DeKalb County Farmer's Market

I couldn’t help picking this up on my last trip to the Farmer’s Market. I had my eye on it the last time I visited and my curiosity hadn’t left me alone.

The first thing I noticed about this tea is how black the leaves are. I believe this is an Assam, as it is very bold and strong. (And I think I read that on its shelf label, but I was distracted.) The vanilla scent hits me as soon as I open the container. It’s like a slightly fruity cupcake. The flavor does not go lightly with the vanilla, either. It reminds me a lot of Adagio’s vanilla black, but I also taste notes of cocoa, coconut, and figs.

I recommend against brewing this any longer than five minutes, as I said before, it’s very strong and could become exceedingly bitter. Also, I can tell this is going to be a fun tea to experiment with. A scoop mixed into my chai would probably be decadent.

Alright, so I had my biggest tea fail ever with this tea yesterday morning.

But I learned a valuable lesson. Milk cannot go in the utiliTea. Nor can half-milk, half-water mixtures. But, as things usually go with me, I learned the hard way. Not two minutes after I put it on to boil, I heard a strange hissing and bubbling. Suddenly foam began pouring out of my kettle and onto everything on the counters like a frothy volcano. Keep in mind that the white fluff was BOILING HOT, thus difficult to clean up.

I panicked and unplugged the kettle, holding it over the sink as it cooled enough to stop erupting. I actually used the remaining liquid and made the chai anyway, and luckily the cleanup didn’t make me late for work.

Made a tall glass of this over ice tonight. It gains a sort of apricot flavor when it’s cold. I’m not really sure how that works, but that’s what I taste. And it’s not a bad thing. Like I’ve said before, this tea works beautifully iced.

Four teaspoons in like 8 ounces of water with a splash of 2% milk. A little more than a teaspoon of sugar as well, to combat the black tea’s sharp bitterness. This is pale in comparison to the cup of Masala chai I had the other night. But it would make a good standby in lean times.

Made a strong cup today with about four teaspoons of leaf. I added sugar and 2% milk after a long steep and enjoyed it in my new glass mug.

I’m mostly trying to get through it now because I have an unopened bag of Arbor Teas’ Masala Chai sitting in my cupboard begging me to open it, thanks to Kaliska. Although I like this chai blend, the Arbor Teas one is superior.

I think the black tea/spices ratio is just a little off. When I measure it out into my infuser, sometimes I get a scoop that is almost entirely spices and only a little actual black tea leaf, even when I give the container a good shake.

Came on to note that this tea is great iced, and that I will probably be drinking a lot of it this summer. It took forever just to get to this point, however. Does anybody know where this crippling lag is coming from? ::nudges Steepster::

Having another big cup after sleeping in. Smooth and lightly floral, but still rich. This is going to be my staple tea once I run out of Plum, I think. It’s so unbelievably inexpensive, but so good at the same time. I seriously paid like $3 for six ounces. It’s like a dream.

I love the random bright green leaves I find in this blend.

Gave this a good long steep this morning while I was getting ready for work. Let me tell you, I did it up RIGHT.

I used about six teaspoons in my 16 oz. ingenuiTea, which made it a little scary to look at, but after milk and sugar, it was delicious. I was so happy to have it in a to-go cup on my way to work, zooming down Ponce De Leon with A Place To Bury Strangers blasting. Screw spending $4 on a cup from Starbucks, especially when I can make it better than they do. <3

Backlogging from last night — made another two cups of this tea as I went along with my evening. I’m not the least bit tired of it, even after chain-drinking it. The second pot was made with less leaf, since the first cup was very sharp. (3 and a half teaspoons per batch was too much. 2 and a third was perfect.) This improved it greatly.

Hello, new love! I’ve really enjoyed darjeelings in the past, but I feel like I’ve stumbled upon a very good one.

The flavor is unique from other black teas I’ve tried in both scent and taste. The muscatel is not entirely up front, but it’s definitely there and interesting. Like muscadine grapes almost. It remains on my tongue when I exhale after taking a sip. There’s something floral in it as well, something that makes me think of spring. I imagine delicate leaves on a newly sprouted plant when I taste it. Very woodsy.

This is by no means a mellow tea, though. It is a little on the sharp side, but I like that. I look forward to many mornings started with a tall mug of this.

You guys have no idea how thrilled I am to discover this place’s tea section! All the loose leaf teas are like 3 dollars apiece and you get about six ounces! I am probably not going to order any teas online for a while since I have this right around the corner… it’s almost too good to be true. There are so many to try!!

This is wonderful chai. I knew I was going to love it when I opened the container and was hit by the strong spices. They translate just as well into the tea, but without it being so much that it burns. I’m tasting clove and ginger the most, followed by cinnamon and cardamom. Mmm. I can’t wait to try this with half and half. It will be decadent.

I also can’t wait to experiment with steeping times. The Ceylon remained mellow after almost six minutes, so that’s a good sign.

EDIT: I took a picture and added it, since the official website didn’t have anything.

A great iced tea in a 1:2 part mix with Khumbu Green from The Tea Table:
http://steepster.com/Cait/posts/43343

One of my new purchases from the trip — Your DeKalb Farmer’s Market (which is neither a farmer’s market nor mine but which is in DeKalb, so I guess it’s okay) carries bulk Ceylon Black tea in a variety of flavorings. I picked up Orange and Peach.

During the trip I mug-brewed this one, and this was (unsurprisingly) deeply bitter but (surprisingly) deeply flavorful as well: I would have expected the long steep to cause the tea to override the orange, but it didn’t. In fact, on a more “proper” two minute steep this morning, the orange didn’t really come out enough until I steeped it a second time and added some honey. This is leading me to believe that it may be an excellent iced tea, so I shall have to experiment!

still loving this tea. I’ve had a container of this for quite a while- no loss of flavor or color. yum.

Strong Currant flavor. Good mid-morning energy booster.

Not my favorite. The mango lingers a bit. A little astringent for my taste. Perhaps I brewed it too hot…