Caravan Triad Tea from Brooklyn Tea Blends Co.

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Brooklyn Tea Blends Co.

Tea Description:

BROOKLYN TEA BLENDS CARAVAN TRIAD is a perfect marriage of three black teas.  Blended together to achieve a memorizing complex but smooth taste. Richly and malty yet with great harmony of spices, fruits and wealth of smolderingly smoky aroma.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I was excited when I heard about Caravan Triad Tea from Brooklyn Tea Blends Co.  Not necessarily because it’s a caravan tea which to me means ‘smoky’ and I’ve mentioned more than once that I’m not a huge fan of smoky teas, but because it was a new to me tea crafted by a new to me tea company!

So I contacted them immediately and they sent me a sample.  You can also get a sample (a very generous sized sample!) of this tea for a limited time (the website says that the samples will be available through May 2015).

And while this is indeed a smoky tea that is composed of 60% Lapsang Souchong, I like that when I opened the pouch, I wasn’t overwhelmed with smoke.  And now that I sit here with a cup of the brewed tea in front of me, I’m not being overwhelmed with a smoky aroma wafting out of the cup.  There are some smoky notes, yes, but they don’t overpower the cup.  I also smell some really lovely fruit notes to this cup and I like the way those notes mingle with the smoke.

I’m loving the flavor of this tea!  Yes, the smoke is a dominant flavor profile, but, there are so many lovely layers to this Caravan Triad! It doesn’t impart a heavy smoky taste on the palate and I don’t experience a residual smoky aftertaste, which I really like.

I am picking up on a strong fruity essence to this.  Notes of plum!  And just as I enjoyed how the aroma of smoke and fruit mingled, I am also enjoying how the smoky flavor mingles with the plum notes.  It evokes thoughts of a plum that’s been smoked over a plank of pine wood.

Unlike some other ‘smoky’ teas, I appreciate that the pine notes don’t taste ‘burnt’ or ‘charcoal-y.’  The pine adds a certain crispness that is similar to a minty crispness but without the mint overtones.  This is nicely round with sweet and savory notes.

This is a tea I’d recommend for late morning or afternoon sipping.  This isn’t the kind of tea that I’d want to reach for first thing in the morning.  It doesn’t have that same ‘gusto’ that I want for my first cup.  This is more of a contemplative type of tea, something that you want to take a moment and sit back and take the time to explore the dimensions of flavor.  There are so many delicate nuances to this tea that are just waiting to be discovered!

This is definitely one of the nicer smoky blends that I’ve tried, mostly because the smoke is gentle and unassuming here.  It doesn’t aggressively assert itself into my tea drinking experience the way Lapsang Souchong can do.  It allows me to sit back and enjoy subtle notes of smoke as well as the many other delicious layers of flavor.  I highly recommend this tea to anyone who would typically shy away from a ‘smoky’ tea because they find it too overbearing.  This tea will surprise you in a very good way!