Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Potently aromatic attractive deep brown Assam leaves with plenty of golden tips. These leaves infuse to a very rich, strong and sweetly malty tasting tea liquor with an unusually smooth disposition for a tea with such strength. Highly recommended as a breakfast tea to drink with milk!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Boisahabi Estate Assam SFTGFOP1 Black Tea from Capital Teas Limited is a really enjoyable Assam – it’s got a rich, thick texture and lots of malt!
It has that strong, robust character that you look for in a morning cuppa – this is one of those ‘get you going in the morning’ type of teas! What I’m appreciating most about this is that while it is a bold tasting tea, it’s not overly ‘edgy.’ It’s got a smooth, nicely rounded flavor with sweet, caramel-y undertones. Quite nice!
To brew this, I put a bamboo scoop of tea into the basket of my Kati Tumbler and added 12 ounces of boiling water. I steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes. I would caution you to watch your steep time because this tea can and will get bitter on you if you oversteep it – so don’t do that!
If you like your breakfast tea to be latte, this tea will take the addition of milk and honey quite nicely. It’s also really pleasant served straight up. I like it hot best, but it’s still really tasty as it cools.
Keemun Classic 2014 Harvest Black Tea from Capital Tea Limited
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Small, even and slender wiry black leaves with a forward classic keemun aroma. This tea produces a strong, rich tasting and full bodied tea liquor with a sweet and subtly smoky aroma and with prominent cocoa flavour notes. Highly recommended!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I looked forward to trying this Keemun because I’ve enjoyed the other teas that I’ve tried from Capital Tea Limited thus far. Unfortunately, this Classic Keemun leaves me wanting.
There is a strong leathery note that is prominent and up front. As I mentioned on Steepster about this tea, it is almost as though the leather notes want to pull all the focus on them to disguise the fact that this is not a very round tasting tea. It doesn’t have that well-rounded, pleasing flavor that I have come to expect from a top-notch Keemun tea.
I’m not getting a strong cocoa flavor as promised in the above description. Beyond the leathery notes, I do get some notes of chocolate and also a smoky presence. But I wouldn’t call this a “rich tasting” or even a “full-bodied” tea. It’s kind of thin in the flavor department, lacking that round, satisfying taste that I want from a Keemun.
Not my favorite Keemun.
To brew: I placed a bamboo scoop of the leaf in the basket of my Kati Tumbler and added 12 ounces of boiling water and steeped for 3 minutes.
Bemolapur Estate Assam STGFOP1 Black Tea from Capital Tea Limited
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Small tightly rolled leaves with a high proportion of golden tips. These amazingly aromatic leaves produce a highly concentrated sweet and full bodied tea liquor with an incredibly rich dark chocolate-malt character. An outstanding breakfast tea to enjoy with milk.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love it when I find a really excellent Assam tea – and this Bemolapur Estate Assam from Capital Tea Limited is indeed excellent! The flavor is full and robust! This is the kind of tea you want on those mornings when you need to shake the sleepy, because it’s got plenty of gusto!
To brew this Assam, I heated the water to 205°F and poured the sampling I received into the basket of my Kati Tumbler. Then I poured the water over the leaves and steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes. This is a tea that I’d recommend tinkering around with to find just the right time and temperature for you, because although my cup was not bitter, it was somewhat astringent and I suspect that the tea would have been bitter if I steeped it for another 15 or 30 seconds.
Fortunately, I cut off the steeping time at just the right time for my palate because what I’m getting is a sweet, malty richness that I love from an Assam tea. Bold! Delectable notes of dark chocolate with an undertone of honeyed caramel.
I liked this tea served hot, straight up. But I did let part of the cup go cold (I got distracted and was away from my cup too long!) and it’s quite tasty as a cold tea too (again, straight up). It would also be nice with a dollop of honey (to accentuate those honey undertones) and a splash of milk (the creaminess of the dairy together with the malt would be outstanding).
A really lovely tea.
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!