Taste buds are a super funny thing. Over the last few months, my taste buds have been all over the place. There was even a time frame where I couldn’t even drink tea. Everything tasted off and not even my favorite teas tasted right. Right around the same time when I noticed my taste buds going wonky, I was starting to notice other health issues so I decided just to take a break from tea all together, hoping that eventually my taste buds would right themselves again.
Recently I felt the urge to have a cuppa tea and I was delighted when not only did the tea taste amazing but my taste seemed to be sharper. Like I was able to pick up flavors I wasn’t able to before. Which was so exciting! I quickly shuffled through my tea stash and got to work enjoying cuppa after cuppa of teas that had not had a lot of attention for a while. After making some headway in my stash. . I decided it was time to check out my friends at Evil Tea once again. I had tried their teas before and enjoyed them but never reordered or nabbed any of their latest blends. After seeing a Halloween promo of theirs, I decided to indulge and pick up a few of their blends. And then a few days later, picked up a few more. . .because. .I was a bit hooked.
I couldn’t wait to try this blend again. I had tried this blend a bit ago and while it was good and I enjoyed the cuppa, with having so much tea in my tea stash- I was trying to still sip a few more down before I ordered again. This morning I was super excited to get home, get the kettle prepped and get this tea a brewing. I was a bit leery about the 5 minute steep time- so I went with a 3 min steep time with freshly prepped 212F water.
First sip in and straight away you are hit with a delicious dessert like note of vanilla that doesn’t really scream straight out vanilla but almost like that soft vanilla like note you would get from a really upscaled cookie or cupcake. The aroma hits you in the same fashion. Just a solid lovely not overdone sweetness that keeps you grabbing for you cuppa and enjoying every sip. This is a Ceylon based blend and there is a slight briskness or astringent note towards the end of each sip that rounds out the sweetness perfectly. There are also adorable sugar coated fennel seeds that I’m not really picking up but that is probably because I didn’t stick with the 5 minute steep. I’m a big fennel fan so I will have to try for that 5 min steep to see if the fennel notes come across stronger.
All in all, just a perfect lovely cuppa that I can only imagine would make an insanely good latte with a spiced oat cream or even a lovely adult beverage with a touch of bourbon cream, which I will be trying later this evening. I’ve always been a fan of my friends over at Evil Tea since they combine two of my favorite loves- all things dark and spooky and tea. Can’t wait to steep up the other blends to see if they hit the spot like Creepy Cake does.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Evil Tea
Description
Ingredients: A blend of Ceylon Teas with Creme Brulee Flavoring and Sugar Coated Fennel Seeds
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Scottish Morn/Harney and Sons -ashmanra
Tea away from home can be a scary proposition. Tea in a public kitchen – scarier.
Needing a cup of tea at a gathering recently, I gulped and inquired as to where the ladies were getting their tea. I was led to a communal kitchen with a metal box containing assorted and sundry tea bags of unknown age and doubtful quality. But lo and behold, tucked in the box was a bag which proved to be Harney and Sons sachets! This, I can trust.
I had never tried Scottish Morn so given my dodgy tummy that sometimes rebels at Assam origin teas I was a little hesitant. Still, it was sure to be the best quality tea available here and I gave it a shot. I enjoy Harney’s Ceylon teas so that was another point in favor of trying this one as it is a blend of Assam and Ceylon.
In spite of my fears that it would be too strong – there was no milk or sugar available and I had no timer – it was quite nice. The water was boiling temperature and the time I guesstimated at 3 minutes. Any diehard strong breakfast tea lovers could go for five minutes and have a blast. You do you.
I saved the sachet in a tiny paper cup and resteeped it an hour later for a second mug, quite satisfactory. Note that Harney’s tea bags are intended for about six or so ounces of tea while the sachets are made with a mug in mind and can do twelve ounces very nicely. Keep this in mind when you are purchasing tea from them, because I USUALLY get 24 ounces of tea from each sachet, and that takes many teas from reasonable to BARGAIN!
The Assam was the dominant flavor, malty and bready, moderately brisk, and the Ceylon brightened and smoothed the cup. It was very drinkable plain and would easily take milk and sugar. It is considered a morning tea but I drank it at night with no food accompanying it and found it enjoyable.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Harney and Sons
Description
Scottish Morn is a strong tea, perhaps our very strongest. When you stand up your spoon in this tea, it might just stand straight. A portion of Scottish Morn & Scottish Afternoon sales goes to support the charitable endeavors of the American-Scottish Foundation®.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Irish Breakfast/Barry’s Tea -Karatics
Greetings fellow tea drinkers! I come with a review that is from my ancestor’s homeland of the Emerald Isle. After a good search, I found that Barry’s Tea is one of the most popular Irish tea brands. And being that it has been family owned since 1901 I believe this was the best way to taste my Irish heritage. And as a bonus, this brand is from County Cork which is where most of my family is from!
Now I believe that this blend has the typical blend of black teas featuring Assam. But this tea has a lot smoother finish to the malty flavor. Now I am not saying that is better any of the other Irish Breakfasts that I have had but it is definitely different in its flavor compared.
Now I bought my box from Amazon for $7.84 for a 40 count box of bag tea. And it seems for US customers Amazon seems to be the best option. It also not surprising that you can’t get samples of this tea but I don’t think spending about $8 for a 40 count of tea is not too bad. Also looking on the official site they don’t seem to have samples either so if you are not in Ireland I would just use Amazon to order the tea. So doing the math it is basically .20 cents a cup of tea if you get the 40 count box.
In summary, this was a good tea to help me experience my heritage and also to enjoy what I believe to be a true cup of Irish Breakfast. While this tea won’t be replacing my other Irish Breakfasts I believe it still belongs in the ranking of a good Irish Breakfast tea.
See you for the next cuppa!
Kara
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Barry’s Tea
Description
Blended for the Irish Palate, our Irish Breakfast Tea has a brisk refreshing taste and a bright golden colour. We select this blend from the Assam Valley of India and the gardens of Rwanda and Kenya, but it’s the bright freshness of the African leaves that make this tea so refreshing. It’s the perfect blend to enjoy anytime of the day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Truffle/Fraser Tea -ashmanra
We are a family of puerh lovers and food lovers, so when we gather together there is likely to be an ample amount of both. Fortunately, puerh is touted as having a mitigating effect on overconsumption, and I can personally attest that it has been my boon companion after too much pizza with garlic butter.
At our last gathering, we tried something new – Chocolate Truffle, a flavored organic blend of puerh and black tea.
There are some chocolate teas that have a strong, strange odor. I assume it is an artificial chocolate flavoring. I greatly prefer the natural, thumping good bass note that comes from cocoa nibs, and that’s what Fraser uses in this organic blend. Natural cocoa nibs seem to s-c-r-a-p-e across the tongue like unsweetened cocoa without the bite.
The puerh is earthy and sweet, not terribly strong, and the black tea is not a brisk one, which made this delightfully smooth to drink, and it resteeped very well. There is a natural sweetness coming from the flowers without the tea taking on a strong floral taste.
Overall, it is an elegant cup, somewhat mild and very satisfying as a dessert tea. Being on the higher end of the caffeine scale for tea, it may also serve as a little energy boost if you are using it as a dessert replacement.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black/Puerh
Where to Buy: Fraser Tea
Description
Sweet cream with earthy chocolate flavors and smooth finish
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
English Breakfast/Walters Bay -ashmanra
Search for English Breakfast tea and you will find hundreds, maybe thousands. Amongst those many, many teas, you will find a boggling number of different blends. Some are straight Keemun and nothing else, harking back to the original English Breakfast type that was enjoyed in Britain. Some are a blend of Chinese and Indian tea, or of Assam and Ceylon, or Kenyan. And they can be very different.
Walters Bay specializes in Ceylon tea, and this breakfast blend is 100% Ceylon. I have the sachets in individual envelopes, and made note that the website says these contain 3 grams of tea. Great news, because that means it is intended for a mug rather than a little china tea cup.
Even better news is that I have resteeped this bag more than once and still have a good cup of tea, so there is enough here to keep you going through a big breakfast or a long morning at work.
The taste is malty with low briskness. While it doesn’t need milk or sugar by any means, the maltiness means it can take it if you like to add it. It paired well with food, and was enjoyable without.
There is a high honeyed citrus aroma, like orange, that I find in most Ceylon teas. I think this would make a smashing sweet iced tea, as well. There are few deep notes, typical of Ceylon tea. I would classify it as a good, sturdy, reliable Ceylon tea.
From the back of the envelope:
Without question, the care provided to our workers and their families is directly reflected in the quality of our tea. By purchasing this tea directly from a grower, our tea connoisseurs promote social and environmental sustainability programs in our tea gardens and surrounding communities. These initiatives include child care centers, schools, retirement savings plans, and medical care for our tea estate workers and their families. As a grower, our care for the land and its resources is sacred. Like the growers at your local farmers market, we at Walters Bay take great pride in what we grow.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Walters Bay
Description
English Breakfast Black Tea begin with freshly hand-plucked tea leaves in the highlands of Sri Lanka. Our Award-Winning Pekoe 1 black tea grade is meticulously processed during the Western High Grown season. This grade of tea offers a classic Ceylon signature flavor profile that is ideal as an English Breakfast Tea. It is a full bodied tea with a slight malty character and exceptional aroma. Great as a stand alone cup or with a dash of milk.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!