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My lunchtime tea today was one I received from Vahdam Teas last fall. It has turned into one of my favorite lighter-caffeinated teas on my shelf and find myself drinking it fairly regularly.

Since I am at work, I couldn’t measure this out precisely, but I used two well-rounded teaspoons of dried leaves for 16 ounces of near-boiling water.

The brewed liquor has a color like clover honey—light brown and fresh. The aroma reminds me of warm grass and has a slight bitterness to it.

The immediate flavor I get when drinking the tea is very similar to a second flush Darjeeling: a flavor I describe as close to wet rocks (in a good way!) but also like muscat grapes. There is also a hint of sweetness and apricot behind the muscatel flavor. The warm grass aroma carries over into the flavor of the liquor as well.

Overall, I do like this tea very much—it isn’t as fruity as a second flush Darjeeling, but similar enough that it could be mistaken as one. Like I mentioned earlier, this has become one of my regular afternoon teas.

Since I’ve been focusing so much on Ceylon teas recently, I decided to purchase this one from Harney & Sons last year in the hopes that it would become one of my regular teas. I was not disappointed with it at all!

The dried leaves are twisted, full leaves—not rolled or broken. Mostly dark brown/black, with some tips, which appear to be more silvery than gold.

I did my usual steeping of 9 grams of dried leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water. I went slightly longer at 4 1/2 minutes instead of my usual 4, since the instructions from H&S said to steep for 5 minutes. I am glad I didn’t go the full 5, though—4 would be enough, I think.

The brewed liquor came out very dark and full-bodied. This is what I think of when I think of black tea. The initial flavor I picked up was a creamy, smooth flavor of cocoa—slightly touched with a honey flavor but not the sweetness. It was very, very good.

As far as Ceylon teas go, I would love to have this regularly. At $15.00 for 4 ounces, though, the price reflects the quality and guarantees that this will be a tea I will turn to for those days when I want quality, not quantity. I highly recommend this one for an example of a good quality Ceylon.

I diverged a bit from my regular Ceylon black teas I’ve been having recently to have a first flush Darjeeling this afternoon. This was a sample I received from Vahdam Teas, in their Black Tea Sampler package.

The dried leaves were broken and machine rolled, varying between light green and deep green.

I steeped 9 grams of dried leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for 4 minutes.

The color of the finished liquor was like a dark wheat color—not exactly yellow, but not exactly brown, either. The aroma of the liquor was quite vegetal—like cooked peas.

The aroma of cooked peas carried over into the flavor of the tea, along with dry grass or hay, slight muscatel grape and other fruity notes, and a floral flavor which started slight and intensified as the tea cooled. Maybe it is because it has been a few months since I had a first flush Darjeeling tea, but I was very impressed with this one. It was an excellent afternoon tea, complete with a low caffeine content.

I have been enjoying a number of Ceylon teas lately (this year is the 150-year anniversary of teas from Ceylon/Sri Lanka), so I thought I’d add some of my favorites to my notes on Steepster. I will start with this tea.

The dried leaves are broken and machine-rolled; very black and consistent. The color of the brewed liquor is similar to that of a brown ale beer.

I steeped 9 grams of dried tea in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for 4 minutes. I attempted multiple steepings of the same leaves, but this tea does not work for multiple steeps.

The initial aroma came across as malty—bread-like, even. The initial flavor I picked up was that of oatmeal or even cooked barley, with a hint of malt to it. There was also some creamy and bread/toast-like flavors as well.

Overall, it was a very typical black Ceylon tea, and is one of my favorite teas sold by Simpson & Vail. I have come to appreciate these types of black teas as ones that have enough caffeine to move me through the day but not so much that I am up for long hours after drinking them. I appreciate the fact that I can drink this on an empty stomach and not feel ill from the tannins (unlike a malty Assam tea). This has become one of my regular teas and, given the inexpensive cost for the loose leaf variety, it doesn’t “break the bank” to have it frequently.

An enjoyable tea.

I received a box of this tea from one of my tea-drinking co-workers (thanks, Tatyana!). We have been sharing our favorite teas with each other. This is what she and her husband drink regularly.

The dried leaves are very long and thin—tightly-rolled; very dark—black. It reminds me of other Ceylon teas I’ve had and enjoyed.

I steeped 9 grams of tea in 20 ounces of boiling water for 5 minutes. I followed-up with a second steeping of the tea for 7:15.

The color of the liquor was a basic kind of brown you get with most black teas. Very clear—not cloudy at all. Definitely a hearty color!

The initial aroma was of honey, which also translated into the tea. It has a pure flavor—no astringency. It carried the flavor well and was not overpowering. The second steeping did not work at all—this is a one-time use tea only.

Overall, it was very good and I would be glad to have this on a regular basis. It would make an excellent tea to have for breakfast each morning. I am glad to have been introduced to it and will be sure to keep an eye out for it in the future.

This tea was an all-around pleasure to drink.

The dried leaves were whole, mostly golden tips, and rolled well.

I steeped 4 grams of tea in 12 ounces of near-boiling water for 4 minutes.

The color of the liquor was like a wheat pilsner—very light, pale yellow.

The aroma was floral, but undefined further than that. The floral aroma translated also into the flavor, along with hay and a slight muscatel flavor.

Overall, it is an excellent 1st flush Darjeeling—one that I’d like to keep in stock on my shelves for days when I am in the mood for a 1st flush. Given the nature of the tea, though, I don’t think it would have a long shelf life. Plus, the price is a bit high for me to make this a regular brew.

NOTE: My tea had a date of picking of 08 April 2017

Another sample from the black tea sampler from Vahdam.

I admit that I used too many grams of dried leaves when steeping this. My sample was only six grams, and I didn’t want to use a regular amount and not have enough left over to use in the future, so I steeped the whole sample: 6 grams in 12 ounces of nearly-boiling water for 3 minutes, 15 seconds.

The color of the liquor was a beautiful copper with red hints. It was nice.

The aroma was a sweet muscatel, which also translated into the flavor, along with the usual wet rock/mineral flavor I find with second flushes. There was also a bit of stone fruit in there—apricot, maybe?

Overall, it was a good tea, but not one that I would order on its own. There are other second flush (summer) Darjeelings that I’d prefer over this one. Maybe my opinion would be different if I used better quantities. :/

date of picking: June, 2016

Another of the samples I received in my package of black tea samples purchased from Vahdam.

The dried tea leaves were very green—much greener than I expected them to be. I was surprised also by the color of the liquor when it was fully brewed—it had a copper-brown color, not the light yellow shown in the picture here and on the Vahdam website.

I steeped 11 grams of dried leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for 4 minutes.

The aroma coming off the finished liquor was muscatel—again, not something that I expected from a first flush. This aroma carried over into the flavor, along with a light flavor of wet rock/mineral. Again—both more like a second flush than a first flush. But, the primary flavor of the tea was very vegetal—cooked spinach, to be more exact. It seemed more like a green tea than a black Darjeeling. It was good, but unexpected.

I don’t think I’d go out of my way for this tea again. The variety of flavors make it hard to pin down, so I can’t say that I’d ever definitely be in the mood for it. I had it before bed since the caffeine content was low, but it would be a good tea for any time of day.

Date of picking: 09 April 2017

This was a Father’s Day gift from my family, so I have been excited to try it. They bought it at my local tea cafe which, as it turns out, only sells Art of Tea teas, so I will have to remember that for future use.

The dried leaves were well-curled, dark with lots of golden tips interspersed throughout. I found almost no stems in there. The leaves are broken—not whole, but that adds to the flavor, I’m sure.

I used my usual steeping measurements for black tea: 11 grams in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for 4 minutes.

The liquor comes out very dark—much like the teas of my youth. There is no astringency at all to the flavor. The primary flavors are both earthy and woody (wet wood?)—reminding me of what I’m told the better-quality puer teas are supposed to be like. There is also a very faint smoke flavor to it, but definitely more wood and earth than smoke.

Overall, it is a wonderful tea that I will be happy to have again. I don’t think I would’ve picked it myself if I had been shopping on my own since I usually stick with either muscatel/floral Darjeelings or breakfast teas and blends that have malt, toast, or honey for their primary flavors. This is completely different than my usuals but I really enjoyed it and may have to expand my purchases in this direction going forward. I am glad the family got this one for me — definitely an excellent choice!

This was an excellent black tea which would be good any time of the day.

The dried leaves are attractive—small and curled well. They are dark—darker than most Assam teas I’ve had, but not as dark as the Kenilworth Ceylon that I have been enjoying recently. And this is what I was expecting the tea to be—something more like the Kenilworth Ceylon, with its dark liquor and strong flavors.

I brewed 9 grams of this tea for four minutes using 20 ounces of nearly boiling water. When the four minutes were done, I was worried because the liquor was much lighter than I expected it to be. It had the color of clover honey—goldish-brown but not nearly as dark as I expected. I was worried I didn’t use enough dried leaves.

The first flavors I noticed are honey and toast, with the honey flavor definitely being the strongest. There is a slight maltiness to it, but it is more toasty than malty. There is no astringency to it at all. The honey ends with a slightly different caramel or sugary flavor. It isn’t a heavy tea, like many of the Assam teas I normally have in the morning, but that would make this tea very good for any time of the day. This is definitely not similar to a breakfast blend or a pure Assam.

Overall, I am very happy with this tea and will add it to my regular rotation, I think. The caffeine level makes it good to start the day and the flavors are appealing. I might add another gram or two when I make it in the morning, but 9 grams for 20 ounces of water is a good amount for later in the day, since that ensures it isn’t too heavy.