teepland Send Message

I bought this tea last week but finally am getting around to having it today. I like the color of the dried leaves when I opened the tin—very dark and consistent with only a few tips. I know this means it isn’t a “tippy” tea, but that isn’t always a bad thing.

I steeped 9 grams of leaves in 20 ounces of near boiling water for 4 minutes. The brewed liquor came out very dark as well—brown, like the color of coffee. It looks appealing!

When I first smelled the tea’s liquor, I immediately picked up a woody scent, with a hint of cream or milk to it. I didn’t add anything to the tea so I was surprised by that. When I tasted it, I could also taste both the woody and creamy flavors I found in the aroma. Along with these, I also noticed very slight molasses and cherry flavors. The taste was very fresh and smooth. I did not taste any malt to it; since I normally drink Assam teas in the morning, I was mistakenly expecting it. This was a nice change from the normal for me.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will be glad to add this to my regular drinking routine. It has a flavor similar to other black teas, but different enough to make it unique. That really is all I hope for when I try new teas. :)

I love the color of this tea as I take it out of the bag. The dried leaves are much lighter than what I’d expect for an Assam tea. I know this is because it is entirely made of golden tips (picked that up from the name, ‘cause I’m smart like that!), but still—I was expecting the leaves to be somewhat darker since it is, after all, an Assam!

I brewed 4 grams in 12 ounces of nearly boiling water. I meant to steep the tea for 4 minutes but forgot to set my timer right away, so it ended up being about 4 minutes, 30 seconds. The finished liquor has a tone of straight bourbon—very pretty to look at.

Wow—this tea smells so good! A strong honey aroma, along with a malty tone—not unexpected for an Assam. I also am smelling sweet potatoes in the aroma. I like it!

The flavor is also excellent. There is almost no astringency to the tea at all. The flavors match the aroma—honey, malt, sweet potatoes, with a hint of wet grass in there as well. It’s also not as sweet as I’d expect from an Assam.

Overall, this was a delight to drink! Given the price, though, I don’t think this will be part of my regular tea rotation. I’ll savor the small amount of tea that I have left, enjoying it on days when it is needed to brighten my day a bit.

After seeing the generally positive reviews of Vahdam teas by eastkyteaguy, I decided to order a sample pack. This was the first tea I pulled out from the pack.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I brewed 4 grams in 12 ounces of near boiling water for just over four minutes. The first aromas I found in the brewing process were floral and nutty. I also tasted those flavors in the liquor, along with slight malt and honey flavors. Underlying these flavors was a nice woody base. The combination of all of these works very well together! I especially appreciate the slight bitterness of the floral essence, as that is what I was hoping for with a first flush Darjeeling. The nutty aroma/flavor was very unexpected!

The leaves brew into a deep gold liquor. It is a beautiful tea to look at as well as to taste.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this tea. I hope this is a good sign for the rest of the teas I received from Vahdam. I look forward to trying my next Vahdam sample from another Darjeeling estate!

NOTE: My packet is marked with a picking date of 17 March 2017.

I had this tea again this morning. This time, I mixed a cup of the tea with a bit of 2% milk. I loved it! I think the milk seems to have taken some of the astringency away from it. I’m usually not a fan of milk in tea, but I am certain I’ll drink it again with this one.

The best part: the milk made it easier for me to handle the tea on an empty stomach. I apparently have developed a sensitive stomach over the years, so having a bold, black tea on an empty stomach usually causes me to feel ill. The milk today seems to have helped with that, so I could drink it when I first woke up and didn’t have to wait for breakfast. Score!

My son and I had this together this evening. He’s turning into quite the tea fan!

I enjoyed this one. I love the flat, dried leaves—they remind me of small feathers or dried, pressed flowers! The tea itself has a familiar, vegetal taste to it. Slightly bitter, but I think that is from steeping it longer than I should’ve. I did 4 grams for 12 oz of water and steeped for almost three minutes. I should’ve steeped for a shorter time.

The flavor is typical for other green teas I’ve had and comes through very clearly. I didn’t notice any additional flavors beyond the vegetal nature of the tea. Based on the product’s description when I bought it, I was expecting a chestnut flavor as well but didn’t find it. The liquor has a golden yellow hue. This will be a good one to have during the hot summer months coming up.

I found it refreshing and enjoyed it!

I used to drink a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and then switch to tea throughout the day. Because of ongoing stomach problems, I stopped drinking coffee and switched to tea entirely. This was one of the first teas I bought to replace my morning coffee since the description on the website said something about how this would appeal to coffee drinkers.

The problem is that I always drank my coffee black—no flavors at all. This tea, however, has a very strong flavor of bourbon! A hint of vanilla is also there, but the bourbon flavor is overpowering.

It’s been sitting on my shelf for awhile since my first attempt so I thought I’d try it again today. I made it extra-strong (2 tsp for 8 oz of water; brewed for 6.5 minutes) so that I could add milk and stevia to it to hopefully detract a bit of the flavor and make it more palatable. It still isn’t great but this made it somewhat more appealing.

I don’t think I’d get it again; it doesn’t appeal to me. For flavored coffee drinkers, though, I could see how this would be a welcome, lighter alternative.

I do not normally buy many herbal tisanes but this one intrigued me. I think it is because I love the smell of the lavender oils my wife uses around the house. Oh, and the beautiful purple liquor in the picture on the Harney website!

That said, my brew turned out green! I was a bit disappointed by that. :(

The drink itself is very good. Naturally, one first notices the lavender aroma and flavor. Behind that, though, I am also tasting a chamomile flavor and a slight sweet mint note—reminding me of a brewed peppermint tisane. The combination of these flavors makes this a wonderful drink to have right before bed. It is quite calming as expected.

I am glad I bought the sample and will likely purchase another shipment of this sometime. I won’t drink it regularly, I’m sure, so I can’t imagine buying a whole tin of it, but it is good to have a small quantity on hand for those occasional evenings when I am in the mood for it.

It is the first Thursday of the month, so that means it is the morning of the branch/departmental supervisors’ meeting at work! Going with my favorite Assam, brewed strongly, is the only way I’ll make it through the morning and the three-hour meeting. Glad that this one is a tea that I can purchase in bulk at my local cafe—I am going to need more soon.

I have been looking for a good quality, inexpensive Assam which I can have on a daily basis for my morning cup(s). This one is perfect for that!

The quality is very good, even though the price is cheap and the leaves are CTC rather than whole leaf. I have brewed it for a few days in a row now and the taste is consistent each day. I taste the usual maltiness and slight astringency of a quality Assam, along with a light toast flavor. It has a full body and caffeine so this will certainly get you started in the morning! As far as CTC or bagged teas go, I’d rather have this tea than nearly all other brands/varieties which I’ve tried for my morning cup (one exception off the top of my head is No. 18 Brahmin by Steven Smith, but that is a bagged, full-leaf tea, not bagged fannings/dust). I still prefer an orthodox, loose-leaf tea as frequently as possible, but I am recognizing that I can’t do that and still stay within my monthly budget! :)

Overall, it is an excellent quality Assam for what it is. I recommend it for anyone else looking for an inexpensive Assam to have on a regular basis.

Brewed in a gaiwan. The liquor has a reddish-brown color once it is brewed. Has an earthy scent and taste—like wet wood. Also has a cooked spinach scent and taste—but not in a vegetal way, like a green tea would. Cooked spinach. Different.

It is a bit similar to the pu-erh I had from a different vendor previously, but haven’t decided if I like it or not. Still not sure if it is the taste of this particular tea or of pu-erh in general so I am not marking this tea down yet because of it. I think this just isn’t “my cup of tea”, as they say. I like Assams. And Darjeelings. And I am not going to fault a pu-erh for not being a Darjeeling or Assam, since this is clearly a good-quality pu-erh that I am not crazy about. Maybe it is just me—and I am fine with that. Now I know.

In the end, it meets my expectations, but I think I just don’t like pu-erh tea. But, it is definitely better quality than the other variety I have tried, which had a different taste—like wet mud. This was different from that—earthier, more like a good spinach.