Lahloo Tea

A sample from KittyLovesTea I was intrigued by the description of this one – baked apples and brown sugar sounds divine. I’m not sure that it’s a flavoured black, though. Something makes me think that might be a natural element of the tea itself. In any case, I’m rather enjoying myself! I used 1 tsp of leaf, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. I added a splash of milk.

The initial taste is rather strong, slightly astringent black tea. It lingers a little, but then develops into a wonderfully thick-tasting, rich baked apple flavour. There’s a sweetness right at the end of the sip that’s perfectly reminiscent of brown sugar. I noticed the flavour progression mostly in the early sips, but towards the end of my cup I think I must have developed palate fatigue. Either that, or the flavour diminishes as this one starts to cool. The last few dregs are just strong black tea. I’m not complaining, though. Hot and fresh, this one makes for a tasty treat. Even as a plain black, it would be strong enough to wake me up on a morning!

I’m glad to have had the opportunity to try this one. I probably wouldn’t seek it out, because there are plenty of strong black/flavoured black teas that I like just as much, but it’s definitely worth a try for the apple/sugar aspect alone.

Slightly sweet. Very full, rich and rounded. The leaves open up beautifully and let lots of flavour out.

Another night up with an unhappy tummy. This seemed to help a bit, and on top of that was tastier than I’d remembered. I noticed the chocolate notes more, which tasted like very dark (maybe 90%) chocolate that had burnt onto a baking tray, but without the harshness or astringency you might expect. After a few sips the chocolate flavors gave way to wood and roasted grains, while the mouthfeel remained creamy throughout. It’s almost like hot cocoa for grown-up palates that don’t like sweets – I just about fell asleep drinking this. Definitely reconsidering my “I only really like green oolongs” stance now.

Another one of the older teas in my stash. Dry leaf is tightly rolled like gunpowder; aroma is charcoal and lightly burnt toast, which turns more towards freshly baked bread crust while steeping. In my first taste I immediately picked up dark chocolate, although it didn’t stick around very long. Mineral notes are also present, becoming a metal-like tang in the back of my throat and sides of my palate. I’m not getting any fruit, but maybe some kind of wood instead? Sandalwood perhaps?

The flavor isn’t really wowing me, but it is giving me a bit of a happy warm fuzzy feeling.

With all the brown sugar and caramelized baked apple references in the flavor description, I figured this would be a great choice for a sweet-tooth like myself. Much to my dismay, I found it disappointingly unremarkable.

The scent from the tin is faintly mineral; while steeping it barely smells any different from a steaming cup of plain hot water, though some sweet notes are perceptible after a few minutes. The taste… it unfortunately doesn’t taste of much. There’s a pleasant bitter edge and a deep brown color to remind me that I did in fact put leaves in the cup, but not much else. I added sugar 1/4 tsp at a time to see if it helped bring out the flavor (it didn’t really). Toward the end of the cup I poured in a tiny dash of soymilk to see if that would help, but it only seemed to cover up whatever little flavor was there. The aftertaste is quite nice, but I really wish there were more to this tea than that.

I’ll give this tea another go, since I’m probably still not up to snuff on my tasting or loose tea making abilities. I have about 48 grams of this stuff left, so if anyone wants to try it, let me know.

Not sure what I did differently this time, but it tastes quite a bit different from how I described it in my last note. The dry leaf still has the lovely chestnutty aroma, but the liquor is more astringent, more beany, and less umami than I remember. It resteeped better than last time, though. I added some salt toward the end of the second cup, thinking it might bring out that brothy quality I noted before, but oddly enough it seemed to only bring out the bitter notes.

Dropping the rating a bit, even though I doubt it’s the tea’s fault. It’s probably past its peak, and my tap water is HARRRRRD. Might be time to start using the Brita pitcher again, or at least descale the kettle.

Aha, now I think I know what people mean when they describe green teas as “brothy”! This was a lovely, almost savory brew that I just wanted to keep slurping. A bit like the cooking liquid after steaming kale, with a hint of seaweed and barely any astringency. Second infusion wasn’t as captivating as the first, but oh well. Definitely a keeper!

Thank you adagio breeze for this tea.

This tea is light, sweet, malty and smooth. One of the more delicate black teas that I have tried and very much on the sweeter honeyed side. The sort of black tea that does not require milk or sugar to be a pleasant drink.

Most days this would not appeal to me as I love strong black teas but on days like today where I long after greens and whites it’s a nice in between drink.

This is quite posh-tasting, if that makes sense. I tend to gravitate towards big, bold flavors when it comes to tea (tempered with sugar & milk as needed), but every once in a while it’s nice to have something a bit more delicate. Bergamot is usually pretty in-your-face, at least in most of the Earl Greys I’ve tried, so I was surprised how subtle this one was. It’s an EG more for relaxing after a busy day out than for perking yourself up. Soothing and very drinkable without any milk or sweetener, and lovely with a bit of orange poppyseed cake.

ETA: 5+ minute resteep is pretty good, too.

I am not a fan of pu-erh. This one smells heavenly – just a hint of smokiness and evokes s lightness and clarity. Its liquor is a deep and enriching amber. I have high hopes of one day finding a pu-erh I could like but this one stared off with promise but in the mouth still tasted like kippers for breakfast. Sorry Lahloo, I can tell this is quality but I still don’t like pu-erh!

I love this tea. The leaves are so fuzzy and fluffy. Much more so than in other silver needles I’ve seen!

The flavor is fruity, sweet, and delicate. Lovely. sigh

I was certain that I already logged this but I can’t find it anywhere so…here we go before I decupboard it!

As for the song…I am thinking Tori Amos and Snow Angel for this one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS_uaSaVxKk

As for the tasting notes…

Pure! Clean! Crisp! Mouthwatering! A pure delight! This is very nice! It’s sweet and I can taste a hint of fruit-likeness! This is great!

Refreshing, light Earl Grey.

I love this Oolong and I’m sad that I’ve only enough of it for one more gaiwan of it. It has such a lovely fruit/flower/earthy/musk flavor to it that I don’t think I’ve ever really experienced in an Oolong before. It’s very nice!

I have increased the numeric rating on this because … well… I can!

An excellent Oolong. The flavor is rich and complex with layers of fruit, flower and even woodsy tones. Somewhat earthy but not heavily so.

Just lovely.

The aroma is quite like chestnuts – nutty and sweet, with just a hint of vegetation.

Smooth and light, fresh with notes of vegetables, nuts and butter. YUM!

This is pretty good…semi-chestnut-T tasting and GREEN tea tasting – nice

SIPDOWN!
Lovely!
Honey and Apricot notes are a delight in this! I’ll miss this one!

I’m getting the orange, floral, and honey notes today…see my previous notes for more info!

This is my VERY FIRST Lahloo experience!

It smells a little nutty and a little blossomy. The first sip was a little gritty, almost, until I was ‘used to’ the change of taste from my last cuppa. From that point on I enjoyed this tea.

I’m not really picking up on the apricot notes but the grapefruit – certainly and the honey – indeed!

This is a nice change-up

I received this yesterday from Lahloo Tea, based in Bristol (UK) and decided to start my day with it. All I can say is that I’m absolutely blown away by this Matcha! The tea has an almost perfect sweet/bitter balance with a lovely lingering sweetness long after it is all gone! The powder smells beautifully fresh, and it’s somewhat thick consistency may tempt me to try out Koicha for the first time later on! 10/10