Georgia Tamaz's Tiny Tea Factory Black Tea

While going through one of my tea totes yesterday, I stumbled upon a pouch of this tea. I had planned on spending my evening working on a new green oolong, but when I saw this, I just had to try it. I greatly enjoyed the other Georgian black teas I purchased from What-Cha and had to find out how this one compared to them. For me, this one was yet another winner.

I prepared this tea Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions. Even though the vendor recommended a steep time around 4 minutes for this tea, I went with my usual 5 minute infusion instead.

Prior to infusion, I noticed that the dry, wiry tea leaves emitted gentle aromas of malt and roasted nuts. After infusion, the dark golden tea liquor produced lovely aromas of malt, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, straw, roasted almond, and golden raisin. In the mouth, I easily detected notes of butter, cream, steamed milk, straw, sweet cinnamon, roasted almond, nutmeg, toast, honey, malt, and golden raisin. After the swallow, pronounced impressions of cream, steamed milk, spices, honey, and roasted almond lingered on the palate.

It seems that these Georgian black teas just do the trick for me. I found this to be a satisfying, approachable, gently invigorating tea that had much to offer in terms of aroma and flavor. It also had a wonderful texture in the mouth. In my opinion, this tea compared favorably to What-Cha’s other Georgian black teas. I would definitely have no problem recommending it to anyone looking for a smooth, easy-drinking black tea with plenty of flavor.

First order from What-cha came in! Arrived very quickly (from UK to Canada), well packed, and with a nice little note inside about the teas, particularly about the chosen sample. It’s those little touches, man….

This was one of my two black Mystery Teas, which I could easily get carried away with, I love surprises. Prepared as described on the pouch. Very nice! Smooth, sweet malt flavour with a slight citrusy aftertaste. There’s something vaguely spicey about it too that I can’t peg, very slight, might have to do with the citrus. As always I wound up adding a dab of honey, which just had the obvious result of enhancing the honey aspect of the tea. I can definitely see myself reaching for this in the morning, it just feels like a perky cup of tea to me.

Very nice!

EDIT: Second steep I forgot about it so it steeped for at least ten minutes. Still good! No bitterness, bit more bready and citrus than before, less honey, still yummy!

Like the three other Georgian black teas from What-Cha that I’ve tasted, Tamaz’s Tiny Tea Factory black tea demands nothing, yet offers plenty of subtlety to reward a closer look. I find this to be a delightful combination that continues to draw me to What-Cha’s Georgian teas.

Smooth. Gentle. No astringency or bitterness. A brightness, a nutty flavor, a bit of roastiness — and such balance that no one note is dominant; rather, awareness and observation reveal each.

This tea is enjoyable to me for many steeps – I’ve probably gone at least 7 in each of my two most recent sessions. No need to babysit, either, or worry if you get distracted or pulled away while your tea is steeping — shorter and longer (even very long) steeps were all wonderful with this forgiving tea.

In contrast to the much lighter darjeeling I just tried, this one is perfect for winter. I brewed according to the instructions on the packet: 2 tsp. in 8 oz. of water at 194 degrees for 4 minutes. I even got a good second steep out of it by increasing the temperature to boiling and steeping for 7 minutes.

This is very smooth with notes of cinnamon, honey, baked bread and malt. I thought 2 tsp. per 8 oz. might be too much, but it was just right. Really nice and warming. I added a tiny bit of honey to enhance the tea’s honey notes and milk, but it’s good with neither of these as well.

I think this is the first tea I’ve had from Georgia (the country, not the state). The What-Cha site says that Georgia used to produce most of the tea consumed in the Soviet Union, but that the industry collapsed when the regime did. Apparently the industry is just getting restarted. This one is both economical and quite good. I’d buy it again as an everyday drinker.

As someone who is new to tea, I ordered a pack of mystery teas to try from What-Cha. The dry leaves don’t have a particular scent, this tea isn’t overpowering and can be had before or after meals – it doesn’t taint the tastebuds.

I usually add a leveled teaspoon of sugar to my teas. It tasted like fresh honey and also had notes of citrus. This tea is good for sweet-tooths and those looking to seek substitutes from their regular Tetley’s or milky builders tea.

I went a little crazy when I found out that What-cha has a bunch of Georgian Teas. I have a coworker/friend that is from Georgia, and I was super excited to see his home country well represented in What-cha’s offerings! So, of course, I bought them all :P All of them have been pretty great, I am not disappointed by any of them.

This one I got in a sample size, and it is one of the better ones I have tried. It’s warm and comforting, it’s got all the fresh baked bread and malt notes that I crave, as well as an ever so slightly sweet date note that really hits Da spot.

GCTTB3

This is a nice smooth, mild black tea. There are light hints of sweet citrus. Thinking orange peel without the bitterness. There is a mild creaminess to the tea. The tea smells roasty and malty. I am getting a bit of roast in the flabour but not so much malt. Very nice black tea.

I’ve never enjoyed iced tea. Probably because growing up we always had the sugar free sweetened tea powder you mix with water. Then in the ‘70, ’80s, and ’90s, my mom made sun tea out of Lipton bags. shudder You see why I wasn’t an iced tea fan. But now that I’m a little more knowledgeable about tea, I want to drink it all summer too. I’m trying to control my horrible mountain dew habit, so iced tea will be my ‘thing’ this summer.

All that intro is to say I made iced tea! I looked at what I had left of this tea and decided it was time to try the cold brewed method of making iced tea. That was this morning about 12 hours ago. I’m just now sitting down with a glass of it and I have to say, this tea rocks as an iced tea! Seriously, it has flavor without being at all bitter! It’s kind of sweet, but I didn’t add anything to it. Oh, boy! Now I can not wait to try other teas cold brewed!

I would for sure agree with the description on this one – smooth with gentle sweet citrus tones. It’s not citrus like BLERGAMOT…but it’s got that note in it while still being a really smooth tasty cup. I think i like this one better than the old lady georgia tea from what-cha :)