Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Malty, full bodied, with hints of cask oakiness. Scottish Breakfast is your next favorite tea, hot or iced.
Taster’s Review:
Now this is a powerful tea! It’s got some real gusto!
The tea is strong and BOLD. Yes, BOLD – not bold – but BOLD! The blend of teas include a malty Assam which would deliver plenty of strength all on its own, but when combined with the richness of Keemun and Nilgiri teas, this becomes one seriously invigorating tea, ready to jump start you and get you on your way.
This full-flavored tea does indeed deliver on its promise of hints of oak. This has a very hefty, rustic kind of flavor to it and that woody tone elevates the rustic feel to this tea. It has some baked/bread-y kind of flavors in the background as well which are enhanced by the malty tones. All this delicious, toothsome flavor while maintaining a very pleasant smoothness.
If your usual breakfast blend sometimes leaves you feeling flat, reach for a cup of this breakfast blend next time. This one won’t fail you!
Darjeeling Tukdah TGFOP from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Darjeeling
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Bright, lively and full of flavor. Has a lovely muscatel character with a hint of nuttiness, an excellent 1st flush Darjeeling.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very unusual Darjeeling. It is almost like a combination of Darjeeling and Assam teas! It has many of the characteristics I expect from a Darjeeling, but also some of the characteristics of a high quality Assam. Interesting… very interesting, indeed!
I can immediately sense the muscatel – I can smell the wine-like notes as well as taste them. But where this differs from a typical Darjeeling is that it isn’t as light-bodied. This tea is a little more solid and strong. Not quite as hefty as an Assam, but certainly not as sparkling as a Darjeeling. This seems to fall somewhere in the middle, making for a delightful medium-bodied tea.
There is a delicious undertone of malt to this tea, as well as a lovely honey-caramel sweetness. There is also a decidedly masculine note to this tea, almost “leathery” in presentation. There is also a toothsome quality to it – which is quite different than most Darjeeling teas that I’ve encountered. Like I said, this is really an unusual Darjeeling – unusual, but delicious.
This is a tea that I would recommend to the lovers of both Darjeeling and Assam. It makes for a great morning tea for the Darjeeling fan, and a great late afternoon tea for the Assam enthusiast. And for someone who just loves tea… you should really try this one!
Russian Earl Grey from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
All natural Thai Lemongrass and Spanish orange infuse premium Earl Grey with sultry citrus notes.
Bright, with pleasing citrus overtone and mellow finish.
Ingredients: Luxury black tea, Natural dried lemon Grass, Natural dried Orange, Cornflower Petals, Natural Flavours.
Taster’s Review:
I admit – this tea frightened me. It’s an automatic response to teas that are called “Russian” – usually, that means “smoky” tea (at least, that’s what I’ve been conditioned to assume!). But, this is a happy surprise – no smoke! Nice!
The flavor is a bit unusual for an Earl Grey – the bergamot taste is there, but as it mingles with the lemongrass and orange flavors, it becomes softer and less distinct. This smells and tastes much more like a citrus-y tea rather than an Earl Grey.
Yes, I know that bergamot IS an orange, but, a quick trip through the average grocery store produce section will tell you that it is no ordinary orange. It is not readily available to the average consumer (at least not here in the US). That’s what makes Earl Grey tea so unique – at least to me – is that it doesn’t taste like a typical orange flavored tea.
But, I digress…
The bergamot is present here, it has just been softened somewhat by the presence of the lemongrass and additional orange flavor. But that is not to say that this tastes like a typical orange flavored tea either… it has such an interestingly complex fruit taste.
The black tea is smooth and brisk without being too aggressive. It has a rich taste that compliments the citrus notes. It is a very pleasing harmony of tastes.
This is truly a rewarding cup of tea – one that presented me with such a lovely and welcome surprise. Delicious!
Scottish Breakfast from Culinary Teas
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Country of Origin: India, Kenya, China
Region: Assam, Nilgiri, Fujian/Chingwo, Anhui/Qimen
Shipping Port: Cochin, Fuzhou, Mombasa
Grade: FBOP (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe)
Altitude: 1500’ft, 6400’ft, 5000’ft above sea level
Manufacture Type: Orthodox
Cup Characteristics: Malty full-bodied character with bright flavoury notes and hints of cask oakiness. A bracing Highlander’s cup of tea!
Infusion: Bright coppery colour
Ingredients: Luxury black tea.Information:
The primary sociological structure in old Scotland was the ‘clan’. The roots of the system are very ancient, stretching back into Scotland’s Celtic past. The country had been occupied by many different peoples – Britons, Romans, Angles and Vikings – but two races came to dominate: the Picts in the north and east who divided their territory into 7 petty kingdoms and in the west it was the Scots. Originating as an Irish tribe, the Scots migrated from Ulster in the 6th century. The kingdoms of the Scots and the Picts were eventually united by Kenneth MacAlpin in the mid 800’s.
These people were organized along tribal lines, which eventually became known as clans. One of the downfalls of the clans was the propensity to feud. Some disputes simmered for centuries such as the feud between the MacDonalds and Stewarts, which began at Culloden in 1314, finally being settled in the 1600’s. Highlanders guarded their traditions fiercely and were well known for their loyally robust character.
This tea is like a proper Highlander – robust, malty (not unlike a good Scotch) and full of life and vigor. Highlanders liked their tea very strong and insisted on hints of cask oak to remind them of their clan’s own special elixir – single malt Scotch. This blend consists of 2nd Flush Assam tea (thick, robust with delicious hints of malt); January production South Indian tea (high mountain grown that has wonderful flavour notes which accentuate the robust Assam); Keemun Panda #1 which has a delicious winy character further enhancing the stout malty character of the blend and finally a Chingwo County Orange Pekoe which gives the distinct oaky character. This tea is especially delicious with milk, which further lends a malty character to the tea and highlights the brightness of the premium tea, which has hints of a red color.
[A tea tasters secret recipe for a pick-me-up on a typical Highlanders day (cold and bracing) – make this tea hot, pour into a large mug and add 4-5 slices of lemon and 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar – sit back and enjoy a tasty energy boost. To make a special iced tea – after you have added the lemon and sugar, pour this over ice in a tall glass – terrific!]
Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Add milk and sugar to taste.
Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice; a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!
Tasters Review:
Scottish Breakfast from Culinary Teas is a nice standard or go-to black tea. It’s a No-Nonsense type tea, too! Very decent, indeed! It’s a beautiful deep reddish brown for the post-infusion color. It’s not much for scent. But it does have a nice medium, even taste with slightly smoky undertones at the end of the sip.
Pear Sencha Green Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Sweet, juicy and just a down right delectable green tea, who knew pear paired so well with top quality Sencha.
Taster’s Review:
I must admit that I am somewhat biased when it comes to pear flavored green teas because I developed a pear flavored green tea that I thought was out of this world.
However, this is a pretty good pear tea!
The green tea base is a Sencha (although I do not know if it’s Japanese or Chinese), and it delivers a light-bodied, sweet taste. It has a buttery quality and imparts a soft, creamy mouthfeel. There is some grassy taste to the tea but it is not a strong, off-putting grassy flavor. It is more like an agreeable grassy/buttered vegetable taste.
The pear flavor is soft and juicy – just like a pear should be! The buttery/grassy notes of the Sencha work very well with the pear flavor. These two flavors aren’t competing with one another, they are content to share the spotlight with each other.
This is a tea that I prefer iced to hot, although it is good as a hot beverage too. If you like your tea sweet, try this with a little drizzle of honey – the results are quite delectable!
A very good pear tea. Not the best that I’ve tried (then again, I am biased, remember?) If you like pear, you should definitely give this one a try.