Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
The thin and spidery black and gold leaves of this rare oolong tea from the Uva District of Sri Lanka unfurl into a sweet and malty, deep gold infusion with a hint of muscatel grape and a fruity aroma.
Taster’s Review:
Before I read the purveyor’s description of a tea, I like to take my first couple of sips to see how much of my first impression matches the description without allowing my thoughts to be influenced by what the description states. In the case of this Spiderweb Oolong, I would say that the tasters at Shanti Tea and I are pretty much in agreement.
The dark leaves unfurl very slowly in my gaiwan – beckoning me to infuse them again and again until they are fully opened. I steeped them six times and obtained amazing flavor with each infusion.
The aroma of the brewed tea is nutty and even a little malty, somewhat reminiscent of a dark ale. There is also a grape-y, wine-like note to the fragrance.
This Oolong reminds me a bit of a Darjeeling with it’s muscatel-like presentation and light flavor. The sip starts with a fruit-like sweetness, and towards mid-sip, I can taste the malty notes. This is a thinner malty tone than say, an Assam might offer, but, it adds an interesting dimension to the overall cup.
Toward the finish, there is a slight astringency (very slight) and that is where the muscatel notes really are noticeable. I can also taste hints of wood. The finish is sweet and crisp and slightly dry. The aftertaste is clean, but with that sweet, fruit-like flavor that is somewhere between grape and black currant.
Very nice!
Black Lemon Tea from Shanti Tea
Where To Buy:
Shanti Tea
Product Description:
Origin: Sri Lanka
Certification: Organic
Ingredients: Tea (Camelia Sinensis), Lemon Peel, Lemon Myrtle, Natural Essences
Oxidation: Black
Leaf Grade: Pekoe
Flush: 2nd flush
Leaf Aroma:Lemon & citrus notesInfusion Aroma: Lemony, earthy
Infusion Color: Amber
Base Flavor: Lively lemon flavor
Infusion Strength: Medium Strong
A classic summertime drink, our lemon iced tea is a blend of premium black tea, sunflowers, Lemon Peel, and lemon essence. Unsweetened and delicious.
While black tea is in this blend is native to Sri Lanka, America is often credited with the invention of iced tea as we know it today. English and American cookbooks from the 1800s show that tea has been served cold since the early nineteenth century. The oldest recipes in print are made with green tea and not black tea and were called punches. The tea punches went by names such as Regent’s Punch, named after George IV. Iced tea’s popularity parallels the development of refrigeration such as the icebox (refrigerator), and the commercial manufacture of pure ice, which were in place by the middle of the nineteenth century.
Tasters Review:
Our friends at Shanti have done it AGAIN! They have taken me back to my childhood! Black Lemon Tea from Shanti is really wonderful! It reminds me of my Grandmother. She was the one who got me interested in tea. She was also the one who was with me day in and day out for the first 5 years of my life allowing both of my parents to work! I have the fondest memories of my “Grandma T”. One of the teas her and I consumed was black tea with a squeeze of lemon in it.
This Black Lemon Tea from Shanti reminds me of those times. But I will say this is BETTER tasting! We didn’t have the access to loose leaf back then like we do now. Regardless I will always treasure the memories!
The lemon in this tastes VERY genuine! If you are a lemon fan PLEASE try this! The Black tea is of medium strength but the highlight and yumminess definitely comes from the lemon! This is certainly one of the best naturally lemon flavored black teas I have ever tasted! Grandma would be proud!
Kashmiri Chai from Shanti Tea
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
This traditional Kashmiri recipe is a blend of black tea, Cardamom, Cinnamon, and almond flakes and essence which produces the rich, semi-sweet and nutty flavor favored in Kashmir
Taster’s Review:
To live here in the Pacific Northwest and actually love living here, I believe you’ve also got to love rainy days. Now, there may be some people who love living here and don’t like rain, but I think that a person that lives here is probably much happier if they happen to like rain. I’m one of those that do. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want it to rain constantly (I’d get a little tired of that), but there is something about the grey, overcast skies and the cool, misty air that I really love about the Pacific Northwest.
For one thing, the “wet season” of the Pacific Northwest makes perfect “chai” weather. Generally, I prefer tea hot, and for me, chai is so perfectly warm and cozy with its abundance of spices, and when served latte style it is pure comfort food in a teacup. And this time of year is really the best time to enjoy a steaming cup of chai latte goodness.
And that’s just what I have in front of me. This Kashmiri Chai from Shanti Tea is a little different from many chai blends out there. The first thing I’ve noticed is that this chai doesn’t have ginger or cloves. It has an adequate amount of cinnamon and cardamom, though, and these provide a deliciously different platform of spices here.
And the almonds! This isn’t the first chai that I’ve encountered with almonds, of course, but it is usually a pleasant surprise when I find them in a chai. This time, it’s especially noteworthy because the almonds and the cardamom are very pleasantly balanced, with the sweet, nutty flavor of the almonds accenting the exotic sweetness of the cardamom.
The cinnamon is not to be overlooked, either, and it’s not about to sit back and let the cardamom and almonds hog the spotlight in this blend. It is warm and spicy, but I’m not finding it to be overwhelmingly so. It doesn’t taste like the spicy-hot cinnamon you might experience in a hot tamale candy, for example, it is more like the warm, sweet cinnamon you might taste in your grandmother’s apple pie.
The flavor of the black tea is also there … somewhere … although I must say that it is a bit more subtle than the spices. It isn’t a very strong black tea, I suspect it may be a Ceylon, but it does provide a decent background flavor for the spice and almonds, and even with the less-than-optimal amount of black tea flavor in this chai, I don’t know that I would change this blend, because I am enjoying it so much just the way it is.
For those who are looking for a chai in which the tea is dominate, this isn’t the chai for you. However, I would recommend checking out Shanti Teas’ rather impressive line-up of chai blends, there’s sure to be one there that’s perfect for you!
This is a delicious change of pace from the usual chai blends. It is delicious served with or without milk, although I prefer it as a latte because the creaminess really makes this chai something special!
Ginger Sencha Tea from Shanti Tea
Where To Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
Organic Ginger Sencha is a delicious blend of organic ginger root and organic Japanese sencha.
Tasters Review:
I was nervous about this one because I thought the Sencha would wither be lost or TOO grassy-green and/or nervous the ginger would be too peppery. Neither was the case!
The Sencha was light and mellow yet very clean and delightful on the tongue. The ginger was powerful but not peppery.
I would have this again! Another pleasant surprise from Shanti!
White Raisin Tea from Shanti Tea
Where To Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
Coming Soon to Site…brand new offering…
Tasters Review:
This smells unlike any white tea or ANY tea I have ever sniffed for that matter…it’s VERY different and I like different!
This smells savory and food-like…gourmet, even! YES! You can pick up on the raisin, of course, as well as a gentle floral and white tea aroma and taste! There is a beautiful wine-like aroma that I picked up on, too!
The taste is soothing and has a calming hint of juicy-goodness! It does linger a subtle raisin flavor.
This is pretty creative! I’m glad Shanti took a chance with it! It’s a goody!