Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: TeaGschwendner
Tea Description:
Pure Sicilian lemon oil powers this classic black tea.
Ingredients: Black tea from South India, lemon peel and natural lemon oil
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Lemon flavored teas are not typically my “go to” flavored tea, mostly because they seem … so ordinary. You know? I mean, lemon is the traditional garnish for a cup of tea. You go to a restaurant, and they’re likely to put a lemon slice on your glass of iced tea, or serve you a small bowl of lemon wedges with your hot tea. So, when a friend sent me a sampling of this Lemon Black Tea from TeaGschwendner, I accepted it happily and with appreciation, but, I wasn’t all that excited to try a lemon flavored black tea.
But this lemon tea is quite refreshing! The lemon flavoring here is more sweet than it is tart, reminding me more of a lemon curd than of the freshly squeezed juice from a lemon. It has a bright, zesty flavor that I’d get from that freshly squeezed lemon, but, it doesn’t have the pucker-y tartness of it. I like that.
The black tea is a smooth, even-tempered sort of tea, which leads me to suspect that this is probably a Ceylon base. It has a good flavor and it is a pleasant, medium-bodied black tea. Sort of mellow, and perhaps it is this mild attitude that I get from the tea that makes the lemon seem less intense.
It’s a very tasty lemon tea – this is one I’d recommend for iced tea brewing because it has that really smooth, well-rounded flavor that would work well for an iced tea. It’s also quite nice served hot.
New Vithanakanda Ceylon SFTGFOP-1 Black Tea from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
With this orange pekoe offering from Sri Lanka, Kally Tea again offers what we feel is the best of the best. This is graded as SFTGFOP-1. This translates to “Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe-1. This tea is wirey with extra-long leaves and nice faint golden tipped leaves. A refined and respectable tea from one of the most honored estates.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m not always particularly excited to try a pure Ceylon tea, mostly because, Ceylon is generally the tea that is used when creating a flavored black tea because Ceylon tends to be a rather even-tempered, moderate, mild-tasting tea. Brisk, but not bold … just kind of … there. You know what I’m saying?
However, this New Vithanakanda Ceylon SFTGFOP-1 Black Tea from Kally Tea is an exception to that … this Ceylon has some real GUSTO … which really took me by surprise.
Yes, this tea does have many of the qualities I’ve come to expect from a high quality Ceylon – it is a even-tempered tea, but, I certainly wouldn’t call it mild! It has a lovely robust, malty quality like an Assam might offer, but it is not as aggressive as an Assam. It has a very smooth, even flavor to it … smooth from start to finish. Toward the finish, I notice hints of citrus … it’s a really refreshing finish.
A really delightful Ceylon that tastes great hot or iced. I found myself wanting more when my cup was empty! One of the nicest pure Ceylon teas I’ve had in a while – I recommend this one highly.
Hattialli Golden Lion Assam Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Hattialli Golden Lion Assam originates from the Hattialli Tea Estate in the Dibrugarh District in the South Bank, Assam region of India. The name Hattialli comes from the words “Hatti Alli”, which means Elephant Road. This name came about because of a nearby elephant camp. The Hattialli Tea Estate is known for golden tippy handpicked teas and the balance of briskness and mellowness of their teas. The golden tips of this tea are longer than the black leaves, which imparts a more golden appearance. This phenomenal malty second flush Assam has baked bread and oak notes. Sweet potato and dried apricot notes are also detectable with fleeting lighter floral notes. There is a fruity sweetness and light astringency present in this truly exceptional second flush Assam.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I find myself in total agreement with the last five words of the above description – this Hattialli Golden Lion Assam Tea from Butiki Teas is indeed a truly exceptional second flush Assam. Wow!
When hot, the flavor is sweet and malty. There is a slight caramel-y note to it, reminding me of the flavor of the warm, caramelized edges of a freshly baked loaf of bread. There are hints of woodsy tones, and it is a very cozy, sort of autumnal taste. The kind of flavors you like to warm up to on a chilly autumn day … but, you still find it perfectly alright to cozy up to these flavors on a warm summer morning too!
As the tea begins to cool (slightly … it’s still hot, just not quite as hot as when I first poured the cup) the flavors of sweet apricot begin to emerge. I’ve tasted quite a few Assam teas in my years as a tea drinker, but, I can’t recall such a distinct apricot flavor from a pure Assam as the taste I’m getting from this cup of Assam. It’s remarkable (and YUMMY!)
The description also suggests notes of sweet potato, and I get those too, but, it isn’t as well-defined as the apricot. To me, the apricot really stands out.
There are a lot of great Assam teas out there, and there are definitely a few that I favor over others … this one definitely deserves to be one of those favorites! It’s really good. I would be very happy to start every day with this tea in my cup!
PRODUCT REVIEW: French Plum Indian Black Tea Cold-Brewed Concentrate from Kickstand
Product Information:
Where to Buy: Kickstand
Product Description:
The Organic French Plum Indian Black Tea is a scented-blended tea. This type of black tea is scented with the essence of French plums plucked at their peak.
About Kickstand Tea Concentrate:
You can serve it Hot or Cold, mixed with milk, sugar, alcohol or even adding it to a ice cream or cake mix. Prepare it to your taste, the possibilities are endless.
Taster’s Review:
Before I get started on the product review for this French Plum Indian Black Tea Cold-Brewed Concentrate from Kickstand, I have about how I had heard about this product. I occasionally buy from Fab and as a result I get their emails all the time, and Kickstand cold-brew tea and coffee concentrates were being offered on Fab this week, and I was thinking about ordering some of this tea concentrate to give it a try. That SAME day, I go to the post office, and in my PO Box, waiting for me, is a sample bottle of this tea concentrate, their new “for summer” scented tea to review. Wow! Talk about being in-sync with a tea company!
The bottles of this tea concentrate are very attractive – they’re packaged in dark amber bottles that are reminiscent of “medicine man” type of bottles. They hold 32 ounces of cold-brewed tea concentrate which is to be diluted with a ratio of one part water to one part tea concentrate, and then poured over ice. So, you can make one glass of iced tea, or a whole pitcher if you want.
Since I had a pitcher handy, I decided to just go ahead and prepare the whole bottle of concentrate (that way, I don’t have everyone asking me, “hey, mom, what’s in that bottle in the fridge?”) And the 32 ounce bottle dilutes into a half-gallon pitcher just perfectly (duh, right?). However, this produces a rather strong glass of iced tea if you don’t pour it over ice … so I recommend doing so. And if you prefer not to add ice (or if your iced tea is cold from being in the fridge) you might want to add a little more water to dilute it further, because it’s rather strong.
Since I had just diluted the tea, I went ahead and poured the iced tea over ice, and while my first couple of sips (before the ice started to melt) was strong, now that the ice has melted, I find this to be just right. Strong … but not unappealingly so. The tea is robust. It’s very refreshing and brisk! It has a sweetness to it and a hint of malty undertones. Very flavorful! The concentrate has a citric acid added to it … which I am guessing is meant to help preserve the tea, and this adds a pleasing citrus tone to the tea (like someone squeezed a lemon wedge in my iced tea).
And then there is the very appealing plum note. It is tangy and sweet. It isn’t quite like the flavor of plum that I’m used to (like the plums that I usually purchase in the produce section of my grocery store), instead, it’s more of a savory plum note with a certain sweet-tart taste that I find very enjoyable.
On a side note, I noticed that after pouring the whole bottle of tea concentrate into my pitcher, there were “floaters” that looked a lot like citrus pulp. I don’t know if that’s what it is. I strained the tea into my glass so that I would avoid getting the floaters in my tea, but I didn’t examine these floaters further.
I really like this product! I especially like that the concentrate is NOT sweetened … so often concentrates like this are so overly sweet that you just can’t taste the tea. I like that this product allows me to decide whether or not I want sweetener. I also like that it’s organic! I’m really glad I got a chance to try it.
Lord Petersham Black Tea Blend from The Devotea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
This is our Mother’s Day Tea. One of the Amoda moms has been asking for a black tea “that’s not boring”. So we found one for her.
There’s 7 different black teas layered in here! Medium-body, medium-strength, full taste. There’s citrus, malt and honey and that amazing smoky character that likes to linger.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
I have wanted to try this Lord Petersham Black Tea Blend from The Devotea for a long time now – and the monthly tea tasting box from Amoda Tea made that possible for me today! Thank you, Amoda Tea!
The Devotea maintains an active presence on Tea Trade, and that’s our home here on SororiTea Sisters too, so I’ve been hearing a lot about this tea blend. I tried to win it back when the Devotea was hosting regular giveaways on Tea Trade, but, I never won anything. Bummer! I have been meaning to order from them for a while, but, every time I have funds available in my “Can Buy Tea” budget, somehow, I forget to order this!
Now I HAVE to order more of this, because this blend is FREAKING awesome! Seriously … it’s extraordinarily good. I know I’ve said that this tea or that tea is good, and I’ve meant it. But, if you have room for only one black tea in your tea cupboard – this is a tea you should definitely consider as your one and only. I’ve encountered a few “one and only” black tea blends … this tea blend is absolutely a contender for that distinction as well.
I think that Amoda Tea describes this tea well when they say that it’s medium-body, medium-strength with full-flavor. It is all those things. It doesn’t taste or feel too heavy or overwhelming. It isn’t one of those “kick you in the backside” kind of teas that you would turn to on those mornings when you are too drowsy to focus. Instead, it’s one of those teas that you drink because you LOVE tea and you want the optimal tea experience. As I sit here and drink this, I am so astonished at how beautifully round it is. It is completely satisfying in it’s flavor.
I steeped this for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch, and this worked out perfectly. It is not overly tannic, it isn’t bitter, it is just … divinely delicious. A wonderfully balanced cuppa that tastes rich with its notes of sweet honey-like tones, malty goodness, and hints of earthy notes. There is a citrus-like finish to it. The smoky tones that Amoda Tea mentions in their description … there is just the right amount of smoke to this blend. It doesn’t taste aggressively smoky.
This is so close to perfection – this blend – that I can’t think of a black tea blend that I like better than this one at the moment. There might be one … but, this tastes so good that it is clouding any other opinion that I might have!