Vietnam Black OP1

Distressingly close to the bottom of the packet. Don’t have many new adjectives for this one (sweet, bright, peppery and perky used previously); but it has been consistently and reliably good, appears to be in the can’t-ruin-it category. Well worth checking out if you need something pleasant to go with your elevenses.

Thanks, Nicole_Martin again!

This tea reminds me a lot of Assams. It is fruity, malty and full-bodies, but still fairly light and sweet.

Backlog:

An exceptional black tea. I’ve tried a few Vietnamese black teas, this one might be my favorite thus far.

It tastes rich, warm and welcoming. A strong tea – it would hold up to the additions of milk and honey well if you like to add those to your tea. Me, I don’t usually, so I found this to be perfectly lovely on it’s own.

A sweet, honey-esque undertone with notes of earth and leather. Hints of a fruity sweetness too, like dried fruit – raisins. I also note a cinnamon-like taste here too.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/10/15/vietnam-black-tea-op1-from-single-origin-teas/

This is another of my many samples from Nicole_Martin. I think this might be my first Vietnamese tea, and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. The flavor is crisp and sweet with a hint of malt, kind of like a very light Assam. I’m not getting pepper, but that’s no loss as far as I’m concerned. I’ll be enjoying the rest of the generous sample Nicole shared; my one criticism is that I do wish Single Origin gave brewing instructions for their teas. Since they don’t, I went with 1 tsp./8 oz., boiling, for 3:30, just for reference.

This was a tasty cup this morning. It’s strong and does seem like it would go with some chai spices and even milk. I don’t know if I steeped too long but it’s just shy of being astringent. It’s a little sweet somehow and a bit peppery at times. Thank you Single Origin Teas for the generous sized sample, I wouldn’t have found you otherwise :)

Sipdown. Sample from Midwest teafest. Very nice black tea. Sweet and fruity. I’ll have to keep an eye out for other Vietnam blacks when I make an order eventually.

This sample came from Veronica and I’m definitely enjoying it this morning. It has a lovely aroma wafting up from the cup straight to my nose!

This is a fairly hefty tea that has a fair amount of malt. I’m also getting the dried fruit note others picked up on, it has a raisin element. And some cinnamon too. Interesting, unique flavor profile. It seems a bit peppery in the finish. When I first tried it I was reminded of red wine. This is not a wimpy tea like the yunnan fancy that I had earlier today. It packs a wallop! It’s good plain but I also liked it with soymilk.

I think the only other Vietnam tea I’ve had is from Tea Geschwender and I liked that too. Thanks again, Veronica. I would add this to my next SOT order.

Now off to go be productive, wish me luck :)

This is the other tea that Veronica sent in our swap. I’ve only tasted a couple of Vietnamese black teas, so it’s not a category I have much experience with. The leaves themselves are very dark and quite small. They look somewhat broken, but I have a feeling they were small leaves to begin with. Dry scent is very mildly sweet.

The steeped tea smells very Assam-like to me – there’s strong malt along with mild molasses and dried fruit notes. It definitely tastes Assam-like to me as well, though there’s no astringency here. There’s a strong malt flavor along with some soft hay. I can also taste a little bit of dark molasses richness, which adds a nice base note and some dimension. There’s perhaps a touch of dried fruit and a very light honey-like aftertaste. Overall, it’s a very smooth and somewhat mellow tea with a classic malty character.

From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box.

Brewed Western style. The dry leaf aroma smells of maple syrup and caramel, and the wet leaf aroma of chocolate. I intended to use only 8oz of water but overestimated by 100% (I had just woken up….). I thought that the taste would be watered down, and to put in another teaspoon of leaf. But this tea is flexible. The liquor – orange, medium-bodied, and clear – is still flavorful with malt and bitter dark chocolate. It also has a spicy aftertaste, a little like ginger snap cookies. Delicious morning cup!

MzPriss’ Unflavored Tea Box – Tea #17
I’d agree with everything Veronica said about this one! Malty, with mild spice notes, and very raisin like! The cup is a mid-level strength… so I wish it were more malty and raisiny. Just read her much better tasting note. :D Sorry for the lame tasting notes lately, I’m NOT doing this tea box justice!
Just so everyone is aware, though this tea is good, I’ve tried a few other teas from Single Origin that I liked even more. Keep the Kaporet Kenya in mind as well as the Ginseng Oolong: super-brain-poweriest of all the Ginseng Oolongs. Maybe if I were sipping some now, my tasting notes would be better.