Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: New Mexico Tea Co.
Tea Description:
A full bodied tea that complements the coconut beautifully. A little milk helps bring out the coconut flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! Do you like coconut? If you do, you’ve GOT to try this tea.
Seriously, this is one of the best coconut flavored black teas I think I’ve ever tasted. The flavor is so very true to the fruit.
The aroma of the dry leaf does smell a little … artificial. It has a sort of coconut candy kind of scent to it, it is sweet and coconut-y smelling … it doesn’t really smell chemical or anything, but the sweet notes give it a more confectionery fragrance. But, I am glad that the artificial notes end with the aroma … because the flavor is sensational.
The black tea base is – according to the label on the package – an Organic Korakundah estate black tea which means it’s a Nilgiri base. A good choice, in my opinion, because the result is a rich, robust, full-flavored tea that offers a very enjoyable, solid background of flavor … but without being too intrusive on the flavor of the coconut. Instead, the rich, somewhat malty notes of the Nilgiri enhance the coconut tones, making it taste thicker and creamier.
The coconut flavor here is strong and very coconut-y. As I said before – it is very true to the fruit. This tastes like TRUE coconut. Sweet and creamy and very yummy.. It is sweet, but it doesn’t taste “candy sweet.” Quite simply, it tastes like coconut.
This is one of the better coconut teas that I’ve tasted, and one that I’d recommend to those looking for the ideal coconut tea.
Organic Korakundah from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
This green tea originates from the Korakundah Estate in Nilgiri, India and is grown at an elevation of 8,000 feet. Organic Korakundah is an FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe) grade. The Korakundah Estate is biodynamic, pesticide free, and socially responsible. This tea is very unique and almost difficult to describe. Notes of bitter greens and baby spinach are present with some smokiness. It is lightly astringent yet somewhat sweet.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this tea a couple of times now, and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s a refreshing change from the sweeter Chinese green teas that I’ve tasted. This has a sweet flavor to it too, but, it’s quite different from the sweeter, creamier type green teas that I so often review.
This tea has a very interesting balance between bitter and sweet. The flavor is quite vegetal, with notes of grass, smoked spinach and dandelion greens. Yes, that’s right, I said “smoked” spinach, rather than steamed spinach. It has that mild, sweet flavor that one would experience with steamed baby spinach, but there is a smoky tone to this too, so imagine if the baby spinach were smoked instead of steamed … what that might taste like. That’s what I taste with this tea.
I love the complexity of the “green” flavor of this tea – it doesn’t just taste “fresh” or “vegetative” … it has a palate-pleasing sweetness that contrasts nicely with bitter tones, and a hint of smoky flavor that is also quite “green” tasting. There is a smooth astringency at the tail that is quite different from the astringency in other teas too. I often suggest an astringency is “dry” or “tangy” … but this is different. It is smooth with a hint of sourness to it … almost tangy, but not quite. It leaves the palate feeling clean and very refreshed.
A lovely green tea – uniquely different from the Chinese and Japanese greens, but every bit as interesting.
Organic Korakundah Estate Nilgiri FOP Black Tea from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Product Description:
This very fine black tea is produced at the Korakundah estate in the Nilgiri region of southern India, surrounded by pristine streams and virgin forests and nearly crowning the Nilgiri ranges at 8,000 feet above sea level. This organic and Fair Trade Certified tea is composed of twisted leaves of uniform size and deep brown color. As is typical of high-quality Nilgiris, the infusion offers a straightforward but delicate flavor, floral and brisk.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a delicious Nilgiri.
It brews to a beautiful coppery color, and the flavor is bright. I would classify it as a full-flavored tea that falls somewhere between a Ceylon and an Assam: not quite as bold as an Assam, but with a bit more gusto than a typical Ceylon. It has some of those deep, baked-bread kind of flavors that I would typically taste in an Assam, as well as a crispness (briskness?) that reminds me a bit of a Ceylon.
There is also a fantastic floral note in the background. Not overly floral, but, it certainly evokes thoughts of a flowery meadow growing somewhere near the tea estate, gently weaving hints of flavor into the breeze that then lightly caress the tea leaves.
Something I did not know, but, learned today as I visited the Arbor Teas website to read more about this tea, is that Nilgiri tea is an ideal tea to prepare as an iced tea as it is less prone to cloud. Interesting! This would taste great iced, too, as I find the flavor tends to smooth out as it cools … this is even tastier chilled than it is hot. It would be lovely with a thin slice of lemon or lime!
Spice with Green Tea from Chai Wallah
Tea Type: Green Tea (Chai)
Where To Buy: Chai Wallah
Product Description:
A blend of our organic chai spice and Fair Trade Organic Green Tea from Korakundah Estate in Nilgiri, South India . Korakundah was the first certified organic Nilgiri tea estate. Established in 1922, the garden has become one of India’s premier organic tea estates. Tigers, panthers and elephant herds are spotted regularly in the dense jungle surrounding the pristine garden. This chai is smooth and mellow unlike its Assam stablemate! The chai should not be boiled or simmered but steeped otherwise it will reduce the beneficial properties of the tea.
Tasters Review:
I have to say…Spice with Green Tea from Chai Wallah surprised me!
The Green Tea is perfect! The Spice is intense but works very well! This is very flavorful and the primary spice that works the runway is the black pepper! It’s a true and natural black pepper taste and it’s spicy-good! The Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Cloves all seem to be together as the secondary flavor. Everything is very natural tasting and I really appreciate that about this green chai!
This is VERY Nicely done!
