This is a review of loose leaf black tea Black Silk (Golden Bi Luo) . It was reviewed by by The Little Yellow Teapot of The Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews.

Water temperature: 212° F
Steeping time: 3-5 mins.
Tea type: Black
Dry leaves: Curled, tan to black, raisiny/plumy/date-ish aroma

1st Infusion:
Steeping time — 3 mins.
Aroma, plain — Malty, light
Taste, plain — Malty, light, not bitter, great straight, takes on slight date quality as cools
Color, plain — Reddish brown
Taste, enhanced — Caramelly quality<

2nd Infusion:
Steeping time — 4 mins.
Aroma, plain — Light
Taste, plain — Light
Color, plain — Lighter, reddish brown

Comments:

The company’s site says only that this tea is made of Chinese black tea. Actually, this is Yunnan Gold, also called Golden Bi Luo. I tried one from Chicago Tea Garden a little over a year ago and another one from TeaGschwendner in August, 2010. The ladies of Element Tea have also just confirmed this. Yunnan Gold is considered one of the better black teas, and their price is quite reasonable, certainly when compared with their competition in the tea market, as shown here:

Element Tea price as of 29 Dec 2010 on their site:
4 oz (up to 50 cups) at $15.95 — $3.99 per ounce

Chicago Tea Garden price as of 23 April 2011 when I checked their site:
3.53 oz at $28.99 — $8.21 per ounce
5.29 oz at $40.99 — $7.75 per ounce

TeaGschwendner price as of 23 May 2010:
.05 kilo (1.77 oz) at $7.76 — $4.38 per ounce

We opened the foil-lined pack and saw a lovely sight: curled tea leaf pieces of the typical size, shape, and color for this tea type. After steeping, the full story is revealed, the careful plucking and sorting this tea underwent to give you just those tender tip leaves:

This tea can take milk well in the first infusion. Hubby and I also added a touch of sweetener. The second infusion is lighter and tastes great straight. You could just do one stronger steeping if you prefer. Play around a bit to find out what suits you. At their price, you can go with one infusion and still get your money’s worth. Another option is to only use half as much water for the second infusion (we used 16 oz. for each).

Hubby loved the sight of those tip leaves so much, he laid one out by itself in a little white bowl to be photographed.

Overall, this is another high-quality tea from the tea ladies in the Mile High City of Denver, certainly worth being served in one of our special bone china rose-covered teacups and saucers.

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This is a review of our loose leaf black tea Assam Satrupa FTGFOP1. It was reviewed by The Little Yellow Teapot of The Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews.

Water temperature: 212° F
Steeping time: 4 mins.
Tea type: Black
Dry leaves: Broken leaf pieces, black color, faint aroma

1st Infusion:
Steeping time — 4 mins.
Aroma, plain — Strong and typical of Assams
Taste, plain — Strong, slightly bitter, toasty/malty, packs a punch!
Color, plain — Dark reddish-brown
Taste, enhanced — Milk and sweetener bring out malty/caramelness

2nd Infusion:
Steeping time — 5 mins.
Aroma, plain — Lighter
Taste, plain — Light, not bitter even as it cools
Color, plain — Lighter reddish-brown
Taste, enhanced — Too light for milk

Comments:
As with the other samples from this vendor, the foil-lined pack held a lovely sight: large tea leaf pieces, not dust in a bag. Bravo! While hubby and I realize that teadust does not always mean inferior quality nor do larger pieces, like this tea has, indicate better quality. However, they do mean that the steeping will be a bit more measured, not quite so immediate. It gives you more chance to “play” with the tea, steeping it longer or shorter to suit you.

After steeping, the stem and pieces show clearly and are a dark coppery color.

This is a fairly strong tasting tea, which was a bit surprising for an Assam like this. Not complaining. Quite the contrary. Hubby says it packs quite a tea punch, perfect for a breakfast tea. It takes milk well in the first steeping (the second one was a bit too light). With or without milk, some type of sweetener is necessary for us. If you like your tea plain, you might try rinsing the leaves briefly before the first steep (pour a little hot water over them in the pot, swish, then drain and add the rest of the water and steep. Another option is to do two steepings and combine them to give a lighter taste.

I was hoping that hubby could whip up some more pancakes to go with this tea as he had with another tea we had tried recently, but he had already had some toast and yogurt, so he was full. You might say, “You could fix them yourself.” I would have to answer, “Yeah, right!” Instead, I just had some yogurt and grapes with the tea.

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This is a review of loose leaf black tea Nepalese Orange Pekoe SFTGFOP1. It was reviewed by by The Little Yellow Teapot of The Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews.

Water temperature: 212° F
Steeping time: 4 mins.
Tea type: Black
Dry leaves: Broken leaf, dark-to-light green and copper color, fresh aroma

1st Infusion:
Aroma, plain — Richly nutty
Taste, plain — Light taste, slightly astringent
Color, plain — Light amber
Taste, enhanced — Sweetener tames astringency, more nutty

2nd Infusion:
Aroma, plain — Lighter, still nutty
Taste, plain — Light taste, slightly astringent as cools
Color, plain — Light amber
Taste, enhanced — Sweetener tames astringency

Comments:
If you like your black tea without milk, here is another one to add to your list. A bit of sweetener may be needed to curb the slight astringency.

The SFTGFOP1 means Special (or Super) Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe of the first quality. (The numeral “1” gets added sometimes as almost an exclamation point, as in “This is really good tea!”) See more info on this labeling system.

The tea leaves get broken up a bit in the processing, but they don’t get ground to dust. After steeping them, you will see the stem and pieces clearly.

We found the first steeping to be a bit astringent and needing some sweetener, but it was too light for milk. Hubby experimented to confirm this. The second steeping was milder and only became a bit edgy as it cooled, as is often the case with black teas. A touch of sweetener solved the problem, though. One thing you might try is to do two steepings and combine them. Sure the first one will cool a bit, but it’ll warm up when added to the second one and then only need that touch of sweetener, or just have something sweet to eat with it.

Overall, this is another nice tea from the tea ladies in the Mile High City of Denver. It deserved being sipped from one of our finer floral teacups.

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This is a review of our loose leaf tea black tea, Lilac. It was reviewed by by liber-teas of The Tea Review Blog.

Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Element Tea

Product Description:
Smells just like the first blossoms of spring. Fresh, yet mild, real lilac petals bring this fragment flower right to your taste buds.

Taster’s Review:

Lilacs remind me of my gramma. She had a big, beautiful lilac bush in her backyard, and every spring as it came into bloom her yard became such a lovely, fragrant place to spend the afternoon. Since that time, lilacs have come to mean springtime to me, and the source of many happy memories.

This tea brings those memories to life right here in my teacup!

The dry leaf of this black tea is alive with color, thanks to a generous sprinkling of lilac petals. They add a beauty and a charm to this tea … not to mention a delightful fragrance!

The black tea base is a brisk, bright tasting black tea. It isn’t an overly aggressive black tea. There is a light, drying astringency to the tea. Overall, the tea is fairly mellow, and adds a smooth tranquility to the overall flavor of the cup, making this a pleasing afternoon tea.

The lilac flavor is rather unexpected! Of course, I knew that it was a “lilac” tea, but I don’t really recall ever having tasted lilac tea before, so, I didn’t know what to expect from it. It has an enchanting, sweet floral flavor to it. In trying to grasp for a way to describe the flavor … the word I come up with is serenity.

It is a very serene, relaxing tea, and I have enjoyed it immensely, as well as the memories it has evoked. Thank you, Element Tea, for this amazing trip down memory lane!

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This is a review of loose leaf black tea

Water temperature: 212° F
Steeping time: 4 mins.
Tea type: Black
Aroma, dry leaves: Mild, fragrant

1st Infusion:
Steeping time — 4 mins.
Aroma, plain — Lightly reminiscent of a malty Assam
Taste, plain — Touch of astringency, otherwise mild
Color, plain — Ruby brown
Taste, enhanced — Smooth, basic black tea flavor, not caramelly
2nd Infusion:
Steeping time — 4½ mins.
Aroma, plain — Faint
Taste, plain — A bit more astringent, but pretty nice
Color, plain — Lighter, orangey-brown

Comments:

We opened the foil-lined pack and saw a lovely sight: large tea leaf pieces. So very wonderful. No dust in a bag. The larger pieces, though, mean a gentler steep. The dust steeps up fast and strong. That’s one reason why it’s become so widespread. This tea, made from full leaves as indicated by the OP1 (Orange Pekoe 1), steeps up more mild than the teadust stuff.

The tea takes milk well in the first infusion. A touch of sweetener suited us fine. If you like your tea plain, just cut back on the steep times, with 3 minutes for the first and 3½ minutes for the second. You could go 4 minutes on the second infusion to make it a bit stronger. Play around a bit to find out what suits you.

Overall, this is a nice, reliable, basic black tea to enjoy for breakfast or even your afternoon pick-me-up tea break. It’s tasty with scones, pie, cake, and just about anything you usually enjoy at teatime. Another nice tea from the tea ladies in the Mile High City of Denver.

Of course, those tea leaves get broken up a bit in the processing, but they don’t get ground to dust. After steeping them, you can see the stem and pieces quite clearly.

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This is a review of loose leaf black tea Scottish Highlands. It was reviewed by by The Little Yellow Teapot. of The Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews. LYT has great tweets on Twitter, too!

Water temperature: 212° F
Steeping time: 4 mins.
Tea type: Indian black teas (not specified)
Aroma, dry leaves: Very light

1st Infusion:
Aroma, plain — Subdued maltiness, almost regal
Taste, plain — Mild, slight tang as cools
Color, plain — Ruby
Taste, enhanced — Smooth

2nd Infusion:
Aroma, plain — Faint
Taste, plain — Weak – not recommended
Color, plain — Lighter ruby

Comments:

Think of the Scottish Highlands: heather and mist, bagpipes wailing like the mythical Banshees, castles and lochs (lakes), and of course the men in their kilts! Got it? Great. Now, picture all of that with a cuppa this tea in your hand. Ah, a real tea moment!

The dry tea is good-sized pieces, which indicates this is more of an orthodox tea, not a CTC tea. The tea has a very faint aroma when dry. The sample came in one of those cute little packets that is foil lined. Unfortunately, they are not sealed, so air can get in. We don’t know if it affected this tea or not, but we think not. We suspect that the faint aroma is natural for this tea.

A frustration is that the company does not specify which teas were used. Hubby and I suspect an orthodox Assam and possibly a Nilgiri or some Autumn Flush Darjeeling.

One thing we always bear in mind is that the sample is a small portion of a larger batch and, as such, occasionally contains something — er — odd. In this case, it was a strange-looking stem with part of a leaf attached. We made sure this did not get into the teapot.

The aroma and flavor of this tea is about as mild as the Assam #1 we tried recently. Unlike that one, however, this one develops a faint tang as it cools, only a slight flaw since the tea tastes so good you’ll drink it all before it even has a chance to cool.

Like that other tea, this one has a flavor that doesn’t really need anything added. It is mild and pleasant. We tried it with stuff added anyway. Hubby likes it with just a touch of sweetener added. I like it with sweetener and milk. If you want to add either of these, remember “Easy does it!” The tea can easily get overwhelmed. If you like honey as a sweetener, use just a few drops.

I tried to get hubby to wear his kilt, complete with sporen and skeendoo, while we tried this tea but wasn’t successful. Sigh!

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