Leaf Type: Black Tea, Oolong Tea,
Where to Buy: sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Description:
This is a smoky robust Tea is a blend of Organic Lapsang Souchong, Organic Se Chung Special Oolong, Organic Assam flowery Orange Pekoe. Each tea brings it’s own flavor profile and combined they create a smoky floral tea. With the addition of Chicory you will experience a coffee like tannins, Organic Cocoa Nibs & Organic Vanilla Bean introduce a smooth rich flavor and aroma and the Fenugreek seed helps bring all these unique flavors together as one with it’s milky sweet flavor.
This tea has a muted smokey flavor yet rich and creamy with coffee undertones.Learn more about this tea here
Taster’s Review:
WOW!! Okay for reference, I am not a huge Lapsang Souchong fan, at the same time I do not dislike it, I quite enjoy it every now and then but only every now and then. I am quite picky about my Lapsang Souchong teas, and I have to be “in the mood” for them. With that said … I absolutely feel I have been converted to being able to drink Lapsang Souchong daily!
Why? Because this tea, with the addition of oolong, and chicory, the cocoa nibs, the vanilla, ALL OF IT, just makes this such a delicious blend! I am not too familiar with sTEAp Shoppe or their teas, as a matter of fact I knew nothing of them until last week when they were offering some samples and of course I jumped on that bandwagon. This so far is my favorite from them and I have to admit I was hesitant to give this a try because I really am NOT that big into Lapsang Souchong, oh sorry I already said that. Seriously though, I reluctantly opened the package and the smells that came up into my wanting nostrils were AMAZING! I instantly knew this was no ordinary lapsang souchong! I can safely say that THIS tea should be their flagship tea! I feel they will be converting a lot of LS non believers into LS lovers very soon! Now all I want to do is go meander over to their site and see what else they have to offer because they clearly are working hard to get their blends perfect!
The smokiness in this tea is going to be a wonderful compliment to the vegetarian chili I am in the process of making, its smokiness is not over powering whatsoever, and the vanilla gives it just the right amount of creamy sweetness without being a sweet tea. It would hold up well to cream and sugar if you enjoy that in your tea. There is a quality chocolate undertone from the cocoa nibs but also I am very picky about chocolate flavored teas and absolutely hate any fakey artificial chocolate flavors, this has none of that nonsense! Did I mention that sTEAp Shoppe uses all natural and organic flavors? They do!
The chicory is pleasant and would also be something coffee drinkers could appreciate without making your tea taste like coffee! This has such a perfection of balance and all things wonderful I just can’t go on enough about it. You would think I had blended it myself I am so proud of this creation! Good work sTEAp Shoppe!
Thanks for allowing me to try this one!
English Breakfast Tea from Revolution Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Revolution Tea
Tea Description:
Revolution Tea’s English Breakfast is made from the finest quality Ceylon and Assam black teas available. Enjoy this hearty, robust tea that stays true to the exacting standards of the popular original. This tea is truly a great way to start your day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When it comes to English Breakfast blends, there are a few characteristics that I look for; qualities that I consider “standard” in an English Breakfast. Among these are a rich, even tone. I want it to be strong. I don’t want it bitter. I want it to be delicious enough to stand on its own with no additions, but able to take additions such as milk and sugar if I want that.
This English Breakfast blend from Revolution has those qualities I look for in an English Breakfast blend. It is really quite tasty, with a pleasing, honey-caramel sweetness to it, a touch of malt, and a richness that stands alone well, but also would remain flavorful if some milk were added for a latte.
This is actually one of the most flavorful bagged (sachet) English Breakfast blends that I’ve yet to encounter. It has a good amount of gusto to it – this promises to invigorate me this morning and that’s a good thing! – and it is pleasantly sweet and has that delicious, bake-y, chewy kind of flavor that makes breakfast blends so satisfying.
Capital Breakfast Organic from Capital Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Teas
Tea Description:
Capital Breakfast Organic is a blend of luxury teas from Sri Lanka, India, Kenya and China; a blend designed to compliment and enrich your day as you make your own history. The Assam component (2nd flush, June Production) gives a thick malt and full-bodied character. The Kenyan component gives a floral-like cup and coppery infusion whereas the South Indian component gives superb fruity and sprightly flavor with a lovely finish. From Sri Lanka we used a January Dimbula pick that gives an airy piquant flavor that opens the blend. Lastly, to draw everything together we added some Keemun, which gives a burgundy depth with light oaky notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried quite a few breakfast blends … and this one ranks right up there with some of the very best that I’ve tried. This is really good!
The first thing I notice is how well-rounded it is. It is full-bodied, and possesses such a delightfully rich flavor. After a couple of sips, the smokiness of the Keemun becomes apparent. It hits the palate at about mid-sip and then seems to linger through to the tail, offering wisps of smoke in the aftertaste.
The malty tones are rich and offer a pleasant, caramel-like sweetness. The Assam gives this tea a very cozy, comforting kind of taste that melds beautifully with the smoke tones that are tantalizing my taste buds. The Ceylon adds a pleasing fruity background, while the Kenyan adds to the heft of this cup … it’s got a lot of gusto, this Capital Breakfast!
The rich, satisfying flavor is delicious served straight up, but, it also takes the additions of milk and sugar (or honey) quite nicely. I think this one is best served hot, but, I think it would be good iced too.
If you have room for only one breakfast blend in your tea cupboard, I’d recommend giving this one a try – but, be warned, it is so good, you may find yourself replacing your trusty old breakfast blend for this one. It’s amazing!
2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
A malty, rich Assam, perfect for a morning cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love Assam. When brewed properly, I am treated with a deliciously rich, malty cup of tea that has the most luscious caramel-y undertones. It’s so good … true comfort in a teacup. However, there is a dark side to Assam, and if it’s oversteeped, it can be bitter. This morning, I experienced that bitter bite from this Assam with the first pot of tea that I brewed.
I brewed it for 2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch Tea Maker using boiling water. The result was a cuppa that was tasty, but with an overtone of bitterness that sort of overpowered that tastiness. After about a half a cup, I decided to try again with this tea, so I lowered the time to just 1 1/2 minutes. The result is a perfect cup of Assam! YUM!
And this really is the ultimate cup of Assam – so rich and malty and delicious. Lots of caramel-y flavor that you might mistake this for a caramel-flavored tea! But it isn’t! This is pure Assam tea, where the malty tones and natural sweetness of the tea meld together to offer a rich caramel-like flavor that is so luscious and lip-smackingly good.
The cup is sweet and delicious – but it also has a heartiness to it, making it an excellent breakfast tea. It would take the additions of milk and sugar very well, although I find it quite good as I am drinking it now, without additions.
This is indeed an excellent Assam!
Sweet Ginger Peach Tea from Revolution
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Revolution
Tea Descripton:
Revolution Tea’s Sweet Ginger Peach is a flavor-packed, original tea made from fine Ceylon and Assam teas, fresh peach flavoring and ginger root. This hand-blended wonder has emerged as the most popular flavor in Revolution Tea’s award-winning line of teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned before (many times!), I tend to be skeptical of bagged teas. Even when they’re in the new(ish) pyramid sachets that allow more room than the traditional tea bag does for the teas to expand as they steep, I find myself less than enthused about them. However, every once in a while I come across a decent bagged tea – and on the rare occasion, I’ll even find one that’s better than decent – like the teas from Revolution.
I’ve not had a lot of experience with Revolution’s teas, before tasting this tea, I think that I’ve tried one of Revolution’s teas … and that was a white tangerine tea that I drank at PF Chang’s during a recent visit – and I didn’t even realize it was a Revolution Tea … I heard it from a friend who commented on my review of my visit to PF Chang’s! And after visiting the Revolution website, I can’t find this tea, so I’m not sure if this tea is available anywhere else other than PF Chang’s.
Anyway … this black tea based Sweet Ginger Peach Tea is delicious. I may have oversteeped it slightly, because I forgot to set the timer (I think this is one of the dangers of becoming too spoiled by my Breville One-Touch! When I brew tea without the Breville tea maker, I sometimes forget that I need a timer!) however, the flavor doesn’t seem to be affected by the oversteeping. This surprises me because it is an Assam and Ceylon tea blend, and Assam teas tend to get bitter when they’re subjected to prolonged steep times.
The flavor of the black tea is dominate. It is rich, flavorful and well-rounded, but it doesn’t overpower the flavor of peach and ginger. The ginger starts off rather soft, but, by mid-cup, I notice that the ginger flavor really starts to pick up … it’s got a little bit of a peppery kick to it! It’s not overly spicy, though. The peach is sweet and juicy tasting, and offers a pleasing contrast to the heat from the ginger.
I’m really glad I got the opportunity to try this tea – it’s really good, and the more I sip it, the more I’m liking it. This would be excellent iced too!