Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
If you need an extra boost, try some black tea with ginger, an energizing root that helps fight just about any infection. A perfect hot drink for those cold winters days or when you need a lil’ pick me up!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
In the early days of spring, I find that my allergies are on overdrive. I have issues with my allergies year round (believe it or not! Hey, I live in the Pacific Northwest!) but in the spring, even my every day allergy medication doesn’t do enough to power away the allergy symptoms all the time.
So I find teas like this Black Tea & Ginger Blend from Chiang Rai Tea House to be particularly comforting when I get to feeling kind of blah from my allergies. The warmth of the ginger help soothe the swollen throat and the peppery spice of the ginger enliven the taste buds. It’s a tea that I find both soothing and invigorating!
I could smell the ginger immediately upon opening the pouch. The ingredient list shows that this is 60% tea and 40% ginger – which is quite a bit of ginger! And it’s evident in the flavor – there’s a powerful kick to this!
The black tea base is a Thai black tea and it’s a smooth tasting tea. It’s not bitter or astringent. It’s nicely round with a pleasant flavor. I’d categorize it as a medium-bodied tea and it has a pleasantly soft, thick texture. I taste notes of molasses and leather.
There is a lot of ginger to this and it adds a spicy kick to the cup. But I still can taste the black tea. The ginger isn’t overpowering the black tea, although the amount of ginger-y flavor does hinder my ability to talk much about what I’m tasting with the black tea. I taste black tea and I taste ginger. I don’t taste a lot of specific black tea notes other than an undertone of molasses and a hint of leather here and there.
In most cases, I would find that disturbing but I rather like the ginger taste. I like the way the flavors are presenting themselves. It’s warm, comforting and soothing. I like that I taste a lot of ginger but I can still taste the black tea.
A nice first experience with this new-to-me tea company!
Darjeeling Black Currant Tea from Russian Tea Time
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Russian Tea Time
Tea Description:
Unique blend of the finest Dareeling and black teas infused with Black currant aroma. The delicate and flavorful taste of this blend will keep your palate satisfied. Drink and enjoy it hot or Iced, all year around.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, Russian Tea Time sent me a tea party in a box! They shared with me their amazing Darjeeling Black Currant Tea that I’m going to review here, plus they sent me this gorgeous tea glass from which to drink the tea and they even sent me yummy, buttery shortbread cookies! Like I said, a tea party in a box!
What makes this particular tea so unique is that it’s Russian Tea Time’s own, unique blend of Darjeeling and Black teas with black currant essence and currant leaves. Most tea rooms out there are brewing up tea to serve to their customers. They usually get that tea from other vendors (nothing wrong with that!) but Russian Tea Time is not just brewing up tea to serve to their customers, they’re brewing up their own blend that they created and serving it up with scrumptious treats.
Since I’m not in Chicago, I can’t visit the Russian Tea Room in person, so I’ll just have to imagine what it might be like as I sit here, sipping on this Darjeeling Black Currant Tea from this gorgeous tea glass that they sent to me. (They also have some other gorgeous tea cups available in their online shop!)
So, I brewed up the tea in my Breville One Touch Tea Maker. When I opened the tin of Loose Leaf tea – they offer this tea in both Loose Leaf and Sachet form, and since I prefer loose leaf, that’s what I chose to try today – I could see that the tea was a CTC leaf. It’s not a super-fine chop though. Because the leaf has been cut, I opted for slightly less time for the steep, and set the timer for 2 minutes. I measured 2 bamboo scoops into the basket of my tea maker and poured 500ml of tea into the jug. I set the thermometer for 195°F (my go-to temperature for Darjeeling) and let it steep.
The tea is delicious. I like the base tea. I can definitely taste the Darjeeling tea – it has a distinctly crisp taste that’s undeniably “Darjeeling-esque”. The Russian Tea Room doesn’t go into details about the “black teas” that also comprise the base of this tea. I definitely taste the Darjeeling, but I am also tasting a more substantial tea in there too. This tea has that crispness and even a hint of muscatel that I’d expect from a Darjeeling, but there is a thicker texture to the tea too and that’s something that I’ve tasted in only a very few Darjeeling teas. It’s usually a characteristic that I experience from other black teas.
It’s not an overly astringent tea. This could also have something to do with the fact that I set the tea to steep for only 2 minutes. But whatever the reason, I am finding this to be really smooth and easy to drink.
The black currant flavor is a subtle taste – it doesn’t overpower the cup or the black tea. It adds a pleasant, mild fruit flavor that’s a little grape-like and it melds beautifully with the Darjeeling tea’s natural muscatel notes. It’s not overly tart, but I do experience a slight tart tingle on my tongue in the aftertaste.
This is a really delightful tea. It tastes great served hot and I suspect it would be a really excellent iced tea too. (For the record, the cookies were quite tasty too!)
What a lovely day for tea – thank you Russian Tea Time for the chance to enjoy tea time with you!
Gingerbread House Genmaicha Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
With marshmallow root, orange peel and a touch of peppermint blended into our Japanese Genmaicha, we tried to infuse a whole gingerbread house (gingerbread, orange gumdrops and spice drops, creamy frosting and all) into one tea. I think we did pretty well, but you’ll just have to find out for yourself.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Please check out my campaign to take over 52Teas here! Please help me keep 52Teas alive and kicking out those teas every week!
Taster’s Review:
I really liked that when I opened the pouch – I could smell GINGER! I like my gingerbread to be heavy on the ginger flavor, I like that punch of ginger flavor, but all too often when it comes to gingerbread, I’m of the opinion that there just isn’t enough ginger to call it gingerbread.
So I was happy that I could smell ginger here. The brewed tea smells a bit less like ginger (or gingerbread) and a bit more like brewed genmaicha with it’s nutty, toasty essence. There are some warm notes of ginger, the fragrance of the ginger is just not as strong as it was with the dry leaf. I’m also picking up on some sweet, cakey notes in the scent too. It smells quite yummy.
Even though I like to let the tea cool a bit before I start writing a lot about it, I couldn’t stop myself from taking a little sip while it was still quite hot. Mmm! I have a really good feeling about this tea. It’s going to be a cupful of yum!
And it is! I like that the ginger is dominate, but it isn’t overpowering the other flavors. This tastes the way I want my gingerbread to taste – with a strong ginger note. I can also taste notes of creamy, marshmallow-y icing and notes of orange.
These flavors don’t overwhelm the genmaicha tea which is sweet and nutty with a really nice pleasant roasty-toasty flavor. I like the way these flavor of the genmaicha taste with the gingerbread house flavors. It’s sweet but not too sweet because the nutty flavors add some dimension to it to make it not so candy or cake-y that it ends up tasting cloying.
It’s a really fun flavor.
This one resteeps well too. The flavors are less distinctly “Gingerbread House” and more like a gently spiced cookie. It’s still quite tasty though and definitely worth the effort to resteep it, so hang on to those leaves!
I see that this tea has sold out, so I am hoping that other customers have enjoyed this tea as much as I did so that when it comes time to vote for reblends – this one will eventually get reblended!
New House Blend Black Tea from Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Perfect for those who like a stronger Earl Grey, our New House Blend is a full bodied blend of whole leaf Earl Grey and Assam. Enjoyed for years at founder, Mike’s, family home, The New House, where his family created this blend when he was just a boy!
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When I am given a new-to-me Earl Grey tea to try, I’m as excited as a kid in a candy store. Earl Grey is my favorite “flavor” of tea – so long as it’s done right. I have had several poor excuses for Earl Grey in the past. Fortunately, today, I’m having a really awesome Earl Grey.
Because today, I’m drinking this New House Blend from Bluebird Tea Co.!
When I first opened the pouch, I had forgotten that this is actually an Earl Grey (it says “New House Blend” on the package, and I didn’t read the small print that says:
A stronger Earl Grey blend with whole leaf Assam
Nor did I read the ingredients that list:
Ceylon black tea, Assam black tea, Kenyan black tea, Bergamot flavour
I didn’t have my glasses on, so all that I could easily read was the “New House Blend” part and I knew that it was a black tea, and since I needed my caffeine fix (my first cup of the day!) I grabbed it and tore open the package.
Then I smelled it. BERGAMOT! Yes! It’s Earl Grey!
And the bergamot here is strong and beautifully aromatic. I think that my taste buds jumped up off my tongue and started doing the happy dance after I smelled the dry leaf.
So, I impatiently waited by the tea maker as this tea brewed like a love-sick heroine from a romance novel who was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her lover who has been away for far too long. Yes, I admit it, I have been having an affair with Earl Grey. My husband knows about it. He doesn’t necessarily approve, but, since it’s a tea that I’m in love with, he accepts it.
Finally! The tea maker beeped to let me know that the brewing cycle was complete. I poured myself a cup and inhaled the fragrance deeply. The bergamot has softened somewhat during the brewing process, now I also smell the richness of the black tea blend along with the lovely notes of the Italian citrus.
Oh! This tastes SO GOOD. This blend has been skillfully crafted. As much as I love bergamot, the real star of this cup is the black tea base. The combination of not just Ceylon and Assam but the Kenyan black tea as well has created a solid, well-rounded black tea flavor that is rich and smooth. No bitterness and very, very little astringency. It’s a good, robust black tea with some gusto to it – this would be a good first cuppa! (Which it happens to be for me today.) It will give you that nudge you need to start the day.
But, of course, no “Earl Grey” tea would be a proper Earl Grey without the bergamot. The bergamot fruit here is done quite well. It’s strong but not so strong that it ends up tasting like Uncle Albert’s after shave. I like the strength of the bergamot, but I think it could be just a tad stronger without that after shave taste. If I had to offer any complaint about this tea at all, that would be it – I’d like just a touch more bergamot.
But don’t take that criticism as me saying that I’m not happy with this cup because this tastes amazing! The bergamot adds a tangy note with just enough sweetness, it’s bright and acidic, but not so acidic that I feel the insides of my cheeks puckering from it. There are a few floral notes to the fruit, but this bergamot is more fruit than flower – which is the way it should be!
An excellent Earl Grey, and a tea that is definitely worthy of an esteemed title of “New House Blend.” Well done, Bluebird Tea Co.!