Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Tea Description:
Mountain Kenya is an exciting and highly invigorating tea, appropriate for those who like a strong cup of tea. For many years, we have offered this small leaf tea sourced from the Tindret Estate in Kenya. Unique in appearance and overall taste, this is one of the finest small leaf teas grown on the African continent.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am very impressed with this tea. It is strong and flavorful – just what I need this morning when I’m finding it difficult to rev up the engine and start the day.
The cut of the leaf is very small – like tiny grains of black sand! Because of the cut, I chose to steep it for a shorter time (smaller leaf bits means more surface area exposed to water, which means it brews faster), and I found that 2 minutes in my Breville made a perfect cup of tea … even though it is a CTC tea!
Bold and invigorating, this tea has a flavor that rich and well-rounded. It has a sweet, caramel-y undertone that melds wonderfully with its malty character. The closest comparison I can come up with is an Assam; it has that rich, malty quality that is very Assam-like. But, this is sweeter and without an Assam tea’s bitterness. There is some astringency to the cup, slightly dry and cleansing, and the aftertaste is lightly sweet.
This tea has got GUSTO!
Kenya Oolong from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Kenya, a country in East Africa, is known worldwide for its wildlife reserves, its lofty mountain peaks, and the high quality offerings from the country’s tea gardens and coffee plantations. For the past 10 years or so, Kenya tea producers have been focusing on more orthodox production methods to create high quality large leaf style teas. This tea is a relative newcomer to the Oolong tea market. It is grown in the Central Province District of Kirinyaga, where the rich earth and moderate climatic conditions help the plants to thrive.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a delightful Oolong. With the first sip, I noticed a fantastic apricot-peach flavor to it, reminding me a bit of a nice Formosa Oolong, but it is a bit more brisk. It is as if my treasured Formosa Oolong (Formosa Oolong was my very first Oolong, so it will always have a very special place in my heart) had a love child with a high grown Ceylon … and then moved to Kenya!
It has a pleasant sweetness, but, I find that with the astringency at the tail, the sweetness never gets to the point where it’s too much. It lasts as long as the sip lasts, and then the astringency cleanses the palate and readies it for the next sip. This tea is also earthy, and I pick up on the earthy tones especially at the start of the sip, and then the earthiness subsides into the sweet fruit notes, with a hint of flower (orchid, perhaps?) in the distance. As I continue to sip, I notice a citrus-y background begin to develop, by the end of my first cup (which is the combination of the first two infusions), the citrus-y note is well-pronounced.
This tea provided me six very wonderful infusions, and the flavors changed and shifted focus with each cup. This is a wonderfully contemplative cup, one that I could spend hours over, just examining the layers of flavor. It has such a complex character, very similar to other teas, but, different enough not to be cast into their shadows.
Cheers!
Yorkshire Harrogate Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Few teas have such rich fullness and flavor. Yorkshire Harrogate has a lightly astringent cup becomes golden bright on milk. A traditional tea that befits a Yorkshire man!
Taster’s Review:
For many tea drinkers out there – this is the kind of blend that they think of when they think of tea. It is good and strong. As in STRONG! This is the kind of tea that you’ll reach for time and time again when you want something that will invigorate you and get you going. A perfect morning cuppa!
This is definitely a masculine kind of tea, and yet, I’m discovering a wonderful complexity to this full-flavored cup. Yes, it is an incredibly bold cup of tea, I am not finding it to be too strong. Layers of flavor! A wonderful sweetness that is somewhat caramel-y (which is further enhanced by the malty tones), as well as a honey-esque sweetness.
The malty tones not only highlight the caramel-like flavors to this cup, but also its biscuit-y tones that remind me of a freshly baked loaf of yeasty bread. And despite its robust nature, it is quite smooth. It doesn’t have a strong bitter note (although I do taste a hint of savory bitterness toward mid-sip, it does not offer a powerful bite), and there is a fair amount of a slightly dry astringency. If you find the astringency to be a bit too much (I do not), it can be softened significantly with the addition of milk. In fact, it takes to this addition quite well (a drizzle of honey is quite nice too) Overall, I’m finding this to be a well-rounded cup of tea.
A right proper brew, this Yorkshire Harrogate!