Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy

Tea Description:

We don’t have a catchy intro for this tea. But it’s smooth, jolting, and flavorful. We consider this tea to be our flagship blend, perfect for the morning. Extra-strong Ceylon tea, Chinese Dianhong Gong Fu and Keemun tea, and Indian Assam tea: three continents in your cup! This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Wow!  The above description suggests that this is a jolting blend, and let me tell you, they got that right!

I was happy to find that the sample from M&K’s of this tea is just the right amount to brew 500ml of tea in my Breville One Touch!  I poured the sample into the basket of the tea maker and added the water and then set the parameters for 212°F and 2 1/2 minutes.

The result delighted my taste buds!  This Morningtime Blend is a great wake-me-up tea.  It’s a bold, rich tasting black tea.  Full-flavored and well-rounded.  The sip starts out sweet yet bold.  I notice notes of caramel and molasses mingling with malty tones, earthy notes and flavors of stone fruit and flower.  There’s a lot of complexity beneath that robust, jarring flavor of WAKE UP!

Toward the tail, I pick up on light citrus tones and there is some dry astringency at the finish.  The tea isn’t bitter, however, I suspect that it could very well become bitter if the tea were oversteeped, so don’t do that.  I recommend no longer than 3 minutes brew time for this tea and from there, experiment a bit and find that right time for you and your particular tastes.

Another thing that I’m appreciating about the blend is that it really is a blend.  A culmination of the four teas used to create the blend:  I can taste notes of malt from the Assam, a wine-like flavor and hints of smoke from the Keemun, citrus-like flavors from the Ceylon and a rich Chinese DianHong rounds everything out with its rich, satisfying flavor.  I can taste each of the components but they unite in this blend so well that it becomes almost seamless.

A really lovely breakfast blend type tea.  It would take the additions of milk and honey well, but I like it straight up!  It’s got just a little bit of edge to it that I like, but it isn’t too aggressive.  It gives me the alertness I need and the smooth, rich, roundness I love from a well-crafted tea.

So far, I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve tried from this new-to-me company.  They have excellent customer service – they promptly reply to questions and my order arrived very quickly.  And I love these samplers!