Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Hugo Tea
Tea Description:
Behold friends! The pure black tea blend you’ve been seeking. Morning’s Journey is my private blend of three black teas from three countries. This loose blend holds unparalleled balance and flavor, ready to sustain your adventures—no compass or knapsack required. Keep it close and brew it often.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Okay so the description says they use three types of black leaf but if I had to place a bet on it I would swear there is puerh in this blend! Perhaps, perhaps not, but when these three black teas meld together – puerh is the resulting flavor in my opinion. This is not a bad thing at all. I happen to very much enjoy puerh but I also feel that those who have never tried a puerh or those who would like to but want to dip their toes in gently should give this tea a try! Granted there may not be even a smidgen of puerh in here and if not so be it but the resulting flavors are as such:
Sweet, earthy, deep, and woodsy.
There is a marked presence of a wood flavor here, much like sandalwood that is reminiscent of some of the incense I burn, without feeling like you just inhaled a mouthful of heavy incense smoke. Its not perfume-y, so don’t fear.
Sweet yet clear and crisp notes of berry surface on the initial sip with the woodsy flavor coming out in the after taste.
There is a nice cocoa note that is most noticeable on the tip of the tongue that blends with the earlier fruit notes bringing out almost a honeyesque flavor.
This tea has almost a creamy mouthfeel yet it is bright, not thick or full.
What may be even more interesting to you regarding this tea is not even so much in the flavor profile, but how the tea will make you feel! Before I decided to review this tea this morning, I was extremely groggy. I was no where near a place where I thought I could sit and write a review. However by the second cup, somewhere mid way through it, I found myself invigorated! My eyes were no longer heavy and my mind was firing once again on all cylinders! Now granted that is what a morning tea is usually geared for, but there is a clarity to my thoughts much earlier than normal on this day. This tea works with my energy much in the same way matcha does! I am excited to have tried this and am now going to scout out what other offerings Hugo Tea has!
Hugo Tea only has a small selection of teas however if they are all this good, that is all they really need!
Note: Hugo Tea has informed me that no pu-erh has been used in this blend, which makes it all the more interesting to me!
Organic Morning’s Journey Black Tea from Hugo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Hugo Tea
Tea Description:
Behold friends! The pure black tea blend you’ve been seeking. Morning’s Journey is my private blend of three black teas from three countries. This loose blend holds unparalleled balance and flavor, ready to sustain your adventures—no compass or knapsack required. Keep it close and brew it often.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This has to be – if not THE smoothest black tea blend I’ve ever come across, then certainly one of the top three. I seriously cannot think of one that I have tasted that was smoother than this. This tea doesn’t need milk and sugar to create a smooth and creamy tasting cup – it’s like that, without additions!
So smooth and amazingly delicious is this tea that after taking the first couple of sips, I began to question whether or not it should actually be deemed a “morning” blend because it lacks that certain “kick in the cup” kind of gusto that I often look for in a breakfast blend or that all-important first cup of the day kind of tea. BUT … don’t dismiss this as not being up to par with some of those shake-you-awake kind of teas … while this tea doesn’t have that certain “shaken awake” kind of attitude, it DOES offer a more subtle approach to wakefulness.
Instead of that “kick” … what this does is wrap you with warmth, and gently invigorate you – like giving you a morning hug … so it wakes you, it just takes a kinder approach. It is a rugged, hefty tea, but, not rugged like “Rambo” who would kick your but and then ask the questions. This is more rugged like the way I’d guess Sean Connery would be … smooth, calm and collected. But still bold in its own way.
This tea has a creaminess that is malty …. mmm … caramel-y! And this is really what I notice primarily in the first couple of sips. Just this really delicious, almost decadent sort of creamy taste to the cup. Afterward, I begin to explore the many layers of flavor that this tea offers. I notice fruity notes, with flavors that range from sweet date to grape, and perhaps even a hint of sweet apple in there, but without any tartness that would be associated with any fruit. Just the sweet flavors.
Then I start to notice a chocolate-y background note. It is sweet and rich. I think I missed the chocolate-y notes in the first few sips because the caramel was so amazingly delectable that I had mistaken the hints of chocolate as part of the caramel but now I’m able to pick out the chocolate too. And now that I’m just a little more than halfway through my first cup, I start to pick up on spice notes. Slightly peppery – but only slightly – just enough to perk up the palate and get its attention, but not enough to make it taste spicy or disrupt the smooth character of the cup. Perhaps even a hint of cinnamon in the distance.
This is truly a remarkable black tea. If you’ve room only for one morning/breakfast tea in your tea cupboard, I’d recommend this one. This is one that I’d happily drink daily. It is REALLY that good.
