Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Single Origin Teas
Tea Description:
An unusual black tea with a faint spiced aroma. Freshly dried black pepper and cinnamon tastes overlay this full-bodied black. A good tea for the winter, or for making Chai!
Vietnam is one of the lesser known tea producing countries. Ranked as the 6th highest producing country for tea, we enjoy the unique spicy terroir of this brew. Our Vietnam Black OP1 does not come from a single farmer, but a cooperative in northern Vietnam.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this Vietnam Black Tea OP1 from Single Origin Teas is beautiful, with varying shades of deep chocolate brown, russet and even some golden tips. The leaves are small and wiry, and have an aroma that is earthy and has some hints of spice.
The brewed tea allows the nose to enjoy more of the spice that I noticed before I brewed the tea. There is not so much of the earthiness that I noted. The tea smells warm and welcoming, like something you would want to curl up to on a cold winter morning.
And the flavor is much like the aroma: warm and welcoming. It is a rich and robust tea – one that would be great for a morning tea. It would make a fabulous latte!
It has a sweet, honey undertone, with middle layers of earth and leather and hints of flower in the distance. There is an indistinct fruit note to this, reminding me of raisins. The top notes are slightly peppery and as the description suggests … cinnamon-y! It almost tastes as though this tea was delicately spiced, but these flavors are natural to the tea leaf.
I have to agree with the description that suggests that this tea would make a wonderful base for a chai – it would! If I were in the tea blending business still, I’d probably choose this and a robust Assam and blend the two together for a chai base. Mmm! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to try Vietnamese teas but the few that I have tried, I have really enjoyed. This one from Single Origin Teas is no exception, in fact, this one may just be the most memorable of the few that I’ve tasted. It’s really an exceptional tea – one I’d highly recommend to all tea enthusiasts out there. TRY THIS TEA!
