The Simple Leaf

I think my stash of this might be … altering itself. I hope it’s not brought upon by the semi-transparent bag it came in. It is starting to have a sort of brussels sprout / dishwater thing going on in the dry leaves and the freshly-brewed tea. Using less leaves seems to help somewhat, but what is really interesting is that this mostly unpleasant flavor almost disappears when the tea cools down a bit – to 120 degrees or so. Judging from my recent experience, this reduction of unpleasant flavors during cooling might be something that happens to many Assams.

The other flavor that has emerged after my initial tastings is carrot, but it only starts coming out if steeped for around 4 minutes.

I am trying to learn more ways to control these aspects, because I prefer the pure smoothness and richness of the tea when I first had it. It’s still enjoyable, but not something I’d rave about again unless I can figure this out.

Mountain Malt is good enough that I’m considering ordering more already, just in case of meteor strikes. It’s pretty much my favorite tea ever. Truly malty, very rich, perfectly smooth – exactly what I need when I get home. I’m even getting some cookie aromas coming out now. I’ve raised my rating every time I have logged this, but I think it’s finally settled into the right spot at 97.

I recommend a steep time of 3:30-3:45, as I think 3 minutes flat doesn’t quite bring out all this tea has to offer. There is still no bitterness or astringency at this point. Three minutes might be enough if you’re going to drink it without milk. Milk really does bring out the best in this tea, though, so at least give it a try.

Had this with breakfast yesterday. This is an undeniably happy tea with simply no shortcomings. After re-sampling what was previously my highest-rated tea I’m going to boost Mountain Malt’s rating even higher. I gave most of my specific thoughts in my first review so there’s little point in repeating them.

Now, I made this at 10:30 am or so. It was probably partially due to the high-fat breakfast I had (thick-sliced bacon, a fried egg, and an Asian pear – delicious), or the raw cocoa bar that I finished later that day… but I was absolutely full of unwavering energy till 4 or 5 am that night. What a kick this tea has.

Oh, this is a top tier Assam, for sure. Prepared as on the packet (1 tsp per 6 oz water, 3 min steep time) and taken with a bit of milk and sugar, it’s very smooth and not harsh at all. It has a rich mouthfeel and a rounded, robust flavor. As you’d expect, it’s quite malty, but there’s more than just that going on. I’m having a little trouble placing what exactly the more subtle flavors were – maybe some carrots – but my girlfriend said that she tasted some jasmine. She agreed that the tea tasted special; normally she prefers Chinese teas, but she really liked this one. This cup was a tiny bit weaker than I’d like, so I’ll let it steep another 30 seconds next time.

The funny thing about this tea is the aroma of the dry leaves – there’s surprisingly little! Most of the looseleaf teas I get sock me in the face when I open the packet, but not this one. It’s mild and pleasant. This is one of the few teas where the flavor beats out the smell of the leaves.

Overall this is one of the best Assams I’ve had, and probably top-5 among all black teas. It is a very satisfying tea.

I got a bag of Honeybee in a swap I did with Carolyn because she suspected I’d like it [and she was right]. It brews into a beautiful, deep gold, honeyed hue, but the taste is extremely light.

For me, the majority of the taste for this resides at the back of the tongue, and a bit at the sides. At the front, I get some light floral notes that are much less obvious when the tea is hot, but at the back…mmm…

When the tea is VERY hot [like right when it becomes drinkable], it’s difficult for me to get much of a taste out of this tea at all, so on my second cup I let it cool down a bit more before I got started and I found it to be much more enjoyable that way. The honey taste is definitely evident for me in the aftertaste, and if I inhale through my nose while the tea is still in my mouth I can taste it near my throat.

Again, it’s a very light tea. While part of me likes that, I also find myself wanting just a liiiittle bit more from it. I need to work to get the flavor, and while that’s fine when I’m concentrating on the tea, I feel like this is going to be a tea that I can only enjoy when I’m concentrating on it. I’ll play around with a longer steep time to see if that makes it a little bit stronger, but in the meantime this is a good tea. Thanks, Carolyn!

I don’t know how to describe this…it’s like roasty flowers, but in a good way. I’m not getting honey from this, sadly. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve had other teas that tasted a lot more like honey than this one without meaning to. But anyway, even though I can’t quite pick out the individual flavors in this, but it’s good. Finish the whole cup off in less than a minute good. Keeping my mind off the huge stack of readings I have to do by tomorrow good.

Oh wait. Shoot. Did I just lose The Game?

Got this in a swap, thanks Bethany!

Aroma is ever so slightly smokey though that does not come through in the taste. It is very clean and smooth, no astringency so far. This almost reminds me of a Darjeeling, but it doesn’t quite reach being exactly like one. Has a little bit of sweetness and I have to say I quite like it. After my earlier horrible cup of tea, this more than makes up for it.

Eponymous tea! I’ve been looking forward to drinking, er, Shanti, for some time now. Ick, this feels weird, referring to it as “Shanti”. I know the Jessicas and Elizabeths and Jennifers of the world are used to this, but I’ve never met another Shanti before in my life, so this is exciting. Maybe I should take a page out of the GOP’s playbook and start referring us as “Shanti the Person” and “Shanti the Tea”? Or perhaps “Shantea”?

Mmm, these leaves smell mysterious and opaque. I know opaque isn’t a smell, but bear with me. You know how colors like lavender and periwinkle are always opaque and milky looking? Well, if that opaque quality had a smell, it’d smell like Shantea. It’s a very cozy, comforting smell.

Whoa. The smell coming from the liquor is smoky. Kind of like cigarettes, to be honest. And under the cigarette smoke, there’s the—OMFG I JUST SNORTED TEA UP MY NOSE. Well, that’s a first. Ow!

Where was I? Oh yeah. Smells like smoke and just barely like some kind of salted vegetable. Sipping now…Smoke! Smoke smoke smoke! There’s quiet a bit of bitterness, but it’s a good bitter. A drinkable bitter. A dull, non-astringent bitter. It fits in with the smoke nicely, and I think the tea would taste worse if it wasn’t there. The smoky, dull, opaqueness of the tea is actually making me a little sleepy. The more I sip on this, the more I taste sweet grass and hay. And gasoline, maybe. And, wow, now I’m getting flashbacks of the smell of the farms along the highway in my rural hometown in central California. It doesn’t even taste like smoke to me anymore, it tastes like driving home. And now I’m feeling all nostalgic and homesick and want to take a nap. Thanks a lot, Shantea.

This brewed up very light. The liquor smells like honey, rather than “fruit and freshly cut grass” to me. The tea tastes mild and like fruit and honey. This is definitely a sweet rather than savory green tea. I might have over steeped it (strong setting on the Zarafina), as it tasted a little astringent to me. Second steep of the same leaves was even more astringent/bitter, with no sweet fruit or honey taste. Overall, the first steep wasn’t bad, but it’s not something I would repurchase full-size. Next time I’ll try a shorter steep time.

I figured I would treat myself to another cup of tea after plowing through my mountain of homework (I could have done more, but I’m not gonna).

So, I am sitting here with a freshly made cup of Decadence while listening to Disturbed’s Ten Thousand Fists album… track three, Decadence. That’ll do.

This brew smells more musty than I remember – like the inside of a barn after it rains… err something like that. I can still smell that familiar mild “spring” aroma. The color is also darker than my previous memory. It is almost the color of a blacker oolong.

The taste is a little bitey, dry, and nothing like I remember. Where is the smooth, gentle grassy taste? Hmm… maybe this sample is too old, or I steeped it too long.

“Decadence isn’t easy, is it?”

Just as the description says, light and smooth. Most notably, smooth.

Simple, fresh, yet plain flavor. Not bad. Not great.

Smells great despite my stuffed nose. Unusually dark brew for a green tea. Tasty and complex flavor.

Brewed two cups with the same leaves. Great both times. Gotta keep this one in stock.

Delicious. This a great, standard tea. Smooth and flavorful.

The taste is exquisite, a throwback to the times of yore, when tea was fought over and traded across the seven seas. By dinosaurs…

Tastes dry and plain. Added a little honey for flavor. Not bad, but not great. Lots of good reviews on thesimpleleaf.com, though. Perhaps, I need to fiddle with steep times…

This tea is very subtly floral. It’s really nice and I just sucked down a whole mug in ten minutes. Guess I liked it!

I think I brewed this a little too long today. It’s a bit bitter. I love the underlying flavor though and it’s still drinkable. I can’t find the words to describe the flavor at the moment though. I feel like a tea review failure. :P

Backlogging…finished up my last serving the other night and forgot to log and take out of my cupboard…

Backlogging from this morning…almost forgot about it…weird day…anyhow, it was good…seems to be getting better and better each time I try it.

Just finishing up a morning cup. It’s still a bold black tea taste but also a sweeter taste with a refreshing aftertaste…it’s quite nice!

Forgot to log yesterday before leaving work! This follow-up attempt was better than the first. Will try again today and report back…

Thanks for this one, too, MandyB! This has a grassy, earthy type nose – Mixed with the Black Tea scent. It has a slim to none sweet/sour/bitter taste to it – just a little. That might sound weird or even gross but it isn’t. Pair that with a small woodsy taste and the Black Tea Taste and that is what I taste. Interesting yet contradiction of tastes but still enjoyable.