Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Bailin Gongfu is the highest quality Fujian black tea. This Bailin Gonfu is a premium quality tea produced at Mt. Taimu in Fujian, and is crafted from Fuding DaBai and Da Hao trees. This delicious tea has a great refreshing sweet taste and fragrance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Bailin Gongfu Black Tea from Teavivre is one of my black tea staples. I always have plenty of this on hand. Sure I enjoy other black teas, and have plenty of them for variety, but this black tea, this is my “go to” tea in the morning. It is always spot on for the flavors I crave to wake up to.
Some mornings I have more time to get motivated, and I may go for something different in a black tea but in most cases, I just need what I know will really do the trick.
Bailin Gongfu Black Tea from Teavivre has every element in a black tea that I would want. Malty notes, hints of a cocoa flavor, caramel notes, depth, and complexity, robust, and strong without any bitterness or astringency.
This is one of Teavivre’s most popular teas. There is good reason for this! This tea is warm and toasty with a taste reminiscent of boutique beer, malty and chocolatey. This is THE black tea that made me realize not all black teas are created equal. Sipping this outstanding tea is like sitting back at a campfire with a good friend. It just makes you feel comfy! The flavors are simply decadent yet is so easy to sip with a bright cheery feel!
What is really interesting about this black tea is that within all these flavors, on the after taste, is this wonderful vegetal note! It may not be really noticeable to everyone, but I get a green bean note in the lingering of the after taste that is quite surprising! A black tea with a green bean note? Yes, its in here! Add to that a full, creamy mouthfeel, what more could one ask for in their morning wake up tea?
Perhaps this tea sounds confusing to some, cheery and bright, yet also robust and full? Creamy cocoa, caramel, malty notes with vegetal? Well what we can’t disagree on is that it is interesting! To add to that all of these notes are present in one steeping, and hold up through a second steep. After that you will enjoy several more infusions of the same leaf but the layers begin to slowly ween themselves out leaving behind a lovely black with more attention on the caramel, cocoa, and base tea notes which are equally lovely.
I think, but please don’t hold me to any decisions on this, if I could only have one black unadulterated (unflavored / flavored by nature only) tea for the rest of my life, this would be the one. Granted I would never, ever, want that to happen!
English Toffee Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
English Toffee Matcha is perfectly sweetened for being the best addition to many favorite sweets and other baked products like cakes and biscuits. Its sweet toffee essence makes it the perfect flavor for many treats for both special occasions and ordinary days. This sweet flavor is also ideal for adding to the sweet taste of many bland tasting treats and making them more edible and enjoyable. English Toffee Matcha makes the perfect choice for many children snacks.
Learn more about this Matcha here.
Taster’s Review:
I have a serious sweet tooth. But I also know that I shouldn’t eat too many sweets, because it isn’t good for me, my teeth, or my waistline. But those sweet treats are so hard to resist! If you’ve a sweet tooth like me, here’s what I recommend to help keep those craving at bay: stock up on flavored Matcha like this English Toffee Matcha. It really curbs the craving for something sweet and chocolate-y because it TASTES like a liquified English Toffee bar, but, it doesn’t have all the fat and calories of the candy bar.
Seriously! All that’s missing is the crunch of the toffee bar!
I prepared this Matcha the way I would normally, using water, but instead of adding all the water I would for my serving, I held off on about 1 – 2 teaspoons of water and instead added about that much of half & half (that’s all I have in the fridge right now!) and the result is a latte-ish bowl of Matcha that is sweet and delicious and very dessert-like!
I taste the buttery rich, caramel-y toffee, with nutty notes and hints of chocolate. This, together with a bit of sweet Matcha flavor – and you’ve got something truly YUM that is also good for you! How do you go wrong with that?
The only thing that I can find to complain about with this Matcha is that it disappeared too quickly from my bowl.
Zhu Rong Yunnan Black Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
The aroma of this intensely rich Yunnan black is immediately reminiscent of one of our favorite chocolate’s of all time: the Rogue Chocolatier Hispaniola bar, made with a tangy and nuanced cacao from the Dominican Republic. Imagine a fine dark chocolate melted down and infused with hibiscus. That is the aroma of this tea. It is so rich and fruity it even reminds us of a fine, light roasted coffee.
NOTES: Velvet, Chocolate, Cayenne, Clove, Cinnamon, Molasses, Cream
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Some teas tend to learn toward a specific season for me. Such as Chai which I always prefer in the fall and winter seasons. Or berry teas which I prefer in the spring and summer seasons. What I love about Zhu Rong Yunnan Black Tea from Verdant Tea is that it suits me perfectly in any season!
The aroma of this tea is always inviting, with notes of baked goods, hay, molasses, malt, and even berry!
It has a rich full mouthfeel yet a savory element in the flavor profile that boarders right on the spicy side of life. I can’t think of many unadulterated teas that have so much complexity. From sweet to savory, spicy to fruity. Zhu Rong Yunnan Black Tea from Verdant has it all.
The initial sip gives off notes of chocolate, molasses, and malt, with a spicy kick near the end. The aroma helps you pick up those initial sweeter notes and takes your mind on a baked goods trip, so when the spice elements present themselves it is somewhat of a surprise.
The creaminess of the tea is mostly in the mouthfeel and texture of this tea rather than in the flavor although there is a creamy flavor element as well, that note is more taken over by the spice at the end. You have to notice the creamy flavor in the beginning of the sip.
The spice notes in this tea are not like that of a chai, so don’t let the flavor notes listed above of clove and cinnamon scare you if you are not in favor of spicier teas. I personally pick up more of the cayenne kick rather than cinnamon or clove, and it is only on the tail end of the sip and does not burn or create heat in the mouth. Its just more of a wonderful gentle wake up note that kicks your taste buds and mind into gear. A perfect morning tea!
The berry notes I detect are not listed in the flavor profile of this tea but I get a dark berry and raisin flavor when I swish the tea around my palate.
This is one of my favorite morning teas which is also quite excellent when cooled or iced! Perfect anytime of the year.
The Witching Hour from 52Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Tulsi
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
If you liked our Graveyard Mist from a few weeks back, I think you are going to love this one. We’ve combined Rooibos and Tulsi Rama with cacao nibs and fresh cut peppermint for an unearthly, caffeine-free Halloween treat. The rooibos, tulsi rama and chocolate smooth out the peppermint and make it more rounded, less sharp, more soothing and less jolting. the mint is most prominent, but it’s a subdued mint tamed by this blend of tisanes and chocolate.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh … YUM! This is some seriously delicious minty chocolate goodness in a teacup!
The rooibos and tulsi together offer a bit of an unusual base, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. It it actually quite good. I think that the tulsi helps to soften the rooibos’ sometimes weird woody taste just a bit, and it also adds some definition to the mint, giving the overall cup a more of an herbal-y/earthy kind of taste rather than the typical woody/nutty rooibos flavor, which is, if you think about it, very in keeping with the “witchy” kind of theme. The bit of herbal taste makes it seem as though this might have been freshly ladled from a witches caldron!
But, if it were a potion, I don’t think it’s an evil potion, because an evil witch wouldn’t put chocolate in her potion! This was a potion concocted by a very good witch (or a brilliant, mad, Zoomdweebie of a genius named Frank!)
I like the balance in this cup. I taste the chocolate (and OK, I’ll be honest, more chocolate is always better), and I taste the mint, but, the mint isn’t overpowering. It tastes crisp and smooth at the same time. There is a slight nutty flavor from the rooibos, but as I mentioned before, I find that the taste of the rooibos seems to be tapered somewhat by the tulsi. Everything just seems to work together very harmoniously to create a very soothing, calming, easy to sip tisane.
What a perfectly enchanting brew!
Chocolate Midnight Black Tea from Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Description:
Chocolate Midnight Black Tea is an exclusive blend of select Yunnan Black tea infused with natural dried vanilla bean and blended with rich Belgian chocolate. The leaves of the Yunnan black tea are black with golden hairs on the buds that provide a strong invigorating aroma and vivid red liquid. The classic combination of tempting vanilla bean and rich dreamy curls of semisweet Belgian dark chocolate will offer your palate a temptingly sweet treat that will keep you coming back for more.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
OK … so you KNOW I had to try this one, right? I think it may have been love at first sight with this tea … I mean, look at all those chocolate curls! *drool!*
And this is definitely chocolate-y! It is a dark chocolate taste (although a splash of milk could make it a creamier milk chocolate if you so desire!) and it tastes really quite … perfect. The vanilla gives it just enough creaminess without making it taste too much like “milk” chocolate – making this the perfect choice for any chocolate lover – whether they prefer milk or dark chocolate!
Oh sure, I’ve had teas with more chocolate flavor, but, I really LOVE the way the chocolate is represented here. It tastes like a dark chocolate truffle that you can buy by the piece in one of those gourmet chocolate stores. Smooth and rich … and oh-so-delicious. It is sweet, but not cloying.
The black tea base is a Yunnan base, and I think this is another reason I find myself so in love with this tea. Yunnan teas typically have a natural chocolate-y undertone going on, and their pleasing natural spice notes enhance the chocolate in a very appealing way. The Yunnan here provides a solid background of flavor: rich, robust and well-rounded. And nicely balanced with the chocolate.
This is one of the best chocolate teas I’ve yet to try (and I’ve tried quite a few!) Definitely in the top five! I love it!