Taylors of Harrogate

I’ve been making this iced, according to the following process:

1. Brew tea, extra strong. ~1.5 times as much leaves in 2/3 as much water.
2. Pour tea into stainless steel water bottle, add sugar.
3. Shake vigorously under cold running faucet. This cools it in just a minute.
4. Add milk (~1/2 the volume of the brewed tea) and then ice.

It’s pretty tasty, and very refreshing on a hot day. I recommend it – whether with this tea, another black tea, or a cooked pu-er.

I use Steepster to log new teas, and don’t generally post unless I try a new tea, or discover something new about an old one. I went on a huge tea buying binge when I discovered Steepster, and have been living off of that since then – so I’ve had little to write about. I’m hoping to get some new tea for my birthday, which is almost here. Then I will have more to write.

On a side note, I’ll be moving to Boston in the fall. Any Steepsterites have a favorite tea place there?

I am having an incredible cup of this right now. It’s robust but bright. The ample milk I added cancels out almost all of the tannins released by the tiny leaf pieces. I would not take this plain, but with milk I am loving it. There is a hint of sweet potato. Am I allowed to like a fannings tea this much?

The first thing that I noticed when I opened my 1-kg bag of this (via Amazon) was how tiny the CTC leaf pieces were. They are so tiny! I can’t even steep it in my Beehouse teapot, whose filter has been fine enough for all my other teas besides rooibos. This made me sort of nervous about the quality of the tea. Actually, although the tea does suffer slightly from the leaf pieces being so small, it’s a good and satisfying cup with some character. A short steep is required, because the tannic spent-leaves taste comes out quickly; I recommend 2:30-2:45. I also noticed that as the tea cooled, the “tiny leaf” essence diminished; I feel like it was due to a genuine chemical change and thus it may be worth waiting a bit to drink.

Ntingwe Kwazulu is reminiscent of an Assam for its punch and overall feel, but it also has some Ceylon-esque briskness, making it more than just another PG Tips. Still, it lacks the smoothness of some other CTCs (e.g. The Simple Leaf’s American Breakfast) so it remains a good-to-great, not outstanding, tea.

I am a lover of Lapsang Souchong, and of Taylors of Harrogate in general. This tea is pretty good. I don’t particularly love fannings in my tea bag, which this is, but there is a nice smokiness to this tea. I used two tea bags , covered while steeping, added a tablespoon of agave, no milk, and some ice cubes to drink it faster (I am a baby with excessive heat). I’m satisfied with how this came out.

Pretty good tea, a pretty smooth ending with a bit of astringency but is smoothed out, perhaps by the addition of milk. My uneducated palate says “tastes like tea.”

I was excited when this tea popped up at my grocery store – something new! The flavor to me is mostly Assam, but quite good. I had it with a splash of milk.

Oh, and I forgot to mention – I bought a box of 50 bags for $5, so I would definitely say this is a great tea for the price!

My #1 pick. I’ve experimented with all different preparation methods and have enjoyed them all.

I prepare it with just-below-boiling water to mellow it a bit, a teaspoon of agave to sweeten it a bit, and milk.
Best for the first cup of the day but I also like it on a slow, gray afternoon.

A great breakfast tea – strong enough to hold its own with milk or without. Not overly bitter, but a fresh, bright morning flavour and a grand way to start the day or pick yourself up mid-morning.

This is a nice tea for breakfast. Its strong and malty, not fantastic but good. This is the only assam left in my cupboard and now its gone. Its a disaster, I need to order more assam teas. At least I still have plenty of yunnan teas. I’ll survive.

This is a decent assam with a little astringency. Its robust and brisk without being too bitter.

This tea gets better each time I drink it. Maybe I’m just getting used to it, not sure. Its a very good assam tea, not fantastic, but good. The tea is brisk and robust with a little astringency. A nice tea.

I found this at a British speciality store yesterday in Freeport. Its really a very nice assam tea. Its brisk, robust and malty. The tea is more astringent than the assam teas I have been drinking but that really doesn’t take away from the malty taste. This tea is similar to Mark T. Wendells assam and doesn’t compare at all to Mountain Malt. This tea would make a great addition to a blend for iced tea.

This tea + sugar + milk = good stuff.

I first tried this tea about a month ago and it has since become my favorite black tea. I was growing tired of most black teas being weak and flavorless, which is why I was so excited to discover Yorkshire Gold! I like my black tea to be very bold and Yorkshire Gold definitely meets that requirement. For me, this is just a morning tea, as it has a pretty high level of caffeine. Also, it’s great on its own, or with a bit of milk and sugar.

Early this morning I made some of this to put on ice in the refrigerator. It worked out well. The result is a nice clear iced tea. If I do this again, I will steep for one minute less or add a pinch less tea. I added two brown sugar ice cubes to the hot tea (it was in a 24 ounce pitcher so it won’t be too sweet). Trumpets did not blare; fireworks did not ignite, but this will make a perfectly serviceable iced tea for frequent summer consumption (for me the year has but two seasons: winter and summer).

Finally used this all up! Sipdown :) Good black tea. Strong, but not my favorite.

I made 4 oz of this today and added a LOT of milk and some sugar to it. Wow this brews a dark and strong tea!