Durango Coffee Company

This is the last tea from my trip to Colorado that I am reviewing. I was told by a worker that this tea is really good.

Leaf Quality
All of the leaves were either Broken grade, or Fannings (I think teas from two separate regions were used, based on the colors). The colors of the broken leaves and fannings were dark brown, and a more coppery brown. The sweet smell of lavender came through the nice Bergamot scent. The tea smelled really good. After brewing, the leaves pretty much smelled the same. However, they did have a different citrus smell to them as well- this was different than the Bergamot aroma.

Brewed Tea
The color was a nice reddish-brown, and it smelled very much like lavender. This tea is good. The employee was right, however, I oversteeped it. It tastes similar to other Earl Greys I’ve had, and added lavender to them. Some notes of this tea, like the malt, were more similar to an Assam. But this tea tastes great, despite the lesser-quality leaves.

I wish I would have bought their regular Earl Grey while in Colorado. This stuff is good.

I’m not too impressed with this tea. Although the ingredients are not listed, I’m pretty sure this has Ginseng in it.

Leaf Quality
There were many whole leaves, and less broken leaves. There are little white squares (I’m not sure what composes them, but they are definitely organic). Also, there were white, leathery leaves, which were definitely not tea leaves. It smelled pleasant, but not very much like a typical green tea.

Brewed Tea
It smelled like Ginseng, and slightly like Bergamot. It tasted like Ginseng too. Maybe it was the combination of whichever green tea and Bergamot flavoring they used, but I did not taste very much Camellia Sinensis. The Bergamot flavor, which is supposed to make up the earl grey, was almost unnoticeable.

This tea did not impress me very much, and I would like to know the ingredients. This is the only undesirable tea that I have tried from the Durango Coffee Co. I would have preferred more Bergamot, and also more green tea flavor.

This tasted uneven, and to be honest, nothing like Earl Grey should.

Note: This was another tea that is not sold on their website. However, they do have available another Darjeeling online.

Leaf Quality
The dry leaves of this Darjeeling are not as colorful as others I’ve had. There were no light green or Pale-yellow hues to any of the laves. It smelled very much like a Ceylon Pekoe tea. Only some stems were found, along with some broken leaf pieces.

The brewed leaves showed more color. Nice green, red, and yellow showed up. Hints of chocolate, leather, and malty apple aromas were also present.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea smelled of butter, honey, and slightly malty. It reminded me of buttered biscuits. The tea had a very beautiful copper color. As for the taste: it was malty, and buttery with a nice chocolate finish- just like its aroma.

This is a wonderful cup of tea. So far, I’m impressed with the Durango Coffee Co.

Note: This tea was not advertised on their website, so there is no picture nor description. I found it in their shop in Durango, Colorado.

I am finally back in California now. I got this tea several days ago. I have to say I’m pretty satisfied with this one. They had a multitude of other teas which were not available on the website. This puzzled me, but I did not bother to ask, as I was too busy deciding which teas to grab.

Leaf Quality
The leaf quality was above average. For the most part, there were whole green leaves with only the top bud and second leaf. However, there were broken pieces and some dust which settled at the bottom. This could have been because of transport. The tea smelled quite good, and almost sweet.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea smelled very much like the rice that was in it. I could barely pick up the sweet notes. The color of the liquid was a light yellow-green, and was not murky, despite having rice in it.

The first taste was like drinking rice. Upon the second taste, I noticed the sweet and floral notes. This combination went well together. There was almost a smell of almonds. I liked that neither flavor overpowered the other, as might be the case with other Gen Mai Cha’s.

It is too bad that I would have to go all the way from California to Colorado to get this tea again, as it is not sold online. However, the next time I find myself in Durango, I will get this tea.