Alwazah Tea (Swan Brand)

Sipdown (130)

Thank you Roswell Strange for sharing this tea so long ago. It’s a smooth and inoffensive tea, but ultimately pretty forgettable. Nonetheless, its pleasant enough to sip on now.

Backlog:

I wasn’t incredibly impressed with this tea. It was quite tannic, and I only steeped it for 2 1/2 minutes in boiling water. That doesn’t seem like it’s long enough to produce such a tannic cup. Any longer, and I suspect that this might have been too bitter.

After a couple of sips, I was able to see past the tannic quality a little and notice some of the complexity in this tea: some fruit notes (stone fruit with citrus) and some sweetness. However, the tea is quite astringent, more than I like it to be, and too tannic for my liking.

I wish I had better things to say about it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

i didn’t actually know what this was when i steeped it =0).

just as well i ‘may’ have had a bias against! ceylons and i tend to grouch at one another. however, none the wiser the warm bread smell of this one drew me in happily… along with the fact that it arrived with the springbok enthusiasm of a MissB surprise ‘gotcha’ package. (i love it when she does that =0)

a warm leaf that has nothing to do with temperature. has a significant depth to it. a crusty bread essence…. like a double rise with brown sugar across the top. a drop of agave, but hardy any. mild astringency, nothing harsh. very nice!

what’s this? a ceylon? REALLY?!! well, i personally believe MissB was put on this planet to change minds about tea…. =0P (or at least mine). MISSION ACCOMPLISHED MY DEAR B!!!!!

This is the first time I think I’m reviewing this one hot, even though I’ve had it a couple times this way. It’s still deliciously malty with a silky and thick mouthfeel, that’s almost like satin waves in my mouth.

Thanks again TeaTee, I’m glad I got to try this.

Oh man. This is like a whole new Steepster experience. I don’t even know what to do with myself right now.

I forgot this one in the fridge on Saturday. I’m pleasantly surprised it held up until today , though. Sometimes teas can start tasting muddled and almost dirty if you leave them too, too long. This one stayed clean and crisp and has that wonderful mouthfeel.

In other news, I made another loaf of the Vanilla Earl Grey Cranberry Bread, jotted everything down, shared the recipe with some friends who asked after trying it. So I know the recipe is a winner. If anyone else wants the recipe let me know and I’ll gladly share!

I love Ceylon iced, so that is absolutely what I did with this one. It’s a strong balanced Ceylon with a slightly thick mouthfeel and a clean finish. There are slight notes of fruit and malt. Overall a tasty, smooth offering. Thank you for the generous sample TeaTee!

Very Sad Sipdown (163/169)…

Well goodbye lovely, consistently smooth, delicious malty tea! I very much hope our paths cross again in the future! You were taken best unsweetened with milk, but delightful all around!

Thanks TeaTee for the generous sample from way back in this/last year’s Christmas Exchange: I feel like I shared it with people who will appreciate the beauty of this one, but also savored it myself as well!

As a final parting gesture I’m upping my rating!

I only made one evening tea tonight upon returning home from work; mostly because I took the time to have a night shower (I usually shower before work in the morning, not at night) – but I made it count!

I feel like I’ve shared this with lots of people but not really enjoyed it myself as much as I should have. I very much like it though; it’s a simple but INCREDIBLY smooth, malty black with the faintest hints of cocoa that just add to its subtle depth. Tonight I had it with milk and it was just splendidly divine.

Sadly next cup is a sipdown – and I don’t have a clue how I would go about getting more of this. Boosting my rating, because a “76” seems rather low…

Also just gonna plop this link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCpsusTta4w

Trust me, you want to watch it!

EDIT: OMG! The flavours list is updated! When the fuck did that happen!? I went to type in Malt and “Marshmallow” popped up and I just thought “Was the always there!?”. But there are so many new options! Ah! I’m totally freaking out right now! I just want to go drink more teas so I can use more of the thingers! So. Damn. Giddy.

And on the seventh day of Christmas Steepster gave to me seven swans-a-swimming!

Thank you TeaTee for the very generous sample you sent in the 12 days exchange (Seven cups of swan tea) and all the beautiful origami swans! They’re kind of hidden away in my tea closet right now, but they always make me smile whenever I open it up to rotate teas/grab something.

I’ve actually had this once before (on the seventh day), but I didn’t log it. So, I’m making sure I log it now – especially since I decided to make it in the beautiful mason jar that Keychange gave me!

Parameters: 1 tbsp. of leaf, steeped for about three minutes with a huge splash of milk added in!

Taste wise, this one makes me really happy because there’s not even the slightest bit of bitterness or astringency and – even without milk – it has a nice, thick and full mouthfeel. Also, it’s neither horribly and shockingly strong but it’s not weak either, which makes it perfect as an early morning/starting the day sort of tea (and yummy with Nutella toast). I get a little bit of maltyness and earthy notes balanced by a small dose of natural sweetness and even some very subtle background floral notes.

Doesn’t blow me away – but is a nice strong, balanced straight Ceylon.

HHTTB #5/18

This tea is another tea that was originally part of the 12 Days of Christmas swap that CelebriTea passed along in the box. I really enjoyed the tea then. It was a light, slightly sweet tea black tea. This tea reminds me of the standard black tea that you get for ice tea in a restaurant. I have really enjoyed this one by adding honey to it. Since I have been experimenting more with straight black teas I wasn’t as fond of this as I was a few months ago, but it was still really enjoyable. I took 2 cups out of the box and I will definitely enjoy the last cup as an afternoon tea.

This was Day #7 in the 12 Days of Christmas Swap of 2013. Thank you TeaTee!!

So being new to tea, I had know idea what to expect when I saw that this was a straight ceylon. I had read a few reviews on steepster. It seems ceylon is hit or miss with folks. This was a hit for me. To me it seemed like a light black tea that was a bit fruity and sweet. I just kept refilling my cup today.

Day #7 for the 12 Days of Christmas 2013, Thanks to TeaTee! I have been able to drink this at least 4 mornings. I tend to like a nice black cup first thing in the AM and this hit the spot. I drank with just sugar and sugar/cream and I honestly liked best with just sugar. I am not seasoned into what is a good/bad Ceylon because honestly, until recently I have only begun exploring what black tea I was drinking! I liked this. Thanks so much for the generous sample.

Seven swans a swimming tea! Usually I am not a big Ceylon fan but I knew if I underleafed and made sure to pay attention to how long I was steeping and it turned out well.

It has a very thick mouthfeel which is kind of hard to get used to for a first cup of the day (ugh 4pm already? haven’t felt good all day thanks temperature bouncing). It’s somewhat brisk but not bitter, so I’d say it’s malty with just the right amount of sweetness.

btw I’m going through my tea again so I’ll be selling tea yet again. I need to stop buying in general but my discount needs to stop working at Teavana for that to happen. It’s also involving tossing a lot that I think can’t possibly be good anymore which is really sad. No more buying. Yesterday was the last day of buying, says the person who bought almost 2 pounds of tea UGH.

My everyday cuppa. Not too strong and not weak either. Perfect with two cubes of sugar and almond milk.

bought this from an ethnic grocery store. (Russian)/
ceylon fbop.
needed a ceylon, and wanted to save on shipping costs, hence the search for it locally.

great tea, no citrus aftertaste. very smooth, dark cup. not bitter.
3 euros for a pound of tea, average – yet good tea for that price.

Special Thanks to Pureleaf for this one!

This is a mighty fine Ceylon, indeed! It’s velvety-feel is wonderful on the tongue. It has a hint of sweet, hint of earthiness, and a spec of sweeter-maltiness present. It’s has that mellow-medium to medium black tea strength base but it’s velvet texture is the feature that really stands out for me with this one!

So glad I got to try it!