Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Country of Origin: India
Region: Assam, Mangaldai
Shipping Port: Calcutta/Haldia
Grade: FBOP Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe
Altitude: 1000 ft. above sea level
Manufacture Type: Orthodox
Malty with a jammy-like flavor best describes this premium tea. The tea is vacuum-packed at the estate capturing the pungent 2nd flush flavor at its peak.
Tasters Review:
I know this isn’t a Holiday-Related Tea Post…but…I like this tea and really want to share it with you all today! It’s Assam Borengajuli from Culinary Teas…a strong and sturdy black tea!
When I first smelled the dry leaves I was thinking it smelled a little like those Raisins in the lil red boxes…a different yet welcomed aroma.
Post infusion it smells like bakey black tea. A hefty Assam, indeed!
The taste is a BOLD black tea taste a little sweet at first but then turns a bit jammy.
I did try a 2nd infusion on this, too, and it was quite nice! It was much smoother the 2nd time around and was more fruit-like. It bet it would go great with toast! YUM!
Java Santosa from McNulty’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: McNulty’s
Company Description:
I was not able to locate a description of this tea on McNulty’s website.
Taster’s Review:
This black tea is a single estate tea from the Santosa estate in Java (an island in Indonesia). Having tried only a few teas from Indonesia but quite enjoying those that I have tried, I always welcome the opportunity to try more.
The flavor of this tea is rich and robust. It definitely has GUSTO to it to get you going! A perfect morning tea, this tea would also make a nice pick-me-up for the afternoon.
There is a hint of underlying sweetness to this tea, but mostly what I am getting is a straightforward, STRONG, bright tasting black tea. It has a toothsome quality to it, but not quite as much as a stout Assam. A bit of astringency, but no bitterness.
A very pleasant black tea that would make an excellent alternative to the typical breakfast blend or morning Assam. It takes the addition of milk and honey quite well, although I found it to be rather lovely without addition.
Assam Sewpur Estate Reserve from Drink T
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Drink T
Company Description:
A century-old estate brings you this full-bodied, malty and spicy tea to brighten your morning and Certified Organic to help you sleep at night.
Taster’s Review:
The only place I could locate this tea on the Drink T website is as part of this Tea Lover’s Root Basket. (And what a lovely basket it is! Who wouldn’t love to receive it?)
This is one of the more fragrant Assam teas that I’ve ever encountered. The aroma of the dry leaf has notes of fruit and spice, and maybe even a distant flowery scent. Once brewed, the tea takes on a fragrance that reminds me of freshly baked bread. It made my mouth water just smelling it! In fact, it was the scent that told me which sweetener to use with this tea – HONEY! Fresh baked bread with a drizzle of honey sounds like a slice of heaven!
Of course, I tasted it before sweetening, and I did note a light, honey-esque tone in the background. This is a very malty tea. It has a bold, bright flavor that is strong enough to help me shake off that sleepy feeling that I feel when I first wake up. You know that feeling? The “what am I doing up, I want to go back to bed” feeling? This tea helps me shake that feeling and perks me up to get started for the day.
This has a clean and somewhat lighter taste than some Assam teas, it doesn’t have as much toothsomeness (is that a word? Well, it is now!) This reminds me a little of a Keemun in that respect, where it has a light, wine-like note to it. The light spicy note to it is also very Keemun-like.
This is definitely a very special Assam!
Java Kertasarie Estate Black Tea from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Company Description:
The medium-brown leaves brew to a greenish-brown leaf, with a flowery aroma. The amber cup of Java Kertasarie Estate is medium-bodied, brisker tasting than a Ceylon and has a flavorful infusion with a delightful oak cask aftertaste.
Taster’s Review:
There are a few words that come to mind immediately when I taste this tea – bold, brisk, lively – but I don’t think that these words quite do this tea justice. That’s because I use words quite often that they’ve become quite generic when describing tea.
And this tea is quite unique from other black teas I’ve tasted. The Java Kertasarie Estate is in Indonesia, and I don’t recall having tried teas from Indonesia before. Now, you may be thinking – does it REALLY make that much difference where the teas come from? How much does that really affect the flavor of the tea?
My answer is, quite simply: It affects the flavor immensely. The climate, weather conditions, humidity, soil quality, amount of sun, and amount of shade… even the surroundings – like what kind of trees or flowers are growing in the surrounding area – affect the flavor of a tea. And then, you have more controllable factors as well, such as harvesting and drying techniques which also affect the flavor of the tea.
As the description of this tea from Simpson & Vail (above) suggests, this is definitely brisker than a typical Ceylon tea. It has a deep woodsy note to it (I’d describe it as oaken, which matches the Simpson & Vail description as well).
The is very vibrant and strong tea that pairs very well with sweets (I decided to indulge in a couple of cuccidata cookies when I drank this tea) – this pairing resulted in a slight honey-esque tone that I could detect, that I didn’t taste as strongly when I drank it without the cookie. It’s still there… but, it is somewhat disguised behind the stronger essences of oak. There is also an underlying floral essence and a hint of fruit to this tea as well. It is delightfully complex and one that I’ve enjoyed tasting immensely.