Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Like an ancient Chinese secret, this tea is an ancient Chinese secret. More or less. Different from black teas of India or Sri Lanka, Qimen (or the anglicized Keemun), features a hint of orchid fragrance and lingering fruity notes. Balanced and complex, Chinese Qimen tea is an ancient Chinese secret you should discover.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This is a really good Keemun!
As promised in the above description, it does have a really good balance of characteristics. I taste notes of flower and fruit as well as a subtle smoky note in the distance. It’s really quite enjoyable the way the flavors come together in my cup.
The dry leaf is beautiful! I don’t think that the above picture really does these beautiful, long, slender, wiry, glossy black leaves justice. I can see by the appearance of the dry leaf that these are of superior quality.
To brew them, I grabbed my Kati Tumbler, although I argued with myself for some time as to why I wouldn’t use my gaiwan to brew these. Ultimately, it was a decision that came down to the skin on my fingertips: When I steep teas at such a high temperature as is best for a black tea such as this, my gaiwan gets really hot to the touch – even though I have the little “fingertip handles” on my easy gaiwan, those get really hot when I steep with boiling water and I wasn’t in the mood for scorched fingers.
So, I grabbed my Kati Tumbler and by the looks of the sampler, there were just enough leaves in the sampler for my 12 ounce tumbler. I poured the leaves into the basket and added 12 ounces of boiling water and let the tea steep for 3 minutes.
And this is a marvelous cup of tea!
The sip starts out with notes of sweet and savory. The sweetness is fruity and slightly honey-esque. The savory is slightly smoky. By mid-sip, the smokiness emerges a little more. The fruity notes remind me of a combination of plum with a hint of grape.
I find myself trying to determine if it’s grape that I taste, or raisin? It’s almost like it’s somewhere in between. Like eating a grape that’s only been partially dried to the raisin stage. It offers that sweet side of grape, but also a savory, almost black currant, wine-like flavor of grape. It’s really quite enjoyable.
The plum with the smoky note is quite intriguing – a smoked plum! Yum!
Just after mid-sip, I pick up on floral notes: orchid! The orchid becomes more distinct as I continue to sip. Now that I’m more than halfway through my cup, I am really tasting the distinct notes of orchid. There are still hints of smoke that linger into the aftertaste, and I like the way the floral notes mingle with those wisps of smoke.
I keep going back to the “smoky” notes and I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that this is a strong, smoky tea. This isn’t like a Lapsang. The smoke is subtle throughout. But it’s the way the hints of smoke dance in and out of the sip that I am marveling over. I like this level of smoke – light notes of smoke that seem to charm their way into each sip.
This tea has a really satisfyingly round flavor. Balanced, yes. The fruit balances nicely with the floral notes and the smoky notes mingle throughout the sip, keeping the palate interested. A really nice Keemun, and I love that it’s organic!
Boomstick Black Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Boomstick combines tangerine, grapefruit, and bergamot flavors with our Kenyan Obsidian tea and orange peel pieces for a citrus lovers dream. Each citrus flavor can be detected on its own but is also cohesive. This tea is a bit of an adventure as each sip has a different dominant flavor. The citrus flavor is not overly aggressive, with just a mild tartness. We highly recommend Boomstick as a breakfast tea.
Read more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
This review is scheduled to be published just after Butiki announces their final sale. Yes, I’ve said it a couple of times on here, very soon, Butiki Teas will soon be no more. And while that does make me sad to say goodbye to a truly great tea company, I am happy that this company came to the decision not because they needed to close due to slow sales or anything like that, but because the owner, Stacy, wants to focus on other things now. In her announcement to Steepster, she said:
When I first started this company, my husband asked me to come up with a goal of how much in sales we could ever dream of making in a year. Well, thanks to you all, we have quadrupled that number! I would have never imagined we would have become this successful and I am so grateful to all of my customers for making us what we are today. Thank you so very much.
Reading that brought a smile to my face. In this age when it seems like so many companies are struggling to stay out of the red, it’s great to read that a small company did so well. And a tea company at that! It’s truly inspiring.
And it would seem that I am – at least partially – the inspiration for the creation of this tea! When she mentioned that she had bergamot, grapefruit and tangerine flavors, I suggested that she combine these three flavors with a black tea base. At the time, I was thinking she use her Sansia black tea base – having enjoyed it so much with the Chocolate Chili Truffle tea – I thought that the strong honey tones of the black tea would pair nicely with the citrus fruits.
Instead, Stacy chose her Kenyan Obsidian as a base which Stacy describes as “grapefruity, malty, and woody.” I also taste a sweetness to this and I don’t know if it’s the tea itself or the combination of the tea plus these particular flavors but I do get a light honey note that’s quite pleasant with the citrus fruit.
I thought about adding a dollop of honey to the cup to enhance those tones, but, I kind of like this straight up. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and the citrus gives it a tangy flavor – tart … but not pucker-y tart. Just enough tart that I can feel my taste buds sort of perk up (especially in the finish) from the tart.
This is a really lovely celebration of citrus flavor. Butiki suggests this as a breakfast tea. It would make a wonderful breakfast accompaniment (perhaps instead of fruit juice!) But I also found that this is LOVELY iced. It’s very refreshing.
This will be my final review of Butiki Teas here on SororiTea Sisters (I do still have a couple of teas of theirs that I’ll be drinking and talking about over on Steepster!) so I wish Stacy all the luck in the world with whatever adventure she takes on next. I raise my teacup to her and say, Bravo! And thank you for bringing us so many wonderful teas – you (and your teas!) will be missed.
And … as you head on over to Butiki Teas to see what’s on sale (and what’s left!) be sure to add some of this tea to your cart. You’ll be glad you did!
Chai Tea from Tealated
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealated
Tea Description:
This spicy Chai delights the senses with its blend of cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves with organic Assam tea. Try it with milk and sugar for a culinary treat!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yeah! I’m liking this chai!
I worried that I might have oversteeped it, because I absent-mindedly set the timer for 3 minutes without taking into consideration that this is a) an Assam and b) a CTC Assam at that!
But I’m not experiencing any bitterness. I don’t know if that’s because the spices are overpowering any bitter tones or if it’s because this Assam is a bit more forgiving than others that I’ve had. I just know that I’m tasting a really enjoyable cup of Chai that isn’t bitter. It’s smooth, rich and flavorful and jam-packed with masala spice – just the way I like my chai blends to be!
I like that this is warm and zesty – and yeah, I’d even go so far as to say it’s spicy! But it isn’t a ‘too much’ kind of spicy. It’s just right. This is the spice levels that I prefer my chai blends to have. I like a good bit of spice to the cup but I don’t want it to be so overwhelmed with spice that I can’t taste that rich, delicious black tea base.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed many a chai that didn’t meet these specifications. But as far as the kind of chai that I would go back to … this is the kind of chai that I’d be happy to drink again and again.
There’s even the faintest hint of creaminess to the cup which I’m not quite sure where it comes from except that perhaps it’s from the malty notes of the Assam – but it tastes really good served without the dairy. It’s certainly not “latte” like without the dairy, but there is enough of a creamy hint to it that I find enjoyable enough without the dairy.
I think I might serve this to my husband when he gets home. He has recently ‘discovered’ the joy of chai and I think he’ll really enjoy this one.
Eggnog Yunan Black Tea from 52Teas
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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic Royal Golden Yunnan infused with organic eggnog flavors, cinnamon chips, marigold petals and a touch of nutmeg. This long, tippy-leafed Yunan steeps a smooth cup with rich aroma and superb taste. The hints of creamy eggnog and spices just makes it an extra special treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
After reading the various tasting notes on Steepster about this tea, I decided to let it cool a bit before I started to formulate my opinion about it.
The aroma of the tea wafting out of my teacup made the waiting difficult because it smells so good. I can smell notes of creamy eggnog with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. The fragrance of the cinnamon is especially praise-worthy in my opinion.
Cinnamon can sometimes come off as a very aggressive scent (and don’t get me wrong, I love the strong smell of cinnamon!) but here it’s so pleasantly delicate, reminiscent of what I might smell when I prepare snickerdoodle blondies. (Seriously, try that recipe, you’ll be glad you did.)
This is a really tasty tea. I like the Yunnan base. It’s a strong, robust tea and it has a really pleasing flavor. It’s an earthy, slightly peppery, rich tasting tea: a really good Yunnan – one that I’d be happy to drink as a pure tea.
Some would think that it’s wrong to flavor a tea like this, but I’m not one of them. I don’t agree that the only teas that should be flavored are the ones that aren’t good enough to be consumed as a pure tea. I think that if you start with better ingredients (including a better base tea), you’re going to have a better product. This is true of whatever you’re making, whether you’re making a soup or a batch of cookies or a cup of tea. You need quality ingredients to produce a quality product.
And I’m very happy with the quality of this Yunnan.
The flavoring is not quite as strong as I expected it to be. The eggnog flavor is definitely there but this isn’t as creamy as I would have expected it to be. I guess if I’m to offer a criticism about the tea, that would be it: it lacks a little in the creaminess department. When one pours a glass of eggnog, they are anticipating a very creamy drink. This just isn’t as creamy as the “Eggnog” part of the name of this tea would imply.
At the same time, I find it hard to actually complain about this because I think that if this were creamier or more eggnog-y, it would interfere with my enjoyment of the Yunnan tea and I really like the Yunnan!
The notes of spice are really nicely done here: accent notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Nothing overpowering. The spices are but a hint of flavor, just as it would be if you were to drink eggnog. The eggnog recipes that I know of don’t include cinnamon usually – usually nutmeg but not cinnamon – but I like that hint of cinnamon and I really like the way it plays with the natural spice notes of the Yunnan.
Overall, I enjoyed this tea. I found that adding a small amount of half & half (about half a teaspoon!) to the cup amplified the creaminess factor significantly without otherwise altering the flavor. I still got that really lovely Yunnan flavor, wonderfully warm hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and more eggnog flavor with the dash of dairy, so I highly recommend this addition to this tea!
Energy Ayurvedic Tea from TeaVeda
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Veda Company
Tea Description:
Mildly caffeinated with green tea, one of the nature’s antioxidant wonders. Boost your “Energy” with energizing, tasteful and exotic blends of lemongrass, mint and hibiscus.
Learn more about the teas from TeaVeda here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really do like the concept of the Teaveda teas. I love the beautiful tins and the matching tea ware. I just kind of wish that the Veda Company paid as much attention to this blend in particular as they paid to the packaging and tea ware, because this tea is really quite average. 
While I’m enjoying this blend, I’m not really getting a sense of “Energy” from it. The flavors are very subtle and the overall cup is just sort of “ho-hum”.
The mint, which is normally a rather assertive herb, is quite subdued here. The lemongrass is bright and has a lemon-lime sort of flavor to it that I find enjoyable.
As for the hibiscus … well, it’s no secret that I’m not a big fan of hibiscus. I’m happy to say that the hibiscus is a gentle flavor here – I’m not getting an overly tart flavor from it nor am I getting the syrupy thickness from it. Then again, I did only steep the tea for 2 1/2 minutes so I didn’t expect to get a thick texture from the hibiscus.
I think that maybe the hibiscus helps to emphasize the lemon-y notes of the lemongrass just a bit, but other than that, I can’t say that there’s a really distinct hibiscus note here.
The green tea is pleasant. It’s smooth and buttery. It’s not bitter and it’s not astringent. (Bonus points for that!) Overall, this tea is alright. It’s not my favorite tea that I tried from Teaveda and I guess I just expected more from a tea that calls itself “Energy.”