Clipper Ship Tea Co.

Bought a sample of this months ago, just got around to trying it now. It is fairly malty and somewhat sweet tasting. I taste a slight, very slight sourness too. This could be from being in a zip lock package for six months or my taste buds, not sure if its one of these factors. The tea is characteristic ceylon in its briskness. There is not much bitterness to this tea. If you ever get to Northport, LI, NY visit Clipper Ship Tea Co. They are an excellent store. Perhaps they are not as good as Butiki but they are excellent. They, unfortunately, are strictly brick and mortar. They have no website. You can find them on Facebook.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 min.

This tea is a mix of a number of ingredients but what really stands out is the green tea and the peppermint. The jasmine is there in the background. I wouldn’t know it had cornflower petals if I hadn’t called Clipper Ship Tea Co for the ingredients when I entered it into the system. At first sip I didn’t like this tea. However as I drank it my opinion changed. I think this is an excellent tea. I really liked it in the end.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 3 tsp leaf and 175 degree water for 3 min.

This tea is overly malty (not meaning chocolate malt) and not that great. It definitely goes into the category of teas I will not buy again. It has a bit of a sour note to it too. It has not been in my cupboard long enough to have gone bad.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with boiling water and 3 tsp leaf for 3 min.

This is a very tasty oolong blend from Clipper Ship Tea Company. It contains nuts and I suspect vanilla. It is quite good. There are notes of nuts, butter and vanilla in any case. I will call Clipper Ship Tea Company later and get the ingredients so I can update the website. There is almost no bitterness in this tea even though I brewed it western style, not Gongfu style. It has a slightly sweet flavor to it.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 190 degree water and 3 tsp leaf for 3 min.

This tea is very strong and very malty and somewhat bitter. It should hopefully wake me up. It is a little too bitter and a little too malty, not meaning chocolate malt. It is good as breakfast blends go, just too bitter.

I brewed this tea once in an 18oz teapot with boiling water and 3 tsp leaf for 3 min.

Brewed this today at 190 degrees to see if I would like it better than before. It is a little improved. It is still good but not the very best is how I would put it. It is something worth finishing, hopefully, but not something worth buying again. It is still very malty and just a little bitter. I may eventually try brewing it at 160 degrees and see what I get or just cut back on the steep time by half.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 190 degree water and 3 tsp leaf for 3 min.

This tea is excellent, somewhat bitter and very malty(not meaning chocolate). The brewing instructions called for boiling water but I think it could benefit from 190 degree water.It will hopefully wake me up as it is too early.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with boiling water and 2.5 tsp leaf for 3 min.

The strawberry and raspberry flavors just jump out at you with this in a cold brew. This is one good tea. The fruity flavors make this perfect for iced tea.

Brewed this overnight in the fridge in a 32oz Lupica Handy Cooler with 4 tsp leaf.

I am really tasting the strawberry and raspberry today in this tea. This is an excellent tea. Clipper Ship Tea Company is an excellent local tea store based in Northport, LI, NY. I have found their teas to be consistently high quality although I have not liked every one I have tried. This one is a nice fruity melange that mixes quite well. It has little in the way of astringency and almost zero bitterness. Supposedly, Clipper Ship Tea Co. will soon have a website. I would probably not buy from them online if they establish one, they are just too close to pay for shipping.

I steeped this once in an 18oz teapot with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 min.

This is an excellent blend from Clipper Ship Tea Company. It a fruity melange of raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, pomegranate, papaya, and rose hips not to mention black and green tea. The flavors are not too powerful which is good and they mix well. No one flavor dominates the mix.

I brewed thi once in an 18oz teapot with boiling water and 3 tsp leaf for 3 min. If I had remembered there was green tea in the mix I would have lowered the water temperature. It came out good and not bitter anyway.

This tea is an excellent caffeine free indulgence. It has those three things you need, chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. It is purchased from the Clipper Ship Tea Company of Northport, Long Island, New York. They do take phone orders and have an impressive selection of teawares. They don’t yet have a website but I am guessing that some of the one million people within driving distance will be on Steepster. The main flavor of this tea is chocolate, with a spicy aftertaste and the background more mild vegetal flavor of the honeybush.

I brewed this once for 5 min in an 18 oz teapot with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water.

This tea was quite good. It rates highly in comparison to other oolongs I have had in this class. There were some subtle chocolate notes and a strong oolong taste that I am not sure I can describe. There was a little bit of bitterness. While I didn’t get tea drunk it was very relaxing. I purchased it locally from the biggest tea store on Long Island (at least in the number of teas biggest), Clipper Ship Tea Company. I am not sure I would buy it again simply because I thought it somewhat overpriced at $12 for 46g of tea. They sell the tea by the number of “cups”, not by weight. It is this one quirk of an otherwise great store with lots of great tea and teaware. They have not website but you can buy their teas over the phone if you want.

I brewed this tea five times in a large gaiwan, about 180ml. I used 7g of leaf. I used 190 degree water. I gave the tea a 10 sec rinse. I then brewed it for 10 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 15 sec and 30 sec. There were distinct chocolate notes and that was the main note I identified when I switched from suger to fresh raspberries and honey for steepings three and four. I went back to sugar for the last steeping.

I like this tea a lot but am annoyed that I only realized after I got it home and weighed it that it was only 46g. Had I known the price when I bought it I would probably not have batted an eye.

I like this tea. After an asthma attack took me back to the er last night I needed something good an quick this morning. Since I’m awake I’m going in to work. This one fits the bill. I will soon have to go back for more. The fermentation flavor is not too strong or is covered up by the chocolate, ,not sure. It has a strong, natural tasting chocolate note too it. I believe they add chocolate chips to it.

I have yet to try this tea gongfu. I don’t think the chocolate flavor would hold up anyway. I brewed this one time in a 160z Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with boiling water with 3 tsp leaf for 30 seconds after a 10 second rinse.

This tea is tasty. The fermentation notes are very weak. The chocolate notes are very strong. After all they add chocolate chips to this tea. It’s early and I’m again too lazy to gongfu this tea. Having been up all night with insomnia I’m too tired to break a cake anyway.

I brewed this one time in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for 30 sec.

This is a tea I always end up brewing western style. The puerh in it is probably just a little above average, good but not fantastic. The chocolate in it is great. It could be described as chocolaty goodness with puerh. It is a tea I brew for nights when I don’t have the time to gongfu a tea and just want to steep one pot.

I brewed 12g of leaf in an 18 oz teapot with boiling water for thirty seconds. It came out chocolaty, chocolaty, chocolaty.

Drinking this again this morning having recently bought more. I thought I would see which I like more, this or the Teavivre version. I think this one wins out, just slightly. It has notes of chocolate and malt. There is another note that I’m not sure how to identify. Overall I like this more than the Teavivre version. Which is good because this costs a lot more at $19 for 50g. Clipper Ship Tea Company is a good local Long Island tea shop. Anyone local to Long Island should check them out.

Brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 min.

This is a very tasty tea from my local tea shop, Clipper Ship Tea Company. I have decided to review it here in case anyone is local on Long Island or even an NYC resident who might choose to take a trip. They do not have a website, they do take phone orders.

Back to this tea. This is a pearl tea, large pearl shaped nuggets of Yunnan black tea. It is very malty and slightly astringent. A hint of natural sweetness pokes through too. There is some bitterness as well. This tea defines complex. It has malt flavors, it has astringent flavors, it has sweet flavors, it has bitter flavors. It is excellent with sugar, how I am drinking it now, and takes honey well from what I remember. You could add milk to this one but I never add milk to tea.

Originally published at The Nice Drinks In Life: http://thenicedrinksinlife.blogspot.com/2013/02/scottish-breakfast-tea.html

Name: Scottish Breakfast Tea
Type: Black Tea
Ingredients: Assam; Ceylon; Kenya
Purveyor: Clipper Ship Tea Company
Preparation: One teaspoon steeped in about eight ounces of boiling water for 3:00 (as recommended), sipped plain

Those who have never visited the village of Northport, NY, really ought to go explore there. The quaint diversions, placid atmosphere, and coastal scenery are just what the doctor ordered on those weekends when a getaway is vital to one’s mental health. And, for those who live on Long Island or in the boroughs, traveling there and back is quick and easy – Long Islanders should have no trouble making a fulfilling one-day sojourn.

While browsing the shops and boutiques around Main Street, be sure to stop by the Clipper Ship Tea Co. It boasts both an extensive selection and a friendly staff that likes nothing better than to talk tea and educate its customers.

Clipper Ship’s black tea blends include, generally, some combination of Darjeeling, Keemun, Kenya, Ceylon, and Assam teas. In the case of the Scottish Breakfast blend the latter three are used, all with similar-looking leaves, like little twigs, or tightly wrung bits of cloth. Most are dark brown, like dark chocolate, but there are some tan ones here and there. The dry leaves have a strong nose of vanilla – very strong, almost astringent even. There are also notes of toffee and a vague hint of citrus.

When the tea brews, it looks like someone took toffee and caramel and mixed them together into a rich, textured liquid. The aroma is of sweet tannins, with a little briskness and a modicum of citrus. It is a rich aroma, but not overwhelming, or even pungent – just a different kind of rich. Maybe “solid” is a good word. The flavor is a perky kind of brisk, and lush with a lemon zest, inhabiting a medium-full body. The tea is not acidic, but the tannins are quite present, and make it taste like tea really ought to taste – the same notes that, in coffee, wine, and other beverages make us think of tea, are front and center here. Meanwhile, the citrus tones keep it light and spright, and the sweetness pulls it all together.

The Scottish Breakfast tea is excellent as a morning pick-me-up, quite as the name implies. Also though, for those who do not mind caffeine in the late afternoon, this would work great as a tea-time tea. The notes are ideal as a carry-over between lunch and dinner, just what the palate requires.

Enjoy.