Himalayan Splendor

SIPDOWN! I don’t know why I hoard the last bits of a tea sometimes. Sometimes I don’t even like the tea very much. This one might be a little overleafed because it was a bit more than one serving and a bit less than two servings left, or I estimate because I couldn’t get it all into a teaspoon so I just dumped it all into my gravity infuser since there wasn’t enough left for a pot.

This tastes…well, stronger than I normally have it, but still okay. Sweetened and milky, this also has a bready flavour and a bit of malt this time. Not astringent or bitter. Pretty good and I’m glad I could let this one go.

I got this tea in a swap with Tea Sipper Thanks!

I have always been wary of teas from India and Nepal, mostly because I’ve never really cared for assams or darjeelings. But, I haven’t tried to many of them either (especially not unflavored), so it would probably be good if I gave them a try before dismissing them.

Hmm, this smells… well, like not the type of black tea that I like. It smells astringent. It smells like the component of some black blends that I dislike. It’s that thing that I can’t put my finger on but I don’t like. Well, I’m going to let it cool and see how the taste is.

The good news is that it isn’t so bad as I thought it was going to be. It actually isn’t really astringent, just fruity with some other flavors I can’t place. Hmmm. It leaves a bright, minerally feeling in my mouth. I’m really unsure of what to rate this one so I may just abstain. It’s not bad really, and clearly plenty of others think its great, but it is not for me. Darjeelings and similar are just not my style, and continue to be not my style!

I bought a cup to try if I liked it in my last visit. They gave me 2 ounces free because they are getting ready for a new flush. I have to tell you this is a fabulously good tea. The dry leaves are partially golden the liquor a mellow golden color. This reminds me quite a bit of a Yunnan Golden Tips or a Gongfu Black. The flavor has that antiqueness to it. A bad descriptive I know but that’s how I can best describe it. I am enjoying this quite a bit. I don’t know however if I would pay the 18 dollars that it normally is.

I am too tired to do this tasting note justice, but I wanted to enter something while my this tea is still on my mind.

This is a sample from the traveling tea box. I thought I had made my way through all of teas I had pulled from there, but I found this in the bottom of my sample drawer while I was reorganizing. Oops! I was already in the mood for an unflavored black, so I went ahead and brewed it up.

This is my first tea from Nepal, and I have to say I’m impressed. It’s so much like a Darjeeling, but it’s more. The tea brews into a pale copper color and has an aroma of clean, dry hay. The initial sip is grassy followed by a beautiful fruity floral note. The astringency is moderate and pleasant. I actually said something like, “Oh! Wow!” after I took my first sip. It’s so good. The second steep was just as lovely as the first, and I’m hoping to get a third steeping from the leaves tomorrow.

I know Teavana discontinued this tea, but I will be on the lookout for other teas from Nepal. Hopefully they will be as good because I am loving this tea.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a Nepal black before, maybe, I really feel like I might have had one, or ordered one, from Upton.

In any case I just realized how they are so much like Darjeelings, but …even better?! This tea is not only from Teavana but a first flush and I’m LOVING it? It’s very, very much like a Darjeeling. Fruity, so astringent, but something about it is just better.

Of course they no longer carry it and I’m sure they overcharged for it. I’d love to know where they got it from though so I could find something from the same estate elsewhere.

I wanted to log this tea before removing it from my cupboard. I remember liking this pretty well. I would definitely repurchase it, if only because it’s convenient for me to pick some up, and while not cheap, it’s not crazy expensive.

This is the one tea from Teavana that exceeded my expectations.

Much, much more complex and rewarding than the Golden Monkey the staff kept yammering about, and stood up to multiple infusions (of varying times/temperatures, thanks to my ever-wandering attention span . . .) without showing a trace of bitterness or unpleasantness. The floral notes are delightful.

It’s almost worth what they charge for it.

This was recommended by the people at Teavana, and I think it was a fair recommendation. I normally just drink English Breakfast tea, but she said I would love it. It is really good, and I could reuse the leaves a few times, and it never got to bitter, but I didn’t like the price tag very much.

I guess when I expect a black tea, I expect a BLACK tea. The flavor is more like a green tea to me. The color in the cup is a medium brown. And the flavor is kind of grassy. I wouldn’t pay full price for this, and I don’t think I would have bought it on sale if I had tried it first. Maybe I just don’t know much about tea.. but I didn’t love this.

First time I tried this was plain and hot. It was a little too bitter for me. I’ve since made it as ice tea with splenda. It makes a good iced tea, but again for the price I’ll probably find something else.