Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Supple Skin Boutique
Tea Description:
The liquor has a typical lively India green tea taste. Front of the pallete flavor. The word means ‘stone streams’. Putharjhora is in the plains beneath the hills of Darjeeling, India. The Putharjhora gardens are famously home to the wild elephants.
Learn more about this green tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this two times now, the first time I brewed it, I brewed it at 175°F and for just 1 minute 30 seconds. That’s my usual “go-to” brew parameters for green teas, so I went with that. But, really, the flavor was very lacking. I was worried I had a bad batch or something. But, I didn’t give up on it, and today, I changed the parameters a bit: 160°F and a steep time of 3 minutes 30 seconds. This has made all the difference in the world!
The flavor is not just there now, but, it’s REALLY there. The difference between the two cups is like night and day! Apples and oranges! All those other cliched comparisons.
This has a very soothing quality to it. It is a very green tasting tea – that is to say, it has a grassy tone to it, but not a bitter grass taste. More like a savory grass taste, with a lovely sweet undertone. There is hints of raw spice – gentle, not spicy. Like green peppercorns or something. I also taste a slight woodsy taste to this, and a floral note. The fruity tones start off really soft – almost indistinct! But as I continue to sip, I notice the fruit flavors developing.
There is a nice astringency to this toward the finish, leaving the palate feeling clean. The aftertaste is slightly vegetative and sweet. This one is great iced too! As the tea cools, the flavors become really smooth and unified – slightly buttery taste and texture, smooth vegetative taste that is less grassy now. Overall, a very refreshing cuppa.
I guess it just goes to show you, if you are disappointed by that first cup of a new-to-you tea, don’t give up on it. Try it again, try adjusting the parameters somewhat and you may end up with a very satisfying cup of tea!
Nilgiri Frost Oolong from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Nilgiri Frost Oolong originates from Nilgiri, in Southern India and is graded TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe). Since this tea is grown at a high elevation, the leaves are exposed to a light frost during some nights of the winter months. The long thin chocolate colored leaves are hand twisted and produce a weighty body. This smooth tea has notes of citrus, peach, pecan, and oak. There are many qualities similar to a Nilgiri black tea; however, the frost oolong is much gentler and sweeter. This tea is produced in very limited quantities due to the short harvest period and special conditions that must exist.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is not your average flowery Oolong! In fact, this is the Oolong I’d recommend to those who tend to shy away from Oolong teas because they find them to be too floral tasting or too delicate. This has a smoother, robust flavor that reminds me a bit of an masculine, aged bourbon that has been aged in an oak cask … but without that strong alcohol taste!
OK … so that is more of me imagining what a good, strong, aged bourbon might taste like, because I’m certainly no connoisseur, and hopefully, I didn’t come off sounding like I had no idea of what I was talking about. For all I know, bourbon doesn’t taste really masculine or woody or anything else. I’m just shooting from the hip here, imagining how this might compare to the flavor of a top-notch bourbon.
But, what I do experience – immediately – when I taste this tea is the peach tones. So distinct and sweet and yummy! There are also notes of citrus, just as the description above suggests. At first, the citrus notes revealed themselves to be the sweeter side of citrus, but, as I continue to sip, I notice a clear sour note that hits right before mid-sip, and just as quickly as it appears, it disappears. It seems to just drop in for a moment, to offer an interesting contrast.
Nutty flavors, yes, I get those too. Lovely woody notes as I mentioned earlier… and virtually no floral-y notes whatsoever. Even if this does not measure up to the bourbon qualities that I mentioned earlier, this is definitely masculine and absolutely fantastic. And , actually, I think it doesn’t HAVE to measure up, because I’d rather drink this than the finest, most expensive bourbon that’s out there!
This is definitely one of the best “darker” Oolong teas I’ve ever tasted! If you love Oolong like I do, you really MUST try this one.
Sweet Ginger Peach Tea from Revolution
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Revolution
Tea Descripton:
Revolution Tea’s Sweet Ginger Peach is a flavor-packed, original tea made from fine Ceylon and Assam teas, fresh peach flavoring and ginger root. This hand-blended wonder has emerged as the most popular flavor in Revolution Tea’s award-winning line of teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned before (many times!), I tend to be skeptical of bagged teas. Even when they’re in the new(ish) pyramid sachets that allow more room than the traditional tea bag does for the teas to expand as they steep, I find myself less than enthused about them. However, every once in a while I come across a decent bagged tea – and on the rare occasion, I’ll even find one that’s better than decent – like the teas from Revolution.
I’ve not had a lot of experience with Revolution’s teas, before tasting this tea, I think that I’ve tried one of Revolution’s teas … and that was a white tangerine tea that I drank at PF Chang’s during a recent visit – and I didn’t even realize it was a Revolution Tea … I heard it from a friend who commented on my review of my visit to PF Chang’s! And after visiting the Revolution website, I can’t find this tea, so I’m not sure if this tea is available anywhere else other than PF Chang’s.
Anyway … this black tea based Sweet Ginger Peach Tea is delicious. I may have oversteeped it slightly, because I forgot to set the timer (I think this is one of the dangers of becoming too spoiled by my Breville One-Touch! When I brew tea without the Breville tea maker, I sometimes forget that I need a timer!) however, the flavor doesn’t seem to be affected by the oversteeping. This surprises me because it is an Assam and Ceylon tea blend, and Assam teas tend to get bitter when they’re subjected to prolonged steep times.
The flavor of the black tea is dominate. It is rich, flavorful and well-rounded, but it doesn’t overpower the flavor of peach and ginger. The ginger starts off rather soft, but, by mid-cup, I notice that the ginger flavor really starts to pick up … it’s got a little bit of a peppery kick to it! It’s not overly spicy, though. The peach is sweet and juicy tasting, and offers a pleasing contrast to the heat from the ginger.
I’m really glad I got the opportunity to try this tea – it’s really good, and the more I sip it, the more I’m liking it. This would be excellent iced too!
Indian Meghalaya Cloud Tea from Rare Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Co.
Tea Description:
From high in the cloudy hills between Assam and Darjeeling this unique tea really holds the best of both regions – light and floral with deep malty notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh. My. Goodness! This tea is really amazing.
I have had this tea for a little while now, receiving it at the same time that I received the Royal Air Force tea from Rare Tea Co. But I wanted to save trying it for a day when I was ready to experience something really exceptional, because I was confident that this would be just as exquisite as the RAF tea. I tend to do that with tea companies when I try the first tea from them, if it really impresses me, I mean REALLY impresses me, I tend to place very high expectations on them for future tastings. Sometimes this leaves me vulnerable to disappointment, fortunately, that is not the case with this tea. This is indeed EXCEPTIONAL.
The website did not tell me whether this was a black tea or something else, but on Steepster, this tea was added to the website by “Rare Tea Lady” so I figured that someone from the company added it and they categorized it as black, so I went with it. But that doesn’t mean that I brewed this the same way I would brew a black tea … because something about the name immediately made me think “Darjeeling” so I chose to brew this the way I’d brew a Darjeeling, using a lower temperature – in this case 195°F – and steeping it for 2 1/2 minutes. And I’m really glad that I did, because I can’t imagine this tea tasting any better than it does.
This has such a pleasing sweetness to it, and it is remarkably smooth from start to finish. It does have a lot of Darjeeling-esque qualities to it, it has a strong fruit taste to it, with hints of muscatel. But it doesn’t have that sharp astringency that so many other Darjeelings tend to have. There is some astringency to this, but it is very slight. More like it’s “trying” to be astringent like the other Darjeeling teas, and it almost gets there but, it doesn’t quite make it … does that make sense? Instead it is slightly tangy toward the finish and that tangy note morphs into a clear citrus-y tone in the aftertaste.
I really love this tea. It is so smooth and delicious. This is the kind of tea that you’d serve to very special guests that you’d want to impress. I find that this is best served hot – but not too hot. Allow it to cool a few moments (maybe 2 minutes) before you take your first sip, and then prepare to be taken on a beautiful journey in the Clouds!
Organic Bombay Chai from The Boston Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Boston Tea Company
Tea Description:
You’ll do the cha-cha over our Chai tea! Ever so popular, worldwide, Chai is a centuries’ old tradition of Indian culture. Boast to your friends about Boston Tea’s aromatic, cheery blend of black tea with sweet fragrant spices. Simply add a pinch of sugar to bring out its rich flavorful spices of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and anise seeds. Top with a generous splash of milk and sensually savor each sip!
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
Seldom do I make chai lattes anymore, usually, when I drink a chai, I drink it straight. Sure, I still do love the creamy, spicy goodness of a chai latte, but I’ve been discovering just how lovely a chai tea is without the milk. When brewed in boiling water, and just a touch of turbinado sugar is added to enhance the spices. It becomes a lovely, warm and spicy blend that is delicious no matter what the weather is like outside – at the moment, it’s 72°F outside – a bit on the warm side and the sun is shining brightly, but, I still find this warm, spicy chai (served hot, no less!) to be absolutely refreshing.
When I first opened the package, I could smell the cardamom. It had a delicious, exotic warmth as well as a hint of bright citrus tones and I could feel my mouth start to water just from experiencing the aroma of this chai. I stood impatiently over my timer today … I WANTED – perhaps even NEEDED – this tea!
And this chai was indeed worth the wait. It is gently sweet from the turbinado sugar (I added about a half a teaspoon), but more than the sweetness I notice the depth of the enchanting spices. I like that the ginger and cinnamon do not overwhelm the cup – which is so common in chai blends, it seems – they are more of a background flavor. The cardamom and the cloves tend to be the strongest spices here. The anise is also in the background, offering its unique sweetness to the overall flavor.
I like that I can taste the tea here too. It is rich, a little malty and smooth. It is not bitter (although, I wouldn’t recommend over-steeping it, as that may cause bitterness), and it finishes with a tangy astringency. The spices compliment the black tea quite nicely, providing a cup that is robust with black tea flavor as well as invigorating spices.
I really enjoyed this lively chai, and I like that it is available in both loose leaf and sachet form. At the time of this writing, I noticed that this is currently out of stock – I hope their supply is replenished soon!