With a singular focus on harvesting only the highest quality black Orthodox teas, the produce of Sakhira is poised to give the vaunted Darjeeling teas a run for their money…this is according to Yatra Tea Company’s website and I have to say that it was quite reminiscent of some Darjeelings I have sipped on in the past.
This Sakhira Estate, Nepal, First Flush from Yatra Tea Company was harvested in April of 2017. It is a black tea from the Nepal region and is of the Tippy grade or SFTGFOP1. It’s golden-yellow liquor, fragrant aroma that is highlighted with pronounced floral notes, offers an incredibly smooth taste that I found myself craving long after the cup.
I adored this tea. But I also enjoyed learning more about where the tea leaves came from which was an area approximately 12 miles from the Ilam bazaar lies the Sakhira Garden which is named for its location (Sakhejung Hill Range). This estate is relatively young (founded in 2000 by the collective efforts of a group of small farmers). The production facilities reside at 4,000 feet while the plantations that provide tea to the factory are perched at an altitude of 6,000 feet.
I can just imagine looking out into these gardens while sipping on a delightful cup of this tea from Yatra Tea Co. Lovely!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Yatra Tea Company
Description
This tea doesn’t appear to be available currently but click below for teas that are!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Grand Keemun/Simple Loose Leaf. . . .
Kee-mun, Kee-mun, Kee-mun…tell me…ya love me! Grand Keemun from Simple Loose Leaf Tea Company is a mighty fine…no muss-no fuss…sort of black tea to start your day!
I’ve only had a few teas from Simple Loose Leaf and so far I have enjoyed all of the ones I have tried.
Grand Keemun black tea comes from the Qimen County of Huangshan City, in China. The name Keemun comes from an older spelling of Qimen, pronounces “Chee-men”. Learn something new every day, eh? But what about the ‘senses’ of this tea?
This is a lighter black based tea with stone fruit – peach, maybe – and slightly smoky notes on the nose with a gentle, malty, non-astringent taste reminiscent of unsweetened cocoa.
This is the sort of black tea that would most likely please the masses. I would be proud to have it in my ‘share with friends’ section of my tea collection – any day of the week!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Description
Grand Keemun black tea comes from the Qimen County of Huangshan City, in China. The name Keemun comes from an older spelling of Qimen, pronounces “Chee-menâ€.
Keemun is a lighter tea with characteristic stone fruit and slightly smoky notes in the aroma and a gentle, malty, non-astringent taste reminiscent of unsweetened cocoa. Best served hot with a spot of milk.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Nonpareil Fujian Black Tea/Teavivre. . . .
This story begins with a tragedy. A tea tragedy.
What is a tea tragedy, you may ask? A tea tragedy is anything tea related that breaks your heart a little bit – or a lot – like dropping the tin and spilling the last of a now-discontinued tea, or forgetting you were steeping a tea you were looking forward to and ruining it, or failing to read the instructions on a special tea that doesn’t go by “the usual parameters.”
The last was my tragedy. I was looking forward to this tea and didn’t look at the instructions. I assumed the sample pouch was heavier than it was and made 22 ounces of tea with enough leaf for twelve. All was not lost, and the tea was nice but it was obviously not all it was supposed to be.
To make up for my blunder, I had a gongfu session with this tea this morning. Many of the finest teas are really good steeped Western style but downright gorgeous gongfu. I gave it the full treatment – traditional Asian music playing, a tea tray on the carpet, and a surprise guest – a ladybug – who wandered around my linen tea towel the whole morning!
To begin: Steep one – much thicker mouth feel than the underleafed Western cup as one would expect. The honey notes are intense. If someone else had prepared this, and said to me “By the way, I took the liberty of adding some honey to the tea,” I would have believed them. The aroma was that sweet and the feel that thick, but not sickeningly sweet. Honey overwhelms me easily, and this was a lovely, natural taste.
Steep two – Oops. Minor tea tragedy. I got lost in thought for just a moment and slightly oversteeped. And I only had to pay attention for twenty seconds! But it turned out to be one of my favorite steeps. Now the baked sweet potato is joined by a hint of orange and the flavor is even more intense than the first steep. The honey aroma is still there, and the sweetness.
Steep three and onward – increasing the time a bit for each steep, this 5 grams of leaf continues to deliver. On steep eight I do see a noticeable decrease in color but the aroma is still at a desirable level. Perhaps because the sweet potato flavor is fading, a light briskness is now present. And on steep nine, I know it is time to stop. The color has lightened further, and the body is thinner. Still good and still drinkable, nevertheless it is time to stop, and to sit back and enjoy the lingering flavors of the tea.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
Thick, full bodied texture with pure and clean profile
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Grapefruit Ginger Granita from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
It’s confession time again, tea-friends. I love iced tea. I ADORE it. It’s pretty much 95% of what I brew as soon as temps creep past the 60s all the way through the first frost in the fall. But while I’ll happily sip my oolongs, greens and herbals (even white teas!) plain and pure, I usually need a little something extra in my black iced tea to jazz it up. And *usually* this is either a squeeze of citrus fruit, or a dash of lemonade.
Now, don’t get me wrong– there is nothing negative about a delicious Arnold-Palmer-style tea. But I’d like to be able to sip a black tea straight from time to time, as I hold some silly tea-purist-standard up in my mind. Not many teas make that possible, but oh, this one makes up for them all. This bright Ceylon black is fresh and vibrant, and the ginger and grapefruit notes literally sing– this blend is fresh, fruity, with a hint of warm and spice from the ginger that translates surprisingly well to the iced cup. There’s something almost fizzy (I think it’s that ginger again) in this brew that is so incredibly refreshing.
For those of you whose iced tea habits have lent themselves more towards the kiddie-cocktail-side (ahem, moi) in the past, give this one a shot with no added goodies. It’ll made an un-sullied iced tea convert out of you yet!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This blend is sold out but click below for more information about this and other A Quarter To Tea Blends
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Chai/Davids Tea. . . . .
Recently I was teaching my brother’s girlfriend how to bake. We might have gotten a little excited though because we ended up making 5 different types of cookies and some walnut fudge. As a result of the fudge, we were left with just a small amount of sweetened condensed milk hanging out in the fridge. Since I’m not quite sure what anyone would have done with it, I thought I’d experiment a bit and try using it in tea…particularly a chai tea and with the recent release of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Chai is what immediately came to mind. I planned on using the 52 Teas version of Pumpkin Chai but since I haven’t had it before, I didn’t want to use majority of the packet I had (if not the whole packet) for something that might not turn out. So that’s why I landed on using this Pumpkin Chai tea by DAVIDsTEA instead, a tea that I have actually blogged about before on SororiTea Sisters.
When I looked up recipes for incorporating condensed milk into tea, none were really clear and a lot suggested using it in an iced tea. I decided to go with the iced tea plan and then sort of just winged it. I used 3 perfect teaspoons of leaf in 6 oz of water, steeped per company directions. I filled an 8 oz glass 2/3 of the way with ice. I then put a giant teaspoonful of sweetened condensed milk. When I poured the tea over it, the ice melted but the milk sort of just went to the bottom so I stirred the crap out of it, and since it didn’t quite fill the glass, I topped it with some whipped cream, and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
So, since DAVIDsTEA Pumpkin Chai is caramelly, and condensed milk is sweet, and whipped cream is sweet, this was one sweet drink. Not cloying like one would expect but definitely not for those who don’t like sugar. As for me, I’m not bothered by it. The caramel is really boosted here, it’s like drinking liquid caramel actually, with a nice pop of the spices, especially the cinnamon and clove, at the end of the sip. It’s actually quite good but I can’t help but feel this would be even better as a hot tea. Something tells me that would bring out the spices more, creating a richer drink with more contrast between the tea and the condensed milk. Hot, and perhaps a more traditional Chai that doesn’t highlight a caramel sweetness.
So all in all, this experiment worked out quite well I’d say. And since I still have condensed milk left, I’ll probably continue experimenting and try to perfect a recipe.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
Let’s face it, the best thing about fall is the return of pumpkin spiced lattes. And this rich black tea is the perfect way to kick off the season. It’s got all the warmth of cinnamon and cloves, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy. For a true autumn treat, top it up with steamed milk and stir in a spoonful of brown sugar. It’ll make you wish it were fall year round.
