Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Orthodox Tippy Kenyan Tea
Where to Buy: Butiki
Tea Description:
Our truly exceptional Royal Golden Safari originates from a small scale farm in Kenya and has long golden leaves that mingle with milk chocolate and cacao colored leaves. Toasted walnut and oaky notes are prominent with a light pear undertone. Cocoa notes are also present. This orthodox tea does not contain any pesticides.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was making breakfast when I decided to brew this tea today. I had just got an order in from Stacy and this was one of the samples I requested. I was really not even thinking of doing a review on this one as I was simply wanting to wake up and just enjoy a new tea but I decided not only does this tea deserve a review, Stacy deserves my review, but there is also a review contest going haha. So I decided what the heck. Now again, when I took my initial sips I was not thinking about the tea so much in order to review it – as just wanted to get some tea into my system. Yet what hit me was an intense and lovely flavor of Sweet Potato and Brown Sugar! I instantly thought of another very fine tea that I love that is highly prized and difficult to get ahold of! How lovely to have another option for this flavor profile!
When a tea is so easy to pick flavor notes out of its a real pleasure because it makes it so much easier to review, to enjoy, and to feel joy from. The tea surprised me with flavor note after flavor note!
This tea has a nice sweet aroma and flavor with a creamy texture in the mouthfeel. It gave up notes of honey, nuts and chocolate, and as I have already mentioned, sweet potato, and brown sugar! Just YUM! No wonder it is called Royal Golden “Safari” it felt like being on a safari and discovering one new surprise after another!
There is a malty element to this tea yet its not as malty as one may expect – it is rather mellow and soothing. In a manner more like a Darjeeling in its lighter feel and flavors yet very much the flavor profile of Assam without the heaviness.
The second steep was a bit light in the flavors but steep three brought them back out. It was also in steep three that cinnamon and pear began to peek through.
I forgot to mention that I just love the way the leaves look in dry form. They are truly quite beautiful! The cup itself is pretty as well ranging from steep one a deep crimson color to later steepings being a lighter amber.
I of course love that this tea is pesticide free!
Unfortunately I did not get a fourth steeping from the leaves but I was very pleased with the three I did get! No need to be greedy with such a fine tea.
Overall I really quite like this one. Royal Garden Safari offers delicious flavors and while I don’t know if I would say it could hold up well to milk, being on the lighter spectrum, it would hold up well to sweetener but I would not muddle such a lovely naturally sweet cup with additives.
Assam Hazelbank from Whittard of Chelsea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Whittard of Chelsea
Tea Description:
This small and picturesque garden produces one of the world’s best teas. This tea was named after Hazel, the daughter of state official, Dr Mead. The richness, size and color of its tips make Hazelbank an all-time favorite.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I visited the website for Whittard of Chelsea, I noticed that this tea is currently sold out. Looks like I got a pouch of this just in time! And I’m SO glad that I did; this Assam Hazelbank is exquisite. (And I recommend keeping an eye out for the next harvest of this to become available, this one is worth that effort!)
There are many different Assam teas out there. Each one varies depending upon where it is grown: Whether or not it is a single estate or not, and if it is a single estate, the flavor of the Assam is affected depending upon which estate it comes from, and even how it is processed affects the flavor of the cup. And even though there are many different Assam teas, I tend to consider Assam teas as either bold and malty OR somewhat mellower and wine-y.
However, this Assam from the Hazelbank estate tends to take on all of these characteristics. It is bold and malty… although it is somewhat mellower than a strong, robust Assam … and it does also have the fruity, wine-like character of a mellower Assam. This tea has it all!
The first thing I really noticed about this tea is its sweetness. It is a fruity sweetness, but there is also a caramel-y sweetness that melds quite nicely with the malty tones. It has a solid, full-bodied flavor, but it isn’t an aggressive flavor. I didn’t notice any bitterness to this, but then, I didn’t come close to oversteeping it (I steeped it only 2 minutes), but even with other Assam teas I find that there are hints of bitterness in the background that tell me that oversteeping the tea would lead to more. This doesn’t have that. That’s not to say that if it were oversteeped it would not become bitter, I’m just saying that this cup is remarkably smooth and free of anything resembling bitterness.
This is pleasantly complex, and has one of the most well-rounded flavors that I’ve yet to taste with an Assam. I like it a lot.
Black Currant from Foxfire Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Foxfire Teas
Tea Description:
Delicious Assam black tea flavored with black currant gives this tea a nice fruity pop; super delicious iced or hot and a great mixer for cocktails
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As it turns out, this is going to be a day for Portland teas … at least for me. I just got finished writing a review for Mt. Hood Vanilla tea from Townshend’s Tea that will appear later this evening, and now I am trying tea from another Portland company – one I’ve not yet tried but have wanted to for quite some time now: Foxfire Teas!
From the moment I opened the pouch of this tea, I couldn’t stop smelling it. The aroma is AMAZING! It smells so sweet and fruity, it brings me back in time to when my gramma had a grapevine in her backyard and she’d cook the grapes and make grape jelly. She eventually removed the grapevine and replaced it with ollaliberries, but that’s another story.
Now, as I’ve stated before, I’m not generally a big fan of grape flavored things. I don’t really care for grape juice (I mean, it’s alright, but I’d prefer other juices), and I won’t eat grape flavored ice pops or grape flavored candies. I don’t really even like grape jelly, although I did like gramma’s grape jelly, and I think that is why I am loving the fragrance of this tea so much … it smells so much like my gramma’s kitchen when she’d make grape jelly.
But of course, this is not a grape flavored tea, it is a Black Currant flavored tea. However, I’ve not eaten a lot of fresh black currants (they’re not especially easy to find, I was surprised a few weeks ago while shopping at my local Whole Foods to find them there), so I can’t really compare the scent to currants. But currants and grapes are very similar in aroma, and fermented grapes (aka wine) often taste of currants.
And I’m glad to say that this indeed does taste like black currants and not of grapes. It has a very bright, fruity flavor which is both sweet and tart, leaning a bit more toward the tart than to the sweet. It is not too tart, though, at least not for my palate, and as I tend to not like a strong tart flavor that’s a good thing.
The black tea base is an Assam, and it definitely lets you know that its there. It’s has a very powerful flavor – strong and bold! This Assam is leaning slightly toward the wine-y tasting Assam rather than the malty; however there are some delightful malty tones in there as well. Of course, the black currant flavor also lends to that wine-y taste.
I am sipping this hot, but I suspect that it would also make a delightful iced tea with its strong fruit notes. This is certainly one of the best black currant teas that I’ve tried. I love the strong, full-bodied taste of the Assam and and how nicely it melds with the flavor of the currant.
An excellent tea – and I’m very proud that it’s a local company. And even if you don’t live near Portland, you can still try this tea as they do sell their teas online. I’ve had the opportunity to converse with Katherine via email and she has such a wonderfully warm personality. I love it when I find a tea company that offers great teas and excellent customer service!
Yorkshire Tea from Taylors of Harrogate
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Assam, African
Where to Buy: British Isles
Tea Description:
A proper tasting cuppa. Pure and simple.
Founded in 1886, Taylors of Harrogate is an independent family business, dedicated to the pleasures of good tea and coffee. The family business has been buying and blending fine teas for over a century.
In every cup of their tea you can taste the skill, creativity and craftsmanship of Taylors’ tea blenders. Taylors’ employees visit tea estates personally to select only the finest seasonal hand-plucked teas.
By investing in long-term partnerships and paying fair prices, Taylors is able to make a positive difference to the quality of the teas and the lives of the growers. The company is a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership and is committed to the ethical sourcing of tea.
Every year Taylors donates at least £100,000 (approx. $190,000) to environmental and community projects overseas. Since 1990 Taylors has planted over 3 million trees across the world with the charity Oxfam.
Taster’s Review:
This is quite simply the perfect English tea! 
A very dear friend of mine, from the UK, sent me a huge box of this tea awhile back and I was surprised when I discovered it was not just some regular ol bland black tea! Imagine my shock and horror that a bagged tea could be so rich, malty, and delicious!
This tea also does come in loose leaf so I provided links to both, but if you look around the site a little you will find you can get it in different quantities as well. My b
ox has 160 bags and on those days when I just can’t seem to navigate my tea stash, let alone, proper brewing, I grab a bag of Taylors and Harrogate Yorkshire and all is right with the world!
This tea is rich, complex enough, and has just the right amount of malty flavor to kick me into high gear in the mornings. It has a rich full mouthfeel and the tea itself is quite robust! Yet, it is not bitter whatsoever and the astringency that exists within the cup is the right kind of astringency that should be there in a fine black tea!
Of course being a good bold tea it can take well to cream, milk, sweeteners, anything you may want to add to it.
Now I did link one of many places to purchase this tea, however it can be found in many places both online and in stores. I have seen it in many of my local markets, as well as at our local British Shop.
If you are looking for the perfect English style tea to sever for a tea party, a cream tea, high tea, ANY kind of “tea” situation or celebration, get some of this. Its just as they say, “A proper tasting cuppa. Pure and simple.”
Assam Mangalam Second Flush FTGFOP1 from Zen Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zen Tea
Tea Description:
Golden tips evoke the hot sun of the early June Second Flush Harvest. One of finest producers in region delivers a beautiful example of what is possible under the right conditions. Slightly heartier and creamier than some whole leaf Assams, this selection picks up deep malty notes of cocoa and subtle fruit.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a little while since I’ve had a really good, pure Assam tea … so when this tea arrived I was quick to brew up a pot of it, forsaking some of the other teas that I’ve had waiting for me for some time now. (Don’t worry, my pretties, I’ll get to you soon!)
And I am so glad that I decided to brew this … it’s just exactly what I needed! I’ve been feeling a bit off lately … not exactly sick, although I’ve had symptoms, but really, the cause is lack of sleep. My youngest daughter just started up school again not too long ago and I am one of those people that if they don’t get enough sleep, I start feeling sick with the aches, cold sweats, and nausea. But, I go back to bed for a couple of hours and presto, I’m feeling much more like myself now. Hopefully, I’ll get used to the new sleeping schedule soon!
Until then, thank goodness for Assam tea which has the delicious flavor and strength to help me shake what little residual feelings I might have after my short nap.
And this Assam is one of the very best that I’ve tried in a very long time. The aroma of the dry leaf is earthy and sweet and it brought a smile to my face like I had just met up with an old friend that I hadn’t seen in a while. The brewed tea maintains that sweet fragrance, although the scent is softer than when the tea is dry.
As for the taste: Oh wow… this tastes amazing. It is bold and earthy, with a delectable caramel-y sweetness. The caramel is further emphasized by the malt tones, and I even just noticed a hint of freshly roasted coffee in there too. It has a creaminess to it (and this could be enhanced with a splash of cream if you want to go latte, I did not, and still find it quite creamy without) Very rich, very complex, and very much a joy to drink.
And oh yes… it definitely has the gusto to get one motivated, too! If you like Assam, you’ve really got to try this one … it’s AMAZING!