86

Wow, this experience was so different from my first one with this tea! This time I watched the timing more carefully, probably around 4:00.

First of all, I get the aroma of toasted nuts, sweet floral like honeysuckle or osmanthus. It tastes amazing, sweet; my favourite Darjeeling so far. Would rate this a 90 when drinking plain, but unfortunately does not stand up to sweet breakfast like raisin bread and turns bitter and astringent, so lowering to 86.

Flavors: Floral, Honeysuckle, Nutty, Osmanthus, Toasty

Bluegreen

I see that I have had quite a few teas from Teabox but gave not-so-high ratings to many of them. Do you like this vendor overall? I am considering trying some new sources for Indian teas but never heard about this one. Thanks!

Bluegreen

Oh, I meant that YOU have had quite a few teas from Teabox, obviously. Sorry for the confusing comment above.

Sirentian

Hi Bluegreen, unfortunately Teabox is the only vendor of Indian teas I’ve ever tried. Having come from pretty high-quality Chinese teas which I find to be less bitter / astringent, I think Indian teas will generally get lower ratings from me when drunk plain. Teabox seems a bit pricey for Indian teas where I will have to end up adding milk / sugar to many of them. That being said, Teabox looked better than the other Indian tea websites I compared them to because they label the source of their teas, tasting notes, and brewing instructions very meticulously so it was reassuring for me as an online buyer. Their teas turned out to match the website description accurately, and I found a really excellent white tea, oolong tea, and darjeeling out of the samples I tried. You can always start with a bunch of samples to see if you like their teas first. I ended up purchasing a full-size of their Mangalam Gold assam tea for a high tea party I was hosting, and am happy with it.

Sirentian

May I ask what other sources of Indian teas you currently use?

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Bluegreen

I see that I have had quite a few teas from Teabox but gave not-so-high ratings to many of them. Do you like this vendor overall? I am considering trying some new sources for Indian teas but never heard about this one. Thanks!

Bluegreen

Oh, I meant that YOU have had quite a few teas from Teabox, obviously. Sorry for the confusing comment above.

Sirentian

Hi Bluegreen, unfortunately Teabox is the only vendor of Indian teas I’ve ever tried. Having come from pretty high-quality Chinese teas which I find to be less bitter / astringent, I think Indian teas will generally get lower ratings from me when drunk plain. Teabox seems a bit pricey for Indian teas where I will have to end up adding milk / sugar to many of them. That being said, Teabox looked better than the other Indian tea websites I compared them to because they label the source of their teas, tasting notes, and brewing instructions very meticulously so it was reassuring for me as an online buyer. Their teas turned out to match the website description accurately, and I found a really excellent white tea, oolong tea, and darjeeling out of the samples I tried. You can always start with a bunch of samples to see if you like their teas first. I ended up purchasing a full-size of their Mangalam Gold assam tea for a high tea party I was hosting, and am happy with it.

Sirentian

May I ask what other sources of Indian teas you currently use?

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Bio

Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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