Black Ruby/Rakkasan

Sustainability. What does that mean to you?

Is it as simple as maintaining ecological balance within the confines of ones company property or it is more than that?

Any company can put a label on their tin but to live it is a different matter.

Black Ruby comes from a women-only run estate. Though there is no specific information on Milan Kumari Khatri’s tea estate nor that I can currently find on the web, besides what is on the Rakkasan website, I can tell just by sipping this tea that the estate has very high standards.

If English Breakfast had a sister, this would be her. This delicious tea has the usual earthiness but also has some extremely unique fruit undertones, such as black cherries. If you want to support a good company make sure to give this tea a try!


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Rakkasan Tea Company

Description

This tea is no longer on the website but click below for more information .

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Ruhunu Ceylon/Zesta Tea. . . .

I would like to preface this review with the following fun fact – I am a sucker for any ceylon tea.

This tea is part of the Ceylon region pack from zesta tea and features Ceylon from the Ruhunu region which is a low grown region in the south of Sri Lanka. This tea was a loose leaf and required me to utilize one of my tea sacs rather than a stainless steeper as the leaves were so fine.

This was a batch of pure Ceylon meaning that there was no added flavors or herbs to compete with the flavor of the tea. This was a beautifully smooth brew and was one of the best ceylons I’ve ever had. Interestingly I was only able to get one brew out of a batch, but I still think that the tea is worth the cost even at one brew per serving.

Zesta sells this tea as part of their Ceylon region pack, and I would be willing to pay pack price for just this single box. For black tea drinkers, this Ceylon region pack needs to be in your upcoming purchase. This would also make a great gift for tea enthusiasts to test their palate for the subtle differences that growing regions have on a tea – wine drinkers do it all the time, we can too!

 


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Zesta Tea

Description

Experience and appreciate the unique taste of premium regional teas, as this regional pack has Ceylon tea from all five tea growing regions – Uva, Ruhunu, Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, Kandy. Ceylon tea became famous for its unique taste variety that differs across the regions and elevations which are reflected in these teas.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sandakphu Hand Rolled Black Tea/Nepali Tea Traders. . . .

Sandakphu Hand Rolled Black Tea from Nepali Tea Traders was in my stash for special occasions and recently I hit the bottom of the bag so I figured it was time to say FAREWELL and give it a proper review before it’s just a tea memory.

I looked for this tea on their website and it is no longer in stock. Back in 2014 LiberTEAs did a review of it here at The SororiTea Sisters. I remember her describing in great length of the apricot notes that shined in this. I completely agree with her that the apricot flavors truly made this a naturally flavorful and delightful cuppa.

Nepali Tea Traders said this tea was an Orthodox black tea, only two leaves and a bud are hand plucked for processing. This full-leaf, loose tea is then oxidized carefully until a fine balance of flavors is achieved. This exquisite tea has a smooth floral bouquet with a lingering apricot finish. Perhaps this is why I enjoyed this tea so much…I have always been a sucker for apricots!

I always associated them with my childhood because as a toddler one of my favorite foods was dried apricots…yes…I know…I was an ‘odd’ kid.

I did feel that the black tea was comparable to a darjeeling. It seemed to have some flavor similarities. I sure hope that Nepali Tea Traders brings this one back because it’s a REAL WINNER!!!!


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Nepali Tea Traders

Description

Click below for all of Nepali Tea Traders Black Tea Offerings!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Perseus/Thè Ô Dor. . . . .

Sometimes a tea makes such an impression on you that you can’t stop thinking about it. There are many flavored teas that substitute easily for one another because they are so similar, but then a tea comes along that has a special something that makes it unique and nothing else will do.

That is how I felt immediately when I tried Perseus. It was an Earl Grey type, and I am not an Earl Grey person with the exception of a few particular ones. I do not like the sour orange on a lemony tea base like Ceylon most of the time, preferring it on a Keemun base and even then, it must be just so.

But this Perseus is not an ordinary Earl Grey. Yes, there is bergamot, but also orange peels, yuzu, plum, everlasting flowers, and carrot. That’s right, carrot. All of this is mixed with a tea base blended from Sri Lankan and China black teas.

The final result is a tea, an Earl Grey type tea, that tastes like candy to me. I have great self control most of the time with sweets but those little guava flavored hard candies get me every time. That is what Perseus does. Once I have a cup, I want more. More. MORE!

The fruits are nicely blended and balanced, no sugar ever need lace my cup, and the brisk tingle at the end lingers with the sunny citrus flavors. This will be a lovely ray of sunshine as I wait for these short winter days to give way to the blissful longer days of spring, just around the corner.


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Thè Ô Dor

Description

An Earl Grey tea reviewed with impertinence

This creation is an invitation to look at the stars, holding a cup of tea in your hands, thinking about savoring your Earl Grey tea, this one reviewed by an Impertinent Parisian who wanted to make it his.

Of course, we will rediscover the warm flavor of bergamot, the one we love, the one from the sun, with flavors from Italy, but it will not be the only citrus fruit composing this black tea, divine creation created for the artistic professions launched at the Grand Palais in Paris.

No, not only a bergamot flavored tea since we also rediscover the Japanese delicacy of a yuzu, this citrus fruit coming from the Land of the Rising Sun which is not without reminding us of our vitamin mandarins, and the flavor of a crunchy plum as much delicious.

Black tea is here made sublime by pieces of carrot, sprinkling it and making it unquestionably unique and beneficial. It is not a wink to this vegan creation, of course, but for the properties that are attributed to it, the one to make skin sublime, that its presence may be justified.

To conclude, you will notice, while looking at the blend, that it is idealized by the presence of a few yellow flowers, these are rarer petals of everlasting flowers, here concluding the artistic inspiration of the creator.

Just like the two other creations from this unseen “Some among them are contemplating the stars” tea collection, it takes its inspiration from the constellation of the same name, and reveals to you its story through a harmony of flavors which are going to carry you to the borders of stars.

A flavored tea, a unique creation…

Silky and wide in your mouth, this flavored tea offers a delicate and transparent amber-colored beverage and is continued on notes of bergamot. Above all, zest flavors of citrus fruits are distinguished on your palate, with the light sourness of the yuzu.

Inside its pretty box, in tin or inside the traditional THEODOR loose Parisian tea bag (available in size M or L), ‘Perseus’ will offer its delicious flavors as from the opening and will bewitch your senses all along its tasting.

yuzu and bergamot flavored black tea which is going to accompany your tea time for a cup of mystery, of flavors and above all, to keep your head in the stars.

And for the palates in search of citrus fruits and coolness, discover the ‘Petite Ourse’ flavored green tea, to be savored hot or cold according to your mood!

What the legend of Perseus says… inspiration of this tea

If you look up to the sky towards the northern hemisphere, you will find the ‘Perseus’ constellation.

‘Perseus’, hero of Greek mythology, was born and raised in secrecy until his own cries revealed himself to his father. He who saved and married Andromeda, captive of a sea monster, he whom Zeus, supreme God of this mythology, had placed among the constellations in the sky.

It is this secret of Perseus that is offered to us today through notes of yuzu and plum, which respond to the flavors of orange and bergamot, combined together to a black tea sprinkled with everlasting flowers, to offer on the palate a tea made of secrets and mysteries.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Takarabako Tea Farm: Organic Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage from Yunomi. . .

The Takarabako Tea Farm in Shimane Prefecture has been experimenting with creating aged black teas, “vintages” specific to a year, and allowed to age under fixed low temperature storage conditions. For this specific tea – Takarabako Tea Farm: Organic Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage – I have to say I was blown away by the quality and flavor!

Straight-up this is an AGED Black tea. Cultivar: Yabukita with the harvest being that of Spring, 2016 from the Oba Sorayama District, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture region.

It’s Eco-farmer certified by Shimane Prefecture, has the Organic certification of JAS (Tea, Persimmon) for agriculture, processing and packing, Local GAP certification by Shimane Prefecture, and received the Excellence Award for the 19th Japan Environment Preservation Agriculture Promotion Competition. IMPRESSIVE, eh!?

The tea brews up a red/orange/brown color while the aroma shines with maltiness and a hint of cinnamon and plum. It’s smooth cuppa with the aftertaste of honey or agave!

This is a very special tea. I would share it with those I know would appreciate it. I can’t wait to see what other lovely leaves come from this region and farm!

 


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  Yunomi
Description

The Takarabako Tea Farm in Shimane Prefecture has been experimenting with creating aged black teas, “vintages” specific to a year, and allowed to age under fixed low temperature storage conditions.

  • Ingredients: Black tea
  • Cultivar: Yabukita
  • Harvest: Spring, 2016
  • Region: Oba Sorayama District, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture

 

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!