Maharani

This is a single-sourced tea from Himachal Pradesh in India. I bought it because one of the characters in my novel comes from this beautiful place. His parents regularly send him tea from home and I wanted to know what he was getting in his care packages. (Of course, now I am absolutely compelled to try all manner of Indian sweets and teas that can be placed in care packages.)

The dry leaves smell grassy. Steeped the tea brews a golden liquor that smells of flowers, honey, and a very slight note of citrus. The taste is slightly nutty with a slight vegetal and a very, very slight aftertaste of orchid. Nicely satisfying, though I wish more of the exotic fragrances could be found in the tea as well.

Update: As the tea cools the flowery taste becomes more pronounced.

Today was my final for my class. I should be happy, right? The semester is over! Instead I’m feeling so…bereft. I love going to class, learning, and getting inspired by my professor and fellow students. I have so much to do this summer – my garden needs me, my to-read pile is out of control, I have a painting all lined up, I need to do my knitting for Fall…but – sigh. I love going to school!

I really needed something light and sweet now that I’m in the office (I drank 3 cups of coffee before my test and my stomach is not appreciative!!). I’ve been working through four delicious steeps of this one. Very sweet, and lightly vegetal in the best way. I feel better – more relaxed – nourished. A buttery taste comes out in the 3rd and 4th steeps. I am really impressed with this Indian green tea!

The leaves smell grassy but the tea doesn’t taste grassy at all. The steeped tea has a very fresh smell of honey and flowers. The tea is very smooth and mellow. The brew is very dark for a green tea, kind of a golden hue. There is a slightly buttery taste. This is the best green I have had so far, but please remember that I don’t usually drink green teas.

After all the black teas I’ve been drinking, I felt like I needed to “lighten up” with a green.

Brews up a deep chartreuse. Scent is savory and a bit peppery with hints of sweet flowers—like wilted swiss chard and honeysuckle. The taste is surprisingly smooth and buttery (mmm…butter) —reminds me very much of the gyokuro I sampled from the Jade Teapot.

Overall, this seems like an exceptional green tea—all the best qualities of a green tea are expressed (well, at least the qualities that I like :) ).

Nice!

I’m not very familiar with greens yet, but this is really interesting. Dry leaf smells unexpectedly spicy. Unfortunately I forgot that I was brewing this, so the tea was cool by the time I was able to drink it. The spiciness of the tea itself comes through very slightly, right at the tip of my tongue. Taste is flowery but unique, thanks to that spicy note. Also maybe a slight buttery taste, similar to unsalted butter. I’ll have to try this again and remember to drink it while it’s hot!

Smells great despite my stuffed nose. Unusually dark brew for a green tea. Tasty and complex flavor.