Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Tea Description:
A balanced cup for all green tea drinkers, our organic and Fair Trade Certified green tea from the Idulgashinna Estate in Sri Lanka is not too vegetal and not too fruity. Manufactured in the Uva region in eastern Sri Lanka (east of the other well known regions such as Nuwara Eliya and Dimbulla), this tea is from one of the well-known Staasen group of plantations, about 3300 – 6500 feet in elevation. It withstands multiple infusions quite well and has a pleasant sweet note with a clean finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love Arbor Teas, they are one of my favorite companies. They are very earth-friendly with their compostable packaging, their products are organic and Fair Trade Certified, and they work hard to minimize their carbon footprint. These things are not only important to the world we live in but to me, personally, as a consumer.
That being said, even though they are an environmentally friendly company, if I didn’t like their tea, I wouldn’t do business with them. Fortunately, they also have top-notch tea! And WOW! I’m loving this one!
The flavor is very smooth and even-tempered, much like I’d expect from a black Ceylon, but with a fresher, green tea kind of flavor that is not too grassy or vegetative. While there are some grassy tones to this, it’s really a smoother grassy flavor than you might expect from a green tea.
It has a sweetness to it that is very green tea-ish, a very mellow kind of sweetness that tastes faintly of honey. It also has a mild fruity sweetness that melds beautifully with the honey-esque tones.
This is the kind of green tea that you’d be proud to serve to guests, it has a very palatable flavor that I think everyone can appreciate, even those who don’t care for green tea would probably enjoy this one!
Organic Korakundah Estate Nilgiri FOP Black Tea from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Product Description:
This very fine black tea is produced at the Korakundah estate in the Nilgiri region of southern India, surrounded by pristine streams and virgin forests and nearly crowning the Nilgiri ranges at 8,000 feet above sea level. This organic and Fair Trade Certified tea is composed of twisted leaves of uniform size and deep brown color. As is typical of high-quality Nilgiris, the infusion offers a straightforward but delicate flavor, floral and brisk.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a delicious Nilgiri.
It brews to a beautiful coppery color, and the flavor is bright. I would classify it as a full-flavored tea that falls somewhere between a Ceylon and an Assam: not quite as bold as an Assam, but with a bit more gusto than a typical Ceylon. It has some of those deep, baked-bread kind of flavors that I would typically taste in an Assam, as well as a crispness (briskness?) that reminds me a bit of a Ceylon.
There is also a fantastic floral note in the background. Not overly floral, but, it certainly evokes thoughts of a flowery meadow growing somewhere near the tea estate, gently weaving hints of flavor into the breeze that then lightly caress the tea leaves.
Something I did not know, but, learned today as I visited the Arbor Teas website to read more about this tea, is that Nilgiri tea is an ideal tea to prepare as an iced tea as it is less prone to cloud. Interesting! This would taste great iced, too, as I find the flavor tends to smooth out as it cools … this is even tastier chilled than it is hot. It would be lovely with a thin slice of lemon or lime!
Organic Singampatti Oothu Estate Black Tea from Arbor Teas
Tea Type:
Black Tea
Where To Buy:
Arbor Teas
Product Description:
This very fine black tea hails from the Oothu estate in the Indian state of Kerala, just miles from the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. Isolated from the rest of the country by the Western Ghats, tea grows at the Oothu Estate amid lush green rainforest and stunning natural beauty. In fact, Oothu translates to “spring of water.” The Singampatti group of estates produce the largest amount of organic tea in the world. This organic, Fair Trade Certified black tea is full-bodied, smooth, and subtly sweet with light to medium astringency.
Sustainability is a cornerstone of Arbor Teas’ business philosophy. In addition to offering an exclusively organic selection of teas, they recently became the first tea company to offer their whole catalog in 100% backyard compostable packaging. They’ve also carbon-offset the entire supply chain of their products, from origin to the customer, making Arbor Teas the greenest option for Earth-conscious tea drinkers, and one of few tea companies recognized by Green America.
Tasters Review:
Many of you know I enjoy sampling Estate Teas but while sipping on the tea I like to read up on the state itself. I’m very excited Arbor Teas offers this black tea – Organic! As a matter of fact ALL of the Arbor Teas TEAS are Organic and I think that is wonderful!
Upon first sniff of this tea prior to adding hot water to it the aroma was a black tea with naturally fruity notes. Once I added the water the aroma morphed to a sweeter-woodsy type smell which was also pleasant.
The flavor of this tea is wonderful! It’s a cross between a medium-strength black tea that is a bit woodsy-sweet and a cocoa yet slightly fruity flavor. It certainly is something.
The aftertaste has a coca-type taste to it…perhaps a little like cocoa-powder…to give you an idea of what I am thinking for an aftertaste, that is.
It’s a very satisfying cup and I enjoyed it very much and would suggest it to others who are fans of above average and special-tasting yet true-straight-up black teas!
Organic Greenfield Estate Ceylon from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Product Description:
This terrific example of a high-grown Ceylon black tea hails from Sri Lanka’s eastern Uva District, grown between 5,000 and 6,000 feet above sea level. Organic and Fair Trade Certified, this black tea is composed of finely twisted leaves of uniform size and dark brown color. Its full-bodied mahogany infusion represents the best of high-grown Ceylons, with a complex flavor profile, light body and classic brisk character.
Ingredients: organic Sri Lankan black tea
Taster’s Review:
When it comes to unflavored Ceylon teas, I am not usually overly enthusiastic. That’s because for the most part, they are rather ho-hum. Boring. Of course, there are exceptions to this, and I have tasted several remarkable Ceylon teas worthy of enthusiasm. However, I don’t think I’ve ever tasted one quite like this.
Truth be told, I held on to my sample of this tea for a few months because of that “ho-hum-ness” (yes, it’s a word … now) and now that I’m tasting it, I’m regretting my hesitance. This is the opposite of boring. This Ceylon is SUPERB!
It is remarkably smooth, starting with a sweetness that reminds me of dark brown sugar and honey, and ends with a light astringency. It is brisk and absolutely delicious. This is one of those teas that I could see myself drinking every day and not ever tiring of it.
There are notes of fruit in the background – a distinct citrus note with perhaps a hint of apricot? – and a hint or two of flower within these complex layers of flavor. I am finding myself so enveloped in this tea, enjoying the amazing sweetness of it and exploring the myriad of flavors within it.
The worst part about this tea – is that it is so good that it disappears from my cup too fast! I highly recommend this one – it should be on the shelf of every tea lover’s cupboard.
Organic Masala Chai from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Product Description:
This organic, Fair Trade Certified Masala Chai Black Tea blend has a medium-body with exceptionally spicy flavor and aroma. This formula is based on traditional South Indian blending methods and ingredients, using a CTC leaf grade (i.e. very small), as well as green cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper. Despite the CTC grade leaf, this tea has surprisingly little astringency. The clove and ginger really come through, with a wonderful cardamom finish. We recommend steeping a triple-strength cup of our Masala Chai Black Tea and serving it with honey and steamed milk.
Ingredients: organic black tea, organic green cardamom, organic cinnamon, organic ginger, organic clove, and organic black pepper.
Taster’s Review:
I have wanted to try this chai ever since I reviewed the Masala Chai Tea-Infused Chocolate Truffle from Arbor Teas in November. And I am so glad that I’ve finally had that opportunity, because this is a remarkable chai!
I steeped this just as recommended in the description from Arbor Teas (which I’ve included above), I steeped it extra strong and then served it with honey and steamed milk. AWESOME! This makes a delicious chai latte.
First of all, I must say that I love that Arbor Teas recognizes that we don’t all just want to stand at our stove and brew chai tea using the “stovetop” method. Get real! It’s messy and to be quite honest, there are few things that I enjoy heating on the stove less than milk.
This chai tastes great when brewed at a concentrated strength in water, and then adding steamed milk to the brewed liquor. It is a chai after my heart!
The black tea base is strong but not bitter and there is very little astringency to it. The astringency – what little there is – seems to nearly vanish after the steamed milk is added. It is smooth and rich tasting, and I love that it is organic too.
The spices are nicely balanced in this blend, and they stand up well to the addition of steamed milk. The pepper seems to stand out for me, but I like pepper in a chai so that’s not a problem. It doesn’t overwhelm the other spices – it just adds a new level of warmth to this chai which I am finding to be remarkably complex even with the addition of milk.
Delicious!