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.
Organic Avaata Supreme Nilgiri First Flush Green Tea from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
An exquisite green tea from the coveted organic Avaata Tea Estate in the Nilgiris in southern India. The perfectly manufactured leaves boast of a light green texture combined with opulent long silver tips. The liquor has a very pale green appearance in the cup. The flavour is extremely smooth and fairly sharp typical of non-fermented green teas but without any hint of bitterness. A sensation of fruits and flowers flush your mouth with every sip of this certified organic green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’m sitting here sipping this tea, I find myself mesmerized by how good it is. I then decided to do a search to see if I’ve ever tried a Nilgiri Green tea. And as it turns out, I’ve tried two green Nilgiri teas, one of which was more of a smoky tea (reminiscent of a Chinese gunpowder) and one was the base for a Chai. Neither were like this tea.
The dry leaf looks very much like a white tea, except that these are greener in color than most white teas I’ve encountered. The dry leaf also has a stronger ‘green’/vegetal scent than most white teas I’ve encountered. But the shape of the leaves – the appearance of the leaves – reminds me of a very high quality Bai Mu Dan.
So as you can imagine, it was a little more difficult to measure these leaves into the basket of my Kati tumbler. Rather than attempt to measure the leaves using my bamboo scoop, I eyeballed a measurement in the palm of my hand. Then I added 12 ounces of water heated to 175°F and let it steep for 2 minutes.
Delightful! This is a wonderful green tea! It has a delicate quality to it that reminds me of the aforementioned Bai Mu Dan, but it isn’t quite that delicate. The flavor is a lot less vegetal than I would have expected after the aroma I experienced with the dry leaf. In fact, those that tend to shy away from green teas because of that strong vegetal tone would probably find this green to be very much to their liking.
It’s light and crisp and very refreshing. Sweet with almost a sugar-like flavor. The texture is light yet creamy. It has a nice softness to it. There is no bitterness, but there is some astringency to this that is experienced primarily in the aftertaste, I can feel a dry, puckery sensation on the inside of my cheeks at the very end of the sip and into the aftertaste.
This is very CREAMY tasting. I like that while it has that creamy taste and texture, it isn’t a super heavy texture and the astringency seems to cleanse the palate somewhat so that my palate doesn’t feel overwhelmed by the creaminess.
Truly, a delightful green tea. This is one that should be on every tea drinker’s list to try because it’s so different from the green teas you’re probably familiar with. It’s so lovely!
Gopaldhara Gold Darjeeling Black Tea Autumn Flush from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Among the most sought after invoice’s from the years pre-winter harvest, the Gopaldhara Gold is an autumnal beauty. A delicate yet rounded black tea with intricate flowery notes. The tea brings about a subtle and sweet profile with hints of fine muscatel and an slightly earthy roundness. The lingering aftertaste brings in sensations of dark bold chocolate and cocoa. A fantastic leaf tea texture with golden tips spread evenly, this is definitely among our better autumn Darjeeling’s.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! This is Gopaldhara Gold Darjeeling Black Tea Autumn Flush from Golden Tips is a beauty! It’s not your typical Darjeeling – and that’s a very good thing!
This has a richness to it that I don’t often find in a Darjeeling tea. It’s very satisfying and well-rounded. It is almost robust! Almost. It has a very rich, pleasing flavor that I might find in a stronger tea. It’s not quite as ‘light’ or crisp as a typical Darjeeling, but it does have that familiar mustcatel that I look for in an autumn harvest Darjeeling. It’s like the best of both worlds in one teacup!
While it’s not quite as thick or strong as I would want for a morning cuppa, it does have a strong enough flavor that I’d enjoy it as a later morning or early afternoon cup. It’d make a really good pick-me-up when you’re looking for that boost mid-day.
It’s wonderfully smooth with very little astringency. I notice just a hint of dryness as the sip progresses into the aftertaste, but it’s very slight. There’s no bitterness to this cup. It’s sweet with notes of fruit and a wine-like quality without the astringency of the wine. And as suggested in the above description, I’m even picking up on a chocolate-y note. (I’m thinking that this tea would be a fabulous accompaniment to a chocolate bar. Then again, who needs an excuse for either good tea or chocolate?)
I’ve tasted quite a few teas from Golden Tips now, and I think that this one might be my favorite thus far. It’s just so spectacular.
Meleng Estate Assam FTGFOP1 Black Tea from Capital Tea Limited
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Beautifully well make chunky brown leaves full of deep golden tips from one of Assam’s best tea estates. These leaves produce an incredibly well rounded and sweet tasting medium-bodied tea liquor with complex malty flavour notes and with stone fruit-like overtones.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I received a sampling of this tea from a friend on Steepster, and I’m really glad she included it with the different samples she sent me! This is lovely!
Really nice! I’ve had several really good Assam teas over the last couple of months, and this is yet another. This has a really wonderful malty tone to it – rich and flavorful – with fruity notes and a very smooth delivery from start to finish with a mild astringency.
To brew this, I grabbed my Kati tumbler and emptied the sample into the basket (it was just enough for 12 ounces of tea!) and then I heated 12 ounces of water to 205°F. I poured the hot water into the tumbler and let the tea steep for 2 1/2 minutes.
And the flavor is very much what I’d expect from a high quality Assam tea. It’s rich and flavorful with a medium to full body. It’s sweet with notes of caramel. There are lovely stone fruit notes that are reminiscent of a fresh, ripe plum. As I continue to sip, I also pick up on notes of the sugary sweetness you’d taste from a raisin.
There is a mild astringency as I already mentioned, and there is just a hint of bitterness that hits my palate at mid-sip, suggesting to me that if I had brewed this longer or at a higher temperature, the tea might prove to be too bitter to drink.
As it is though, it’s quite pleasant. That hint of bitterness does a pretty good job of hiding behind the sweeter notes of this tea. If you’re looking for a tasty everyday Assam, you might want to try this one. It’s one I wouldn’t mind reaching for every morning!
Arya Ruby Darjeeling Black Tea from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Our second flush ‘Arya Ruby Black Tea’ is a classic example of Darjeeling summer royalty. The well-made leaves are wiry and have a delightful appearance with plenty of silver tips. Manufactured to perfection, the tea boasts of an immensely complex character with abundance of muscatel flavor. The fruit-flowery notes flush your mouth with a sweetness that is pleasant and comforting. The aroma scents of rich caramel with a slightly woody character. The nose is sharp and slightly fruity which resonates muscatel richness. Overall, the tea has a fantastic texture, a balanced and rounded body with an extremely smooth flavor that leaves a sweet lingering aftertaste in your mouth. An excellent limited edition Darjeeling second flush black tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having tried Arya Ruby Darjeeling teas in the past, I was pretty confident that I’d enjoy this. It’s one of my favorite Darjeeling teas out there.
And this is indeed lovely! Sweet, delectably fruity and delightfully floral!
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch. I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket of my tea maker and added 500ml of freshly filtered water. I set the temperature for 195°F (my go-to temperature for Darjeeling teas unless they look really green, then I might lower it to 190°F or even 185°F.) I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and I let my tea maker do the rest.
A few minutes later, the tea is done! Mmm!
The sip starts out with some what I’d describe as a medley of floral and fruit notes. By mid-sip, hints of fruity muscatel shine through. Subtle yet lovely notes of grape! A mild astringency toward the finish.
I’d categorize this as a medium bodied tea, it’s got a little more texture to it than a typical Darjeeling, but it certainly isn’t as hearty as say, an Assam tea. It would make an excellent afternoon tea!
A really lovely Darjeeling. I’d recommend this to any tea drinker, and especially those who might not have liked Darjeeling in the past. I believe this Darjeeling could change their opinion of Darjeeling!