Pekoe Breakfast from Pekoe . . . .

by Geek Seven of Ten

The smell of this tea reminded me of English Breakfast, and that triggered me to think this blend would be great with cream and sugar! Pekoe’s website recommends trying this blend with cream and sugar, and the flavor profile does not disappoint. The flavors of this black tea were able to penetrate the cream and sugar to provide a smooth and clean black tea flavor.

I was able to get three quality brews from this tea in one serving of leaves. I personally selected to brew this in my press, and the leaves provided a beautiful light mahogany color when brewed. Before I discarded these tea leaves, I also tried this blend as an iced tea with sugar. I’m from Louisiana and a good black sweet tea is a staple in my family. When on a third brew, this tea gave wonderful light notes that were enhanced by the sweetener in the sweet tea. It was everything a sweet tea should be for a southern girl!

This tea could easily replace your English Breakfast tea that you have in your cupboard, and the quality of the leaves are apparent. This is definitely a tea I’m excited to brew again.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  Pekoe
Description

Perfect for when you’re up at dawn for a run or readying for another busy day, sip on our signature organic loose leaf black tea that provides uplifting energy in a smooth and malty cup.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Geek Seven of Ten

Raised on the teaching (and drinking preferences) of Jean Luc Picard, Alice called North Louisiana "Home" for most of her life. She quickly developed a love of fantasy and took this love with her to Millsaps College and Louisiana Tech University where she majored in Theatre. Her theatre studies brought to her a stronger appreciation for the power of the written word, and she spends a large portion of her time finding ways to blend her love of theatre and geek culture. Alice is a huge fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Stephen King. You can most often find her binging on SciFi movies on Netflix, marathon reading in her favorite pjs, or working on her next CosPlay challenge.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Pekoe Sip House

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

Chocolate Mint by The Love Tea Company. . . .

by Sensiblyscript

Today we have a wonderfully minty black tea up for review!

This company’s website states that they donate 25% of their net profits to the Flagg Foundation for Mental Wellness, so buying this tea supports a great cause!

Another great thing about this company (in addition to offering great tea) is that their tea comes in cute little plastic canisters that you can either reuse or recycle. This is great if, like me, you’re getting tired of having to throw all those loose leaf tea bags in the trash because they’re made of paper (or plastic) fused with foil so you can’t recycle them or wash them out–or even if they’re just simple plastic bags, your city won’t accept them and you have to somehow recycle them separately (biggest inconvenience ever!). So this company is socially responsible and their tea packaging is eco-friendly (or at least convenient to be eco-friendly with . . . )!

For this tea session, I steeped 1.5 teaspoons of this chocolate mint tea in about 8oz of water (at just under boiling) for about 4 minutes. It smells nice and minty even before steeping, with a smooth creamy undertone from the chocolate.

While steeping, a reddish-brown cloud settles to the bottom of the cup. It starts to smell warmer and chocolatier. By the end of the steeping process, it’s reddish cedar-y in color, darkish but still see-through.

First sip: Very minty–like actual mint tea. There’s a distinct difference between a mint flavor from mint extract/flavoring and the actual flavor of actual mint leaves (mint leaves have some vegetal undertones and the possibility of bitterness if you oversteep, which the “extracts” don’t have). And sure enough, the ingredients list specifies that there are mint leaves in this, so kudos for that–we have actual mint here. And because the tea comes with bits of chocolate in it, this is a very naturally flavored chocolate mint tea.

 The flavor profile is excellent; creamy chocolate flavor is swimming underneath, with the sharp fresh mint above–steeping stronger might make the mint bitter, so be careful about that, but it’s not bitter at this strength. It’s friendly and welcoming, and does the chocolate-mint thing quite well. I can detect a teensy bit of tea astringency and black tea flavor.

With milk: it’s creamy, no surprises here. I use whole milk, which tames the mint quite a bit. It doesn’t bring out the chocolate as much as I was hoping, but it’s still quite yummy. I think next time I’ll need to be more careful to actually include chocolate bits in my spoonful of tea leaves.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this tea and we’re basically friends now. And I really appreciate the Love Tea Company’s social efforts and recyclable tea packaging, not to mention that their branding is really cute–I love the colors! 

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  The Love Tea Company
Description

Did you know that February 19th is chocolate mint day?  The combination of chocolate and mint is one of the most delectable pairings known to human kind.   Its origins are unknown, but surely it was created a long, long, long time ago.  This scrumptious Black Tea Blend is a real treat, just don’t steal all of the chocolate pieces before steeping!  Brew up a nice hot pot and add a splash of milk and a dash of sugar and enjoy all of that chocolaty, minty goodness.  Surely February 19th must be the tastiest day of the year!

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, The Love Tea Company

Yunnan Gongfu Fragrant Black Tea from Teavivre. . . .

by ashmanra

It is gray and overcast with rain threatening to move in and stay a while. That’s a real tea day in my book!

But my breakfast tea caused extreme pain to my delicate esophagus, which has endured years of reflux. I have tossed out that cup and moved on to try this.

I love Teavivre’s Yunnan Dian Hong Golden Tip tea. It is a staple in this house. I am betting this one will be good, too!

First, the dry leaves live up to that title – fragrant, indeed!

Steeped western style, I have a hearty, rich cup. I used 190F water and steeped for three minutes, but this is still strong enough that if left in the cup, you would have a ring. The taste starts out almost too mild for me. The sweet potato flavor of Dian Hong Golden is there, but there is also a flavor of roasted sweet potato with a little crispy burnt edge and fruitiness as well. The fruitiness is a really a brisk tingle that lingers on and on. The flavor builds with each sip.

The best part is that my esophagus is happy and I can enjoy the view out the window as I wait for the rain to begin with my warm cuppa!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  Teavivre
Description

Gong Fu fragrance black tea is a tasty spring tea with infusion-enduring taste. The first two infusions have soft, mellow mouthfeel with slight sugar cane sweetness in the throat and at the bottom of cup a hint of milky flavor remains. But from the third infusion it presents a flavor, reminiscent of raw pu-erh tea, helping produce saliva.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

ashmanra

I am a music teacher, tutor, and former homeschool mom (25 years!) who started drinking loose leaf tea about seven years ago! My daughters and I have tea every day, and we are frequently joined by my students or friends for “tea time.” Now my hubby joins us, too. His tastes have evolved from Tetley with milk and sugar to mostly unadorned greens and oolongs. We have learned so much history, geography, and culture in this journey. My avatar is a mole in a teacup! Long story…

This post was posted in Black Tea, Teavivre

Delightful Morning Blend from Plum Deluxe. . . .

by The Happy Tea Time Lady

There are times when I simply need a good, strong Earl Grey. The Delightful Morning Blend from Plum Deluxe is perfect for those times. What makes it unique is the addition of lavender and a hint of vanilla. All of Plum Deluxe’s teas are organic and made in small batches.

I love a pot of Delightful Morning served with milk and sugar on a lazy Sunday. Today was not-so-lazy, but this lovely blend gave me the perfect boost for the start of a busy day. It is equally amazing on ice!

Plum Deluxe is a mail order tea company based in Portland, Oregon. I discovered them on Instagram last year and joined their tea of the month club. Every month, members receive a purple envelope with a new surprise blend of tea! They also have a members-only Facebook page with some of the nicest people you will meet. However, one does not have to be a member to order from the wonderful selection of teas and accessories on their website.

I wasn’t a fan of Earl Grey until I started to try good-quality, loose leaf varieties. Now it is one of my favorites. For anyone who may have similar misgivings about Earl Grey, try a cup of Plum Deluxe’s Delightful Morning Blend and you may start to think differently about Earl Grey.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  Plum Deluxe
Description

Originally we created this tweak of our Mindful Morning earl grey with a pinch of Oregon lavender for the many flower festivals we visit during the spring and summer – and lucky day, it’s now available online.

The fresh lavender adds a softness and balance to the astringency of the bergamot, accented by the vanilla notes in the base black tea. It is truly wonderful iced or hot.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

The Happy Tea Time Lady

This post was posted in Earl Grey, Plum Deluxe