Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
These attractively gold-flecked, marble-sized black tea pearls have been hand-rolled from high-grade Yunnan Gold leaf tea into perfectly compressed spheres. They make a delicously smooth, medium-bodied brew. Each pearl weighs around one gram, so use just two or three in a small teapot. Made in Fen Qing, in Yunnan, they are ideal at work or on holiday.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been reviewing tea for a long time and while my time as a tea reviewer is about to come to an end (but I’ll talk more about that later!), in the years that I’ve been reviewing tea, one thing that has never gotten old for me is receiving a package of tea in the mail. There are few things that elicit as much joy for me as receiving a parcel of tea.
And my excitement was doubled when I opened my package from Canton Tea Co. and found that it included a sampling of their Yunnan Gold Pearls! I love pearl teas as it is, but I have a special fondness for black pearls because – well, I guess because they’re awesome!
The flavor that comes from black pearl teas like this one is outstanding. Sweet and smooth. No bitterness and very little astringency. It has a heartiness to it which surprised me given how short a time I steeped the pearls. Some malt notes as well as notes of cacao and caramel. I taste a distinct note of stone fruit as well. Quite yummy!
I steeped my first infusion of the pearls for just 2 minutes and the cup is incredibly smooth and very flavorful. It surprises me just how much flavor it has after steeping for 2 minutes. The pearls had not completely unfurled so you know I’m going to resteep!
My second infusion was even more flavorful than the first – which is quite unusual when it comes to most black teas! But not with these Yunnan Gold Pearls! The flavor is still rich and flavorful. I’m tasting more notes of earth this time around and lovely hints of peppery spice. I still get those lovely notes of caramel and cacao and a beautiful malty tone.
Truly a treasure, these Yunnan Gold Pearls!
Houjicha Gold (Roasted Bancha) from Den’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Den’s Tea
Tea Description:
Houjicha-Gold delivers a delightful and calming cup. Highly aromatic but gentle to your stomach with a low amount of caffeine.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been wet and cooler over the last couple of days and something like this Houjicha Gold (also known as Roasted Bancha) from Den’s Tea is perfect for a day like this. It’s warm and cozy!
It has a delightful toasty, caramel-y flavor that I’m really enjoying. The sip starts out sweet and stays sweet all the way through to the finish and it’s a sweetness that lingers into the aftertaste. After that first sweet note, I start to pick up on some slightly savory notes. Flavors that remind me of freshly roasted corn and and a warm, nutty flavor that immediately brings warm hazelnuts to mind. My grandmother used to make cookies with hazelnuts in them and that’s what I’m thinking of as I sip this tea.
There are some vegetal notes to this but I find that with a roasted green tea like this, most of those strong vegetative flavors have been ‘toasted’ out – most of the grassy/vegetable flavors taste more nutty and toasted now. So now, rather than tasting a freshly steamed spinach flavor, for example, I taste more of a freshly toasted hazelnut flavor with notes of roasted corn.
So if you’re someone who is fairly new to green teas and have yet to get your palate to become acquired to the flavor of green tea, I think that a Houjicha like this is a good place to start. It’s such a warm and inviting flavor that you don’t really realize that you’re drinking green tea!
And if you’re new to Japanese Green teas, may I suggest Den’s Tea’s Green Tea Sampler for Novices? This sampler offers a nice selection of different teas from Den’s so that you can learn about Japanese teas as well as train your palate to understand the different flavors of Japanese teas. I purchased one of these collections several years ago and it was a really rewarding experience – and you get a whole lot of tea for $3!
Organic Black Gold Tips from Treasure Green Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
Organic Black Gold Tips is an excellent black tea for every morning. It has visible golden tips that provide smoothness and sweetness. Enjoy alone or with milk.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve noticed a sort of trend in my tea drinking and I think that Amoda Tea has helped me fully realize this trend. I guess that I’ve always been aware of it, but I have a strong preference for black tea and when I’m given a selection of several different teas, if there is a black tea among the selections, that’s the tea I will usually reach for. Such is the case with this Organic Black Gold Tips from Treasure Green Tea Company – one of the four teas featured in this month’s Amoda Tea Box.
This is a really lovely Black tea. I love that it’s organic. But even more than that, I love that it’s rich and full-flavored. It’s deliciously smooth and pleasantly sweet with notes of caramel and cacao. It’s full-flavored and robust without a lot of astringency and no bitterness.
I brewed this in my Breville One Touch tea maker. I eyeballed it – but by the looks of it, the sample from Amoda was just enough for 500ml of tea! So I poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug and emptied the pouch into the basket. Then I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and the temperature for boiling (212°F).
This created a perfect pot of tea – and with my awesome tea mug (a Christmas present from my daughter, Amethyst) – it’s actually a full cup of tea. This baby holds 16 ounces of tea!
And this tea is quite lovely. The kind of black tea that I like to start my day with because it IS rich and malty and full of flavor. It’s smooth. It’s not bitter. There is very little astringency. It’s all those things that make me so happy when I drink a cup of tea.
As I continue to sip, I start to explore beyond those notes of cacao and caramel. There are notes of leather and almost a tobacco-ish sort of flavor. Molasses. Hints of warm spice. There’s a lot of complexity to this tea.
A really lovely tea – I’m glad it was part of this month’s box from Amoda Tea.
Kenyan Gold Tea from Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Description:
Kenyan Gold 80’s is a luxury, top quality tea from the “Extra Fresh” family of teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried a couple of different teas from Rington’s Premium English Teas now, and I think that this Kenyan Gold Tea might be the best one that I’ve tried thus far.
Yes, it’s a bagged tea. Yes, I know that I’ve been ‘bagging’ on bagged teas a lot lately. I guess after spending the last six plus years tasting teas and writing about what I’m tasting has shaped my opinions about bagged teas because as I’ve said before (and am likely to say again) – loose leaf tea is superior.
But this bagged tea is actually quite pleasant. The flavor of the Kenyan tea is rich and flavorful. It’s nice and smooth. There’s very little astringency to this and no bitterness. Just smooth, rich flavor that is bold and invigorating.
To achieve this flavor, I brought my kettle to a boil and put one bag into my mug and poured 8 ounces of boiling water over the bag. I let this steep for 2 1/2 minutes.
It’s a little sweet with a flavor that is somewhere between molasses and caramel. It has some fruit notes – reminiscent of raisin and plum. Hints of earth. Notes of leather. It has a pleasant, round flavor. Nice.
Gopaldhara Gold Darjeeling Black Tea Autumn Flush from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Among the most sought after invoice’s from the years pre-winter harvest, the Gopaldhara Gold is an autumnal beauty. A delicate yet rounded black tea with intricate flowery notes. The tea brings about a subtle and sweet profile with hints of fine muscatel and an slightly earthy roundness. The lingering aftertaste brings in sensations of dark bold chocolate and cocoa. A fantastic leaf tea texture with golden tips spread evenly, this is definitely among our better autumn Darjeeling’s.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! This is Gopaldhara Gold Darjeeling Black Tea Autumn Flush from Golden Tips is a beauty! It’s not your typical Darjeeling – and that’s a very good thing!
This has a richness to it that I don’t often find in a Darjeeling tea. It’s very satisfying and well-rounded. It is almost robust! Almost. It has a very rich, pleasing flavor that I might find in a stronger tea. It’s not quite as ‘light’ or crisp as a typical Darjeeling, but it does have that familiar mustcatel that I look for in an autumn harvest Darjeeling. It’s like the best of both worlds in one teacup!
While it’s not quite as thick or strong as I would want for a morning cuppa, it does have a strong enough flavor that I’d enjoy it as a later morning or early afternoon cup. It’d make a really good pick-me-up when you’re looking for that boost mid-day.
It’s wonderfully smooth with very little astringency. I notice just a hint of dryness as the sip progresses into the aftertaste, but it’s very slight. There’s no bitterness to this cup. It’s sweet with notes of fruit and a wine-like quality without the astringency of the wine. And as suggested in the above description, I’m even picking up on a chocolate-y note. (I’m thinking that this tea would be a fabulous accompaniment to a chocolate bar. Then again, who needs an excuse for either good tea or chocolate?)
I’ve tasted quite a few teas from Golden Tips now, and I think that this one might be my favorite thus far. It’s just so spectacular.