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 our decaf black tea Serenity. It was reviewed by by liber-teas on The Tea Review Blog

Wow! This is … decaffeinated? This is really good.

I still wrestle with the decaf demons of my past, having tasted far too many decaffeinated teas that just weren’t very good some years ago, I still experience a familiar cringe when I contemplate tasting another decaffeinated tea.

But, I really need to get past that (as I’ve said before!) because most (if not all!) of the decaffeinated teas that I’ve tasted in the past couple of years have been quite tasty. Serenity from Element Tea is a perfect example of that!

The flavor of this tea is rich and smooth and has a pleasant, full body. No thin tasting tea here! There is a moderate amount of dry astringency that hits the palate toward the end of the sip, and there is a savory bitter taste that hits just before the astringency. The astringency seems to clean the palate of the bitterness, so it is barely noticeable, but it does add a certain sense of depth and intrigue to the cup.

The fruity taste of the grenadine is sweet but not heavy, and is nicely complimented by the creamy vanilla tones. With these sweet tastes added to the decaffeinated leaves, it’s hard to believe that this is actually a decaffeinated tea. But it is! (or at least, that’s what they tell me!)

Element Tea describes this tea as:

This tea combines the decadent pleasures of delicious vanilla and grenadine. The warm and comforting finish will make this your tea of choice.

This was a very pleasant decaffeinated tea. It has a nice sweetness to it (taste it before you sweeten), and the creamy flavor can be intensified with the addition of milk if you wish. Because it is decaf, it is a tea you can enjoy any time of day. A really nice tea choice to serve to guests too!

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