79

I am still trying to get used to these Kangra black teas. They are just so green and vegetal compared to every other type of black tea I have ever tried. Compared to the last Kangra black tea I tried, this one was much greener. I found it to be an interesting tea, but perhaps not one I would want to drink regularly.

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, the dry leaf material emitted pleasantly earthy, woody, vegetal aromas. After infusion, I found aromas of cooked greens, wood, toast, malt, grass, and damp hay. In the mouth, the liquor offered notes of cooked collard greens, kale, spinach, damp grass, damp hay, earth, malt, toast, spring honey, tree bark, peanut, herbs, and fresh, raw tree nuts (almond, walnut, and beechnut). The finish was initially vegetal and grassy, but soon gave way to smooth malt and nut notes.

An interesting and extremely unique black tea, this certainly provided me with a new drinking experience. Prior to trying this tea, I would never have imagined that any sort of orthodox black tea could be so vegetal on the nose and in the mouth. Even compared to some of the greener first flush Darjeelings on the market, this tea was unbelievably green and vegetal. While I would not make this a regular tea, I did enjoy it. It perplexed me, but ultimately, it was very rewarding. I think this tea would be great for those moments when something different is required, and I also think it would work well as a way of easing green tea drinkers into the joys of Indian black tea.

Flavors: Almond, Bark, Earth, Grass, Hay, Herbs, Honey, Kale, Malt, Nutty, Peanut, Spinach, Vegetal, Walnut, Wood

Preparation
5 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
Evol Ving Ness

Perplexing is the perfect word to describe that twilight zone of black teas having green taste and characteristics.

eastkyteaguy

Yeah, definitely. I’ve tried three of these Kangra black teas so far, and they’ve all been weird. Good, but weird. When I opened the sample pouch of this tea, I first thought there had been some sort of mistake. I thought they had accidentally packed a green tea into it, but apparently, Kangra tea estates just produce super earthy, vegetal black teas. I’d be willing to bet the oxidation level on many of these is very low compared to other black teas.

Evol Ving Ness

I’ll keep that in mind. It is not often something that I am in the mood for.

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Evol Ving Ness

Perplexing is the perfect word to describe that twilight zone of black teas having green taste and characteristics.

eastkyteaguy

Yeah, definitely. I’ve tried three of these Kangra black teas so far, and they’ve all been weird. Good, but weird. When I opened the sample pouch of this tea, I first thought there had been some sort of mistake. I thought they had accidentally packed a green tea into it, but apparently, Kangra tea estates just produce super earthy, vegetal black teas. I’d be willing to bet the oxidation level on many of these is very low compared to other black teas.

Evol Ving Ness

I’ll keep that in mind. It is not often something that I am in the mood for.

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My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

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