Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

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This tea has possibly one of the most well-described packages I have ever seen. The single teabag package reads: “Hamstead Tea, London. Organic Fairtrade Earl Grey with aromatic bergamot. 1 staple-free teabag.”

Wow, that is quite a mouthful. I personally do not know anyone who buys teabags who is also concerned about saving some metal, but by the look of the string attached to the teabag, it makes me wonder why more teabag-producers do not follow this. It seems that Hamstead has implemented an easy way to do away with stables entirely. But how about the tea itself?!

The packaging recommends 3-5 minutes for steeping. The last earl grey that I tried oversteeped even with low steep times, so I boil some water and decide to go for the lower end here with 3 minutes of infusion. While I will admit that I am not big on bagged tea, this tea smells quite good, dry in the bag. A hint of orange provides a nice aroma. The steeping tea gives off a pleasant bergamot aroma. The first sip confirms that 3 minutes was a perfect amount of steeping, unless you prefer your tea stronger. For a bagged tea, this is pretty smooth, but it lacks a bit in the flavor profile. This is definitely a quality bagged tea. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 65/100.

You can purchase the Biodynamic, Organic and Fairtrade Earl Grey directly from the Hampstead Tea website.

Dry leaves are black, wiry, tightly rolled leaves
Smell is of cinnamon

Wet: the leaves completely unfurled revealing black and dark green torn leaves

Ingredient list:
Finest black and green tea, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and spice oil

I made this tea stovetop. Here is my recipe:
1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup 2% milk, entire sample packet
Simmer for 9 minutes, let stand 1 minute, strain and Enjoy.

As the tea simmered, I was reminded of the homemade cocoa my Mother used to make when I was little. The color was a milky, chocolaty inviting cocoish kind of color that invokes memories of gentler times.

Someone once said that this tea was a tea for all seasons. I agree with that statement, it is a gently spiced tea that is very satisfying. The absence of pepper + the presence of a green tea contribute to the overall mildness of this blend. I could see myself drinking this at night outside enjoying my fire pit.

I believe that you really need more leaf to make this tea really pop, leaving the question in my mind: how much to purchase a full tin or half a pound? It is really one of those teas that warrant a BIG bag purchase.

You can purchase the Kashmiri Chai directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Rooibos is something I’m mixed on. I’ve had some blends I think are absolutely amazing. And I’ve had some blends which really, to me, just taste like dirt. But this one I had to try because it’s chai. I love the spicy yummy flavor.

So, it was with some trepidation and some anticipation that I tried this blend. I followed the directions on the packet, and brewed up the chai. It smells amazing, absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I’m not finding the flavor keeps up with the aroma. I find that the actual tea in spiced chai tea adds a low, base note that balances out the higher sharper note of the spices. This blend to me has all the high notes but lacks that balance that makes other chai teas so pleasurable.

I think if I were looking for a chai option with less caffeine, I’d prefer to have a decaf regular type of chai than this rooibos blend. This one, it just isn’t for me. However, based on my rooibos preferences, you may want to give it a spin yourself rather than just taking my word for it.

You can purchase the West Cape Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.

A couple of months back, when the time came for me to select my IAATL samples, I squealed with delight when I found a new growing region listed. Portugal. There was tea. Grown. In PORTUGAL! I was stoked and immediately requested it. Alas, I was a hair to slow for the loose leaf Orange Pekoe, but the teabag version was still available. Silver medal ain’t bad.

For those that don’t know, Gorreana Tea (yes, I know what the name sounds like – stop giggling) is the only tea plantation in mainland Europe. It was founded in 1883, and it was “green” before the environmental connotations even existed. And since the tea plants they grow are in the Azores region (i.e. high altitude), they are naturally pest and pesticide free. Yes, that means “organic” to you hippies out there.

It wasn’t easy judging the contents of the OP teabag. After all, they were mostly hidden from view. That and I didn’t feel like tearing it open to view the fannings. I knew they would be fannings just by the feel of the bag. So, I put nose to filter and whiffed…and was greeted by something sweet. Splendid start.

I guess I “could’ve” adhered to some formal brewing instruction for this…but I didn’t. It was a teabag; I treated it as such. 12oz. cup of near-boiling water and a three-minute steep. Seemed a reasonable approach.

The liquor brewed to something I can only describe as “soft cherrywood red”. It had a very gentle-seeming appearance – beguiling even. The aroma was slightly tannic, incredibly floral, and welcoming in its gentleness. The same was the case with the taste. It started off with a midly astringent intro but cascaded into something different. This was an orange pekoe through-and-through – lacking the Darjeeling spiciness but possessing the subtleties of a soft blanket in beverage form. This was the most perfect teabag that I’ve ever dunked. I wish I had more of ‘em for early afternoon tea fixes. Hopefully, an opportunity will come in my fantasyland future to try the loose leaf version…at the plantation itself. *Le sigh*

You can purchase the Orange Pekoe directly from the Gorreana Tea website.

Sometimes, I get a tea for review, and I go through the entire sample trying to figure out what the heck to say about it. Usually, I’m having problems coming up with something nice about the tea, or just something interesting to say.

I drank through the entire sample of this tea while coming up for the review, but for a pleasantly different reason. It was because I was a LOT more interested in drinking the tea than in writing any silly words about it. It was such a pleasant drinking experience I just didn’t want to stop.

It had plently of the slightly masculine, vegetal flavors, but it’s missing the astringency that can often come with dragon well teas. It’s a light, flavorful, and very sippable. The flat green leaves were not as as large and bright green as some other dragon well teas, but they were fragrant and brew up wonderfully.

Good overall tea, a nice example of this category. Have a cup!

You can purchase the Xi Hu Premium Dragon Well directly from the Grand Tea website.