Today was an early morning for no other reason than my body decided to wake up before 6 am. Typically I have to fight to get out of bed for work but today, when I could have slept to all hours of the day, my body decided to wake up at the crack of dawn. That’s okay but it makes for a long day and since I don’t drink coffee, I turned to this tea, Tea-Historic Signature Blend, to keep me awake.
The dry leaf is a lovely blend of dark and traditional Indian Assam leaves and the little golden snails of Yunnan tea. Brewed for 2 minutes in 200 degree water, this steeps up a nice golden-bronze color.
Flavorwise, this is a little brisk and a lot of malt. It stays smooth and has really nice bready notes that make this comforting and a touch sweet. At times I get wisps of smoke but it is rather minimal for those who fear that element. It is really an easy tea to drink, an every-day-sort-of-tea since its got enough flavor to keep things interesting but nothing is so bold that one would quickly tire of it.
This is just an all around nice tea. I don’t reach for straight black teas often but this is one I can see myself enjoying again and again.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea-Historic
Description
The medium leaves of the bold Assam add a brightness to your cup while the golden curls of the Yunnan golden snails mellow it all out. A great way to start your morning with a gentle natural sweet smokiness or to help power you through the afternoon.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mesozoic Malt from Tea Historic. . . . .
More times than not, I reach for flavored teas though every now and again it’s nice to have a plain black tea. I would have never said that when I first started drinking teas because every non-flavored tea I tried was just not for me. It is interesting how tastes change overtime.
This particular tea is accurately named: Mesozoic Malt as this is incredibly malty. It has a bit of a briskness to it that is good for the morning without getting bitter or astringent. The flavor, in addition to the malt and briskness, is sweet and reminiscent of molasses.
As the tea cools, the briskness does get stronger so for my tastes this is best hot. Nonetheless, it makes for a great pick-me-up.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Historic
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Namring Special Autumn Darjeeling Black from Teabox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
Autumnals from Darjeeling are known for their smooth and aromatic make. This blend tugs at the senses with its rich floral bouquet, although retrained. While light in cup, this tea impresses with its fullness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Teabox has some pretty impressive teas and I have to say this one is fabulous and perfect for the chaotic week or so we’ve had in my family!
This tea had such a lovely almost floral aroma to it while it steeped. I steeped the tea per the instructions on the package and have to say they resulted in one gorgeous cuppa!
I love my Darjeelings for the lovely well balanced and smooth flavors they offer. I don’t like I’ve come across one I don’t like yet. This one (like I said) had a lovely floral aroma but the flavors were full blown malty with a hint of a citrus touch here and there. One of those whole mouth feel sort of teas that really help you ease into your evening with class. But be warned, this tea is one that will be come astringent quite quickly and will leave you with a rather mouth drying tea if you don’t goble it up while it is freshly brewed.
Another stunning example of the wonderful teas Teabox has to offer!
Palampore from The Tea Shelf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Shelf
Tea Description:
This whole leaf tea comes from the beautiful Kangra Valley nestled in the lower slopes of the Dhauladhar Range in the Himalayas. Wiry, green and olive, these short vermicelli shaped leaves exude a distinct aroma of mountain flowers, with a prominent lavender nose. Once brewed, it envelops you with delicate citrus notes and an explosion of flower bouquet, with a delightfully long after taste. A special tea with a lot of depth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow. Just Wow. This is going to be a memorable tea for sure.
If you aren’t familiar with them, The Tea Shelf was founded in 2014 by a team of tea lovers who wanted to convert the world to tea drinkers. A very worthy mission indeed!
The Palampore is a lovely black tea that gives you the warm fuzzies from the very beginning. If I hadn’t read about the tea, at first glance, I would have thought this tea was a green/black tea varietal. The tea leaves are very reminiscent of those blends.
Brewed up per the instructions on the package, I allowed the tea to cool for a few moments before diving in and getting into the brew. What hits you first is the malty notes with a slightly astringent tone. Next is this smooth well balanced silky feel coats your tongue. Towards the end of the sip are slight hints of a floral notes. I am not really picking up the citrus notes like the description says but I’m a-ok with that. This tea is marvelous. One that really gives you the tea fuzzies and makes you remember why you love tea so much. The taste really envelopes you into a soothing and calming setting giving you a moment to really sit back and enjoy the moment!
Snowflake Kenyan Earth from Williamson Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Williamson Tea
Tea Description:
Our take on the classic English Breakfast. Kenyan Earth is named after the coppery red soils that symbolize Kenya and this bright, brisk cup of tea. Grown on the high altitude slopes of Kapchorua and picked in the early morning sunshine our Kenyan Earth is an awakening, full bodied liquor that stimulates the body and mind.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Before you read my review. You have to take a look at the tea tin this tea comes in. That tin is gorgeous! Makes me want to place several orders for the tins alone. Not sure what I would do with them but who cares, they are stunning 🙂
Ok, the tea geek out is over and we can move on to the tea itself. Ha!
Williamson Tea is a tea I’ve never tried before. I’ve see and heard other reviews and pictures of their tea before but I just haven’t ever ordered from them. I have a feeling that is soon to change.
This particular Snowflake Kenyan Earth tea that I tried was tea bagged form and I have to say, you could see some pretty huge tea leaves hanging out in each tea pyramid. The tea itself has a nice sweetened aroma which I found a little difference since this is supposed to be a breakfast tea. Typically those tend to be a bit more malty and astringent.
Brewed this up with water freshly boiled and allowed the tea to sit a tad too long, totally my bad, multi-tasking failed me! But after what I’m guessing was about a 7 minute steep, I took my first sip.
For being a tea that I oversteeped, you really couldn’t tell at all! This tea was delicious at all fronts. Malty and rich with a slightly earth flavor here and there. This is the kind of tea that kicks your taste buds into gear! So rich and indulging. The tea was on the point of asking for a touch of cream or milk to really drink it proper. Towards the end while it cooled and became astringent (drink this one up hot if you don’t like astringent teas), there seemed to be a need for sweetening but wow. What a lovely tea to really give me a change of pace from the flavored teas I have been drinking. I’m not sure where that sweetness was coming from when I first checked the tea out but I have to say, this cuppa was just fantastic.
This is the kind of tea you want to greet you first thing in the morning!