Mt. Kenya Black

My first cup of this was so thick and reminiscent of molasses. It was too much so I had to dump it and steep it for 3 min. It was so much better!

It’s very strong, and malty, and slightly sweet and full of depth. I can’t wait to try the other samples.

Thanks to Justea for providing this sample for review. I am pretty picky these days about teas and I no longer jump on every offer for free tea on the forums. But this company stuck out: working to bring a sustainable, whole-leaf tea processing company to Kenya, whose tea farmers grow most of the worlds’ tea (!) but see basically none of the profits as their product is chopped up into tea for bags. I have a soft spot for the fact that it’s Kenya, too, because I have spent some time in East Africa and the people there are so wonderful and really deserve a better option.

I tried this tea when I first got it because I couldn’t wait until the crowdfunding effort went live, now accessible at http://www.justea.com . At the time, I remember that it was malty and a bit sweet, but also with a decent hit of astringency. I think this astringency characterizes African teas in general, and more broadly it applies (for me) to most assams, which makes sense because the tea bushes in Africa are of var. assamica.

I steeped this one for a slightly shorter time than recommended (but at the recommended temp) and it has definitely toned down the astringency a bit. There’s pretty much no completely removing it, but it’s actually desirable for many people (usually described as “briskness”). The cup is a bit malty, with some cocoa notes in the nose but not really on the palate. There is definitely a slight fruitiness to this tea as well, perhaps a bit of stone fruit. Overall a very nice tea, and one I would highly recommend for lovers of a brisk morning cup. I can’t wait to try the Earl Grey that I also have from this company.

Received this, with my thanks, from the JusTea folks in conjunction with a special campaign going on here: http://www.justea.com/

First cup steeped to a deep ruby-mahogany color. Light texture; dark flavor. Initial sip made me think, “Coffee?” Not exactly; more like dark rye or pumpernickel.

Will definitely appeal to tea-in-hobnail-boots lovers.

i had this first thing in the morning which seems so long ago that i can’t even think. I was hoping to get some tea in to me today but it’s been one thing after another with work today. I did however get to enjoy this cup again courtesy of Cavocorax this morning with my bagel, the only thing i’ve managed to eat today! soo tasty! and i still have another cup to enjoy later :) thanks cavo!

I was in the mood for a Yunnan tea, but I thought I’d give this one a try. Even though this is a Kenyan tea, it has the exact flavor profile I wanted anyway. Malty chocolately goodness! After a three minute steep the flavor is divine (it might be a bit much for some, but it has the perfect astringency for me). So it has the malt and chocolate of a Yunnan tea, but there is an astringency here that might not usually be with a Yunnan. The brisk Yunnan then! The flavor reminds me of something I recently had but I’m not sure what it was — definitely something from Butiki or Teavivre though… so only the best! The cup color is a lovely light mahogany. The dry leaves are very black and about a half inch long, the fragrance is surprisingly grassy! I know I’ve compared this to a Yunnan, but that is only because that was what I was in the mood for and was surprised that it was so similar. This MUST be the best Kenyan tea I’ve tried. Very delicious! I will certainly enjoy the rest of my free sample — thank you!
www.JusTea.com

The brew in the picture looks orange. In my cup it was more of a beautiful ruby red. I was completely surprised by this tea. After reading that 95% of bagged black tea is Kenyan tea, I was expecting this to taste like, well tea. You know like the grocery store stuff. Nope not even close! This is wonderfully malty. Silky smooth with no rough edges. Not bitter. Slightly drying. Nice depth.

Even if this were not part of a great non-profit effort to break the cycle of poverty in Kenya, I would still recommend this. It is really good.

More in depth review here: http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2013/09/justea-kenyan-black-tea.html

After receiving this in the mail from the crowd funding campaign (I don’t remember which one, kickstarter? indiegogo?), I finally opened this and made myself a cup (at…2am, yay!).

Added milk and sugar as is my wont with black tea. A bit more of each because I’ve heard that good Kenyan tea can be a bit strong on the astringency and needs a bit extra and I’m glad that I did because this is simply a very very good cup of tea. Probably not the best it could be because I reheated it in the microwave once because I forgot I was drinking tea but otherwise it’s very very malty and a bit chocolatey and it tastes a bit fruity to me too, though I couldn’t tell you which fruit, other than not the more acidic citrus fruits. Very subtle to me though. The malt flavour comes through the most. I have another cup of this to go tonight and probably resteep the leaves tomorrow. I’ll add anything if something is different between now and then.

ETA: And apparently this is tasting note #400. Woo!

I need to drink this more often because:
A> I have a lot of it.
B> I really like it.
C> It’s a good cause and I would like to support them by buying more.

A little brisk, but tons of depth. Bold enough to be a breakfast tea, but not offensively bitter or strong. It’s a little finicky, best if not over leafed or over steeped. I found today I liked it at about 1 TBSP/ 10oz mug for about 2 minutes (HOT water at work – maybe 90C ish). Different than the Chinese blacks that I’m used to, but a really nice change.
If anyone doesn’t know about JusTea – you should check them out, they are a non-profit organization that is teaching Kenyan tea farmers to process their own tea rather than selling it to a big company and not being paid appropriately.

Thank you Starfevre for this sample sachet! I really appreciate it :D

WOW this is a really good black tea! Super malty and rich. I totally dig the farmer direct/ fair trade model, too. Looking at the prices on their website, this is a very affordable tea, as well! So basically it is a win/win/win!!

Thanks to Nicole for sending a sample of this my way.

My experience with Kenyan teas generally is they can be kind of astringent and brisk, but this really surprised me. It’s fairly mellow and has a nice maltiness with some brown sugar notes. Very fragrant in the cup as well. I managed to sip on it plain a bit but it was also heavenly with bit of soymilk and coconut sugar. I sense an underlying orange note in the finish. Definitely will consider picking this up for the permanent collection as I’ve been looking for a good tea from Africa and this is the best I’ve found yet, at least to my taste. thanks Nicole!