Organic Assam Black Tea by Mana Organics

by Sensiblyscript
 I haven’t bought from this tea company before, but it seems to have a social conscience. Mana Organics isn’t just focused on producing organic tea and selling it, but instead takes a more holistic approach to getting the products from farmers to customers. They focus on community development and sustainable farming in rural areas, then help the farmers get products out to the world by doing marketing and retail work. So I’m really excited about this company and I’m planning to do more research and potentially start sourcing some of my tea from here.
But on to the review!
I steeped this tea at 212 degrees for about five minutes, using 1.5tsp of leaves in about 10 ounces of water. It turns out to be a handsome teak /cedar color after steeping. It smells deep, malty, and strong. It’s very aromatic, promising good things to come.
First sip: It’s astringent, but not puckery, with a deep and bright flavor profile. There’s just a hint of bitterness at the back but then it’s gone (fortunately; it’s not my favorite thing when bitterness hangs out with me all day). But on top of that, I’m detecting sweet potato and baked squash notes! Nice. Next to chocolate, I think this is one of my favorite flavor types for black teas. Actually I’ve been looking for a good squash/sweet potato flavored tea so this is good news.
Anyway. With milk, which brings baked-squash and maltish flavors to the front, this tea is just great. In fact I’m almost finding it has a little brown sugar flavor to go with the squash flavor. So fun! (Come to think of it, I hope I’m not the only person who thinks it’s funny how similar sweet potato and baked squash flavors are. Isn’t that just strange?) There’s no bitterness now, and practically no astringency; milk is an excellent buffer for such things, which is one reason I almost invariably have milk with my tea. (Another reason is that I sometimes drink tea when I’m hungry, or even in lieu of a meal, and the milk helps keep my blood sugar from crashing.) I’m also thinking maybe I’m detecting a hint of a floral note? But then again maybe I’m making that up–it was too fleeting to be sure.

 

All in all this is a solid, strong, great tea blend and goes well with food at meals (or even without food at meals if you’re like me) and is excellent with milk. <3

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy:  Mana Organics
Description

A brisk tea with a malty, honey-sweet aroma followed deep character of taste and a pleasant pungency that will please even the most discerning of palates.Only Tippy Golden Flower Orange Pekoe Premier Grade (TGFOP1) Assam tea direct from our family’s estate, Chota Tingrai.  Healthier for you and the environment thanks to our USDA certified organic practices.  Packed onsite in re-sealable bag so you get that garden-fresh taste again and again.  Tastes, smells, and looks so delicious that we got an award in the Global Tea Championship 2017

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sensiblyscript

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel. My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Mana Organics

Organic Assam Black Tea from Mana Organics. . . .

by CuppaGeek

 

In the mornings, I typically drink a cup of two of coffee before I leave the house. For my commute to work, I always bring some form of hot tea and my matcha smoothie.  But to get me out of bed-which is no small task- coffee is usually what I drink.  (My hubby actually brings me my first cup in bed to help me get up.  He is such a sweetheart!)  But lately, the coffee just hasn’t tasted right. I recently had the flu and I think my stomach is still a bit wonky from that experience because coffee just hasn’t been hitting those notes for me.

So the other night, I set my kettle up to start prepping my tea so that my hubby could bring me a cup of this Assam first thing in the am. And my taste buds are loving this experience!

This black Assam is malty with a gentle sweet note that combines to become the perfect wake me up cuppa. I really adore the brisk malty notes. They bring a lot of character to the tea and make the mouth feel so silky.   I’m also picking up a floral hit now and again and a nutty undertone.   A perfect combo first thing in the morning.

For me, this is about the perfect morning cuppa.  I think I may have to pick up some of the bagged versions of this tea for an added convenience factor. Plus, my hubby can handle brewing me up a cup of this brisk brew in a bagged form much easier than the loose leaf version.  And let’s face it, sometimes my mornings just don’t allow for brewing up loose leaf tea with getting the kiddos work, making sure everybody has their lunch, getting the dog set for the day and so on and so forth. . . .

I do have to end this review with a warning, do mind the steeping parameters. I have found that the tea as lovely as it is, can be a bit unforgiving if you forget that you are steeping your morning cuppa like I did the other day.  But with a touch of milk and honey,

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:   Black
Where to Buy:  Mana Organics
Description

Brisk, bold, and pure, we grew this organic Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Assam black tea on our family tea estate, Chota Tingrai (27.458869 N, 95.354856 E). This tea is excellent for waking you in the morning or replacing your afternoon cup of coffee.

In this resealable packet, you find no fillers or dust. Instead you meet a blend of long aureate and black leaves. The golden leaves you see are the fabled tips of Assam. Prized for their complexity of scent and flavor, they are a rare find in any tea. The black leaves are the two leaves plucked next to the bud. These provide a sweet background flavor for taste of the golden tips to dance around in. Both these leaves come from the very tiniest leaves at the very tip of the youngest shoots of the tea bush, and are known as Flowery Orange Pekoe.

When you brew the tea, you can watch the long leaves unfurl. Upon brewing, you smell dates, almonds, and parsley as the liquor blooms a dark rosy red. As you take your first sip of the tea, you meet a flawlessly smooth balance of malt and sweet. While you can add milk and sugar, the honey after-taste will try to dissuade you.

As you savor each drop, you can taste the rich, healthy earth of Assam and the warm, happy pride of the women who plucked the leaf. This tea is both certified and actually 100% organic. We know this because we personally oversee the nurturing of every plant with compost made on our estate, and ensure that no staff uses any chemical pesticide in our organic sections.

We love this tea, the land we grew it on, and the people with whom we grew it. We know you will love it too.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

CuppaGeek

I am a late 30s something mom who loves her family, will be getting married to a wonderful guy and has 4 kids (2 mine-2 his). We have a beautiful life together and I wouldn't change a thing. Tea is a passion that quickly turned into an obsession, very similar to my love for polka dots, the horror genre, and anything that is geeky and fun. I drink all kinds of tea and will try a tea twice to make sure I didn't bumble the first infusion. Besides SororiTea Sisters, I'm also the blogger and genius (I use that word very loosely) behind CuppaGeek, where I review tea, books, and the horror genre.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Mana Organics