Teabox

I love Chai and have set out to sample as many as possible. This is my first chai from Teabox, I bought the chai sampler, so I will follow with more. There is a strong cardamon taste, I wish there was more ginger flavor. I do like assam tea very much so I do like the black tea taste, but the chai part is a bit too subtle for me. I steeped it according to the recommendations, I wonder if more tea would have made for more chai flavor. If you like subtle chai flavors, this one might work for you. Okay chai, but I have had better.

I nearly forgot to post this review. I finished a sample pouch of this tea back in January and just never got around to posting anything about it here. I think I knew I would likely have to add this tea and was simply too lazy to do it at the time, but whatever, I’m getting around to it now. I tend to be a huge fan of the black teas produced by the Margaret’s Hope Estate, especially the second flush teas, and found this one to be excellent.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material produced aromas of grass, herbs, and wood. After infusion, I noted scents of cream, earth, and dry leaves underscored by a hint of Muscatel character. In the mouth, the liquor offered notes of wood, toast, malt, caramel, cream, grass, earth, herbs, and dry leaves balanced by subtle Muscatel flavor and hints of dandelion and apricot. The finish was smooth and sweet with only moderate astringency that was not often all that noticeable. I found lingering notes of malt, cream, dandelion, and toast with underlying touches of wood, Muscatel, and apricot.

A supremely drinkable, approachable second flush Darjeeling black tea with more than enough character on the nose and in the mouth to keep one coming back for more, I found it to be flexible enough to suit multiple settings, though it was perhaps at its best as a late morning or early afternoon treat. I find that Margaret’s Hope does these Chinary black teas better than almost anyone. This was yet another winner.

Really soothing earl grey tea. I adore earl grey and here is one with less caffeine. The taste and scent of lavender are prevalent and wonderful! I enjoyed this tea from Teabox.

I’m so happy to be back on Steepster. Even though I have not been drinking a ton of tea in the past six days, I still have quite a few notes from the last two weeks that I need to post here. This will be the first. I finished a 10 gram sample pouch of this tea either at the end of last week or the start of this week. Compared to the Giddapahar Classic Summer Chinary Black Tea I reviewed back in the fall, I found this to be a much smoother, more appealing tea overall.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted date, raisin, plum, chocolate, and wood aromas. After infusion, I noted emerging earth, malt, caramel, Muscatel, and slightly minty herbal aromas. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of malt, brown toast, earth, wood, roasted almond, caramel, rose, chocolate, black cherry, date, raisin, plum, Muscatel, and herbs with occasional hints of nutmeg. The finish was pleasantly earthy, nutty, woody, and malty with hints of black cherry, rose, Muscatel, and herbs.

Another excellent Darjeeling black tea, this tea was both quite complex and tremendously drinkable. To be completely honest, it was the sort of tea that made me wish last year’s harvests had not been cut short because it was shaping up to be a fantastic year all around. If you are a fan of second flush Darjeeling black teas, this one is well worth a try.

I did not start trying Lopchu teas until the spring of 2017 when I received a second flush black tea from Lopchu as part of a sample pack from Vahdam Teas. Since then, I have tried two other Lopchu black teas, with this 2017 second flush black tea being the most recent. Their second flush teas are unique in character, not seeming to possess a tremendous amount in common with many other second flush Darjeeling black teas. Compared to the 2016 second flush black tea from Vahdam Teas, I found this 2017 tea to be smoother while still displaying plenty of the unmistakable Lopchu character.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of burnt wood and burnt chocolate underscored by hints of roasted nuts and spice. After infusion, I found strong aromas of smoke, black cherry, burnt wood, burnt chocolate, earth, spice, malt, and tobacco. In the mouth, the liquor offered notes of smoke, earth, burnt chocolate, malt, burnt wood, black cherry, Muscatel, and bitter, somewhat oily roasted nuts (black walnut, beechnut, chestnut, and hickory) underscored by hints of fig, prune, raisin, nutmeg, tobacco, and honey. The finish was mostly malty, earthy, toasty, nutty, and smoky, though I could still find fleeting impressions of burnt chocolate, Muscatel, and black cherry in places. There was a pleasant astringency that lingered after the swallow.

More drinkable and slightly less astringent than the 2016 second flush Lopchu black tea I tried in the spring of 2017, this was a very satisfying Darjeeling black tea overall. The aromas and flavors seemed to pop a little more in this one. I’ve liked all of the other Lopchu black teas I have tried, thus it should come as no surprise that I ended up liking this one too. It would be a great tea for Darjeeling drinkers who are looking to try something a little heavier, more unique, and more challenging without entirely having to leave their individual comfort zones.

This will probably be my final review of 2017. I doubt I will get the opportunity to post anything else tonight. The third of the Oaks Estate black teas I tried this year, I found this to be the most enjoyable of the three.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, I found aromas of toast, wood, and malt. After infusion, I began to note scents of dandelion and amaryllis, as well as emerging aromas of grass, malt, herbs, and wood. On the palate, the liquor started off with fairly robust notes of hay, grass, wood, herbs, and dandelion, but soon notes of amaryllis, brown toast, cream, malt, golden raisin, fig, roasted almond, and blackberry arrived to provide some depth and balance. The finish was somewhat sweet and relatively smooth, providing lingering fruit, toast, and malt notes balanced by some mild astringency and hints of tannic character.

While the folks at Teabox seemed to perceive this as a consistently sweet tea, my preparation yielded a much more robust liquor with pronounced vegetal, herbal notes on the entry and much smoother, more complex notes on the back end. Though I was not a huge fan of the autumn flush Oaks black tea I tried a couple months back, I greatly enjoyed this second flush tea and would be willing to recommend it to fans of Darjeeling black teas.

My fixation on reducing the number of samples in my possession continues. I finished the last of this tea early yesterday afternoon, and quite frankly, it was one I was glad to see go. A blend of 2017 second flush teas from a number of Nepalese tea estates, I found this blend to be more awkward and dull than anything. Teabox described it as being a tea they enjoy more for texture than for flavor notes. I could definitely see that.

I prepared this tea in the Western fashion. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. Teabox recommended a steep time of 4 minutes, but I don’t mind tannic character or astringency all that much, thus opting to steep for 5 minutes instead. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves produced somewhat woody, toasty, malty aromas. After infusion, I found scents of orange, wood, toast, and cream. The liquor offered brisk, rather muddled notes of roasted almond, orange, wood, toast, malt, and cream balanced by hints of butter, cashew, blackberry, roasted peanut, and lime. The finish was quite tannic and astringent, though I could detect lingering notes of citrus, cream, and roasted nuts in the background.

Not all that complex of a blend and lacking in the depth department, this ended up being the sort of unflavored black tea bend that does not excite me all that much. Fans of breakfast tea blends may get more out of it than I did, but this is one I would not return to if given the option. At this point, I should mention that I tried it with cream and that smoothed out some of its rough edges, but unfortunately, I am not the sort of person who enjoys tea with additives. Honestly, I think I’m beginning to get the impression that Teabox’s single estate teas are better and more consistent than their blends.

I am surprised at how much I did not like this blend. It has a faint tart lemongrass overtone, but it doesn’t taste overly like much. I tried this twice, once following exact directions given on the package, and a second time letting it steep a couple minutes longer. There isn’t enough character to really make much of an impact. I suppose one might use it as a vehicle for sweetener to justify its existence, but that seems like a waste. Given a time machine, I would have put this one back in the box, and made a different cup of tea. It might do better as an iced tea, though.

I found this tea to be slightly underwhelming. Initially, I detected rose and honey over a medium-bodied Darjeeling. There were hints of a citrusy astringency, but I did not get as much of the green chili note listed on the package as I was hoping. As I continued to drink, the spiciness of the chili was more noticeable, but not overpowering. The resulting tea was pleasantly savory, but nothing remarkable.

Again, not exactly the right tea but close enough. I’m drinking:
Vahdam Jungpana Exotic Darjeeling Organic Summer Black Tea
Date of picking 2nd June, 2015; Grade FTGFOP1
This is nice, the scent is complex with floral notes along with something sweet and biscuity. The flavour is similar, but with a lot more of the grape skin note that I assume is muscatel, and some general malt and light astringency, like oh hey this is a black tea from India, hi. Some lingering flowers in the aftertaste (some sips more than others, I don’t know why). It’s interesting, I like it.

A very nice Darjeeling, without any at all of the astringency common to black teas from other regions. This actually reminds me more of an oolong than a black tea, except that it does have a noticeable element of muscatel. The taste is primarily nutty (almond more than peanut), but rich and complicated while still being fairly mild.

The steeped tea is an orangish brown. It has a very mild scent, nutty with fresh wood.

A really excellent tea.

I have a slightly different version of this tea, but I’m too lazy to make a new entry. :) Finally trying to get through all these Golden Tips/Vahdam samples! So here is what the sample label says:
Vahdam Avongrove Premium Darjeeling Organic Summer Black Tea
Date of picking 4th June, 2015. Grade FTGFOB1
The dry leaf smells like a darjeeling, quite floral. The steeped tea has floral notes as well, and a slightly spicy note. The flavour is a bit lighter than I expected, lots of floral and fresh green, like freshly cut alfalfa hay. There is a slight astringency developing as I get about halfway through my mug. This is nice, I tend to drink more Chinese black teas, but when I drink a darjeeling I always think “yeah, I like these too!”. My thing is that I’m not sure I differentiate between different darjeelings very well? First vs second flush, yes, but would I be able to distinguish this from another summer darjeeling? Anyway, I’ll try a few more today, see if anything becomes clear.

If memory serves, this was the second of the 2016 autumn flush Darjeeling black teas I finished and reviewed last month. Unfortunately, it is the last one to get a write-up on Steepster. I’m honestly not sure why that is. Most likely, I simply put it off and then forgot about it. Anyway, I did not expect much from this tea. Teabox’s description of it seemed to betray that it was not their favorite of the 2016 autumn flush teas, as it was simply described as being “for those who seek out lighter teas,” the sort of tea that you could get something out of “with a bit of coaxing.” I pasted their description into the tea information section when I added this tea to Steepster. Take a look at it. They sold that one super well, didn’t they? Nothing says we think this is a quality offering like more or less stating, “if you fiddle with it, you can get something out of it.” Naturally, I did not find that to be the case at all. Like most of the Gopaldhara teas I have tried, this was a high quality offering that was not finicky in the least. Honestly, it and the Jungpana Classic Autumn Black were my two favorites of the 2016 autumn flush teas I purchased from Teabox, and I do not feel that I am exaggerating in the least when I say that this one was just as good as the other.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, I picked up rather distant aromas of fruit, wood, and nuts from the dry leaf material. After infusion, I noted aromas of dried flowers, apricot, cherry, wood, and roasted nuts. In the mouth, the liquor expressed subtle, delicate, refined notes of wood, rose, dandelion, dried chrysanthemum, roasted almond, cherry, apricot, pear, elderberry, and blackberry with touches of watermelon rind, malt, nutmeg, and raisin lurking around the fringes. The finish was soft and relatively clean, offering pleasant, lingering impressions of almond, dried chrysanthemum, pear, and watermelon rind.

I can see why this was described as being appropriate for people who like lighter teas, but to me, this tea was less light and more subtle. Its smooth texture, lean body, and well-integrated aromas and flavors betrayed considerable depth and complexity for this type of black tea. Because of this, I think this is the sort of tea that would be more appropriate for seasoned drinkers of autumn flush black teas or those looking for a challenging tea that is never less than enjoyable.

Here we come to a blast from the past. I finished a sample pouch of this first flush Darjeeling black tea back on 10/19, took notes for a review, and apparently never got around to posting anything. Obviously, I am remedying that now. I tend to be a big fan of the teas produced by the Margaret’s Hope Estate, so it should come as no surprise that I liked this one quite a bit.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, I noted aromas of herbs, grass, and wood coming from the dry leaf material. After infusion, I found aromas of green pepper, wood, grass, and citrus. In the mouth, the liquor offered interesting notes of almond, grass, hay, green pepper, lemon, malt, violet, dandelion, and field greens. The finish was very smooth with lingering floral tones coupled with malty, vegetal notes. Oddly, I thought I caught hints of menthol, bay leaf, nutmeg, and something like galangal very briefly at this time. I know that Teabox’s tasting note mentioned notes of white flowers and ripe pumpkin, but I did not get any of that. Of course, I am also generally ambivalent towards pumpkin and have not eaten it recently enough to have an accurate recollection of what it smells or tastes like.

This was a very nice first flush Darjeeling black tea. While it was somewhat subtler and smoother than I anticipated, it was also spicier and more vegetal than any other Margaret’s Hope tea I have tried to this point. On that note, I had a first flush black tea from Margaret’s Hope last year, and of the two, I think I enjoyed that one a little more. Still, this was a very good tea. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality first flush Darjeeling black tea for regular consumption.

This was the third of the 2016 autumn flush Darjeelings I recently finished and I have to say that it was a tea I greatly enjoyed. This seemed to be the favorite of the folks at Teabox, and for me, it would come down to either this one or the tea from Gopaldhara if I had to pick a favorite. Truthfully, the teas from Gopaldhara, Jungpana, Goomtee, and Giddapahar were all so similar in terms of quality that I could probably make an argument for any of them being the best if I were to put my mind to it. What this one offered that was rather unique was a quirky, fascinating combination of aromas and flavors that highlighted a unique melon rind note.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, I noted aromas of wood, herbs, raisins, tobacco, and roasted nuts coming from the dry leaf material. After infusion, I picked out new aromas of earth, tree bark, and malt. In the mouth, I initially found pleasant floral notes that gave way to a combination of malt, roasted almond, raisin, earth, wood, tree bark, herb, tobacco, and plum flavors. I could also detect slight vegetal tones that were accompanied by subtle hints of spiced pear, red apple, and watermelon rind. The finish saw the vegetal notes take more shape. They began to remind me of cooked green beans. Simultaneously, notes of wood, malt, watermelon rind, and flowers lingered after the other notes began to fade.

This was an incredibly interesting and complex black tea, yet it was also approachable and easy to drink. It was somewhat more challenging than the other autumn flush teas I have recently tried. I definitely found it to be a quality tea that rewarded patient, focused sipping. If you are looking for a unique autumn flush Darjeeling black tea suitable for afternoon and/or evening consumption, this would certainly be a tea to try.

This was the final autumn Darjeeling sample I finished. I found this to be the softest and arguably cleanest tea of the bunch. It was a very mild, mellow tea with extremely subtle aromas and flavors. In some ways, it was similar to the tea from the Goomtee Estate that I recently reviewed, but simultaneously displayed greater complexity and a gentler, subtler nature.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, I was able to detect subtle woody, floral aromas from the dry leaf material. After infusion, I detected only slightly stronger impressions of flowers, wood, and malt on the nose. In the mouth, I noted delicate flavors of wood, malt, roasted almond, herbs, and some sort of flower (I could not identify it) on the entry that soon gave way to impressions of cream, raisins, grass, birch bark, Muscatel, and plums. The finish was gentle, offering vague, lingering notes of flowers, raisins, roasted almonds, and malt.

This was yet another really nice autumn flush Darjeeling. Like the others, it was subtle and easygoing, yet also had a lot to offer. I am definitely glad I tried this one.

Another of the autumn flush Darjeeling black teas from Teabox that I have been quickly sipping down, I found this to be an approachable and consistently likable autumn flush Darjeeling. Compared to the tea from the Oaks Estate that I reviewed a little earlier, it was more straightforward and did not have any notes that came off as awkward or off-putting. Compared to the Gopaldhara and Jungpana autumn flush teas I have tried, it was subtler and less overtly complex, but still satisfying and very flavorful.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted woody, toasty, malty aromas with hints of fruit. After infusion, I noted an aroma resembling cooked green beans. In the mouth, the liquor initially displayed nice, mellow notes of malt, toast, raisins, and wood before more vegetal notes of cooked green beans and field greens came into play. I also began to note impressions of cashew, roasted almond, and red apple. The finish was clipped, briefly offering smooth nutty and vegetal notes.

This was not the most complex Darjeeling tea in the world, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless. Like the other teas from the Goomtee Estate I have tried, it was rather quirky, but never veered into weird territory. Teabox described it as an engaging tea, and I have to say that description is 100% accurate. I would even go so far as to add another descriptor: pleasant. This was just such an easy tea to drink. I would recommend it highly to anyone looking for an enjoyable introduction to autumn flush Darjeeling black teas or an autumn flush tea suitable for daily drinking.

I totally forgot about the five autumn flush Darjeelings I tacked onto my last Teabox order. The 2016 autumn flush teas had been marked down and I had been meaning to try a few more, so I figured that would be the perfect opportunity to pick up a few. I ended up with teas from Oaks, Gopaldhara, Goomtee, Giddapahar, and Jungpana, all producers whose work I greatly enjoy. This tea from the Oaks Estate was the first one I tried. Surprisingly, it was the one I enjoyed the least.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted interesting aromas of dried fruit, aged leather, and cured tobacco. After infusion, I picked up on aromas of wood, leather, tobacco, raisins, malt, and cooked greens. In the mouth, I found that the liquor opened with surprisingly prominent notes of aged leather, cured tobacco, and wood before giving way to subtler notes of brown toast, smoke, nutmeg, malt, violet, raisin, plum, and Muscatel. Notes of cooked greens gradually revealed themselves, becoming more powerful as the liquor lingered in the mouth. The finish was fairly short, emphasizing notes of malt, wood, raisin, and Muscatel, though a touch of cooked greens also remained.

After being impressed by a recent first flush tea from the Oaks Estate, I was expecting to enjoy this one equally, if not more. Sadly, that was not the case. While this tea was not bad, the way the cooked green notes built in the mouth made it seem awkward as they muddied some of the more enjoyable, nuanced notes the tea offered. Still, one trait that I found to be rather detrimental to the drinking experience did not ruin this offering for me. This was an enjoyable tea, just a rather odd and somewhat awkward one. While there are certainly more enjoyable autumn flush Darjeeling teas out there, this one was still worth a try.

A strong masala chai featuring a heady spice blend of Bishop’s weed, black cardamom, green cardamom, black peppercorns, fennel, cloves, and dried ginger, this sounded like just the thing to get me going this morning. I have now tried this chai blend a couple different ways, and I have to say that I am impressed. While I was not wowed by the last Teabox chai I tried, this was more up my alley.

As with every chai blend I buy, I tried this blend once without any additives and once with additions of milk and sugar. For both preparations, I steeped about 3 grams of the chai blend in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I limited myself to a single infusion with each preparation.

The dry chai blend produced strong, pungent aromas of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and black peppercorn balanced by hints of clove, bay leaf, fennel, and malt. Though the blend did not contain bay leaf, Teabox really wasn’t kidding about such an aroma being present. I’m guessing it was contributed by the Bishop’s weed. After infusion, the spicy, herbal aromas were still very much dominant, though I could detect stronger scents of malt from the CTC Assam base. I also noted hints of caramel, cream, brown toast, wood, and citrus. In the mouth, the spices immediately packed a wallop. Black peppercorn, ginger, clove, fennel, cardamom, and cinnamon were all easily detectable. A bay leaf-like flavor popped up too. That had to be contributed by the Bishop’s weed. I was unable to determine how else it could have gotten in there. By mid-palate, softer notes of caramel, cream, malt, wood, orange, molasses, leather, and brown toast from the tea were more noticeable. The liquor was relatively astringent, but also very brisk. The finish was fairly smooth and soothing, offering something of a lingering astringency accompanying somewhat more delicate spice, cream, malt, brown toast, and wood notes. Though blends like this are not really meant to be consumed without additives, I could drink this plain with no real qualms.

Additions of milk and sugar tamed the astringency and spices considerably. The liquor became less prickly and peppery, allowing the ginger, cardamom, fennel, and cinnamon more room. Fewer tannic notes from the tea base were present, as smooth malt, cream, and toast flavors became more apparent. The finish was also smoother and softer with less astringency and less of a lingering spice kick.

Compared to the last chai blend from Teabox that I tried, this one was much spicier, livelier, and more complex. Since I like spicier masala chais, this very much appealed to me. Though it is doubtful that blends such as this will ever live up to a homemade masala chai, I could easily see myself keeping this one on hand. Definitely try it if you are the sort of person who likes your chai heavy on the spices.

You know, I took notes for a review of this tea nearly three weeks ago, but must have forgotten to post a review. Oh well, better late than never, I suppose. I know I have mentioned it before, but I am a big fan of the teas produced by the Castleton Estate, and not surprisingly, I greatly enjoyed this one.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any subsequent infusions.

Prior to infusion, I noted a mixture of hay, grass, nut, and herb aromas produced by the dry leaf material. After infusion, another sniff revealed green pepper, herb, nut, grass, wood, and malt scents. In the mouth, I found flavors of grass, hay, straw, green pepper, wood, malt, lemon, green apple, pear, roasted almond, and freshly cut flowers. The finish was smooth and pleasant, offering lingering notes of grass, hay, herbs, malt, and lemon. Unlike many Darjeelings, I did not get any Muscatel character at all. This tea was maltier, nuttier, and much more vegetal.

This was one of the most interesting first flush Darjeelings I have ever tried. I don’t really feel that it had all that much in common with some of the other teas from this region that I have been drinking lately. And as odd as the aroma and flavor components may have initially seemed, they worked together beautifully. I would definitely recommend this tea to fans of first flush Darjeelings, but I would do so with the caveat that if you are expecting an overtly fruity tea with any noteworthy amount of the telltale Darjeeling Muscatel character, you may be in for a shock.

This unflavored black tea blend was included as a freebie with my most recent Teabox order. Normally, I do not drink a ton of breakfast teas, but after trying a number of single origin teas from Teabox, I was curious to see how one of their unflavored blends would compare. Well, I am happy to report that I found this to be a nice blend.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No subsequent infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of wood and malt. After infusion, I found new aromas of brown toast, molasses, orange, caramel, and dried fruit. In the mouth, there were fairly strong notes of orange, malt, cream, brown toast, wood, leather, molasses, roasted nuts (almond, chestnut, and walnut), raisins, dates, and nutmeg. The finish was smooth and malty with lingering nuttiness and woodiness plus hints of cream.

This was a flavorful breakfast blend. I greatly appreciated the integration and balance of its flavor components. Though this is still not the sort of thing I would want to consume regularly, I did enjoy it. I think fans of breakfast tea blends would be satisfied with this one.

Here’s a review I forgot to post last week. I finished a sample pouch of this tea about 6 days ago, but kept waffling on the numerical score and held off on posting it. I then, of course, forgot about it. Overall, I found this to be a very nice second flush Darjeeling, though it did not quite edge out some of my established favorites.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water. I did not attempt any subsequent infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of wood, toast, malt, caramel, and raisin. After infusion, I found aromas of wood, toast, malt, caramel, raisin, and Muscatel underscored by a hint of chocolate. In the mouth, I noted flavors of wood, brown toast, leather, and malt up front. These notes soon gave way to softer impressions of Muscatel, raisin, butter, caramel, black walnut, roasted almond, straw, anise, grass, rose, and chocolate. In a few places, I thought I caught a hint of black licorice too. The finish was pleasant, offering lingering notes of malt, Muscatel, raisin, caramel, and butter while hints of black licorice and anise popped up briefly at the very end.

Again, this was a very nice second flush Darjeeling. I had a second flush tea from Risheehat last year, but this one struck me as being more complex and perhaps just a touch more balanced. For fans of second flush Darjeelings, this would be a tea worth trying.

Time to make some more progress on the backlog. This was yet another sample from Teabox that I finished a little earlier in the month. Compared to some of the other Darjeelings I have tried, I found this one to be considerably more floral, yet also a little more overbearing in how it came across.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No subsequent infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of wood, flowers, raisins, and roasted nuts. After infusion, I found violet, rose, raisin, roasted nut, lemon, Muscatel, and herbal aromas. In the mouth, the liquor was very strong. At first, I detected notes of dandelion, violet, and rose backed by touches of malt, caramel, hay, straw, sandalwood, Muscatel, raisin, roasted almond, herbs, and lemon. Teabox stated that there was a strong aroma and flavor of frangipani, a.k.a. plumeria, to this tea. I didn’t get that, at least not at first, but the more I kept sipping this, the more it started to remind me of Nag Champa-a combination of plumeria and sandalwood. At that point, I had to concede that they were definitely not kidding about that component being there. The finish offered sandalwood, plumeria, lemon, malt, Muscatel, and caramel notes accompanied by some astringency.

I enjoyed how floral and complex this tea was, but at the same time, it was so finnicky to brew. I normally give Darjeelings a five minute steep time, but that brought out a little more astringency than I wanted, resulting in a finish that started off pleasant before puckering my mouth. I also tried a shorter infusion and the same thing happened. Another admittedly minor gripe I had with this tea was that the floral notes could be overwhelming in places and they could also turn a little pungent at times. Still, this was a more or less very good tea. I would not want to drink it regularly, but I would definitely be interested in trying it again at some point in the not so distant future.

The third and final Kangra black tea offering from Teabox that I recently sampled, I found this to be the greenest and most vegetal of the lot. Oddly, I liked it somewhat more than the similar Raipur Classic Spring Black Tea. Perhaps my palate has adjusted to these unique black teas.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of fresh kale, spinach, and collard greens accompanied by subtler scents of hay, tree bark, fern fronds, and nuts. After infusion, I picked up a slightly stronger nut aroma as well as an emerging herbal aroma. In the mouth, I found surprisingly delicate, yet complex and well-layered notes of damp grass, cooked greens, hay, herbs, earth, wet stones, moss, tree bark, wood, and cucumber balanced by hints of minerals, malt, and roasted nuts. The finish was smooth, yet fleeting, briefly offering lingering impressions of herbs, cooked greens, and wood.

For me, this was like the greenest black tea ever, but I really liked it for whatever reason. I cannot explain why, but it was a very satisfying tea for me. That most likely had something to do with the fact that it was so oddly vegetal and woody that it stood apart from just about every other black tea I have tried to this point. While it had a few things in common with the Wah and Raipur Estate black teas I tried recently, I still would not mistake it for either of those two. This was just an exceptionally unique tea. If you, like me, do not mind the idea of a black tea being almost as vegetal as a green tea, then you may very well enjoy this one.