Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Tea Description:
This new American black tea blend combines bold flavor, rich color, & full body with hints of chocolate. This robust breakfast blend is made from our favorite strong black teas from high altitude estates in China, India and Sri Lanka. We have combined these black teas with pu’erh, an aged black tea from Yunnan China, and dark chocolate essence. This tea yields a rich, dark liquor and a warm, well-rounded flavor that takes very well to milk and even better in the form of a tea latte. The high caffeine content and robust flavor makes this the perfect tea to help kick your coffee habit!
Features:
50-60 mg Caffeine / Serving
More caffeine than other teas, half of coffee
Ideal morning boost: Makes great lattes!
Satisfying, robust, dark chocolate flavor
Gluten-free & Sugar-free
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A steepster friend sent me a sample of this tea. I already knew she had excellent taste as she buys a lot of tea from another of my favorite tea vendors. Still, I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed this tea. I get a lot of samples to select from, and taste a lot of teas, and I am choosy on which I write reviews on because I want to introduce blog readers to the best of the best. Still sometimes I do feature a tea that is just okay with me, but I know others would enjoy very much as not all teas will be to my personal flavor palate liking. This however is one that is right in my wheelhouse!
First we begin with a very nice pu-erh base. Earthy and sweet, a little fruity but not too much. There is a light incense like flavor such as sandalwood but don’t worry it doesn’t taste like perfume! Then we have a decedent chocolate flavor that is outstanding and I am a chocolate flavored tea snob as many already know. I can’t stand chocolate flavors that taste like cheap Easter egg candy you can buy at the dollar store! When it comes to chocolate in tea it has to be top notch, and this is! Then a light berry note peeks out from behind the scenes just to give this tea a nice bright cheery lift to help you perk up in the mornings.
This tea is deep and rich like coffee and is a great tea to convert your coffee drinking friends over with, yet not too bold that true tea lovers would be turned off. Many reviewers on The Tea Spot site claim that they totally replaced their coffee intake with this tea! And of course there are the wonderful benefits of pu-erh to enjoy!
This tea does have some lovely layers to it yet is blended quite well so no one flavor totally takes over the cup yet with the layers there are some notes that jump out at you now and then just to say “hey, wake up you, lets have a great day!” Each time the fruity flavor peeks through its like a little surprise that perks me up, each time I get a hint of the woodsy flavor I feel comforted and grounded, which can be helpful in the mornings! Granted there is chocolate in this tea but I would not call it a “chocolate tea” chocolate is simply one of the many layers in this tea, soft and delicate to my palate.
Yes I will be ordering more of this tea as soon as my tea budget regenerates! I see myself having this in my morning tea rotation several days of the week!
Be sure to enter The Tea Spots Free Tea for a Year Contest! Info on their facebook page here or go directly to the contest entry form here.
Nilgiri Frost Oolong from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Nilgiri Frost Oolong originates from Nilgiri, in Southern India and is graded TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe). Since this tea is grown at a high elevation, the leaves are exposed to a light frost during some nights of the winter months. The long thin chocolate colored leaves are hand twisted and produce a weighty body. This smooth tea has notes of citrus, peach, pecan, and oak. There are many qualities similar to a Nilgiri black tea; however, the frost oolong is much gentler and sweeter. This tea is produced in very limited quantities due to the short harvest period and special conditions that must exist.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
In some ways this tea reminds me more of a black tea than an oolong, which isn’t a bad thing as it is nice to have a little of both worlds sometimes. Not floral like many oolong, this tea is deep and robust. It has levels of flavors ranging from light and fruity to deep and woodsy.
Like many black teas there is also an astringency that I often do not find in oolong tea. This astringency is not a bad thing either – not bitter but a slight sour note, not as in sour milk of course but more like in sweet fruity candies with sour sugar sprinkled on top.
The dry leaf is dark and mysterious with twists and curls through out. It looks perfect for this time of year where the leaves are changing colors and Halloween is around the corner. Sort of spooky in its visual effect. Wet, the leaf unfurls and colors of amber brown and deep green appear. The liquid color is reddish amber.
Notes of oak, peach, and nutty pecan peek through in the flavors.
Some mornings I am not sure if I want an oolong even as much as I adore oolong, I just need a black tea to get me started, yet this tea seems to lay somewhere in the middle for me. Its perfect when I crave an oolong but need the black tea mind and energy boost! Quite honestly, even with as many oolong as I drink and as much as I love my oolong tea, this would have been difficult for me to detect as an oolong had I not known before sipping. I could have easily been fooled, especially early in the morning to believe it was a black tea.
Truly this Oolong is different, and if you consider yourself an oolong connoisseur, you certainly should try it, simply for the experience of something so different. If you love your black teas but are curious about oolong this is the one to try. Or, if you are like me, and love both but are not quite sure on some mornings which to grab and steep – get this one and solve that problem right away!
Honey Malt With Chocolate Malt Tea from Malt Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Grain Tea
Where to Buy: Malt Tea
Tea Description:
This tea mixes the intense sweetness and honey aroma from Honey malt with the extra roasted coffee flavor from the Chocolate Malt. Be Advised: Chocolate Malt gets it’s name from the dark brown color that is similar to the color of dark chocolate. It does not taste like chocolate!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A long time ago I used to do home brewing, so when I saw a tea company offering whole grain teas I had to try it! When I saw the price for this tea, and all the others on the site I was floored at how inexpensive the teas were, and could not help but getting one of their sampler packs! I am so very happy that I did.
I will say this “tea” may not be for everyone. First of all its not technically tea. It is different, and hearty, robust even. This particular grain tea should not be confused with a chocolate flavored tea, be it naturally flavored or otherwise. It does not taste like chocolate. As the tea description says, it is simply called chocolate because of the deep chocolate color of the malt in this tea. It is however decedent, like chocolate.
This tea would be perfect for anyone trying to get off the coffee kick, anyone who appreciates home brewed or crafted beers, or anyone who appreciates a very unusual, sweet, yet savory drink.
I find that this tea is similar for me to genmaicha, which is also sold on the malt-tea site. When I crave it, I CRAVE it and nothing else will satisfy me. I find myself longing for this tea as the weather becomes cooler and cooler heading into autumn, and once winter is here I know I will be keeping a steady supply of this tea around!
There is a very distinct honey flavor to this tea. You can’t get away from that so if you do not care for honey this would not be the best tea to select, however there are other non-honey grain teas you can choose from. The mouthfeel is full and broth-y and reminds me of an asian soup I had recently in a very nice Japanese restaurant – a mushroom like flavor. Of course it also tastes like malt, very good malt. While some may reckon this malt flavor to say, Ovaltine, and I have had my share of Ovaltine flavored teas, from pure experience I have to say this malt is by far superior to that malt taste.
As you swirl the tea in the mouth you find the honey notes dancing playfully around your palate while the malt notes sit more politely and well behaved on the top of the tongue carpeting it in warmth. The after taste is not very lingering which only makes you want to hurry to the next sip.
I will be headed out to the Renaissance Festival over the weekend and this tea makes me feel like taking it along with me! It would fit perfectly into that atmosphere and I fear I won’t find a better drink while there since I don’t indulge in alcohol anymore.
I do feel this tea would also be excellent iced in the summer.
This is the second tea I have tired out of my sampler pack which by the way is adorable! It comes with two samples, in bags, of five different teas. All of their materials are recycled. The box is cute and wrapped in thin twine. The labeling is very simplistic and they include a nice quote as well.
My quote said: “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evently, without rushing toward the future. – Thich Nat Hahn
I like this quote and will drink my Honey Malt with Chocolate Tea as such.
Indonesian from Mark T. Wendell
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Product Desription:
An exquisite tea sourced from Indonesia’s Kertasarie Estate, this is a favorite of those who love a strong and stimulating flavor in their cup. Indonesia’s high altitudes, volcanic soil and tropical climate produce a dark and rich tasting tea that is truly unique.
Tasters Review:
I LOVE trying teas from different estates, and, of course, different countries! I LOVE learning about the histories of the estates! When I saw this one from the Indonesia’s Kertasarie Estate I HAD to try it!
The first time I tried this tea my initial thoughts were…a bold brew, slightly malty, and rich. I thought it was ‘good’ for mornings and mid-afternoon lulls. But I have to admit…the more I drank of this wonderful tea the more I liked it…the more I appreciated it. It’s a delicious cup! It’s much more meaningful than I first gave it credit for! Another interesting thing about this tea is it holds up to multiple infusions well – for a black tea. The 2nd infusion seemed to be sweeter and juicier yet still bold and very satisfying!
This could easily be a staple in any black tea lovers tea cabinet!
Darjeeling Avongrove from Camellia Sinensis
Tea Type:
White Tea
Where To Buy:
Camellia Sinensis
Product Description:
This white tea is very unusual combination of Darjeeling terroir, pure assamica tea, and the artisanal expertise of Avongrove’s Mr.Subba. Large silken buds give a relatively dark infusion and liquor due to the assamica’s chemistry. Rich and creamy in the cup with a smooth, full attack of cocoa butter and hazelnut notes that linger into a long pleasant aftertaste.
Tasters Review:
I’m just going to say…right off the bat…I LOVE THIS WHITE TEA!
I don’t think you understand…I love it! I mean I REALLY LOVE IT!
Darjeeling Avongrove from Camellia Sinensis has amazing cocoa notes after infusing. It really came alive once I added the pipping hot water! The natural aroma is very powerful and truly crave-worthy!
The taste is delicious! It has cocoa and hazelnut hints but the white tea itself is top quality and smooth, silky, creamy, and a true delight!
This white tea really has me craving more! I just might declare this one of my favorite white teas of all-time!
Let’s just say it had me at HELLO.