Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Twinings of London
Tea Description:
Select black tea from Assam expertly blended with sweet and savoury spices including cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and ginger to deliver a flavourful tea with a warm, soothing aroma and a fresh, spicy taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After trying two other rather lackluster teas from Twinings of London recently, I wasn’t sure what possessed me to actually try another today. But I tried to keep a positive outlook and without having too high of expectations, I brewed this cup of Organic Chai from Twinings of London.
My initial thoughts: this is better than both the two previous recent tastings of this company’s teas. I can taste the robust Assam tea beneath the bold spices. I like that all the flavors that I expected to taste are represented.
About now is where I might say something like “the flavor of the spices are well-balanced,” but I can’t really say that because they aren’t well balanced. I taste more clove than any other spice. I taste a hearty cinnamon flavor and in contrast, there is very little ginger flavor. The cardamom is tasted, but, it’s not as strong as the clove and cinnamon.
But! I do like the Assam here. It’s a rich and flavorful tea. It’s almost creamy because of its thick, malty texture and I find that very enjoyable.
Overall, it’s not a terrible chai. It’s certainly not great though. It’s not the tea that I’d keep stocked in the cabinet. There are so many great teas out there and this is simply average or perhaps even just slightly below.
Sheng Cha Oolong Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Sheng Cha is an oolong tea grown at 1,100 m elevation and is grown wild. Sheng Cha is made from tea plants left to grow for decades in the wild, this imparts a more earthy palate to the leaf. Look for notes of sesame seed biscuits, toast and wheat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m liking this Sheng Cha Oolong Tea from Simple Loose Leaf a LOT! I’ve tried a lot of different Oolong teas over the years and the ones that really stand out to me are the ones that are different from the rest. This is one of those teas.
To brew it, I used my gaiwan. I measured a bamboo scoop into the bowl of the gaiwan and then added just enough hot water to cover the leaves (180°F water) and let that steep for 15 seconds. Then I strained the liquid and discarded it – that is known as the rinse or the ‘awakening of the leaves.’ A lot of people overlook this step, but I’ve learned over the years that the rinse is essential for getting the best flavor from Oolong teas (this is also true of pu-erh teas!)
Then I filled the gaiwan with more hot water and steeped the first infusion for 1 minute. For each infusion to follow, I added another 15 seconds onto the steep time.
My first cup is comprised of the first and second infusion. With this cup, I’m already discovering that the description above is pretty spot on, I’m getting an earthy flavor to the cup. I taste nutty notes that remind me of toasted sesame seeds and whole, multi-grain toasted bread. It’s sweet and warm. It has a nice, roasty-toasty flavor – it’s a comforting, cozy sort of flavor that you just want to curl up to.
The second cup (infusions 3 and 4) was a bit stronger in flavor than the first. The first was still quite a robustly flavored Oolong – ordinarily with Oolong teas, I find that my first cup is somewhat delicate in flavor but that wasn’t the case with this Sheng Cha. This second cup is even stronger than that first cup was. It is only slightly astringent, but I am noticing more astringency than with the first cup – where it seemed almost non-existent. This time, I’m experiencing a slightly dry astringency at the tail – slight, yet it’s there.
This tea is savory as well as sweet. I taste the sweet, nutty tones, but the bready notes and the warm, toasted flavors have a savory quality to them. It’s quite a nice contrast, and with this second cup, I’m noticing more savory than sweet.
Mmm! My third cup (infusions 5 and 6) proved to be my favorite of the three cups that I brewed of this tea. The astringency has gone back to the ‘almost non-existent’ that I experienced with my first cup, and I’m also tasting more sweetness than I tasted with the second cup. This cup still has those savory notes too. Sweet, nutty, toasted sesame and whole grains. A slight earthiness and a woodsy note. It’s a really comforting tea to sip. It has an autumnal flavor – so it’s something that I find especially rewarding to sip on a chilly evening.
Focus Green Tea from NudiTea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: NudiTea
Tea Description:
Clear your cloudy mind with our steamy FOCUS blend. Rare and ancient Japanese Sencha is blended with a sprinkling of passionfruit flowers and marigolds creating an intoxicating and flavoursome cup. With a delectable blend of natural caffeine extracts, it’s a better alternative to coffee and energy drinks. FOCUS won’t give you wings but it will help you fly through the day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this Focus Green Tea from NudiTea is extraordinarily fragrant! It smells amazing! Like wow, can I get this scent in a bar of soap or perhaps a wax tart that you melt to make the whole room smell like that! It’s strongly floral without smelling like a flower shop, because there are lovely notes of pineapple that balance the flowery notes. Lovely!
The brewed tea has a softer aroma but otherwise smells quite similar – beautiful floral notes with notes of pineapple.
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch. I measured two bamboo scoops of the loose leaf tea into the basket of the tea maker, and 500ml of freshly filtered water into the kettle. Then I set the parameters: 175°F for 2 minutes.
It’s a really tasty blend! The green tea is sweet and has a nice creamy texture to it. I like that the texture is light but there is a soft creamy feel to it. It doesn’t taste sharp or bitter, it’s sweet, lightly buttery with some grassy notes.
I taste passion fruit. The way the description is worded, it seems that it’s passion fruit flowers … but I’m tasting passion fruit. Sweet, luscious passion fruit! Yum! I also get a hint of pineapple from this. Just a hint.
As far as the floral notes go, I taste the sweetness of the rose and mallow flowers, and I taste the sharp sunflower notes.
The fruit and the floral notes are pretty evenly paired – neither is really stronger than the other. The fruit is sweet and with just a whisper of tangy flavor while the floral notes add a hint of exotic flavor to it and a touch of distinct flower sweetness.
Overall, this is a pleasant cuppa – it’s sweet but not in a cloying way. It’s got a nice layered flavor: layers of flower are the top notes with the middle notes of juicy passion fruit and the undertone of Sencha.
My one criticism – if you want to call it that – would be the addition of the chamomile to this blend. Why chamomile? Chamomile tends to be a relaxing herb, not one that I associate with being focused and alert. I don’t really taste a lot of chamomile in this, maybe once in a while I might pick up on a honey-like flavor that’s quite chamomile-ish but it still is an ‘odd’ ingredient in a tea that is to support a sense of “Focus.”
Product Review: Gingerbread Chai Latte from Coffee Revolution
Product Information:
Where to Buy: If you live in Vancouver, WA: Coffee Revolution.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said before, I don’t stop in to my local coffee shop(s) often. Here in Vancouver, Washington – and pretty much anywhere in the Pacific Northwest – there’s a coffee shop at street corner, it seems. My husband and I often joke at the number of Starbucks that there are. If you happen to pass by a Starbucks, you don’ t need to turn around and go back, just keep going and there will be another one coming up on the next street corner. In Portland, I understand there’s a Starbucks inside a Starbucks.
So I was less than impressed a couple of years ago when Coffee Revolution appeared in Vancouver at a location not far from my house. I don’t usually go to the coffee shop, why would I go to this one?
But they hooked me in with their fancy digital billboard sign outside of their shop. It beckoned to me: Gingerbread Chai. How do I resist that?
As it turns out, I wish I would have. Essentially, this is the original Oregon Chai concentrate that’s been enhanced with Gingerbread flavored syrup. The result: an overly sweet concoction that tasted like gingerbread (with gobs of extra icing).
Yeah, I taste the chai. I don’t really taste much of the ‘black tea’ that is supposed to be in the Oregon Chai concentrate. When I’ve tried this brand of chai concentrate in the past, I didn’t taste the black tea either, so it’s not the sickeningly sweet gingerbread syrup’s fault that I can’t taste the tea. It’s the concentrate’s fault.
The good: I can taste the gingerbread. If this were not as sweet, I’d be a lot more pleased with it though. As it is, it’s just too sweet. It’s cloying. It’s so sweet that if I were a diabetic, I’d be worried about diabetic coma at this point.
On another note, I do feel bad. Because as I was standing there, waiting for the very cheerful barrista to finish with my latte, I’m sure she could see just how disgusted I was that my chai was coming out of a carton. It wasn’t her fault. She was just doing her job. So, if she happens to be reading this, I’m sorry if I came off as a tea snob. I am, in fact, a tea snob and I don’t apologize for that, but just because I’m a tea snob doesn’t mean that I should be rubbing others the wrong way with it. Sorry.
Boisahabi Estate Assam SFTGFOP1 Black Tea from Capital Teas Limited
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Potently aromatic attractive deep brown Assam leaves with plenty of golden tips. These leaves infuse to a very rich, strong and sweetly malty tasting tea liquor with an unusually smooth disposition for a tea with such strength. Highly recommended as a breakfast tea to drink with milk!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Boisahabi Estate Assam SFTGFOP1 Black Tea from Capital Teas Limited is a really enjoyable Assam – it’s got a rich, thick texture and lots of malt!
It has that strong, robust character that you look for in a morning cuppa – this is one of those ‘get you going in the morning’ type of teas! What I’m appreciating most about this is that while it is a bold tasting tea, it’s not overly ‘edgy.’ It’s got a smooth, nicely rounded flavor with sweet, caramel-y undertones. Quite nice!
To brew this, I put a bamboo scoop of tea into the basket of my Kati Tumbler and added 12 ounces of boiling water. I steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes. I would caution you to watch your steep time because this tea can and will get bitter on you if you oversteep it – so don’t do that!
If you like your breakfast tea to be latte, this tea will take the addition of milk and honey quite nicely. It’s also really pleasant served straight up. I like it hot best, but it’s still really tasty as it cools.