2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
A malty, rich Assam, perfect for a morning cup. It has a rich caramel, almost burnt sugar flavour with a maltiness and hints of fruit. This is a versatile tea. As good with a hearty cooked breakfast, bacon butty or toast and pastries as with a slice of fruitcake, piece of gingerbread or rich dark chocolate in the afternoon. It pairs well with dishes using cinnamon or nutmeg, as well as Mexican food or red meats.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse may be the first tea I have ever had from this company. I cannot recall another before it. This 2nd Flush is a good morning cup. I find the flavors evolve more if you let it cool just slightly before sipping. Regardless, the flavors are strong with berry notes, and have lovely caramel and malty notes. I find the malty notes to be less intense than many assam however.
What I find most pleasing with this tea is that the berry notes turn to something like a wine flavor as the cup breathes a little – cooling slightly more.
The downside of this tea is that I find you have to get the exact right steep time or you could end up with a bitter brew, or one that lacks flavor.
I found the perfect steep time for me was right at the 2 minute mark while my SororiTea Sister LiberTeas preferred hers at a minute and a half. There may be a “sweet spot” for each person and their personal taste but by no means would I suggest steeping this as long as the directions which say 4 minutes.
Personally I think this would make a far better tea iced or cold steeped because the longer I sip on this cup, the more flavors evolve with the caramel and malt waking up even more.
It is relatively bright in the mouthfeel however, its not heavy, or creamy, or even all that robust. It may not be the morning tea for everyone depending on how strong you like your morning tea to be.
I am glad that I have got to sample a Tea Horse tea and I look forward to trying more in the future.
Black Keemun Mao Feng from Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
A high grade black tea from Qimen, China, known as one of the world’s best.
Taster’s Review:
I tried to find this tea on the Tea Horse website, but, was unsuccessful. Which is a shame, because this is a Keemun that you should REALLY try!
It is delightful! And it’s just what I needed this afternoon!
Today has been a trying day for me, and I want something that will invigorate me so that I can feel motivated again, and also something that will give me that inner comfort I seek after enduring the trials of my day.
This tea is doing all that for me, and more! It is rich and smooth. Earthy with hints of smoke in the distance – but far fewer smoky tones that I often experience with a Keemun! – and a sweet, caramel-y undertone. It’s one of those black teas that provides some strength and substance to start you on your day, but is also so delicious and comforting that its one you’ll want to curl up with while sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a good book.
An excellent Keemun.
Temi First Flush from The Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Orange Pekoe
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
Temi 1st Flush is officially a black tea, but is less oxidised and much lighter than usual blacks – to drink, somewhere between a black and a green tea. Its grade is SFTGFOP1 (standing for Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe grade 1). A bit of a mouthful but it makes for a lovely tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love a good Temi First Flush. I recently sipped down the last of my favorite first flush from another company so I was excited to dig this sample out of a box of teas from my SororiTea Sister Anne.
I was waiting with anticipation to fully immerse myself in this cup. The first thing I picked up was the astringency which was not unpleasant but more prominent than what I am used to in this style of tea.
Then the notes develop into a background flavor of straw that has been sitting in the sun light which is a note I personally enjoy, added to that a slightly vegetal flavor but not as one expects in greens, not that prominent. More of the flavor of fresh straw blade that you picked out of a field to stick in your mouth to chew on like country folk. The tea is in fact quite “sunny” in its flavor and has a bright mouthfeel.
This is a light tea and I don’t think I would try adding any milk or cream to it however it could go quite well with a little sugar, or honey.
As for spicy notes, they are present but they are not very intense and while I appreciate subtle notes in teas this tea somewhat leaves me wanting just a little bit more. Its not a bad tea by any means and I would not dump it out so I don’t want to give the impression that it is unpalatable but it does seem to lack some of the complexities and fruity notes I appreciate in my regular Temi First Flush. Now with that said, while I do not pick up the fruit notes I was desiring, it is a “juicy” tea. The tea does tend to have a burst like sensation in the mouth that is quite lovely.
So there are some high notes and low notes to this tea in my opinion however for me, ordering this tea may be more trouble than it is worth due to it being a U.K. company, and I am in the U.S.A. I would love to try some of their other blends though as they have a couple that caught my eye. I would say that if ordering were a tad easier this tea was a good introduction to their company and would indeed make me want to order from them again.
Its just that sometimes we love another tea of the same type and that love can be difficult to beat. That is the case with this specific tea.
It is however light, bright, and quite thirst quenching, and there is nothing wrong with any of those things.
Temi 1st Flush from Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
A beautifully bright fragrant rare tea from the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely single estate Darjeeling! So crisp and bright tasting; it has a clean, uplifting flavor that is perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up … which is just what I need right at this very moment!
The aroma is pleasing with subtle notes of flower and fruit, I also detect notes of wood and gentle spices. This fragrance tells of what the flavor has in store, as I taste layers of flavor. The overall cup is so light and refreshing, it almost seems to sparkle on the tongue. No wonder Darjeeling is often called the “Champagne of Teas.”
This is a tea that benefits from a few moments of cooling off time after the tea has been decanted. When very hot, the flavors seem almost jumbled together, resulting in an overall taste that is crisp and delicious, but it is difficult to discern all the different facets of flavor within the sip. After cooling for about three minutes, though, those layers of flavor really begin to come to life, ready to reveal themselves.
Up front, I notice a lovely flowery note – not a sharp floral tone, its more like a soft, sweet note that melds almost seamlessly with a wood-like tones, evoking thoughts of a tree in bloom. Beneath this flavor I notice a gentle, warm set of ambiguous spices which lends an exotic touch to this cup.
In this Darjeeling, there does not seem to be a strong “muscatel” presence … at least, not at first. Instead, I detect a cleaner, lighter fruit tone, tasting a bit like a finely filtered apple juice, crisp and sweet. It is quite faint, really, as if maybe a drop or two of the juice were added to the cup. However, as I made my way to mid-cup, I began to notice a slight muscatel-esque taste emerging. These fruit notes never really become distinctly pronounced, though. Very soft and clean, in keeping with what seems to be the overall theme of this tea.
Also keeping with the clean taste, the astringency seems to cleanse the palate. The aftertaste is equally as clean, leaving only hints of what was tasted during the sip: whispers of flowers, slightly woody, insinuations of fruit, and a dash of spice.
This is one of those teas that you want to enjoy on a quiet afternoon. It is a contemplative cup that restores you as you explore its many layers of flavor. A truly wonderful experience.
2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
A malty, rich Assam, perfect for a morning cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love Assam. When brewed properly, I am treated with a deliciously rich, malty cup of tea that has the most luscious caramel-y undertones. It’s so good … true comfort in a teacup. However, there is a dark side to Assam, and if it’s oversteeped, it can be bitter. This morning, I experienced that bitter bite from this Assam with the first pot of tea that I brewed.
I brewed it for 2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch Tea Maker using boiling water. The result was a cuppa that was tasty, but with an overtone of bitterness that sort of overpowered that tastiness. After about a half a cup, I decided to try again with this tea, so I lowered the time to just 1 1/2 minutes. The result is a perfect cup of Assam! YUM!
And this really is the ultimate cup of Assam – so rich and malty and delicious. Lots of caramel-y flavor that you might mistake this for a caramel-flavored tea! But it isn’t! This is pure Assam tea, where the malty tones and natural sweetness of the tea meld together to offer a rich caramel-like flavor that is so luscious and lip-smackingly good.
The cup is sweet and delicious – but it also has a heartiness to it, making it an excellent breakfast tea. It would take the additions of milk and sugar very well, although I find it quite good as I am drinking it now, without additions.
This is indeed an excellent Assam!