Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
Autumnals from Darjeeling are known for their smooth and aromatic make. This blend tugs at the senses with its rich floral bouquet, although retrained. While light in cup, this tea impresses with its fullness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Teabox has some pretty impressive teas and I have to say this one is fabulous and perfect for the chaotic week or so we’ve had in my family!
This tea had such a lovely almost floral aroma to it while it steeped. I steeped the tea per the instructions on the package and have to say they resulted in one gorgeous cuppa!
I love my Darjeelings for the lovely well balanced and smooth flavors they offer. I don’t like I’ve come across one I don’t like yet. This one (like I said) had a lovely floral aroma but the flavors were full blown malty with a hint of a citrus touch here and there. One of those whole mouth feel sort of teas that really help you ease into your evening with class. But be warned, this tea is one that will be come astringent quite quickly and will leave you with a rather mouth drying tea if you don’t goble it up while it is freshly brewed.
Another stunning example of the wonderful teas Teabox has to offer!
Organic Breakfast from TEABOX
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: TEABOX
Tea Description:
A harmonious blend, this is the kind of tea you turn to when you need a hearty cup before the start of a day.
Beaming with smooth, sweet flavors of dates and honey, and refreshing bite of coriander, every sip satiates you a little more than the next. It has just the right amount of astringency to toggle the smoothness of the tea without distorting the balance, rendering, thus, a gratifying experience.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
If you are looking for one of those eye opening brisk teas to drink in the morning, look no further! This tea is exactly what you are looking for!
Organic Breakfast is a really nice solid breakfast/anytime tea that gets your blood pumping. The caffeine is pretty high in this delight but wow is it ever tasty!
I brewed this tea up per the instructions on the pouch and was excited to try it out. The malty almost bread like notes were making me eager to try the first sip!
I was greeted with sweet bread like notes of honey. Almost a malted bread honey if that makes any sense. This is one of those teas that gives you that whole mouth feel. Really good and was hitting the spot this morning. Definitely perked me up!
Word to the wise tho, this tea becomes incredibly astringent when it cools. To the point where I had trouble drinking it. If I hadn’t been at work, this tea wouldn’t have even had a chance to cool. I would have gobbled it up right away!
Organic Arya Diamond Second Flush Darjeeling from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co
Tea Description:
One of the Arya Estate’s acclaimed ‘Jewel’ teas. The Diamond delivers the bright, beautifully balanced muscatel flavours of one of the most sought after teas in the world. The dark, twisted tea leaves have streaks of gold and fuzzy silver tips. When infused, the tea is smooth and rounded with a long, sweet aftertaste that evokes dried fruits and nuts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Today is one of those rainy days where you just want to lock yourself up in your house, curl up with a blanket, brew up some favorite tea and binge watch your favorite show. Just a day where you really just want to relax. I didn’t exactly do that but at least I was able to brew up some tea that I hadn’t experienced yet.
This particular tea is from Canton Tea Co., a tea company that always delivers wonderful flavors. I can’t remember having a negative experience with their teas yet. And I have to say, this tea delivered every note it promised in the description.
Brewed up by the package instructions, I allowed this tea to steep about 2 minutes before taking my first sip. When I did I was greeted with this gorgeous full bodied beauty with hints of fruity sweetness and an almost nutty goodness. The sweetness is hard to really identify or compare it to. It is an overall sweetness that I am getting and I could say the same for the nuttiness. So well balanced and the flavors mingled so well together that it was hard sometimes to pick them out because of how smooth the tea was. That is definitely one word to describe this tea-smooth. Smooth and well balanced. This is one of those teas you keep around the house to drink whenever you need a tea that won’t let you down. This tea delivers a gorgeous flavor. That is for sure!
Glazed Donut by 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
A VIT! Very Important Tea
I originally blended this tea as part of the Breakfast Inspired Sampler Add-On for the start-up Kickstarter campaign, but I do have a few packages of this tea remaining.
This tea was crafted with a very special tea base (a Thyolo OP1 from the Satemwa estate in Malawi). It’s a fair-trade and rainforest alliance tea – and it’s seriously good stuff!
I used this tea as the base for flavors to create a Glazed Donut like experiencece – and all I can say about this is YUM! So good!
Ingredients: single estate black tea, organic calendula petals, organic all-natural flavors.
This tea is no longer available, but check out 52Teas other black teas!
Taster’s Review:
A Glazed Donut Tea. This is one of those tea blends that had me at the first word. Glazed. Seriously. As long as it didn’t have rooibos in it, I’m in! And was lucky and received a taster pouch of this and then screwed up an order recently with 52Teas and exchanged a blend for a larger pouch of this. I am so glad I did.
This tea is the perfect way to curve your sweet tooth. I’ve drank it cold brewed, hot brewed, and as iced cubed tea, all tasting amazingly sweet and delicious!
For Hot: I brewed this tea up with fresh boiled water and allowed the tea to steep for about 4 minutes. There are definite sugary notes that I could pick up, almost vanilla like. I took my first sip and was in heaven! This doesn’t exactly taste like a glazed donut but what it does taste like is the glazing that is used for donuts! Warning, this is a very sweet tea, but it isn’t overwhelming crazy like what you would get at a restaurant. Very similar to the same sweet note you would get from eating a donut. The black tea base is very hidden and I really didn’t pick up any real hints of there being a black tea in it. Quite a nice tasty treat for after dinner when you are craving that sweet treat.
For Cold Brewed: I cold brewed this tea in my new Mason Jar Cold Brewer and let it sit overnight. In the morning I was greeted with a lovely tea that just made me smile. Again, first sip in and you get that glazed taste with notes of vanilla. The black tea is there but very subtle, more prominent than when I brewed this tea hot, but still very gentle.
For Ice Cubed Tea: I’ve started to make tea and pour it into my silicone molds for a really cool ice tea cube that I just plunk out of the mold in the morning and toss in some water. During the day the iced tea cube will melt, and I’m left with lovely tasting iced tea. Here is how I make them. I just brew up hot tea but use about twice as much tea as I normally do and then I pour the tea into a silicone ice cube mold. In the morning I have a glorious hunk of tea that I pour cold water over to enjoy iced tea all day long. Thru the day I just add more water and the ice tea cube just slowly melts turning my ice water to ice tea.
So how did this tea fair with this method? Wonderfully! Probably my favorite way to make the tea actually. You can actually taste the marvelous black tea base and note hints of what tastes like a donut where and there with that some glazed sweetness still there but toned down a notch. I’ve been drinking this tea all day and loving it.
Overall, this tea is just plain delicious and one of the reasons why I love 52Teas so much. Even tho this blend is sold out, I highly recommend you check out the others that are on the site now. I’m excited to dive into the rest of my order to see what lovelies await me!
Palampore from The Tea Shelf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Shelf
Tea Description:
This whole leaf tea comes from the beautiful Kangra Valley nestled in the lower slopes of the Dhauladhar Range in the Himalayas. Wiry, green and olive, these short vermicelli shaped leaves exude a distinct aroma of mountain flowers, with a prominent lavender nose. Once brewed, it envelops you with delicate citrus notes and an explosion of flower bouquet, with a delightfully long after taste. A special tea with a lot of depth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow. Just Wow. This is going to be a memorable tea for sure.
If you aren’t familiar with them, The Tea Shelf was founded in 2014 by a team of tea lovers who wanted to convert the world to tea drinkers. A very worthy mission indeed!
The Palampore is a lovely black tea that gives you the warm fuzzies from the very beginning. If I hadn’t read about the tea, at first glance, I would have thought this tea was a green/black tea varietal. The tea leaves are very reminiscent of those blends.
Brewed up per the instructions on the package, I allowed the tea to cool for a few moments before diving in and getting into the brew. What hits you first is the malty notes with a slightly astringent tone. Next is this smooth well balanced silky feel coats your tongue. Towards the end of the sip are slight hints of a floral notes. I am not really picking up the citrus notes like the description says but I’m a-ok with that. This tea is marvelous. One that really gives you the tea fuzzies and makes you remember why you love tea so much. The taste really envelopes you into a soothing and calming setting giving you a moment to really sit back and enjoy the moment!