Tea Adventure: Irish Breakfast from Tea Licious

[shamrock] Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all, whether any of your ancestors are from the Emerald Isle of Ireland or not. Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Irish Breakfast from Tea Licious[More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

A classic black tea that, per the vendor’s site, is a blend of Indian and Chinese whole leaf black teas. From the looks of the dry leaves and the aroma of the tea in the cup, this little teapot is guessing Golden Yunnan and an orthodox Assam. I, your humble little teapot, took a back seat to Bruno, a sturdy 6-cupper teapot from Louisville Stonewares, who was excited to steep up a tea with such robust aroma and, as it turned out, flavor.

Fresh from the pouch, the tea leaves emit a wonderful raisiny aroma (so there might be some black Ceylon tea in here) but also a dry hay quality. We steeped in boiling water for 3 minutes (the vendor recommends 3-5 minutes, but my humans had a feeling that this tea would steep up strong). The steeped liquid, served up in a mug that coordinates visually with Bruno’s bachelor button motif, was a rich red-brown color and had a distinctly peppery aroma, most likely from Yunnan black tea. The flavor was not bitter when piping hot, but took on that bitter edginess as it cooled. Some milk and sweetener dispelled it (you could just add some sweetener, if you don’t want the milk).

We were adventurous and tried a second steep, using the same amount of water and steeping for 4 minutes, and were pleasantly surprised that it was almost as strong and tasty as the first steeping but with a hint of astringency. My guess is that Bruno, under my able supervision, was partly to be credited, although having great tea leaves to steep makes the job easy for us teawares.

A great tea to celebrate St. Patty’s Day or for any day. My humans dished up some apple pie to go with it. And Mr. Hedgehog, in his tall, green hat and holding his own shamrock, was on hand to make sure all went well.

Try some of this wonderful, if slightly unusual, version of Irish breakfast tea (most often made with CTC Assam). You humans everywhere can enjoy these teas by ordering from the vendor online.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2012 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Arya Tippy Musk 2nd Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Arya Tippy Musk 2nd Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea[More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Well, humans, the Tea Gang is down to the last sample from the batch send to us by our buddy Benoy at Thunderbolt Tea. Another fine example of Darjeeling tea from Arya Gardens.

The sample, like the others received from our guy in the Himalayas, was vacuum packed and heat-sealed. The tea inside is as fresh as when harvested and processed. The little teapot steeped in accordance with past experience, since the package has no steeping instructions on it. This Little Yellow Teapot claimed the honor and delight of steeping this tea under the able supervision of his best buddy Libre Tea Steeping Mug (wearing the all important supervisory sash). I served up the tea in a sipping cup this time for a nice change of pace.

Time to cut open the package and have my humans take a deep whiff or two. Ah! Planty and a bit earthy. The leaves were steeped for 3 minutes in water heated to 190° F, and we did three infusions.

The first infusion was a bit strong. A shorter steep time would be good here, probably 2 or 2-½ minutes. Still, the flavor developed a nice Muscatel character as the orangey-colored liquid cooled slightly, and the liquid had a light, caramelly aroma. The 2nd and 3rd infusions were lighter in color, aroma, and flavor and without any bitterness.

I have promised Libre Tea Steeping Mug that he gets to steep the next samples received from Benoy, our tea guy in Darjeeling. Until then, though, he needs to be good and give me my sash back. Toot!

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2012 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: “Cherry Oh Baby” from Teajay

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Cherry Oh Baby from Teajay[More company info]This is a Flavored Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Before we continue: This little teapot freely acknowledges the popularity of flavored teas. This popularity leads to the rise of various tea vendors adding tons of “stuff” to their teas, instead of letting those teas speak for themselves. A lot of tea drinkers seem to be totally deaf to the language of teas anyway, and so when the teas speak, they are not heard or are not understood.

On with the tea adventure:

The overwhelming aroma of cherry assaulted my humans and me when we opened the package. The vendor says the tea is a Japanese Sencha, and has hibiscus, rosehips, orange peel, apple pieces, and a bunch of other stuff added, but no cherry. Mysterious. Where does the cherry aroma come from, then?

I let Little One Cupper do the steeping here for fear that I would absorb the “cherry” flavor/aroma and be forever tainted. He did the job beautifully, and more importantly rinsed out cleanly. The tea liquid has a pinkish color, a strong fruity taste that is peachy/cherry, and an almost excessive natural sweetness. My humans would consider this fine for sipping after dinner instead of having dessert, or indeed sipping anytime your sweet tooth kicks up a fuss. Otherwise, they prefer to stick with straight Sencha. Your call here. If you like cherry-flavored tea, this is a great choice.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2012 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: English Breakfast from Tea Licious

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


English Breakfast from Tea Licious[More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

A classic black tea that, per the vendor’s site, is a blend of Indian, Ceylon, and China whole leaf black teas. During the tasting experience, this tea displayed its full range of flavors and aromas, starting as soon as my humans opened the bag. And I, your humble little teapot, experienced them as the tea leaves steeped within me.

Fresh from the pouch, the tea leaves emit a wonderful raisiny aroma so typical of black Ceylon teas. We steeped in boiling water for a full 5 minutes (the vendor recommends 3-5 minutes, but my humans wanted to see what it would be like at full strength). The steeped liquid, served up in a mug adorned with an image of an English thatch-roofed cottage, was a rich red-brown color and had a slightly peppery aroma, probably from Yunnan black tea. The flavor was mild and chestnutty at first, with no bitterness and only a slight astringency. A little bitterness came about as the tea started to cool, but some milk and sweetener dispelled it (you could just add some sweetener, if you don’t want the milk).

We had to try a second steep, using only half as much water, but it was missing the flavor qualities of the first steep. Not my fault, though. I can only steep what I am given. Stick to one hearty first steep for a real wakeful cuppa at breakfast or for your mid-afternoon tea break. Don’t forget some of those treats you humans like so much: cookies, scones, cakes, etc.

Meanwhile, try some of this wonderful tea. I’m thinking the folks in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area lost something special when the Tea Licious store closed, but you humans everywhere can still enjoy these teas by ordering from her online.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2012 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Risheehat Exotic Spring (CL) First Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Risheehat Exotic Spring (CL) First Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea[More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Another great tea from our buddy Benoy at Thunderbolt Tea and a First Flush tea for 2011. This Little Yellow Teapot was on his own when steeping this one. Call me selfish, but as leader of the Tea Gang, I feel it appropriate to claim first dibs, and this tea certainly inspired such enthusiasm.

The aroma of the dry leaves was earthy/planty (one of my humans stated that it was similar in aroma to when she had weeded her garden by hand and then smelled the partially wilted weed pullings), and the leaf color was a mostly green. We steeped 3 times in water heated to 190° F for 3 minutes each. Each was smooth, light, and fruity, with the typical Muscatel character coming out as the tea cooled.

As usual, Benoy has a winner here and one that will delight anyone who hasn’t tried Darjeeling teas before as well as those who drink nothing else. Salute!

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.