, but reading the one on the outside of the sachet I just had to pay attention. The directions are as follows:

“Bring filtered water to a roiling boil. Steep 5 minutes, while googling the ornate Palace of the Sacred Tooth.”

Now you have my attention.

So google I did. According to Wikipedia, The Temple of the Tooth is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. In that temple is contained the sacred tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because whoever holds the tooth holds the governing power of the country. Kandy was the last capital of Sri Lanka, so it gets the tooth. Huh. Quite a history lesson for my daily cuppa.

Whilst ruminating on this, I sipped this tea in silence. I got the classic malt notes, as well as bright citrus and raisin notes. It’s smooth without having any trace of astringency. While this is not the most interesting and unique blend on the market today, there is something just so nostalgic about black tea from India and Sri Lanka. It tastes like a hot summer day with a refreshing cup of sweetened sun tea with lemon. It’s a cool rainy morning with a dash of milk. This would make for a great daily drinker for anyone who loves the mellow yet rich profiles of Ceylon teas.

The thing I like the most about this tea is the history that this company wants you to know about this tea. I really enjoy getting to know everything I can about the leaves in my cup. What are it’s hobbies? What music is it into? Is it named after a city who is famous for owning a tooth? This tea demands to be understood. And Steven Smith Tea maker is sure to get it’s point across.

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Chai from 52Teas

Sri-Lankan-Pumpkin-Chai-with-nutmegTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tea Description:

So I’m really enjoying this Pettaiagala Extra Long Leaf OP we got in from Sri Lanka, and I know the pumpkin chai blends go over better in the fall, but I couldn’t help thinking that this would make an awesome pumpkin chai. So we blended it with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, black peppercorns and organic pumpkin and other flavors.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.

Taster’s Review:

When I first saw the announcement for this Sri Lankan Pumpkin Chai from 52Teas I double checked my calendar.  Yep, it’s March.  (Well, it was at the time of this tea’s announcement!)  Pumpkin Chai isn’t exactly a tea that you expect to find in March.  In September, sure.  Maybe even as early as August.  OK.  From August through January, but when February arrives, we’ve pretty much had it up to here with pumpkin.  By that point, we’ve had pumpkin pies, pancakes, cookies, soup, cupcakes and tea.  By February, it’s time to break out the Valentines and extinguish the jack-o-lantern.

So I entered into this tea experience with a certain amount of “meh.”

But I’m really enjoying this chai.  It’s heavy on the nutmeg and I’m liking that.  (Nutmeg is one of my favorite spices.)  Usually when nutmeg is promised as one of the ingredients in a chai, I taste hints of the nutmeg but this is a well pronounced flavor.

I’m also getting a strong dose of cinnamon.  The cardamom is a background note.  The ginger and pepper hit the palate at about mid-sip.  They aren’t overly aggressive, but they do offer a pleasant spicy zing to the cup.  I find myself missing clove here – I think a little clove might help round out the flavors just a little bit better.

Last year (at a more appropriate pumpkin time – September 22) 52Teas offered a Pumpkin Chai that I reviewed in October and I seem to recall that having a nicely defined pumpkin-y flavor to it, but I’m not tasting as much pumpkin with this blend as with the previous chai.  The pumpkin does emerge somewhat as the tea cools a little.

But the lack of clove and pumpkin-y flavor might hide the nutmeg and really, for me, this chai is about the NUTMEG!  I could smell it when I opened the pouch.  Before I smelled the cinnamon or ginger or cardamom or pepper, I smelled nutmeg.  And as I hinted at before, this made me a very happy sipper, indeed.

And because this is the one of the best celebrations of nutmeg in a tea that I’ve had in quite some time, I will let the fact that it’s mid-April and I’m sipping on a pumpkin chai slide.  Just this once.

Classic English Breakfast Black Tea from M&K’s Tea Company

ClassicEnglishBreakfastTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy

Tea Description:

It’s classic! It’s English (actually it’s Indian and Sri Lankan)! It’s…breakfast! Nevermind. We’ll cut to the chase. It’s a nice cup of malty black tea from the Bargara and Kandoli Assam estates of India and the Kenilworth estate of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Great with milk, good with sugar, best in the morning. This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I’ve enjoyed quite a few of M&K’s Tea Company’s blends now so I was really eager to try this Classic English Breakfast Black Tea to see how well they crafted a traditional favorite.  And I’m really glad that I had this opportunity to try it, because this is quite nice.

To brew:  I put 1 bamboo scoop of tea into the basket of my Kati Tumbler and then poured in 12 ounces of boiling water.  I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and let time take care of the rest.

This is a robust blend.  I like that it focuses more on the Assam than the Ceylon, which gives it more of a rugged, hefty flavor.  It’s strong and edgy, but without being bitter or too astringent.  Had I steeped this for longer, though, I think that I would have had a bitter cup.  Take care not to oversteep this blend!

The flavor is bold with notes of malt and there is a fruity, wine-like quality to this as well.  There are two single estate Assam teas in this blend and I suspect one is more malty while the other is a more ‘wine-like’ Assam.  It’s a nice balance between the two qualities.  The Ceylon adds a certain ‘evenness’ to the flavor.  It’s a rich, flavorful cup that would take the additions of milk and honey well – which is what most people look for in a breakfast blend.

Personally, I don’t usually add milk or honey to my teas, so my cup has that rugged edge to it that I like in the morning.  It’s the kind of tea that I’d want if I need a good shake awake.  It’s the kind of tea that will get you going.

Really nice!