Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Potently aromatic attractive deep brown Assam leaves with plenty of golden tips. These leaves infuse to a very rich, strong and sweetly malty tasting tea liquor with an unusually smooth disposition for a tea with such strength. Highly recommended as a breakfast tea to drink with milk!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Boisahabi Estate Assam SFTGFOP1 Black Tea from Capital Teas Limited is a really enjoyable Assam – it’s got a rich, thick texture and lots of malt!
It has that strong, robust character that you look for in a morning cuppa – this is one of those ‘get you going in the morning’ type of teas! What I’m appreciating most about this is that while it is a bold tasting tea, it’s not overly ‘edgy.’ It’s got a smooth, nicely rounded flavor with sweet, caramel-y undertones. Quite nice!
To brew this, I put a bamboo scoop of tea into the basket of my Kati Tumbler and added 12 ounces of boiling water. I steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes. I would caution you to watch your steep time because this tea can and will get bitter on you if you oversteep it – so don’t do that!
If you like your breakfast tea to be latte, this tea will take the addition of milk and honey quite nicely. It’s also really pleasant served straight up. I like it hot best, but it’s still really tasty as it cools.
Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea Golden Tip from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Dian Hong black tea, also known as Yunnan black tea, is one of China’s most famous black teas. This is the highest grade Dian Hong generally available in China – called Golden Tip Dian Hong. It has lots of orange pekoe in the dried tea, and brews into an absolutely great tasting, golden coloured tea, with very rich taste and aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I reviewed this tea a couple of years ago, but I’m revisiting it because it’s a new year and a new harvest! Plus, it’s a chance for me to taste this amazing tea again – how could I resist?
Because mmmmmM! So good!
Rich! Smooth! Delicious.
When I first opened the sample pouch, I could smell notes of sweet molasses. The dry leaf aroma reminds me a bit of freshly baked cookies – like rich molasses spice cookies without the strong notes of spice. I can almost smell the cake-y notes of the cookie in the leaves!
To brew this, I used my Breville One-Touch. The sampler pouch is just the right amount for my Breville, so I poured the contents of the pouch into the basket and added 500ml of water to the jug. I set the parameters for 212°F and 2 1/2 minutes – and the tea came out perfectly!
This is a wonderful, full-flavored tea. It’s nicely round. It’s got a really robust flavor with notes of earth and leather with hints of smoke and spice. And then I pick up on the sweet molasses-y, caramel-y notes with hints of cream. It’s got a really delectable balance between savory and sweet.
A truly remarkable black tea – definitely something I’d recommend to all tea drinkers who are looking for something exceptionally excellent!
Silver Tip White Tea from P.M.David Silva & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: PMD (P.M.David Silva & Sons)
Tea Description:
Silver Tips has long been the preserve of Kings and connoisseurs. This exclusive white tea follows a truly unique production process. Before sunrise, specialist tea pluckers select the most tender buds of only the finest tea bushes. It is essential that the master tea maker uses all his expertise, patience and effort to transform the buds into Silver Tips – it takes 5 kilos of buds to produce 1 kilo of Silver Tips.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
These leaves are absolutely gorgeous! They’re pale green and the edges are silvery. The leaves are soft to the touch and I can feel the fluffy down-like particles on the leaves. The aroma is delicate and lightly vegetal, reminiscent of hay.
And the flavor is delightful. So sweet! Smooth, light and refreshing! Even when served hot, I can feel it cool me, which is greatly appreciated on this hot summer day. It is very soothing and calming to sip. This is the kind of tea I want to reach for on one of those days when things just aren’t going my way. This tea will turn everything around!
The sweetness is almost like raw cane sugar! There are notes of melon and the softest hint of sweet apple. A light vegetal taste – but oh so subtle! It is barely there and hard to pick up on unless I slurp the sip to aerate it.
It’s a very refreshing beverage. I feel it relax me as I drink it.
To brew this tea, I approached it the way I approach most white teas. I use a low temperature (170°F) and steep it for 4 minutes. This produces a very enjoyable flavor that is delicate and delicious. But don’t mistake the word “delicate” for lacking in flavor, because this certainly does not lack in flavor. There is a whole lot of flavor in this cup!
This is a superb Silver Tip (aka Silver Needle) tea, and I’m not at all surprised that it came from P.M.David Silva & Sons because so far, I’ve been blown away with the quality that I’ve tasted from this company. I highly recommend checking them out!
Organic White Tip Jasmine Green Tea from Fashionista Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fashionista Tea
Tea Description:
Organic Chinese green tea, lightly fired to maintain silvery tips, traditionally scented with jasmine.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve last had a jasmine tea! It really hasn’t been all that long, but, whenever I do sip on a jasmine tea, I can’t help but wonder why has it been so long since I’ve had jasmine! I love jasmine tea so … it’s one of those teas of which I never tire.
And this Organic White Tip Jasmine Green Tea from Fashionista Tea is an amazing jasmine!
I’ve read tasting notes from those who don’t like jasmine teas … and jasmine is one of those teas that can either be very right or very, very wrong. It is important that the tea be scented with jasmine rather than being flavored with it. And there is a distinct difference. A scented jasmine tea is one that was processed by layering the newly harvested tea leaves with jasmine blossoms so that the tea leaves can absorb the essence of the jasmine flower. A scented jasmine tea tastes like the jasmine flower without tasting like perfume. It has a lovely floral quality that is exquisitely sweet and exotic.
A flavored jasmine is one that has been flavored using an oil. The jasmine oil imparts a very perfume-y quality to the leaves, and the result often ends up tasting like you’re sipping on perfume. I don’t know about you, but sipping on perfume isn’t my idea of a tasty cuppa!
THIS jasmine tea tastes like a scented jasmine – with a light, lovely, sweet floral quality that does not taste perfume-ish whatsoever. It is smooth and refreshing. The sweet, vegetative tones of the green tea comes through nicely. There is a slightly dry astringency to the tea … it is very mild. This is truly a perfect balance of flower and tea!
A really excellent jasmine tea – if you are looking for a jasmine tea with a lighter jasmine essence that tastes natural, sweet, and not at all perfume-y … this is the one to try! And you’re going to love dealing with Fashionista Tea – I can’t say enough about how wonderful this company is! They are a really excellent company and offer a superb product! That’s a win-win!
White Tip Oolong Tea from Far Leaves Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Far Leaves Tea
Tea Description:
“champagneEoolong; these silver tipped leaves embody the clarity of green, the compassion of oolong, and the vigor of black teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really amazing Oolong! It is so different from the other Oolong teas I’ve been drinking lately … different, but yet, similar enough to provide that comfort than only Oolong can offer.
The clearest note that I notice right away is the sweet yet sour note that I taste. It reminds me of a fresh plum that is just a teeny bit under-ripe. It is still sweet and juicy, but, there is just a twinge of tartness to it, that little bit of sourness that speaks of its under-ripened state. The sweetness I taste is not only fruit-like, but there is a certain exotic sweetness as well that is reminiscent of orchid. Sweet and slightly floral, but this is not what I’d consider a “floral” Oolong.
There are some woodsy notes in there as well, and just a hint of earthiness. There is also a delicate tone to this that reminds me a bit of the delicateness of a white tea. Vaguely vegetative is this delicate note, like the air that you might taste a day or two after the hay has been harvested in a hayfield.
Overall, I find this to be such a crisp and refreshing Oolong tea. It doesn’t have a heavy texture to it, it isn’t buttery or creamy … and while I do enjoy those qualities about Oolong, it is nice every now and again to come across an Oolong that challenges what you think you know about the tea. This tea does just that.