A Field in Innsbruck Black from August Uncommon

fieldininnsbruckTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: August Uncommon

Tea Description:

As the Austrian Alps warm they offer a multitude of aromas and colors. The woods come alive with light flickering through branches, beaming in unexpected clearings redolent of grasses, herbs and wildflowers in full bloom. The bright spruce aroma overhead and earthy fir needles melding with the soil underfoot. Brushing your hands against the sticky juniper bushes, gathering fragrant herbs and ripe blackcurrant berries warmed by the sun. Capture the fleeting majesty of the aromatic journey.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

It’s been a while since I’ve written a review here on SororiTea Sisters but that certainly doesn’t mean I’ve stopped drinking wonderful, strange and unique teas such as this tea from August Uncommon!

This is such an interesting tea; any time you encounter a ‘savory’ tea with different kinds of unconventionally used herbs and spices, such as the rosemary and thyme in this blend, you know you’re going to be getting an outside of the box tea drinking experience. The dry leaf of this tea certainly has a very pungent aroma of thyme which is quite enticing. There’s also a slight earthiness which adds depth right off the bat, even before pouring any water!

The aroma of the brewed tea is surprisingly smooth with both a familiar, comforting aroma and air of exoticism. However, I just feel like once you begin drinking the tea it fails to deliver the level of flavour that you’d expect from all the wonderful aromas that have been experienced at this point. Not that it tastes bad! It’s just that I feel like this blend doesn’t quite commit to being either sweet OR savory. I taste a distinct flavour of thyme with hints of rosemary but not in the potency I expected or wanted. The sweetness comes from a hint of jammy flavour provided by the juniper berries; I’m missing the distinct pine flavour of the junipers though and that’s a slight disappointment too because I think that flavour note would have really sold the title for me. The whole thing is supported though by a very smooth, earthy base though and I’m REALLY loving that element of the blend.

And of course, like I said, it truly isn’t a BAD blend. On the whole, I actually find it really delicious – I’m just having to mildly adjust my expectations while drinking it. I absolutely recommend trying it if you get the chance. And for people who haven’t had savory teas before I think this would be a really good way to branch into that type of flavoured blend.

Yun Nan Dian Hong Black from Teavivre

Yun Nan Dian Hong BlackTea 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:

This tea really wowed me from start to finish. You begin the cup with such attractive, even dry leaf that has a breath taking proportion of golden tips to it. I would agree that you can see the orange pekoe quite clearly in the leaf and I can’t help but wonder what the grade is – I’d guess at least TGFOP? It’s easily one of the most aesthetically pleasing black teas I’ve gotten to try in a long time.

Of course, the grade really has very little to do with the actual taste of the tea; it only describes physical aspects of the leaf and not the taste of the brew – that said, this brewed up bammin’ slammin’ delicious.

There were a lot of flavors going on but they were all so harmonious; the big one for me was the sweet taste of stonefruit that gave the tea an overall jammy quality. It was very much like overripe dark cherries and it easily stood out the most to me. Cocoa, molasses malt, and honey/light caramel notes were all present too – mostly as top notes, with the exception of the molasses which I thought was a bit stronger near the end of the sip. The body was, in addition to being quite fruity, rather starchy as well but in a sweeter way, like from yams.

This easily stands out among the majority of pure black blends I’ve had in the last month – if not longer. There’s no need for sweetener either; Yun Nan Dian Hong has such a solid and nuanced flavor profile all on its own. I absolutely recommend this tea to just about anyone and I look really forward to revisiting it.

Wild Woman Black Tea from Tay Tea

wildwomanTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: Tay Tea

Tea Description:

An organic high-grown Ceylon tea with wild blueberries, black currants, hibiscus, elderberries and corn flower petals. One heavenly sip of this organic tea is enough to make you go wild! A perfect tea to wake up to.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This is a tea I was looking forward to a fair bit; despite the hibiscus in the blend which I personally think it completely unnecessary to include in most blends but especially in berry ones.

When I first started drinking teas I was actually rather hesitant about trying blueberry teas because I don’t actually like the fruit a whole lot, and I definitely don’t like the taste of anything artificially blueberry flavoured but when I finally did try out a couple blueberry blends I learned that it’s a flavour I surprisingly quite enjoy – especially when paired with a black base like this one is. In fact, my most logged tea on Steepster happens to currently be DT’s Blueberry Jam tea – it makes a great everyday sort of tea and brews up very consistently, so when I tried this one I was kind of internally measuring it against that blend.

Dry, the leaf smells mildly of blueberries and black currants with the faintest scent of something sweet and almost black licorice like – which is odd given that none of the listed ingredients are ones I’d associate with that sort of flavour or scent. Visually, I don’t see much (if any, really) hibiscus in the leaf I’ve measured out. I’m slightly relieved about that, though I wonder if it’s going to make for a skewed sampling.

Taste wise, the blueberry is definitely the first flavour here though it’s quickly followed by a little bit of elderberry and the sweeter side of black currant. I don’t actually know how much black currant is blended in here, but for people who dislike the medicinal taste black currant sometimes has I don’t really see that ever being a problem with this blend; it’s all sweet and jammy, and faint in contrast to the blueberry anyway. I will say that compared to Blueberry Jam, this has the same level of berry flavour with the same accuracy when it comes to how realistic it is.

The downside is the base. This had a recommended steep time of three to five minutes and I steeped on the lower end of the spectrum – three and a half minutes in total. Even with a steep on the low end of Tay Tea’s suggested spectrum it brewed up quite bitter, and sadly that bitterness is the finishing note which lingers well after you’ve finished the sip. It greatly detracts from what would otherwise be a very well done blueberry tea.

For that reason, I don’t think I’d order it for myself though I do think it’d be worthwhile to try it again with a steep time closer to two and a half minutes to see if the bitterness could be lessened without losing out on the robust blueberry notes.

Assam Borengajuli FBOP from Culinary Teas

Tea Type: Black Tea

Where To Buy: Culinary Teas

Product Description:
Country of Origin: India
Region: Assam, Mangaldai
Shipping Port: Calcutta/Haldia
Grade: FBOP Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe
Altitude: 1000 ft. above sea level
Manufacture Type: Orthodox
Malty with a jammy-like flavor best describes this premium tea. The tea is vacuum-packed at the estate capturing the pungent 2nd flush flavor at its peak.

Tasters Review:

I know this isn’t a Holiday-Related Tea Post…but…I like this tea and really want to share it with you all today!  It’s Assam Borengajuli from Culinary Teas…a strong and sturdy black tea!

When I first smelled the dry leaves I was thinking it smelled a little like those Raisins in the lil red boxes…a different yet welcomed aroma.

Post infusion it smells like bakey black tea.  A hefty Assam, indeed!

The taste is a BOLD black tea taste a little sweet at first but then turns a bit jammy.

I did try a 2nd infusion on this, too, and it was quite nice!  It was much smoother the 2nd time around and was more fruit-like.  It bet it would go great with toast!  YUM!

Raspberry Green Tea from Rishi

Tea Type: Green Tea

Where To Buy: Rishi Tea

Product Description:

Raspberry Green, Organic Fair Trade Green Tea

Smooth, steamed green tea blended with tart hibiscus and succulent raspberries. This blend is sweet, jammy and rich with a character that lends itself to tasty hot or iced tea. Goes well with a squeeze of lemon or pomegranate juice.

Water: 180°F / Leaves: 1 tablespoon per 8 oz / Infusion Time: 3-4 minutes / Ingredients: Organic green tea, organic raspberry, organic Fair Trade Certified™ hibiscus and natural raspberry flavor. Origin: Rishi blend.

Tasters Review:

Rishi is introducing 12 new teas!  I’m so happy to share my experiences with their BRAND NEW Raspberry Green Tea!

When I opened the package the Raspberry seemed to be of the dried fruit variety and a little sticky…which then seemed to make the green tea leaves sticky and/or seemed to give it a texture. The aroma was a wonderful raspberry. I think there are more Raspberry bits than actual green tea and ONE little Hibiscus sliver in the bit that I infused!

Some of you know my love/hate relationship with Hibiscus.  Most Hibiscus attempts are a fail…mostly because the hibiscus is WAY over done (too much in the blend) or I find it unnecessary altogether.  PLUS it’s too tarty and puckery for my liking most times.  NOT this time around…the very little Rishi used of the Hibiscus seemed to assist the other flavors and worked very well with it.  It didn’t interrupt the wonderful raspberry at all.

The taste of this tea is sweet and fruity and has the slightest tart to it – but like I said before…it’s very slight and actually makes sense!  This infuses to a very light pinkish color. It has a nice juicy and mellow type taste with fruity highlights and I really REALLY like it and think it would be wonderful iced, too!

I’m very happy with this one and very honored to be able to try this so quickly after it’s release.  Be sure to check out their other releases…you might just be surprised at what you find!  AND please visit SororiTEA Sisters again soon…there are more Rishi Reviews on Tap!