Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Lavender’

East India Tea Company’s Director’s Blend came in a very attractive lavender tea tin with the picture of East India House on the front. The East India Tea Company held auctions in London, a grand tradition that lasted 300 years and controlled the monopoly for the import of tea and other goods from the Indies. The auctions were held at East India House and tea was sold “by the candle” – wherein a candle was lit at the beginning of the sale of each lot, and when an inch of the candle had burnt away, the hammer fell and the sale was ended rather than allowing the bidding to go on for an unlimited length of time.

I was excited to taste this tea as a “director’s blend” usually means higher quality tea. Director’s blends are the tea held back by the tea company for in-house use, saved for the directors and shareholders. This is why they are the best teas to drink.

As this is a director’s blend I wanted to get a true, thorough analysis of it. I originally was just going to review it as a tea drinker, therefore using steep time, temperature, and tea amounts as a tea drinker would. However I did not think this “tea drinker” review did it justice so I also reviewed the tea as a professional tea taster would. A professional tea tasting prepares a typically more concentrated tea, the flaws and qualities of the teas come to the forefront a lot easier and we can get a truer picture of the qualities and characteristics of the tea. This is also the case when milk is added for colour analysis.

Dried leaf of this blend shows orthodox, mixed with very little CTC, good roll and tippiness. The smell of the dried leaf is of malt, and this malty aroma becomes more intense once the leaves are steeped. Where I work, we would make blends for our own consumption using the same components as this director’s blend – Sri Lankan tea for its fragrant taste and aroma, Assam tea for the maltiness and body, and Kenyan tea for the strength. This is the traditional way of making black tea.

Review using a “tea drinker’s” steeping methodology, time and amounts:

This steeps to a very bright, beautiful dark orange to amber clear infusion. Interestingly enough the colour doesn’t carry through with milk added. The milk solution was a light brown, whitish, no reddish colour.

It is not very heavy or full in the mouth, rather it is a little light, could use a little more body. If this was an Assam CTC blend it would have more body rather than an Assam Orthodox. But then again you would not see CTC mixed with Orthodox on the market; it is just that this is a director’s blend so they can put in whatever they want, especially since this is a loose tea. There is some Kenyan CTC in it. At work we also drink our black tea loose mixing Assam Orthodox with Ceylon CTC and Kenyan CTC.

The “tea drinker’s” director’s blend is not very strong after a 3 minute infusion using 13 grams of teas and 1.7L of water. But it is very flavourful. I suspect there is a first flush assam in it on account of the peppery-ness, a high-grown Ceylon which gives it its flavourfulness, and if it weren’t for the description of the blend on the back I would not have guessed that there were Kenyan teas in it just by tasting it.

As it was not very strong, I let the tea steep an extra 2 minutes and now the tea is a bright amber colour and has a golden rim around the teas which was not present before.

Taste is stronger as would be expected but was not bitter even with more extended steeping. I think a four minute total steep would be ideal. I like to steep my black tea longer (maybe even 8 minutes) but I don’t drink it black. I just like the strength to go with the milk I add as it gives a little oomph to this light bodied tea. After I added milk to the 8 minute steep, it tasted interestingly like Hong Kong style milk tea (also known as pantyhose tea “si mut nai cha). Hong Kong style milk tea is usually Ceylon black blend with condensed milk.

Review using a professional tea tasting methodology, time, and amounts

For the professional tea tasting, using a scale I measured out 2.1 grams of tea and steeped it with 150ml of boiling water for 5 minutes. It is malty. From the cupping I found that the tea was a lot stronger, brisk and bold, and had more fullness than in the previous tasting. This tells me that the tea is actually a second flush, not a first flush Assam. Second flush Assam is the best Assam. There should also be high grown Ceylon in it because it is very flavourful and once again I would not have guessed that there was any Kenyan tea so the amount they used was probably not substantial. Steeped infusion is a lot redder than in the previous tasting. With milk added the reddish colour once again becomes more apparent in this tasting than the previous.

Overall as the true qualities of this tea show up in the professional tasting, I think this tea is excellent and of high quality. It is like an English Breakfast but really can be taken anytime of the day. It is fitting that this tea is a director’s blend.

You can purchase the Directors Blend directly from the The East India Company website.

The dry leaves seemed to be more powder than leaves. The smell reminded me of cut grass.

I poured the contents of the package into my infuser basket, boiled my water and poured 8 ounces of water in my cup/infuser. I waited 5 minutes.

After brewing the smell of the leaves is sweeter. Licorice comes to mind.

In my sample the leaves were more like powder and even with my best fine mesh infuser, the particles found their way into my tea cup.

This tea is not totally undrinkable, but it was a close call on that point for me. With all the particles floating around in my cup and than the taste of valerian root, I did not enjoy this blend at all.

You can purchase the Serene Dream directly from the Rishi Tea website.

I’ve had a long and pleasurable relationship with Earl Grey so I was excited to taste this tea.   I opened the package and was initially enchanted by the aroma.    As I waited for the tea to cool, I looked at Golden Moon’s very attractive web site and learned that their Tippy Earl Grey is a :  ”High-quality black tea with subtle essences of bergamot and lavender.”  What fun!  I knew that the  bergamot with its citrusy aroma was present and accounted for most nicely but the lavender was the delightful surprise here.  The floral, slightly spicy, aromatic scent of the lavender added a delightful supporting role to the bergamot which should always be the star of Earl Grey.

The brew was an excellent Earl Grey and the select leaves and the flavoring made it a distinctive cup.  I realized how many Earl Grey teas I have sampled that only hinted slightly at the flavor.  Golden Moon always makes an effort to provide a much higher than standard experience and they did not fail here.   The lavender does not overwhelm the taste and aroma but does seem to make the bergamot a stronger, more distinctive presence than occurs in many other Earl Greys.  If you are shopping for a special Earl Grey treat, I recommend this.  I don’t know if this would be everyone’s choice for a daily Earl Grey to keep in stock always, but if you love the bergamot and want it strong and sturdy, then this might be the very best choice for you.

Congratulations to Golden Moon for getting the right assemblage of leaves and flavors together to make a delightful tea worthy of its title:  Tippy Earl Grey.

You can purchase the Tippy Earl Grey directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

On a recent trip to Banff, we passed this quaint little tea store. There was no resisting, you just never know what you are going to find, and I wasn’t disappointed. They offered a whole wall of teas from Maple to Almond and even an ice wine tea. I was as usual, drawn to the black tea’s and came across a flavor called – French Blend. It has such a comforting, warm aroma. The dry tealeaves have a beautiful rich earth color with hints of lilac, jasmine and cornflowers.

I brewed a tbsp for 3 minutes at 180 degrees and it made a perfect cup. I always add a little milk to my black teas and this one was no different. Be careful you don’t brew too long; it can get quite bitter, as a lot of black teas do.

After trying it and enjoying, I figured I would have to make the 100g bag last as long as possible (either that or convince my mother to give me back the bag I bought for her) but was very pleased to find that the Banff Tea Company has a web site where I can order it again. Nothing worse then finding something you love, and realizing there’s no way to get it again, once you are home from your trip. I would give this flavor a solid 9/10 and will be ordering again soon!

You can purchase Banff Tea Company French Blend directly from their website.