Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘tea review’

Of all the tea ware that I own, my Chatsford remains my favorite. The Chatsford Teapot is an earthenware pot made by the London Teapot Company. I have compiled a list of good and bad points in the hopes it will provide someone valuable information before purchasing a teapot.

Good points about the Chatsford. Let me see, the infuser basket would have to be the best part of this teapot. The infuser is huge, almost as large as the round belly of the teapot itself! The infuser is made of polypropylene with fine mesh to keep any and all tea leaves from getting into your cup. The infuser also has a little tab that you can pull it out of the pot without burning your fingers. I have a two cup teapot, that little infuser fits perfectly into a small butter dish allowing you to save your leaves for a later steep. You can purchase the infuser baskets separately which will allow you to have one for herbals, one for blacks or just to have a spare if one is in the dishwasher. Since the teapot is earthenware, it retains heat beautifully. Your first cup will be hot, but your next cups will be even hotter. I have kept tea hot in my Chatsford for upwards of an hour.

Bad points about this teapot would have to include the limited colors that are available. It comes in a dark blue, dark green, yellow, white and brown. The only other bad thing about a Chatsford would be the cost. You can buy cheaper teapots in more vibrant colors, but would it have that great infuser basket that fits perfectly with the lid of the teapot. I think not.

I highly recommend this teapot. It is charming and makes darn good tea.

You can purchase the Chatsford Teapot directly from the The London Teapot Company website.

Due to user error, my first experimental pot of Lochan’s Harmutty Golden Paw was a declawed version of what a good Assam should be. At a scant teaspoon per cup and 3:45 brewing time (what I thought was a fair middle range), it was a beautiful amber in the cup, but I couldn’t coax much flavor out of it. It just tasted light and tea-ish.

When I got distracted—a routine occurrence on busy Saturdays—and left the rest of the pot for more than an hour, the color began to darken. Once that happened, some sweet, nutty notes began to emerge—prompting visions of and a craving for my Aunt Nancy’s legendary pecan pie. The full pot’s worth of leaves, double strength in a single cup, made a great glass of iced tea in the afternoon.

Evidently, this tea is not intended to be treated like a pampered pussycat. Even though the leaves are light and fluffy, they need strength (a heaping teaspoon per cup and then some) and time (minimum five minutes). When you give Harmutty Golden Paw a lion’s share of care and attention, you’ll get a smooth, light, slightly sweet, highly enjoyable tea.

From the label: Top quality black tea with the sweet flavor of ripe fruit, and rich, smooth honey.

The smell of the tea leaves (dry and wet) is musty. Oh, I see pollen pieces on the ingredient list. That would explain the slight musty smell.

The taste is of pear. Greenish Pears that may have not been ready to pick The amber liquid does not need sweeteners. It is fine all by itself. This reminds me more of white tea than black. The pollen is probably responsible for the “flowery” taste emitting from my cup. As this cools, the taste is unforgiving for me. I cannot bear to finish this tea, the flowers, the pollen, the mustiness all came together in a bitter mess of a tea. I hope to have better luck on my next Golden Moon sample, but it is a wrap for this one.

You can purchase the Honey Pear directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Much to my delight, I recently received a shipment of 3 teas from Davids Tea. I have been looking forward to sampling and reviewing tea from Davids ever since a store opened close to me here. They are truly a Canadian company (unlike the mistake I made with Mighty Leaf, Davids really was started, and is run, in Canada ), and I have been itching to feature them in a review.

Out of the 3 samples I was sent, the Mojito Mint was the one that caught my eye first. It could have been because after my wife going to Cuba, she has been on a Mojito kick, and we finally perfected our own Mojito recipe here, or it could be because of the sweet smell to the tea, or perhaps the odd mixing of Black tea and Rooibos. Whatever the reason, the Mojito Mint gets the nod for the first review.

This blend is part of Davids Tea’s Summer 2010 collection. I have, in all my years of tasting, never seen a blend of Black Tea and Rooibos together. In the bag, I get a sweet scent, with definite coconut and pineapple, and an undertone of the mint.

The instructions called for 80 deg. Celsius water – again, odd for a Black Tea and Rooibos both – usually you use boiling water for each one of these, but I am always for first trying it the suggested route, so that is what I did. They suggested a 3-4 min steep, so I went for a 4 min, as it seemed a good compromise between my 6 min usual Rooibos, and 3 min usual Black Tea.

The colour of the liquor is a reddish, muddy brown, mid-clear. It is not the dark Black, nor the red Rooibos, again speaking to the compromise that I am seeing in this tea already. Straight out of the steep the coconut scent dominated, but as it cooled, the sweet nutty Rooibos scent, and more mint started to peek through.

The flavour of this tea is amazing. Mojito it is not, I did not get any sense of that, but the name aside, I am really enjoying this tea. There is not a hint of tannin bitterness, in fact, the Black tea really seems to be only a supporting cast member. The dominant base is Rooibos, and each of the flavours seem to come through at different points – first sip I got coconut and a bit of rum’ish flavour, then the fruity pineapple flavouring peeks up – the final appearance from the mint leaves a refreshed taste in my mouth, and encourages another sip to start the cycle all over again.

I am still not sure why the Mojito name, since a Mojito is traditionally a rum/lime flavour, but frankly I don’t care what it is called! I have enjoyed cup after cup of this tea, and keep going back for more. Thumbs up recommendation for a Canadian company making it’s debut with us with a bang!

You can purchase the Mojito Mint Magic directly from the Davids Tea website.

This tea is confusing, and complex. When I first opened the packet I did a double take – bubble gum! But I was opening tea, not gum…? On a second sniff I could identify the vanilla and in the background found a subtle hidden jasmine note. But overall – bubble gum.

My first sip tasted odd… the flavors were complex and hard to pin down. My tongue was confused. I got some creaminess from the vanilla, but couldn’t really taste the jasmine. But I did get a cooling aftertaste in my mouth after the liquid had passed which I think may have been the jasmine. There was a fleeting overtone of “artificiality” in the brew. When I added a little sweetener, I tasted some of the “cream soda” flavor other tasters have reported. But it wasn’t a strong resemblance.

I then tried it cooled, and enjoyed it much more. The melded vanilla and jasmine each stand out as separate yet complimentary flavors.

As an iced tea, this was wonderful. I can very much see myself sitting outside on a warm night, drinking this tea, and being very content. As a warm tea, it wasn’t my favorite, however I know of many others who appreciate it very much. This is one of those teas you’ll have to try for yourself. But, if you do – make sure to try it iced.

You can purchase the Vanilla Jasmine directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.