teakruthi is a company that focuses on Ceylon teas. Personally, I did not think I was a fan of Ceylon teas since I always found them to be rather tannic and astringent. However, teakruthi was wonderful and shared generous samples of their teas in exchange for honest reviews. I have tried several of their teas now and I am happy to report that they have really changed my outlook on Ceylons. While I have not loved all of their teas, some have been quite enjoyable. In the enjoyable category is a blend called Two Seasons.
Two Seasons is one of a few blends that teakruthi carries as their focus is mostly on plain teas. Two Seasons is a mix of Pure Ceylon Black tea, Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (FBOP), ginger root, and peach. I steeped the tea per teakruthi’s recommended steeping parameters: 3 minutes in 95C water.
Drinking the tea, Two Seasons definitely seems like a fitting name. It’s got warming ginger notes that are flavorful but not very spicy and to balance that, it has a soft fruitiness from the peach. As such, the tea captures both flavors that represent Winter and Summer. The flavors are present but mild which allows the full/medium-bodied base to come through as well. The base tea is floral, which the peach plays off nicely. Also, It can be a touch astringent at the end of the sip but not overly so.
This tea is a nice bridge between flavored and unflavored teas. While it definitely has flavoring to it, it’s not overwhelming which allows you to appreciate the base tea as well. Softer flavoring also means you are less likely to tire of it quickly, which makes this easy to drink over and over again.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: teakruthi
Description
Mild in flavour, the high- and medium-grown black tea perfectly supports the delicate flavour infusion of ginger and peach. Hand-selected from the Sri Lankan wetlands on which it grows, the ginger in this tea boasts a subtle spiciness that harmonises with the flavour of the black tea. The sweet flavour of peach brings balance and peace to the spiciness of the black tea and ginger blend. Brewing to a deep copper in your cup, this tea is brimming with a tantalising blend of spicy, floral, and woody notes that are exclusively designed to exhilarate your taste buds while bringing peace to your mind.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Muguru Ceylon/Lumbini Tea Valley
Take a large tea leaf, processes it, roll the leaf in twisted fashion length-wise, tie one end, and you end up with this unique looking large leaf ceylon tea. If Liu An Gua Pian had a brother, this would be him.
Even after steeping past the directed 30 seconds, which I thought was too light, I found that the flavor is incredibly subtle. Almost to the point that if you don’t swish it in your mouth a few times you miss some real unique honey and malt notes.
It must have taken some very sturdy, very careful hands in order to craft this tea. To tie each tip must be incredibly time consuming. As we come around to the second steeping the tea becomes somewhat floral with very sweet overtones. Almost like someone added sugar. The malt still remains. The sweetness continues into the third steeping. No astringency after steeping over 4 minutes.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lumbini Tea Valley
Description
Natural malt with a hint of lingering sweetness
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GLENDALE ESTATE, NILGIRI, FIRST FLUSH 2017/Yatra Tea Company
This Nilgiri is reminiscent of a Darjeeling. Though the leaves really do not have a resemblance, the wet leaf smell has the mineral and earthy components.
It is somewhat mineral in taste as well but namely earthy with mixes of wood and earth. That sounds confusing but if you look at a tea flavor wheel it will make more sense.
If tasted while steeping between minutes 1-2 you may detect some hints of honey which I also find follows in the after taste but the honey disappears when steeped past 3 minutes.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Yatra Tea Company
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
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Death Eaters Tea Club Specialty Box from Riddle’s Tea Shoppe
Bring out your inner good or bad wizard with a box of wizarding-world-themed tea goodies. Riddle’s Tea Shoppe offers quarterly boxes alternating between the Death Eaters Tea Club (canonically, the bad guys) and the Auror Tea Society (the good guys). The 2018 spring Death Eaters box was my first hands-on experience with Riddle’s Tea Shoppe, though I’ve long admired photos from afar.
This box was jam-packed with well-designed surprises. My box featured a canister of Basilisk Egg tea bags (spicy, earthy chai with lemongrass and peppercorns), a bag of loose Devil’s Snare tea (rich black tea with dark berry and cocoa flavors), and a bag of loose Venomous Tentacula tea (a decaf blend of black tea and rooibos with strawberry marzipan flavors). To pair with my tea was a vial of shimmery Unicorn Blood (simple syrup). Each treat featured original artwork or uniquely designed labels to make them feel extra magical and make them suitable to display in your tea shelf.
Beyond tea, the box included a laser cut wood bookmark and enamel pin, featuring stylish typography of favorite evil wizard spell words. There was also a print of an original watercolor painting of the Chamber of Secrets from Riddle’s Tea Shoppe’s creator. Of course, the Death Eaters Tea Club cute-and-creepy skull logo is on the box itself and various stickers and labels.
This box gave a lot of experience and beauty for a modest price. The one challenge is ordering before the pre-orders sell out, and waiting while the materials are assembled and shipped. To keep up-to-date on the next box, check out Death Eaters Tea Club (@deatheatersteaclub), Auror Tea Society (@aurorteasociety), and Riddle’s Tea Shoppe (@riddlesteashoppe) on Instagram. Also check on Riddle’s Tea Shoppe on Etsy for non-box goods related to tea and fantasy fandoms. The shop updates randomly, so check back often.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: various
Where to Buy: RTS Quarterly
Description: Each box contains:
– 1 canister of tea [Caffeinated]
– 2 small tea samples (10g each) [1 decaf / 1 caffeinated]
– 1 enamel pin
– 4 additional surprise items!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
English Breakfast from Walters Bay. . . .
Hello dear reader, among all the interesting tea that is available in today’s market, it is nice to find a tea blend that doesn’t stray too far from the classic blends. Of course, I am talking about English Breakfast, the blend that never fails to fit my every mood. So I was more than happy to brew a cup of this English Breakfast especially when it is from a company from which I am surprised that I have never heard of for this company is 151 years old!
As I am sure is the case for most of you, this tea tastes like your typical English Breakfast blend. But that is not saying it is not good, this tea is definitely one of the best cups of English Breakfast that I have had. This tea is perfectly bold and bright with a soft dry finish combined with a perfectly sweet malty flavor. I was sad that I only had one cup to sample for my cup emptied way to fast so I will be most definitely be stocking up in the future.
Now on to the prices, a box of 15 (silk pyramid bags) is priced at $6.99 USD which will be about .47¢ a cup. For loose leaf, it would be $9.99 for a tin (18 cups per tin) that will be about .56¢ a cup and $10.99 for a bag (33 cups per bag) that is .33¢ per cup. I also don’t see any options for samples but I think spending about $7 isn’t too bad for testing a tea.
All in all, this tea is a good staple to have in my tea collection. I enjoyed my cup immensely and I see why this specific blend won first place in the 2018 Global Tea Championship in the English Breakfast category. I believe that this blend is approachable by all tea drinkers and will be a welcome addition to any tea collection
See you for the next cuppa!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Walters Bay
Description
English Breakfast Ceylon Black Tea Full Leaf Tea Enveloped Tea Bags begins with freshly hand-plucked tea leaves processed in our own Noori Tea Processing Center, in the highlands of Sri Lanka. Our Award-Winning Pekoe 1 black tea grade is meticulously processed during the Western High Grown season. This grade of tea offers a classic Ceylon signature flavor profile that is ideal as an English Breakfast Tea. It is a full bodied tea with a slight malty character and exceptional aroma. Great as a stand alone cup or with a dash of milk. Contains 15 individual enveloped full leaf tea bags. Each tea bag contains approx. 3 grams of tea
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