Nepal Black Tea

Very first order of the agenda here, can we all please agree that the country is called NEpal and that there is no such country as NApal? Thank you. This seems a common error, and some people do it with such consistency that it can’t be a typo. NEpal. (Sorry, but it bothers me. I can usually overlook this sort of thing, but certain mistakes just jars the eye. Same with the whole palate/pallet/palette thing. (Hint, on Steepster I can with 99.9% certainty guarantee that you want ‘palate’))

Secondly, Fleurdelily shared this one with me, and I’ve been slightly afraid to try it. I’ve tried a couple of Nepalese blacks before and found them quite Darjeeling-y. But then I seemed to see a lot of good things said about it on Steepster. Claire even had a discussion board subject. So I decided it must be time to be brave.

The leaf doesn’t look like Darjeeling and it doesn’t really smell like it either, although there is a certain note of that Darjeelingesque grassy floralness.

After brewing it smells quite flora, but not in a sharp, pointy way like Darjeeling. There is a sweet, slightly malty note and also a touch of something that reminds me of raisins and other dried fruits. It’s kind of like a much milder version of Assam, rather than Darjeeling-y.

The Darjeeling-y note is there in the flavour as well, but honestly, I would have been surprised if it wasn’t. It’s not as unpleasant as I find it to be in Darjeeling, though. In Darjeeling it’s sort of stabby and pointy and gives me a funky, sour aftertaste, but there’s none of that here. Again it’s mostly like a milder version of Assam with Darjeeling aspects mixed in.

Dooars! That’s what it reminds me of the most.

If you enjoy this, try if you can find something from the Dooars region, and vice versa. Where Dooars leans more towards Darjeeling than Assam, this is sort of leaning in the opposite direction, but it’s still giving me that same feeling of middle-ness.

It’s not my ideal tea (being not Chinese, really) but I’m enjoying it much more than I had expected I would. Very interesting

I’ve been wanting to try a black tea from Nepal for awhile now, so I had to pick this up first at Davids today.

The leaves are long, wiry, and slightly curled with some golden tips. The aroma of the dry leaves is beautiful – full of malt and cocoa. While brewing the leaves unfurl to nearly three times their size, and turn a light brown color. This is a neat one to watch steep.
The flavor is spot on for me. Lots of malt, cocoa, and a hint of honey-like sweetness at the end. For some reason I thought this would be like a darjeeling, but it’s much more “robust” than that. I really like this!
We had a long day of running errands and ended up held up by a problem with the MUNI system for awhile, and I very much wanted a Decent Cup of Tea by the time I got home. This did the trick. :)

I had this lovely tea on the ferry to the mainland. My feet will touch real mainland shortly!
I was very happy with this tea as I could steep it for a long time (aka forget about it for 10 min) without it going bitter. It was deliciously malty and sweet with a creamy edge on the third steep. I really enjoyed this as an easy black tea for on the go. I don’t have to worry about it… Put the water in and forget without consequence. So glad I picked this tea up <3

There is certainly a taste of honey to this straight black tea. I also get a “wheaty”, “beer-ish”, malty taste. The aroma of the wet leaves is strong with the malt too. The effect leads to a cup that is both sweet and full with enough astringency to give it good character. The honey note even makes a certain song play endlessly in my head. It’s quite magical, really. It tastes delicious both with or without milk.

I haven’t tried many straight black teas. Even during the David’s Tea straight promotion this is the only black tea I sampled. David’s Tea has a mixed bag of straights but Nepal Black is one of the better ones. I have a small bag but I’m unsure if this will become a staple. I need to try more blacks and check out Verdant Tea before I make a decision but right now I’m leaning on a yes…

“I’ll come back for the honey……….AND YOUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Yes. I am ashamed of myself.

I’ve had this for a while but somehow never got around to trying it. I only bought 20 grams, but it is such a light tea that I got one of those little silver bags DT uses almost full. The smell of the dry leaves is fairly typical black tea, in my opinion. The steeped smell however, is a different beast. I smell honeyed notes, a natural sweetness that I LOVE to find in my black teas. Honestly I am in the mood for something with cococa notes, but I don’t think this will suit that need. Also, I’m having some almonds with this, so we’ll see what impact that has!

Almonds aside, this was surprisingly mild. I get a honeyed sweetness in the taste, but it’s not overbearing. There is no bitterness at all, and this is a very smooth tea. I don’t know that I can pick out any specific flavours, but I am loving this. It’s a nice easy drinking black tea, the kind that would make a good companion to a lazy afternoon with a great book. MMmmm…

I received this one from tattooed_tea. I am really starting to wish there were some DAVIDs locations in the states…ok Ohio. Opening up the package the dry leaf reminds me of a chinese black or an ceylon. I was excited to get this one because I have never sampled a nepalese black. Reminds me a little bit of a chinese black because there’s that starchy flavor like baked potato. Pretty smooth and it may have to be added to the permanent collection.

This one is another of my 10g purchase and I think I just might go back for more of this one!!

I also noticed this would be a pretty one to watch unfurl (or steep) in a glass bodum or clear glass tea pot as the leaves really open up as they steep. I should mention I almost passed on purchasing some of this because it had that mouldy grass scent that makes my stomach go BLECK and my face to pinch, but after a second sniff, I realised it was more sweet than mouldy.

Steeped it makes me think of orange pekoe in a way and I want to add cream to it and curl up with a book rather than go to work this morning. But alas one must do just that.

There is an astringency that I am learning to notice and it is not overly unpleasant, this is defiantly a tea that is going on the “Must buy more of” list, but I have to make it through all these other teas I have first.

Hello, my name is Erin, and I have a compulsive tea purchasing habit, it has been merely 12hrs since I last purchased tea…

I had been intrigued by the idea of Nepalese tea, and was so glad when Angrboda sent me some in a swap (I have an embarassment of riches of swaps to try. It´s a lovely feeling, except am trying to be good about too much caffeine.. the pains of too many new so-delicious seeming teas to pick. Thank you Angrboda! Nothing is forgotten and unappreciated even if I take my time to pick it).

This is very interesting – it´s like an Assam on a few things (malty! astringency), but a bit “rounder”. It is a little bit “hay”-like Darjeeling style, but not quite. I don´t get any honey notes, but I get a raisin sort of quality which seems Muscat. It is sort of sweet. The dry leaf had aniseed like notes, but nobody seems to have spotted anything like that, so it is possible I am imagining it – I don´t get it on the liquour anyway. So at the same malty and muscaty, which is interesting and good.

I brew it wrong, I think I used too much leaf or water too hot, it turned out a little bit too astringent for me – but still drinkable which would not have happened with an Assam.

I definitely want to explore more Nepal teas even if this particular one might not be the “one” for me.

PS – it is better with some milk and sugar. I am not usually a milk and sugar person but this is a milk and sugar tea.

I picked up a half ounce of this on Saturday at the David’s Tea in the Westfield Centre. Any vegans who may visit there, that mall has one of the best Loving Huts…

This is a nice strong black. It tastes most like a Ceylon to me. Very strong honey flavor and some maltiness. Delicious!

1TB for 450mL water. 6 minute steep, 98C water. Rating: 95.

Yum. I wasn’t expecting this to live up to the hype, but yeah, it’s really nice. A bit Darjeeling-y, which is not a surprise, given that the tea comes from Nepal. But’s it’s not a Darjeeling. This tea has a slight woody tang but no serious astringency. The mouthfeel and body remind me of Yunnan rather than any of the India teas. Sweet notes, too.

One of the girls in the office bought this and decided after that she didn’t want it. So i got it! This isnt a bad little tea – better than the himalayan in my opinion but i think that laoshan black from verdant has spoiled me. I’m always looking for my straight blacks to be robust and have different flavours going on. I would get this again but as an every day tea rather than anything special

Wow, this was pretty good! especially hot. I swear someone added honey! but no, that was just the tea. The honey could also be easily confused as a chocolate note, esp when freshly hot.
As it cools, it becomes more raisin honey and more delicate. The astringency comes out here as well.
I’m quite enjoying how complex it is.
For now, I’m suitably impressed but not rushing out to buy some for the house. My raspberry note tea is my go to addiction at the moment so I’ll wait til that runs out before deciding on my next indulgence!
Still, this was lovely and I’m so glad to have tried it! :)

Thanks to CrowKettle for the sample!

When I first smelled it, I thought of a smooth Ceylon black, but there was also something else in the scent. Interesting.

Now that I’m sipping away, I’m reminded of DavidsTea Himalayan Blend, but this is a little danker and maltier – in a good way! I think there are also some honey notes slipping in too.

I’m happy I was able to try this but I don’t think I’d buy it at $10/50g.

This tea continues to be one of my favourite blacks. Not because I haven’t had better by now – I have. This is just a comforting, don’t-think-too-hard about it tea that I like to have on mornings when I don’t need to go anywhere. It’s light and sweet.

On my last few trips to DAVIDs, I also bought a bunch of their flavoured honey sticks – peach, coconut and lemon – because I am a complete sucker for gimmicky shit like that. I sweetened this with one of the peach sticks, hoping it might come out something like a lighter version of Southern Belle.

It…didn’t, really. I could barely taste peach. I think it might need two sticks, although that tweaks that uneasy part of my brain which is aware of how much sugar there already is in my diet.

And speaking of sugar…I also have a can of Coke in the fridge. You know how they say that once you’re addicted to something, the addiction is forever? I have discovered that my soda pop limit is now something like ONE every few days, and it’s best to keep it to one a week and only sip it a bit at a time. If I do that, I enjoy it. If I drink it more often, the normally-tamed beast of my Coke addiction wakes up and says, “Go get more of that. RIGHT NOW.”

Which I did, the last time I drank too much Coke, too fast. But I have resisted drinking the can I then bought, so now it’s just sitting in the fridge. I’m trying to decide when to drink it, because its presence kind of makes me nervous and I want it gone. And I’m not truly committed enough to clean my toilet with it.

This is a tea I always keep around.. it’s one of those that you know you will enjoy no matter what the occasion is.

I’m a big fan of flavored teas, but obviously the true essence of tea is in it’s bare leaves, so «au naturel» is something I feel I must go to from time to time. I will not pretend I am an expert at this, cause I’m not. The world of tea is so complex and fascinating, I learn something new everyday! I am slowly educating myself and trying unflavored teas more and more.

What never ceases to amaze me is to find hints and notes that are naturally there. This tea is an excellent example of that. The sweet honey is easily identifiable, hard to believe that no sugar was added. It’s malty but not too much. It’s a bit astringent, but not too much even if steeped a little too long.

For my taste, the flavors peak when it starts cooling. I like it just slightly warm, not hot. After steeping it, I wait a good 5 minutes before I drink it. I then experience it in a whole other way, with more nuances and fuller body. The sweetness arrives at the end, so it completely takes away whatever astringency or bitterness that might be there.

Definitely one of my favorite black tea!

Fine downy young leaves. I can feel the little hairs prickle the back of my throat as I swallow.

This was a light cup of tea, but then again, I suspect I under leafed my cup. Still, smooth and nectary sweet. Bit delicate for a black tea, really.

Otherwise, this is not too memorable.

Well, I was enjoying this until I offered my wife a sip and my whole mug was stolen. :(

Yum, this is tasty!

After my first cup, I had thought of all these things I wanted to write about in my tasting note, about the floral-y fragrance mixed with a dark, malty taste… but mostly, I forgot all of it as I drank my second and third infusions. But it is delicious, and I am sad that my sample from Courtney only contained enough for one taste of this.

So, yum.

I am thoroughly enjoying this tea.

I went to the store to buy some Orange Pekoe (which is quite nice itself, btw) and was offered this one. I got the OP but then after giving it some thought I went back a couple weeks later for a tin of this one.

The first thing you notice is that this is obviously hand-rolled – the leaves are very long and twisty.

The aroma of the leaves is very pleasant, a bit malty and floral like a really nice breakfast tea.

The colour of the infusion is a deep orange but not too dark.

The flavour is reminiscent of Black Needles (Yunnan red/black) in its honey/sweetness but then also like a really nice breakfast blend (Ceylon/Assam).

Very, very accessible and hard to say anything not nice about it. :)

This tea even cost less than I expected because it’s so light that the tin could only hold about 86g – the girl at the store even had trouble shutting the lid (I cringed at the sound of her crushing the tea leaves, not to mention the fact that she spilled a bunch when she was filling the tin.. tsk tsk tsk.. :P )

Notes on preparation: I’ve been doing all of my black tea lately in kind of a “modified gong fu” style – I use extra leaves, and first do a quick infusion off the boil (up to two minutes), then later a second infusion at boiling, leaving the leaves in indefinitely (or at least 5 minutes).

I am just having a bit of this now…

My local DAVIDs was out of this the last few times I was in, but had some today, and I finally bought some. The leaves are fairly big and light, and my 16g nearly filled the small pouch. Brewed, the leaves were on par with the oolong I had yesterday which was a little greener than this. The dry smell of this smells like your basic black, a little malty and sweet. Compared to the Wild Black Yunnan, it smells a little different. At first I thought the WBY was sweeter, but upon a second dry smell just now, the WBY smells earthier…possibly grassier.

The liquor was a nice medium golden mahogany shade. Brewed, it is very pleasing to look at and smell. I’m not sure if this is sweeter or not than the WBY as it’s been a while since I tried it straight. There is a sort of drying taste on my tongue, with a slight astringency. I’m not picking up any smoke that I know of.

I’m not sure whether I like this one better or not. I tasted without sweetener and milk, but I can’t seem to have a dark tea without that. Both teas are quite nice, especially as straight teas.