Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grace Tea Company
Tea Description:
This extra slow-fired tea is of a rare and extraordinary quality. Our most well known and famous blend has an unusual depth, body and color that can be likened in description to a fine wine. A uniquely crafted tea blended with varying China, Formosan and Indian teas, Winey Keemun follows the traditional formulation of an English Breakfast blend. It’s one of our personal favorites.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The theme for this month’s Steepster Select Box is “Around the Clock” and features three teas to enjoy at different times … depending upon what time of day it is. As Steepster puts it:
Tea is a loyal companion. Always at your side, ready to infuse any occasion with flavorful, liquid love. Able to pack a punch or hug you close like a warm blanket, there’s a cup that fits any time of day: morning, afternoon, and night. So keep the kettle going for these three teas that will carry you from sunrise to sunset.
Obviously, this Winey Keemun English Breakfast blend from Grace Tea Company represents the morning tea. And what a lovely tea to select as the morning tea! It is bold, rich and delicious. It “packs a punch” but at the same time has a comforting flavor to it. In other words, it is invigorating but it makes me feel good about getting that burst of gusto.
This dark, full-bodied black tea introduces itself with a sweet start, somewhat fruity – like a well-aged wine. During the sip, I notice hints of leather, malt and earth, and a smoky tone in the background. Keemun tea usually has a variable degree of smokiness … some are very smoky while others are on the lighter side, with mere hints of smoky flavor. This tea is on the lighter side of smoky but I don’t know if that is because the Keemun itself is lightly smoky or if it is the fact that it is a component of a blend that includes several different teas, and the simple fact that this is not a straight Keemun tea may be the reason for the light smokiness.
The tea finishes sweet. There is some tangy astringency, but I notice no bitterness. Perhaps this is because I steeped it for just 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch which seems to be the magic brew time for black teas such as this, but either way, I am enjoying the lack of bitterness here. The aftertaste is a light, fruity taste that is somewhat reminiscent of a wine-like aftertaste.
A rather enjoyable tea for the morning, I think this would also make a nice tea to enjoy in the early afternoon, perhaps as a pick-me-up, or even just a cup to savor in the company of dear friends.
Two more teas to explore from Steepster’s Around the Clock series, I hope that the teas they have chosen for afternoon and evening are just as enjoyable as this Winey Keemun English Breakfast.
Darjeeling Superb 6000 from Grace Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grace Tea Company
Tea Description:
From the high Himalayas of North India, Darjeeling tea is grown more than 6,000 feet above sea level, where a cooler temperature promotes slow plant growth. This altitude gives the smaller leaves greater flavor and aroma. Tea of this quality is hand-picked once a year from the early summer flush, so supply is always limited. Our selection hints of delicate fruit overtones with each sip. We’re sure those who enjoy a superior Darjeeling will find the stimulating taste, bright color and rich body of this tea a true delight.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I do with every tea that I sample, I opened the package and took a deep whiff of the tea … this tea smells of earth, wood and even a hint of cocoa. I don’t usually detect chocolate-y notes from a Darjeeling, so that alone got me very excited to taste this tea. Not that I wasn’t excited to try it before that – I’m almost always happy to try a new tea, although some teas elicit more excitement than others. Darjeeling teas tend to inspire a fair amount of enthusiasm, but this rare combination of cocoa notes plus Darjeeling tea rendered an above average amount of zeal.
Wow! This tea certainly was worth the enthusiasm I experienced. It is one of the nicest Darjeeling teas I’ve tasted in some time. The flavor has much of what I might expect from a Darjeeling: crisp, fruity notes that seem to almost sparkle on the tongue with a hint of muscatel and woodsy notes. It tastes light, although it seems to have a bit more body than some of the lighter (greener) Darjeeling teas I’ve encountered.
The cocoa notes are there too! They are much more discreet than in the aroma, but, I taste just a hint of dark chocolate-y goodness in the background. As I continue to sip, I find that the flavor becomes richer and the body becomes fuller, developing into what I might almost consider a full-bodied tea. Not quite… but almost.
This is really an inspired cup of Darjeeling. Absolutely unique, and definitely worth trying, especially for those who are fond of Darjeeling. This one is different, but with this tea especially, I’d say that different is good!
Fancy Ceylon Mountain Grown from Grace Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grace Tea Company
Product Description:
From the highest slopes of Sri Lanka’s famous Nuwara Eliya Mountains, these thin, black tea leaves produce a light, delicate and mildly astringent liquor. This is an easy drinking blend that can be taken any time of the day. This brew has a marvelous aroma that is a special treat for rare tea enthusiasts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
You know how there are some things that you just have preconceived ideas about, like how you expect them to be or to taste… well, that’s the way it is for me and Ceylon teas. Generally, when I see “Ceylon” as the tea type, my initial reaction is one of boredom, because I have this preconceived idea that it’s going to be rather ordinary.
But, truth be told, over the course of the last couple of years, I’ve discovered some pretty amazing Ceylon teas, some that should have blasted that preconceived nonsense right out of the water for me. (Alas, I am stubborn, but please don’t tell my husband that I admitted that!)
This is another such Ceylon that has really surprised me in a good way.
You see, there’s a reason why Ceylon tea tends to be the base tea for most flavored black teas. Because it is rather ordinary … it is mild and middle-of-the-road. Not too assuming.
But, then, there is this Fancy Ceylon Mountain Grown from Grace Tea. And it is anything but middle-of-the-road, unassuming black tea.
This is surprisingly rich … and incredibly delicious. It has a strength to it that would make this a suitable tea to serve first thing in the morning, when you need that jump start to get you going, but also has a smoothness to it that would make a perfect choice for afternoon enjoyment too.
There are some delightful flowery notes in the background, along with a fruit-like flavor that is almost apple-y. It has a crispness to it, but also a good, solid kind of flavor that would take the additions of milk and honey well if you care to add them. There are earthy notes in the foreground, as well as a sweetness that is somewhere between caramel and honey. The finish is somewhat astringent, a cleansing feeling that prepares the palate for a finish that is caramel-y sweet.
A very enjoyable Ceylon, I recommend it.
Flowery Jasmine Before the Rain from Grace Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pouchong
Where to Buy: Grace Tea Company
Product Description:
Each year we carefully select our Jasmine base tea from the finest pouchong teas available from China. These leaves have been picked at their flavor peak in the spring, traditionally before the rain and the period of fastest growth. Our selection is then held with the utmost of care until summer, when the most remarkable Jasmine flowers are available for blending. It is indeed a tea of teas’ fine, delicate and aromatic. We suggest our Flowery Jasmine Before the Rain be served in the afternoon and at special occasions, when its particular virtues can be appreciated.
Taster’s Review:
When I infused this tea, I did so thinking that this was a green tea. The size of the leaves did not indicate to me that this was a Pouchong. It looked like a green tea to me. Fortunately, my green tea brewing parameters did not affect this tea. It’s delicious. However, a slightly longer steep time might have intensified the flavor somewhat. As it is, though, I’m enjoying the cup of tea that sits before me.
The dry leaf is very aromatic, just as I would expect from a jasmine tea. It has a beautiful, flowery fragrance. The aroma of the brewed liquor is equally as enjoyable. That is one of the things I love most about jasmine teas – the amazing fragrance.
But it is not all about the scent of the tea, of course. The flavor is wonderful. It has a soft, velvety mouthfeel. It feels thicker than a typical jasmine green tea would. The jasmine is delicate and pleasantly sweet. It doesn’t have that artificial perfume-y taste of some jasmine teas. It is light and floral. There is very little astringency to this tea and no bitterness. The aftertaste is sweet.
This is an absolute delight to sip.