Black Tea

Tea of the Week – Lychee Black

Black Tea

Name: Lychee Black

Type: Black

Region: China

Bought At: Samovar

Price: $2 for a two serving sample

First Impressions: Slightly fruity smelling, odd for a black tea

Review:My Rating:

I picked up this tea during my recent trip to Samovar in San Francisco.  This is another of the very good black teas that I have tried lately.  Lychee black is called this because of the lychee fruit it contains, and gives it an interesting flavor.  Not so much sugary sweet as very light, its very refreshing for a black tea. Another nice thing about this, like most of Samovar’s teas, is that it is great for multiple infusions, so you can make three or four cups with the same leaves.

4 / 5

–brent

Tea of the Week – Maiden’s Ecstasy

Black Tea

Name: Maiden’s Ecstasy Pu-erh Tea

Type: Black (Pu-erh)

Region: Yunnan, China

Bought At: Samovar

Price: $4 for a “one pot” sample

First Impressions: Roasted, signature pungent smell Pu-Erh

Review:

I was hesitant about this tea after the only other Pu-Erh tea I have tried, due to the pungent smell.  This one did not have the smell before brewing however, so I thought  it might be better.  Once brewed, the familiar smell returned, all though it was not nearly as overpowering. The flavor was good, very smooth and mellow.  No sweetness, no bitterness, just a slight earthy tone.  It is a good “slow” morning tea, not as strong an english breakfast, but stronger than a green or white.  I had to knock it some for the smell, but the flavor is very good.
My Rating:

3 / 5

–brent

Tea of the Week – Mambo

Black Tea

Name: Mambo

Type:  Black

Region:  Yunnan and Wuyi regions of China

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $3 for a ten cup sample

First Impressions: Large leaves for Black Tea, Pleasant earthy smell

Review:

A black tea I haven’t tried before, Mambo is marketed as similar to the Mamba Dance which “originated from the fusion of Cuban and American Jazz.”  While I don’t know about being “jazz infused”, this is a decent cup of tea.  A solid black tea with a strong earthy flavor, this isn’t a tea for those who like lighter teas.  Be careful because it gets very bitter if brewed even a little too long, but when brewed correctly is a pleasant tea.  I wish I had some milk to try with it because I think it would stand up well and smooth out the flavor a little.  Overall, good but not a new favorite.

My Rating:

3 / 5

–brent
(Teageek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Darjeeling #22

Black Tea

Name: Darjeeling #22

Type:  Black

Region:  Darjeeling, India

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $3 for a ten cup sample

First Impressions:  Sweet smelling, like fresh straw

Review:

Well, last week I finished up my samples from adagio, so now it is back to some tea I was going to review earlier.  I have a white tea sampler that I will be starting next week, but this week I thought I would slip in a black tea I like: Darjeeling #22.  Interesting note: I found out that a lot of tea marketed as “Darjeeling” actually doesn’t come from that region, they just use the name because it is so popular.  The tea was mellow for a black tea, with a roasted scent and flavor.  There really was no hint of bitterness in the aftertaste, something I find myself appreciating more and more.  Overall, a good cup, but nothing amazing.

My Rating:
3  / 5

–brent
(Teageek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Yunnan Golden Pu Erh

Black Tea

Name: Yunnan Golden Pu Erh

Type:  Black

Region:  Yunnan, China

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $29 for maestro sampler set (4 teas)

First Impressions:  Unpleasant smell!

Review:

This is an interesting tea.  While it’s listed by adagio as a black tea, it’s technically a “Pu Erh” or fermented tea.  I wasn’t even really aware of this type of tea and found a lot of interesting information about it on the Wikipedia article.  Apparently this type of tea is better aged, and you can still find some from as far back as the Qing Dynasty.  As far as the tea itself goes, while interesting, I didn’t find it overly enjoyable.  I just couldn’t get past the rather pungent smell it puts off, although it does mellow some with brewing.  The flavor itself was pleasant enough.  It was slightly different than most black teas.  It wasn’t bitter, more of a clear slightly nutty taste.  Overall I would say definitely try it for the experience, but don’t get a large amount.  It’s different enough to be interesting the first few drinks, but not good enough to want after that.

My Rating:
2.5 / 5

–brent
(Teageek.org Founder)

*Disclosure (AND Thanks!): This was part of a free sampler I got from Adagio to preview.

Tea of the Week – Anhui Keemun

Black Tea

Name: Anhui Keemun

Type:  Black

Region:  China

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $29 for maestro sampler set (4 teas)

First Impressions:  Tiny Leaves, very slight grassy smell

Review:

My second tea from the Maestro Collection, Anhui Keeman is another hit.  The tea leaves were very tiny and didn’t give off a very strong smell, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  This tea has a nice smooth smoky taste that really goes down well.  There is a slight woody taste that complements the smokiness very nicely.  I find that with most black teas I prefer them with a bit of sugar to sweeten them up and take the bitter edge off, but this one was great plain.

My Rating:
3.5 / 5

–brent
 (Teageek.org Founder)

*Disclosure (AND Thanks!): This was part of a free sampler I got from Adagio to preview.

Tea of the Week – Yunnan Golden Curls

Black Tea

Name: Yunnan Golden Curls

Type:  Black

Region:  Yunnan, China

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $29 for maestro sampler set (4 teas)

First Impressions:  Hay Smell, Softer leaves

Review:

First let me just say I was very excited to try the maestro collection, and my first tea, Yunnan Golden Curls, didn’t disappoint.  It is a black tea although the leaves were very light in color.  The “hay” smell that the raw tea gives off is totally different from the scents of the brewed tea.  Once brewed it has a wonderful nutty/smoky smell.  The taste was very good, a mellow black without almost no bitterness.  It has a smoothness that a lot of black teas are missing.  One note: I did prefer it with the shorter brew time of 3-4 minutes (The label says 3-5); when I let it go the full 5 minutes it did pick up a bit of a bitter over-brewed taste.  Overall, it was an interesting black and a good all around tea.  Can’t wait to try some more!

My Rating:
3.5 / 5

–brent
 (Teageek.org Founder)

*Disclosure (AND Thanks!): This was part of a free sampler I got from Adagio to preview.

Tea of the Week – Irish Breakfast

Black Tea

Name:  Irish Breakfast

Type:  Black

Region:  Sri Lanka and India

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $2 for a 10-cup sample

First Impressions:  Strong, Dark

Review:

Since today was St Patty’s day I thought it would be fitting to try the Irish breakfast that I hadn’t had a chance to drink.  It was a good morning drink, a strong black tea, but not bitter.   Like it’s name it was a lot like the English Breakfast that I enjoy, but a little lighter.  Looked it up and found that it’s a blend of Ceylon from Sri Lanka and Assam from India.  I really liked it with a touch of milk, it smoothed it out nicely.  In the end I think I like English Breakfast a little better, but this would do in a pinch!

My Rating:
3 / 5

–brent
 (Teageek.org Founder)

Tea of the Week – Blood Orange

Black Tea, Reviews

Name: Blood Orange

Type:  Black

Region:  Ceylon Region of China

Bought At: Tea Gschwendner

Price:  50g for $4.90

First Impressions: Strong citrus smell, lots of orange pieces

Review:

The final tea in the first month of my tea tasting experiment came from a new company to me, Tea Gschwendner.  A German company that has a wide variety of tea, I hadn’t heard of them until I received this and a few other teas for Christmas from a coworker.  (As a side note I love tea as a present because you can give / get something that you wouldn’t normally try)  As for this particular tea, I was a little disappointed.  It has an almost overpowering citrus scent, but the actual citrus flavor left much to be desired.  It was a decent tea, but compared to the scent it gives off it was very tame.  There was almost no orange flavor and the Ceylon tea they used as a base isn’t remarkable.  It calls for a shorter steep time than I would normal do, but didn’t get bitter when I left it in a little longer than they recommend.  Overall it was a decent tea, but nothing to write home about.

My Rating:

2.5 / 5

Tea of the Week – Earl Grey Bravo

Black Tea

Name:  Earl Grey Bravo

Type:  Black

Region:  Yunnan region of China

Bought At:  Adagio.com

Price:  $2 for a 10 cup sample

First Impressions:  Strong Citrus Smell

Review:

Wow!  This was a lot better than I was expecting.  Maybe because of the poor reputation for tea and England in the States, I always thought that “Earl Grey” would be dull and bland.  How wrong I was!  The sweet citrus smell given off by the tea leads to an equally pleasing taste.  Definitely the most tasteful black tea of the Adagio sampler I have been going through.  I wish I could tell you how it tasted with a little milk and sugar, I enjoyed it so much plain that I didn’t want to try it!  Probably the Black tea I will be recommending to new tea drinkers, not once did I get even a hint of bitterness off it.

My Rating: 4/5