Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grey’s Teas
Tea Description:
This extra quality Keemun has a neat pine-needle leaf producing a subtly rich liquor with a toasty character and delicate aroma. A truly delicate tea that can be enjoyed any afternoon or evening.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read the name of this tea on the package, I was a little confused by it: Keemun Peony. Is it a black tea, or a white tea? Before I brewed it, I brought up the Grey’s Teas Website and found that this is a Black Tea from China. The aroma of the dry leaf is rich with notes of a warm, toasty, earthy type of scent. There is also a sort of leather-y type of fragrance. The brewed tea smells very similar to what I experienced with the dry leaf.
Nice! This is such a rich and satisfying Keemun. It has wisps of smokiness in the background. Not an overpowering taste of smoke, I would describe it more as a smoke you’d taste if you were to taste a fire-roasted plum. And I mention “plum” because I taste notes of fruit in this cup as well, and it’s not so easy to pinpoint the fruit flavor I taste, but, I’d say it’s closest to plum. As I continue to sip, I notice that the fruit notes seem to morph into the fruit notes you would taste in a well-aged wine. The astringency to this tea further develops the wine-like flavors. There is a honey-like sweetness to the cup as well.
Overall, I would describe this tea as a masculine tea. It has a rugged sort of flavor, like something you’d want to drink early in the day to give you that inspiration to get moving. Toasty and smoked. Rich and earthy, with notes of leather. It does have sweetness to it too, from the aforementioned fruit and honey notes, but even these have a sort of masculine quality to them, tasting sweet but with savory undertones to cut through some of the sweeter notes. Nothing too sweet here. Just a smooth, rich tea experience.
Assam Smoked Oolong Tea from Grey’s Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Grey’s Teas
Tea Description:
Having a big, tippy, curly leaf, this is a most unusual and aromatic oolong from India’s northern Assam region. It is produced using the semi fermented oolong process and is smoked with an oak-like wood, unlike the pinewood used for lapsang souchong. Its aroma is unique. Brew for three minutes and drink without milk. Once tried, forever besotted!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I could smell the smoke in this Assam Smoked Oolong Tea from Grey’s Teas the moment I opened the pouch. But what I liked is that the smoke … didn’t overwhelm me. I didn’t get that “off-putting” sort of feeling when I smelled the tea … and that often happens when I encounter a really strongly smoked tea. I like that I can definitely tell that this is smoked, but it’s not an assault on my olfactory nerves.
And this is a really interesting cup of tea! I brewed this tea the way I usually brew an Oolong – in my gaiwan, using short steeps – and my first cup is the combination of infusions 1 and 2 (following a quick 15 second rinse).
The sip starts out with an immediate introduction to the smoky notes. But I can also taste the fruity qualities of this dark Oolong, and together with the smoky notes, it almost tastes as though a plum and a peach were smoked in a pit. It’s a very unique flavor.
And I can also taste floral notes … and with the smoky tones, it almost tastes as though flowers were smoked with those stone fruits. This tastes unlike any other tea I’ve ever tasted. The smoky tones are extraordinary in themselves, because this doesn’t taste like the typical “smoked” tea … the flavor is deeper, richer … more like the fire from a hearth rather than a campfire.
The second cup (infusions #3 and 4) brought a more unified taste. There is less distinction between the different flavors. I taste a little bit of sweet and savory. The smoky notes are prominent. The fruit tones are sweet and sour and the smoky tones are savory and even hint at some bitter notes, with hints of sweet, exotic flower in the distance. This cup is very smooth and has very little astringency to it. It has a very pleasant, soft mouthfeel.
As I brewed the third cup, I sort of expected some of the smoky tones to wane, but the smoke remains! It softens somewhat … but it really surprised me just how long the flavor stays with this tea.
If you’re one of those who love a good, smoky tea – you really should try this Assam Smoked Oolong from Grey’s Teas! I’m not a huge smoky tea fan … but I really enjoyed this, and it surprised me at how long the smoky tones lasted. It’s a really enjoyable and very flavorful tea!
Royal Tea of Kenya Tajiri Black from Grey’s Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grey’s Teas
Tea Description:
A rare and wonderful orthodox tea from Kenya: Royal Tajiri was planted over fifty years ago on naturally fertile soils at an altitude of 6700 ft in Gatundu District, amongst the foothills of Mount Kenya, alongside the Rundu and Mukengeria rivers. This gorgeous, orthodox, large leaf tea is neatly twisted and has a lovely appley and caramel aroma. In the cup it is deep bronze. It is full bodied, rich and smooth. Brew for four minutes. It may be drunk with milk.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The first thing I noticed with this tea (besides the large, twisted leaves!) was the aroma of the brewed tea – as the description suggests, there is a distinct apple-like note with hints of caramel to the fragrance of this Royal Tea of Kenya Tajiri Black from Grey’s Teas. It smells … irresistible – very autumnal!
As I sip it, I’m wishing I could taste the apple that I enjoyed in scent of the tea, but there are only mere hints of a fruit-like tone. It isn’t as distinctly apple as the aroma. But, that’s not to say that this is not a wonderful tea … it IS. It’s really quite a delicious tea … I just kind of got my hopes up when I smelled that apple.
But there IS a delectable caramel-y tone to this tea that brings a wonderful sweetness to the sip. The tea is rich and robust. I taste hints of a peppery like spice to it … it’s in the distance, but, with every sip, I find myself noticing just a slight hint of that pepper … as if someone ground a peppercorn in the tea when it was brewed. There isn’t enough there to really call this a peppery or a spicy tea … or even a warmly spiced tea … but just this faint, vague whisper of pepper.
There is a fair amount of astringency to this tea, that brings a drying sensation toward the finish and into the aftertaste. The aftertaste is sweet and slightly earthy. Overall, this is a very enjoyable cup of tea – it would make a great first thing in the morning kind of cup … as well as a great way to perk up mid-day when you need a refreshing jolt. I like it served hot – straight up! But … if you want to go a little indulgent … try it with a drizzle of maple syrup. OH my!
China Keemun Dahlia Black Tea From Grey’s Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grey’s Teas
Tea Description:
Keemun is grown in Anhui Province and is a ‘gongfu’ tea requiring disciplined skill to produce thin tight strips. It produces a rich liquor with a slightly scented flavour and delicate aroma. Keemun is the most famous of China’s black teas and, due to its subtle and complex nature, it is considered the “Burgundy of teas”.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
OH wow! This China Keemun Dahlia Black Tea from Grey’s Teas is awesome!
The flavor is rich and powerful – it is a bold, robust, hefty black tea, but it also possesses enough subtle nuances to it to keep it from becoming too overpowering. There are some smoky notes to this, but, they aren’t as apparent as in some other Keemun teas I’ve encountered. Here the smoky notes are softer … like wisps of smoke that waft their way throughout the sip.
There is a really pleasant complexity to this tea – with notes of fruit, earth, leather, caramel, hints of smoke and very delicate whispers of flower within the layers of flavor. I like that it is a strong tea, but, it isn’t all about the strength. I like that it isn’t so heavy in flavor that the softer notes become lost … I love that I can taste all the little delicate notes here.
This is a tea that has the strength that is needed for that first cup of the day (this would be great as a morning latte!) but it also has enough softer, wine-like notes that make for a very enjoyable afternoon cuppa as well.
An excellent Keemun – this one gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me!
Formosa Lapsang from Grey’s Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Oolong Teas
Where to Buy: Grey’s Teas
Tea Description:
A most unusual tea combining the earthy characteristics of Formosa’s oolongs with the pinewood aromas of Fujian Lapsang Souchongs. The typically coarse yet deep brown leaf produces a wonderfully balanced and subtly smokey tea that is most appealing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened the package of this Formosa Lapsang Blend from Grey’s Teas, it smelled much smokier than I expected it to. The Smoky tones are really strong!
I brewed this for three minutes in 195°F water following a quick 15 second rinse, and I’m really delighted with the results. The smoky tones mellow out a bit after brewing (and rinsing!) … this is not nearly as smoky tasting as I anticipated it being based on the aroma I was experiencing when I opened the package.
This is really quite nice! It is smoky, yes, but, the smoky tones are more subtle than I expected them to be. The Formosa Oolong offers a smooth, almost buttery kind of texture to the sip, which when united with the smoky notes … becomes this very soft, smooth, sophisticated kind of smoky note that is actually quite enjoyable to sip. I think that if this was the first smoky tea that I ever tried (and provided I brewed it correctly!) … I might not have been so anti-Lapsang Souchong for so many years! This would be an excellent “gateway” kind of smoky tea for those of you who fear the strong, smoky overtones of Lapsang Souchong!
It has a richness to it, although it’s not quite as sturdy or bold as, say, a black Lapsang Souchong. The Oolong lightens the cup up a little bit, while adding a nice texture to the body of the cup … so I would still categorize this as a full-bodied tea, but, just not quite as hefty as the typical straight black tea might be. It has a very pleasing flavor, especially to me, as I tend to be not so crazy about the overtly smoky teas. I like the subtle approach of the smoke here.
In addition to the smoke, I also note lovely floral notes and fruity tones in the background … like a smoked peach, if you can imagine such a thing! Delicious hints of caramel undertones. A real delight, and a very pleasant surprise, this Formosa Lapsang tea from Grey’s! I like it.
Editor’s Note: I have edited this review based on the input provided by Mr. Grey (see the comments!). When I originally reviewed it, I believed it to be a blend of Lapsang Souchong black tea and Formosa Oolong tea, and have since learned differently. It is a very good tea – regardless!