t Leaf T

After my initial tasting note, I now have a new way of preparing this to give a more intense licorice hit. I include 1 teabag of Red Seal Black Adder licorice tea. Voila, problem solved. Delicously sweet, with vitually no calories. Awesome when you are watching your weight and craving something sweet!

The dry tea smelled nice in the shop, and I love licorice tea. Scent of anise and licorice root got my hopes up high. But I was expecting a more intense licorice taste, so there was that initial disappointment. My supermarket licorice herbal tea bags have more flavour than this. However this is a flavoured black tea, not a herbal tea. In hindsight I should have bought Licorice Star (from the same company) instead, which is herbal. Bought a 100g bag so will try it again stronger. It’s nice to sip away at while I work from home, not when I’m after a strong sweet licorice hit.

Woody aroma but with hints of flowers. Very smooth and creamy in the mouth. Prefer more of a malty hit to my teas but this one is an excellent darjeeling.

Have to mostly agree with Miss Sweets review, which is sad because I really wanted to like this tea. Looked and smelled very nice in the packet but that is about it, pretty much ended up tasting like flower water, with very little tea or bergamot flavour.

Photo: https://flic.kr/p/ojxiYy

I just finished steep two of this tea, after 2.5 hours of vacuuming in this disgusting heat and humidity (I love the beast, but man, can he shed!). I debated whether I actually wanted hot tea after vacuuming and sweating (and, yes – some cursing), but decided to go for it anyway.

The dry leaf is interesting. LooseTman already said it…short dark twisted leaves, and some tiny dark pebble-like leaves. I’ve never heard of manuka, and since looseTman already provided links in his post, I now know what it is, and I guess that’s what those green leaves in the blend were.

The manuka provided a light aromatic essence of pine in dry leaf form, which I don’t recall getting in my brewed cup in the first steep. But I added a bit of creamer to the first cup, so that was probably why I didn’t get the pine essence. I don’t usually add creamer, but I think my time contraints this morning made me add it, so that I could sip it quickly and do my chores and errands.

I found the pine notes were more prominent in steep 2 – no creamer additives this time. The second steep was malty delicousness. The manuka leaves added an interesting note, with what I might otherwise find to be just another malty assam.

I appreciate the sample looseTman…this was different in a good way! I have enough leaves for a few more cups, and will be very sad when this is gone. Tasty indeed.

UGH! Probably one the worst things I’ve stuck in my mouth in a while. I’ve tried Chai syrup flavoured drinks before (Chai Latte etc) and always really enjoyed them, so was quite excited to try Chai Tea. It smelled amazing in the packet and while brewing with cinnamon probably being the strongest smell.

When I drunk it, everything was overwhelmingly strong, mostly cinnamon and an aniseed taste as well and quite peppery. Maybe I made this wrong, brewed too long or put too much in? Have enough left to give it another try, but at this stage I won’t be getting it again.

Photo: https://flic.kr/p/o3feLE

Simple, but good is how I would summarize this tea. Not a lot of malt flavour, and not really a lot else to say about it. Picture here: https://flic.kr/p/o3gdfF

Quite enjoyed this Tea, had a decently strong malt flavour as other have indicated, got a hint of pine but didn’t really notice the manuka flavour. The tea also looks amazing straight out of the packet. Photo here: https://flic.kr/p/oms4gz

Great Earl Grey, would have preferred a slightly stronger Bergamot flavor but maybe that’s just me.

First review so here goes…. Both me and my partner tried this tea, first with just water and then with milk. Neither of us was impressed, although it did taste better once milk was added.

There wasn’t a lot of flavour at all and left a funny taste in my mouth

Lovely looking tea when dry. Scent is fruity and somewhat rose-like. Brews a lovely pink. Taste… not so exciting. I’m going to adding it to some other teas and see what I can get.

“What’s in your cup?”
This morning, courtesy of John & Amanda of t leaf T, I brewed New Zealand Breakfast Western style: 8 oz / 1 tsp (2.5g) / 212*F / 2-5 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream.

Introduction: My wife loves Earl Grey and t leaf T has a large selection of it: https://www.tleaft.co.nz/catalogsearch/result/?q=earl+grey. When I requested samples, this Assam caught my eye. Who doesn’t love a good malty Assam for breakfast? Where else, could I possibly find a true NZ Breakfast tea?

From t leaf T:
“Natural New Zealand Manuka blends perfectly with strong assam tea to make a special blend ideal for the morning and afternoon.”
http://www.tleaft.co.nz/black-tea-blends-1/new-zealand-breakfast-black-tea.html

For those of us from the “up above” (as opposed to the “down under”) you might be asking yourself: ”So what the hell is Manuka?”

1. Images & description: http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/table-1/manuka.html

2. It turns out that NZ Manuka flowers appear to be very popular for making honey: http://nzmanukadirect.com/

3. Manuka is also known as the Tea Tree:
“The English common name is derived from the fact that early white settlers did occasionally make infusions of tea from the leaves, which are aromatic.”
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/manuka-tea-tree

4. “The leaves contain Leptospermone, an antibiotic agent.”… “The oil extracted contains 120 elements and can be utilised medicinally.” … “This research has validated the claims made for this product with the Therapeutics Section of the New Zealand Ministry of Health.” http://www.purangi.co.nz/estate/tea/manuka.html

5. Manuka is also popular in NZ travel, tourism, & hunting vacations:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g311324-d1440422-Reviews-Manuka_Lodge-Ohakune_North_Island.html
Great Barrier Island: http://www.manukalodge.co.nz/
New Zealand Hunting Safaris: http://www.manukapoint.com/new%20site/Home

And I’ve probably just scratched the surface! Who knew!

Leaf: Two kinds of Assam, 1.) twisted, short, dark chocolate brown, 2.) dark chocolate brown CTC granules, plus light green Manuka leaves
Fragrance: Moderately strong aromatic evergreen / pine
Liquor: Clear amber brown
Aroma: Moderately strong evergreen / pine
Flavor: Malty, aromatic evergreen / pine

2-min.: Medium-bodied, I then let it steep an additional min.

3-min.: Not quite, another min.

4-min.: A rich, smooth, full-bodied, malty Assam with the added flavor of aromatic Manuka, which is felt in the back of the palate in the 2nd half of the sip. There was no hint of bitterness or astringency.

Re-Steeping:
5-min: Not yet.
8-min: Medium bodied & enjoyable. The Manuka flavor is now less pronounced & is now mildly aromatic.

Impression: A truly unique and enjoyable breakfast Assam, especially those looking for a “down under” adventure.

Thanks to John & Amanda of t leaf T for their gracious sample of this very fine New Zealand Breakfast Assam.

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39311-perfect-tea-spoon
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket.
http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea/36677-thermometer-and-timer

“What’s in your cup?”
This morning, courtesy of t leaf T, I brewed Makaibari Organic ftgfop1s, a second flush Darjeeling, Western style: 1 tsp (2.3g) / 6 oz / 212*F / 3 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream.

Leaf: short, moderately-wide, twisted, chocolate brown and green
Fragrance: Notes fine pipe tobacco
Liquor: Clear honey copper or light amber
Aroma: Hay, vegetal
Flavor: Vegetal

3-min.: When first steeped, there was a strong vegetal flavor. As the cup cools, it smoothed out nicely. About mid-cup, it then magically transforms into a rich buttery full-mouth feel with a strong vegetal finish that lasts long on the tongue. Towards the end of the cup there was a note of saltiness that also persists long on the palate.

Impression: A unique tasting experience better suited for afternoon tea.

Thanks to t leaf T for their gracious sample of this Darjeeling tea.

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39311-perfect-tea-spoon
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket.
http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea/36677-thermometer-and-timer

First note is, use VERY LITTLE. Only a small pinch. A little goes a long way.

I purchased dried lavender flowers at World Market. They are in the spice section, not the tea section. A small package was $1.99, and yet it will go a long way. I put a small pinch in hot water with a touch of sugar, or chamomile. It is very fragrant, relaxing, and clean tasting. It is said to be calming like chamomile. Since it takes so little, I just drop the flowers in to the water, they float on top, and I consume them as well.

Keep in mind you can add this to any tea. It really enhances the experience.

Sandy was practically daring me to try this, so I made a tiny cup of it. She really, really, REALLY did not like this tea! I thought I was smelling menthol or camphor when I sniffed the dry leaves, but upon making the tea I find that I am tasting only green tea and wintergreen. In fact, I could easily believe that I made a cup of green tea and stirred in a teaspoonful of Ben-Gay. Good thing I like the smell of Ben-Gay!

I have never had (or until Sandy bought this, HEARD of) Feijoa so I looked at her link to the Wiki article. It mentions hints of guava, strawberries, etc. but all I get is wintergreen. The wintergreen taste is high in the nose and softly fills your mouth but it isn’t as strong as peppermint can sometimes be in tea. Overall, I like this pretty well, and Sandy says, “You can HAVE it!”. Thank you! I shall enjoy it!

Edited to add: Since Sandy cautioned me that this tea frightened her horribly, I steeped it very conservatively, using about 175 degree water for three minutes.

we loved the temi second flush TGFOP1. And it was lovely with equal rosebuds. I had a tasting i the shop with a lady who has visited many estates tasting teas, and it is her preference now. Very delicate and subtle, a lovely tea.

Sandy drank all her tea in New Zealand so she wouldn’t have to ship it home. This was one of her favorites, so when she had sent me a little packet of it, I saved a bit so we could enjoy it together when she got back to the States. I am happy to say that we got to enjoy a pot of it on her last full day before leaving again! It has lovely flavor, and the lime is bright but not overly tart.