Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
A strong and earthy black tea from Tanzania; milk and sugar or honey is strongly recommended for this one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! What an amazing black tea!
The flavor is bold and rich and malty, reminding me just a bit of an Assam … but smoother! It has less astringency than a typical Assam, and a very well-rounded presentation. It feels so full on the palate!
It has that biscuit-y quality to it that I find so desirable in black teas. It also has a delightful sweetness to it that really melds well with the biscuit-y tones, creating a rich, flavorful note that evokes thoughts of freshly baked scones. YUM!
It would make a perfect breakfast tea, and it takes the additions of milk and honey very well, but if you want a tea with a stronger edge, add nothing. It tastes great either way! I personally prefer it with about a half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar as it softens it just a bit and also enhances some of the caramel-y undertones.
I really love this tea. This is the kind of tea you want to wake up to every day!
Precious Eyebrow (Chunmee) from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
This Precious Eyebrow tea originates from Anhui Province, China. Also known as Chunmee, it is the most popular green tea in China, consumed by millions every day. Our Precious Eyebrow is the highest grade of ‘eyebrow’ tea available. The eyebrow-shaped leaves yield a pleasantly aromatic and refreshing yellow infusion with a slight astringency and a provocative plum-like aftertaste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Precious Eyebrow is one of those teas that I don’t often drink, but, when I do finally get around to having a cup, I wish I had made time for it sooner.
This is one of the nicer Chunmee teas I’ve tasted. It has a light vegetal tone to it – not so much “grassy” as it is like steamed spinach, perhaps with a bit of melted butter on top. It has a very mellow, smooth taste to it, with nutty undertones and a delectable fruity note in the background.
There is very little astringency to this tea, and no bitterness. Just a sweet, roasted nut flavor with mild “green” tones and a sweet, juicy finish. The aftertaste is a mellow nutty flavor with hints of smoke.
Chunmee is one of those teas that every green tea drinker should keep on hand for when they want a delicious, easy-going tea. It’s delicious served hot or iced.
Pomegranate Matcha from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
Matcha tea is kind of like a super-powered green tea—since you’re ingesting the whole leaf instead of just the brewed beverage, you get up to ten times the antioxidant effect and nutritional value of your standard green. Matcha’s rich in antioxidants, as well as chlorophyll and fiber, and has been found to have natural mood enhancing effects. All in all, matcha’s got no match when it comes to healthy teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited to try this Matcha. I love pomegranates, they are one of my favorite fruits! However, since they tend to be a bit pricy, I don’t get a chance to enjoy them as often as I’d like to.
I didn’t make this as a latte, instead, I prepared it the same way I would normally prepare Matcha – except that I did not sift the Matcha. I find that with flavored Matcha, it is better not to sift. It whisked up nice and frothy, and possessed a color that was dark green. The froth dissipated within minutes, but then, the Matcha also managed to disappear pretty quickly so I’m not complaining!
The flavor of the Matcha is sweet and vegetative, although it isn’t as grassy or vegetative as some other Matcha teas that I’ve tasted. This one has more of a fruity note with a nice buttery undertone. It has a smooth, rich flavor, and I do not notice any gritty or chalky flavor from the Matcha (a big plus!)
The sweet, creamy flavor of the Matcha is the perfect base for the flavor of pomegranate. The tart, juicy flavor of the pomegranate shines through and is especially noticeable toward the tail of the sip. It tastes fresh and juicy, just like a pomegranate aril!
This makes a GREAT pick-me-up when I start feeling sluggish toward the afternoon. I felt full of energy after drinking it. I love this stuff!
Blue Unicorn from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
From the famous Biodynamic & Fair Trade Idulgashinna Tea Garden come these visually captivating spears of Cinnamon, gold, and silver tips, resembling the mythical unicorn’s horn. This hand crafted tea is carefully hand-rolled and twisted into spears. Each finished cluster is slightly more than 1 inch in length. These partially fermented leaves produce a delicate, pale liquor that is exceptionally sweet and clean, with champagne undertones. The tea can be steeped multiple times, each revealing new complexities.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is definitely one of the most unique Oolong teas that I’ve ever encountered. After reading the description of the tea, I thought that maybe it was a black tea, but as Shanti Tea has categorized it as an Oolong, that’s what I’ll call it. Taste-wise, it has qualities to it that are reminiscent of both types of tea.
I steeped this in my gaiwan, adding an extra horn (the steeping parameters suggest 3 horns) to my gaiwan, and using short steeps starting with 1 minute, and adding 30 seconds to each subsequent infusion. I combine the results of two infusions into my cup; therefore, infusions one and two are cup number one, infusions three and four are cup number two, and so on.
The first two infusions were light in flavor, at first, I had a difficult time discerning much of anything and I worried that I may have made a mistake while brewing, and that maybe I should have followed the instructions to the letter. However, as I took the next couple of sips, the flavors began to reveal themselves. By the time I was nearly finished with my first cup, I could taste a pleasant sweetness, some earthy tones, and a lovely spiced undertone. There were indeed “champagne-like” flavors to the cup, imparting a slight fruity sweetness to enjoy in the aftertaste.
After infusions number three and four to make my second cup, the leaves no longer resemble the lovely horns that they were prior to infusion, but they haven’t yet completely unfurled, indicating that they were ready and able to produce more infusions. The second cup is more flavorful than the first, with some earthy tones emerging. The aforementioned spiced tone is still present, but, it is smoother than in the first cup. A bit more of a fruit taste with this cup, as well as more astringency. I find this cup to be more rustic-tasting; offering flavors that are more like a black tea to me than an Oolong.
With the third cup, I noticed more of a floral note emerging. This cup tastes much more like an Oolong than the second cup. The fruit flavors are much more distinct. A sweet, smooth flavor, and very few of the spiced undertones I mentioned earlier. The earthy tones have also mellowed. This one is less astringent than the second cup, and definitely my favorite of the three.
This is a really intriguing, unique tea.
Kong Fu Black from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
Leaf Aroma: peaty, earthy, smoky Infusion Aroma: earthy, slight smokiness
Infusion Color: Amber
Base Flavor: thick earthiness
Infusion Strength: Strong
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am loving this tea!
But I’m not surprised, when I read the name “Kong Fu” I immediately surmised that this would be similar to Fujian teas that I’ve tried and loved.
The description above is pretty much spot on, except that I don’t get the thick earthiness in the flavor. Instead, I taste a lovely dark chocolate-y, cocoa-y kind of flavor with an undertone of caramel. It is rich with some earthy tones but not quite as strong as I would think that “thick earthiness” would imply.
There are notes of smoke to this infusion as well, and they marry with the chocolate-y notes quite nicely. There are also some malty tones to it that complement the caramel sweetness. Remarkably smooth and robust, this cup possesses very little astringency.
Such an incredibly delicious cup of tea! This is a cup that I could easily drink every day and never tire of it. It’s that good.