Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
This award-winning tea is incredible and unique! Its distinct flavour begins with the soil this tea bush is grown in. In Sandakphu, the soil is golden red and absorbs up the monsoon rains. A mild and silky smooth black tea with flavours of stone fruits and honey.There’s an interesting balance here that is reminiscent of both a Chinese Yunnan and a fine Indian Darjeeling. A Must Try!
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
25% of profits from our Nepal teas will be donated to the ‘Nepali Tea’ Restoration Fund for earthquake relief. Learn more here.
Taster’s Review:
I was really excited when I learned that Amoda Tea would be profiling Nepali Tea Traders with their May subscription box. And I’m thrilled to be trying this Himalayan Gold Tea!
As I’m sure that most of you are aware, in April of this year, Nepal was devastated by a major earthquake and a second major earthquake hit them again this month. Nepali Tea has created a ‘restoration fund’ to aid in the earthquake relief efforts and so I’m very pleased at the timeliness of this box! This is a tremendous opportunity for you to get some fantastic teas and also help out with the restoration efforts!
And I’ve always been pretty impressed with the teas that I’ve tried that were produced in Nepal. I can’t think of any teas from Nepal that I’ve not enjoyed, and Nepali Tea Traders are some of the best of the best that Nepal has to offer!
And of the teas that I’ve tried from Nepali Tea Traders, I think that this Himalayan Gold stands out. The above description suggests that it’s a mild tea, but I don’t know if I agree with that assessment. I do agree that it’s similar to a Yunnan. I get those spice notes that I might experience in a Yunnan, although I think that the spice notes here are even more profound than in the average Yunnan black tea.
This isn’t very similar to a Darjeeling in my opinion though, mostly because when I think of “Darjeeling” I think of a lighter, crisper type of black tea that is sometimes more similar to a green tea than a black tea. I think of the muscatel notes of a second flush when I think Darjeeling. This might be similar to a first flush Darjeeling, perhaps from the estate of Arya. It has a more pronounced flavor, with notes of raisin and stone fruit. I am even picking up on some faint notes of smoke in the distance.
This is more robust than mild, in my opinion. It’s not as robust as say, a sturdy Assam tea, although I am noticing some similarities to an Assam and this Himalayan Gold. For example, I taste hints of malty undertones and a slight caramel-y note that I’d enjoy with a good Assam.
Overall, I taste a lot of similar notes to many different teas from different regions – all in this one very delightful tea from Nepal. I like that I’m getting so many things to enjoy with one tea. This one deserves high praise – it’s a really, really good tea.
Ceremonial Gold Class Organic Matcha from Midori Spring
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Midori Spring on Amazon.com
Tea Description:
Midori Spring’s Ceremonial Gold Matcha is rich, smooth and creamy with a hint of sweetness when brewed traditionally. Only the best and darkest tencha are used for Gold Class. Gold Class has a fresh, sweet, green-vegetable-like aroma and the colour is a vibrant emerald green – a trait only high quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha encompass.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
From the moment that I opened the canister of this Ceremonial Gold Class Organic Matcha from Midori Spring – I was excited! I was anxious to try this beautiful powdered tea!
The dry powder is a bright, vivid green color – the color green that Matcha enthusiasts would immediately recognize as top-notch Matcha! This is the color Matcha should be!
I got out my chasen and chawan and scooped out a couple of scoops of Matcha with my chashaku – one scoop using this bamboo scoop is just enough for one serving of Matcha, but I wanted two! Then I placed the Matcha into my sifter (I just use an inexpensive wire mesh strainer for this) and sifted the Matcha into my chawan. I added hot water (160°F) and began whisking. I don’t have a precise measurement for the water – I use the eyeball method and then I taste it after I’ve whisked it. If I need more water, I add some.
This Matcha whisks up BEAUTIFULLY. The color of the tea in the photo above is quite accurate – that is the same color of the liquid that’s in my chawan right now, although it’s difficult to see it since it’s beneath a thick cap of foamy froth. This tea froths up so well and it maintains the froth for a long time after you’ve finished whisking.
The flavor is outstanding. This is a really top-notch, high quality Matcha. This is the kind of Matcha that is used in Japanese tea ceremony because it’s of the best quality. Sweet! Not a hint of bitterness. Smooth and buttery. No chalkiness or gritty texture. The flavor has hints of berry and cacao in it’s complex layers. It’s vegetal. It’s a bowl of Matcha perfection.
If you’re a fan of Matcha – I highly recommend trying this one the next time you need to stock your cupboard. You’ll be happy you did!
Yunnan Wild Black from Cultivate Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Locally at Cultivate Tea
Tea Description:
An easy-drinking wild black tea from a family-owned tea garden that is unique, friendly and aromatic.
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
Went into this one without much of an idea what to expect; there’s very little information on the retailer’s website (it looks like they’re more set up for local in person shopping than online orders) and there aren’t any Steepster reviews yet other than my own. But this was really good!
In fact, it was actually so good I did two infusions of it which is something I hardly ever do for anything other than oolong when I’m steeping Western style. It’s really rare for me, personally, to want to drink the same tea multiple times in one day; I just want to experience as much as possible! So that definitely says something.
The dry leaves are really pretty; they’re long and twisty and have this rusty kind of tint to them that really popped as they were steeping; very tawny and autumn like! The steeped up brew was a really pretty amber colour. It kind of reminded me of the colour of a good beer, actually.
This was actually a lot less brisk and full bodied than I had expected it to be; there was some light astringency with the first steep but that went away with the second. Other than that bit of astringency both infusions were very similar though; they had a gentle sweetness to them with top notes of fragile honeycombs and really gentle undercurrents of malt and fresh baked French bread. The finish went back to sweeter honey with floral notes as well.
This is NOT a tea to drink with milk; you would absolutely drown out the subtler, delicate flavours that are present. It’s a shame it’s not really something I can get online and it’s not available to me locally because if it was available for a reasonable price I’d totally be interest in getting a bit more of this one.
Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea from Udyan Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Tea Description:
Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea is picked from AV2 bushes at high elevations. This First Flush Tea is plucked immediately after the long cold winter months and is bountiful with fresh flavour as the bushes are full of vigour. The infusion has a greenish leaf appearance and the tea tastes fresh and crisp. This tea is produced from the prime sections of the garden with the earliest production beginning from the 1st Week of March up to 15th April depending on the elevation. They brew into light mellow cups with excellent first flush character and floral ascents.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea from Udyan Tea doesn’t look like your typical black tea. It doesn’t taste quite like your typical black tea either. Therefore, you shouldn’t brew it quite the same way you’d steep a typical black tea.
I never use boiling water on a Darjeeling black tea because I learned through trial and error that when I do, I get a slightly bitter tasting tea that’s a wee bit too astringent for my liking. I find that if I lower the temperature to 195°F that a Darjeeling is much better tasting. Less astringent and not bitter! Win!
And this tea is SO LOVELY! It’s deliciously sweet with notes of flower and fruit. Hints of muscatel – not a strong muscatel note, but then this is the first flush, so a strong muscatel note isn’t expected.
The floral notes are the stars of this show. I like that they’re not sharp, instead, they’re beautifully sweet and they mingle with a honey-esque flavor. It’s wonderful and very spring-like!
Overall, the cup is a delightfully mellow tea that I’d recommend for afternoon sipping. This would make a lovely tea to serve to special guests. Truly a remarkable first flush Darjeeling.
Anji Bai Cha Green Tea from Nan Nuo Shan
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Nan Nuo Shan
Tea Description:
Anji Bai Cha owns a delicate, soft and relaxing taste, with a light sweet aftertaste.
Characteristic of this green tee variety is the colour of the leaves, rather white than green; in Chinese, baimeans white. The lack of pigment is due to the low chlorophyll content of the plant.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this Anji Bai Cha Green Tea from Nan Nuo Shan is so beautiful! It looks almost like pine needles – but it doesn’t smell like it! It has a delicate aroma, smelling lightly sweet and slightly vegetal.
To brew this, I suppose I could have reached for my Gaiwan (they are very similar to a silver needle, after all) but I decided to grab my Kati Tumbler instead. I couldn’t measure this leaf with my bamboo scoop because the leaves just didn’t really work very well for it, so I simply used my fingers to pinch some tea out of the packet and into the basket of my Kati and eyeballed it when it looked to me to be about a bamboo scoop’s worth.
Then I added hot water (175°F) and let the tea steep for 1 1/2 minutes. The brewed tea is so light in color – a pale, yellowish green. The aroma is also quite light and gave me the initial impression that the overall flavor would be equally as light.
But it isn’t! This is a very flavorful tea despite it’s rather delicate appearance and fragrance.
Sweet! I taste notes of sweet grass and hints of flower in the distance. It’s a very smooth and relaxing flavor. There is some dry astringency toward the finish, it’s almost as if the tea is gently patting my palate dry to ready it for the next sip.
There is a light ‘airiness’ to this tea, like the flavor of the air in a meadow. The grassy notes and whispers of flower that mingle in the air as a gentle breeze filters through. As I continue to sip, I taste notes of melon – a sweet, juicy melon!
A delight to sip, this sweet tea that calms me with each sip. This is de-stress at it’s best!