East Frisian

Tea of the morning…… (SRP #26)

I have had this sample in my stash for quite some time. I have been putting it off because I am fairly sure I am not a fan of this strong of tea. Due to my fear of super hard core black tea, I did go with a super short steep time for me. Only 2 minutes when my usual is 4. It totally worked!

I am pleasantly surprised by this one. I get the Assam in a non-bitter form, plus the softening of the bite of the Assam with Darjeeling. Then, there is a hearty breadiness with the Ceylon. Really quite enjoyable, and I am sure those of you who can handle a very hearty tea can easily handle this tea steeped full on. For me, I will have to stick with the ‘hard core blacks for wimps’ steeping method. Although I don’t like milk added to my tea, one day I might give almond milk a go. I am still pretty sure I will probably stick with hot and sweet.

Usual teapot method with a 2 minute steep.

If this isn’t East Frisian weather, dunno what is (rained all night, hasn’t let up, endless cold and damp and dreary dark…ETA now there’s even a flash flood warning!).

I think I like this better than the other one I tried months and months ago, from S&V if I recall correctly (part of Nicole’s super generous “Take it away!” samples). It was good unadulterated, and the second cup prepped the “sky, water, land” way was also delightful. Held up much better to the sugar and cream. There is a roasty bitterness at the end of the sip that unadulterated might be a little too much for most—this rather resembles standard morning coffee to me, but combined with that unmistakable Indian tea flavor. Sort of the best of both worlds in terms of contributing to one’s restoration, stimulation, and warmth on a wet, dark day like this.

My coworkers and I just went in on a Harney and Sons order so that we could get free shipping, and this was one of the teas that my coworker ordered. He kindly gave me a generous sample.

It is worth it to read the description of this tea – I had no idea that the East Frisians consumed the most tea per capita! In fact, I didn’t even know where East Frisia was (DESPITE suffering over all those maps in World Geography). I will always remember it now because I have something I love associated with it. Yes, that means this tea. It’s GOOD!

If you like robust Indian milk and sugar teas, you’ll like this one. It reminded me a lot of the Simple Leaf’s Mountain Malt – strong, dark after steeping three minutes, a bit bready. But the Ceylon and Darjeeling give it a bit of lemony fruity lightness I don’t get from MM. This tea is also pleasantly astringent, most likely from the Darjeeling. You either like that or you don’t, but when I’m chilly and tired – I love it.

This was such a pleasant surprise! I would have never, ever tried this on my own. Now, here I am ready to order a tin when my Mountain Malt runs out :) Here’s to tea and tea friends, and expanded horizons!

This nice strong tea has a rich malt from the mixed CTC and Broken Assams and the vibrant brightness of Ceylon and Darjeeling. Steep 3 minutes for a great morning blend, or more for a tea that holds up to milk and sugar.
-RA

Huh, perhaps I have come across yet another old and dusty tea on the shelves of my local tea store because this tasted fairly bland and not robust at all. Perhaps I am expecting too much from the description, but I found it to be a rather weak tea that wouldn’t benefit from the addition of cream and sugar. Unless you are seeking hot sugary cream that is slightly tea flavoured, therefore you are also insane.

Thanks BrooklynSheep for this sample.

I was at the August Steepster meetup.
I met BrooklynSheep
She had a lot of interesting stories and brought some sample teas.
She was a wizard of tea.
Her daddy worked at Lipton but was forced to drink sweet-touch-nee brand as a young girl.
Years later, she escaped and eventually made her way to London, and there is a tea store there that you can sent tea via postcards.
Brooklynsheep knows how to read those crazy tea labels, what batch, year, and quality tea.
I learned that she was sensitive to caffeine and liked decaf teas.
So BS told me that East Frisian by Harney & Sons was one of her favorites.
I read the package, Harney and Sons are Master Tea Blenders.
BrooklynSheep has a blog and been drinking and reviewing teas for awhile now.
She’s also into food, but that’s for another review
I have ample sample to try out.

Harney’s address is
5723 Route 22
Millerton NY 12546 – perhaps Road trip one day?

Back to the Tea – Tastes like orange pekoe.
This tea is nice and strong.
Very plain strong tea.
I liked it.
No fancy schmancy tea here – its Orange Pekoe.

It was nice meeting you BrooklynSheep!

One of the Wednesday tea party/tasting teas! Reading the description, and seeing that the Germans add CREAM (not milk) and sugar, I was a little afraid to try this! If you need cream in it, surely it must be bitter or astringent.

What a pleasant surprise! The aroma had nice honey notes, and the first sip – as always – was without additions. And the whole cup stayed that way! Though it is a little astringent it was not unpleasantly so, and wasn’t strong at all. This made a nice tea to go with our cookies, but I don’t think it is strong enough for my breakfast tea!

This tea uses what appears to be CTC assam in the blend (maybe with others) which results in a deep red brew, only held back in darkness by the few darjeeling leaves. The tea is both fragrant and vibrant, though not as full of body as I expected. Nonetheless this is a solid cup of tea that does not require significant steeping time and will satisfy those who are rather strict in their like for a classic tasting moderate to full black tea. I find that I cannot consume a significant amount of this tea like I can for most congous, as it brings to mind the comparison of rich chocolate satin cake, for which one is satiated after a few bites and must wait some time before the desire returns.

This blend also makes a good, dark iced tea which is excellent with fresh orange slices.

This tea will pull your socks up for you in the morning…. Stout, whole and flavorful with cream and honey…… I have no doubt I will be buying this again. More review after a second cup…..

This is my go-to tea for a tired Monday morning. Assertive enough to wake me up and to get going.