Teabox

Okay, I’m going to try this again. Over steeped for 7 minutes and it tasted like salty, astringent crackers. I get bare hints of the natural ingredients, and the oolong is closer to a Nilgiri Frost or a white tea. The ingredients would work really well with this base if only I could taste them. Otherwise, the dry leaf smelled like crackers, and the liquor tasted like crackers. The black Darjeelings are way better from this company so far, but again, I need to make sure all the ingredients get in my cup before I make a final judgement. I hope that it is not nearly as dry.

Dates, Malt aroma, similar in palate. A little nutty but i am not sure i would label it specifically hazelnut as the packaging suggests. Very smooth.

I get the stonefruit more in aroma than taste. In taste, stonefruit is slightly noticable near the start – it’s also bitter in a thyme-y way that builds and lingers for a while. Recommends one steep – stands up to several.

I received a sample of this from DonkeyTiera. Thank you.

Wow this is a serious chai. No joking around with this brew. If this doesn’t get you going in the morning I am not sure what would. This is like mud. Holy cow that was a brew. It was a good chai, but I think it might be a tad strong in the tea department for me. I would have liked a ligher brew with more on the spice front. Thank you for sharing this one. I always love trying different chai!

Last of my Nilgiri samples from Teabox and its been a nice flight. This one brews up a nice dark orange with malty goodness followed by some astringency which provides structure for the flavors to amplify themselves. Some floral and citrus but hardly noticeable. Next journey Assam and Darjeeling. Can’t wait

I liked the spring version of this tea that claims its a black tea but had oolong written in the soup. This winter version is almost exactly the same but not as floral or in depth of flavor. I prefer the spring version of this but must admit I have no clue as to which Nilgiri’s pickings I prefer since they are so outside the box.

This is another sample from DonkeyTiera. Thank you!

I am really enjoying all the Teabox samples she sent. I am considering joining their 10 dollars a month club. Everything I have tried so far has been amazing if you enjoy teas from India. It turns out I really do. This one is the first cup this morning and I am not sure how to describe the flavor. It is just a pleasant, warming cup. Very smooth, slightly floral. Tad hints of malt in the finish. I am digging it.

This is a fantastic tea, I love it. MUST TRY.

Amazing white Nilgiri, who knew. The flavor profile from Teabox is spot on with an addition that this soup is so sweet as to be nectar from mother nature herself. It may be the sweets leftover hangover from Halloween but I swear I taste candy corn.

Been liking all the Glendale teas from Teabox I’ve tried so far and this is no different. Smooth thickish brew, pale yellow with the requisite vegetal buttery goodness, but then throw in some spice, peppercorn and floral hints and you have a nice sipping experience

This looks like a Mao Feng and tastes like one too. Bright yellow gold liquor with butter and seaweed note,s nothing overpowering just a subtle well made tea. The low caffeine is good for me in the afternoon.

This is a Chinese famous green tea by way of Nilgiri, yep Nilgiri. It pays to go into these tasting with preconceived notions of how could this possibly be good. That way there are no disappointments when you sample and aren’t impressed or it just tastes awful. Well it also pays off in the opposite. Low expectations in this case yielded a very pleasant surprise. Steeped according to direction this is a very impressive Long Ding, not the best but very representative of high quality. Flavors of hay, barley and almost corn with a gentle sweetness and a touch of astringency. I had two different steeping the second was a little more tea (double) and lower temp 160 but there was a bit more astringency that was taking over the profile so stick with the suggested brewing guidelines.

Oh my, Yum! I came into work this morning not sure what I wanted to drink. I have several teabox teas from DonkeyTiera and thought maybe I could dig into one of these this morning. I wasn’t expecting much. When I hear Nilgiri for some reason I think plane black tea, but boy was I wrong. This is really good this morning. My first few sips were strong and I was thinking spicy notes. As it cools I seem to get lemon mixed with a tad bit of floral. Completely wield and complex and oh so what I needed this morning. Thank you DonkeyTiera for the swap!

Way outside my comfort zone with this sample from Teabox. I’m getting to the last 8 tea sample from Nilgiri and half are green teas. The dry leaves are drab green slightly twisted and large. There’s no perceptible scent other than hay. The wet leaves are bright green and waft of cooked asparagus. The soup is pale pale yellow green with flavors of muted fiddlehead, asparagus and a slight hint of white pepper when first on the tongue. There is a bit of sweetness that pops up in the aftertaste. Pleasant surprise for I had no idea India made green teas. Nice boost too. 2.3g/3min 180ml/180°.

Really decent cuppa. Followed guidelines which proved spot on to the descriptors once again from Teabox. I would add to those notes of spice (fenugreek, malt and barely clove) a hint of citrus as well orange upfront and lemon on the finish. Nice atringency with just enough bitterness to remind you this is a stand up black tea.

You really need to be able to mind read some of these Nilgiris. Label says black tea but its anything but oolong. Mega florals, citrus and as Doug F put it “fresh tomato essence” make for a very pleasing tea. I usually follow the brewing guidelines, I did for the winter version, but messed up with too much tea falling in the wet pot so I used 6g in 220ml, steeped for 60 secs then 50, 90, 120, 240. I wouldn’t recommend doing the brewing in this fashion as it does impart a bitter aspect in the soup that although it doesn’t bother me, it will to someone, so beware. Almost all of Teabox’s teas are brewed 2-3 grams in 180ml and 190F for 4-5 minutes, stay with that and you can’t go wrong.

Teabox is really a great vendor. Their tea descriptions are so spot on. This tea is no exception. I really can’t add or subtract from the narrative. I chose their website to try and get a better comprehension of India’s teas. The choice has been one of the best vendor experiences to date, both online and through sales. I purchased the sample bags which give you a bunch of teas in any category. I first had the all Nilgiri bag and then the all oolong bag. Once they are gone I’ll do the all black Darjeelings, and so one. Even the prices for the individual teas are helpful in telling the story for that tea. Lower price = good tea, maybe some complexity but just an every day drinker and higher price = excellent quality, mega complex and satisfying good for the special brews. Give ’em a try.

I don’t usually do whites. Occasionally when I’m at my favorite tea house (Tea Drunk) I get to sample other peoples white teas they are enjoying but I never really paid them much mind since I was having robust Tie Luo Han or any other bold oolongs on the shelf. That said I expected this sample from Teabox to be anything other than inspiring. Dry and wet leaves have little to discern other than light hay notes. This tea is more than inspiring. Beautiful flavors abounding with headiness of rose with touches of lemon and Thompson grape. The soup is velvety and of a heavier mouth-feel than I would of expected. At the end there is a nuance of cucumber. One thing that did impress me was how this tea differs when first poured and when cooled down, the latter being my preference, it seems more sultry on the tongue.
I did twice the amount of tea as suggested on the website but increased the water to compensate and kept the steep at 5 minutes. Really enjoyable.

Another great example of a well made tea that neither blows you away or makes you shrug, but the complexity and nuances of flavors and perfume provide a very pleasing tasting experience. Looked on the website to see how much it’s going for and lo and behold, it’s not available.

This is a nicely balanced black tea akin to a medium-bodied Assam. It has just the right amount of sweetness and could serve as a perfect morning cup, especially on this wind-whipped New England fall day. A little bit of smoke and leather to keep you interested.

This tea has a nice nose of malt and wisps of rose. Brews up a nice deep amber and has subtle flavors of muscatel, marigolds and sweet grass all be it not pronounced but still leaves you wanting more. There is a pleasing astringency and sweetness along the way to round out its profile of a better than average, not over the top tea.

OK, so I already reviewed the same tea but the clonal variety and that tea was insipid compared to this. Nice fragrant and flavorful malt, with hints of florals and honey. Would like to make up a batch of Chai using this as a base.

Very interesting tea, complex and nuanced yet somewhat shrouded in banality. All the right flavors are there; plum, citrus, nuts, grass and malt, not much in aroma, or the finish. From the first sip, to the end, all I could think of is having this tea with a thick slice of country white and some plum preserves.
I used twice the amount of tea suggested, and shortened the first steep to 2 minutes, and had 3 re-steeps, adding 30 secs for each.
As a bargain tea, not to be missed if you like the classic tea and biscuits.

Again this reminds me of Bai Mu Dan. Not sure what the difference is between Classic and Special teas offered at Teabox but I’m assuming it has to do with leaf quality and processing. I previously tried the Special Mim Darjeeling Oolong and if going by class system alone, one would expect the Special tea to outclass the Classic, but not in this case.
The aromas off this dajeeling are insane; peony, lilies and hints of celery leaves; if you could bottle it, it would make that perfect perfume present as opposed to the Avon I usually give. The flavors are also spot on with abundant peony and light pine nut tones, coupled with a long sweet aftertaste. Drinking this now but since the oomph is not huge it would be nice to drink any time during the day.