Basilur

Basilur does a good job with its flavored teas—black, green, or white. In this case, the milky scent and flavor predominate, pleasantly. I could’ve backed off the temp a little; I scorched the green base a little bit. But it’s still drinkable. I’m sad that our local source of fun little Basilur assortments (Tuesday Morning) is now gone.

I went buying some teas for my grandma and while I was in that shop, I bought some teas (two boxes of tea bags) for myself. This is one of them.

As you know, I like Basilur teas. Their wrappings are beautiful, teas being above average and overall I am alway looking forward to try it. This was no exception. Magic Nights sounds so lovely.

Sadly, I am not a fan. All the flavourings used made a mess in a cup, giving tropical notes, but clashing each other and made very muddled flavoured black tea. The black tea base isn’t great either, quite common tannic notes without much more to write about.

I believe that loose leaf could be better than tea bag form, but I am not even looking forward to try that in near future.

Also, it is another tea with a duplicate. It seems like a bigger trouble in whole Basilur brand here.

A sipdown! (M: 1, Y: 51) but apparently not in my Steepster cupboard. That makes sense, as I have not added those received from my co-workers office teas to it.

A tea bag rating.

While Ceylon teas can be sometimes a bit rough, with strong metallic or other off-putting flavors, this is not the case.
It is slightly sweet, but robust, malty flavour dominates the cup. Caffeine is high in this tea, it was great breakfast tea and I will miss it for that. Just don’t let this tea cool down too much, then the tannic notes are too strong and makes the tea bitter.

One of the reasons I love Basilur is that their fruit is fruity without a hint of hibiscus tang. Frosty Afternoon (I still think it’s a funny name for these ingredients) is beautifully juicy and citrusy, both hot and iced. The orange side of the flavor balance is redolent of citrus peel. (That’s the fanciest word I’ve used in a week.) The passionfruit side, well, I wouldn’t recognize a passionfruit if you threw one at me, so I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but it hits some high-end citrusy notes very nicely. Thanks, Martin!

Martin, is this the one I’m drinking? If so, I’m enjoying it greatly! For a Ceylon tea, this is surprisingly smooth with very little of the coppery-brassy notes I usually associate with the variety. It’s a little bit sweet, but still has enough bite to get your eyes open—two qualities I value highly.

Office cleaning day
Swapdown (M: 4, Y: 66)
Definitely an interesting tea, though I guess that bagged version isn’t so good as loose leaf. The black tea base often was overpowered the not so strong flavours and aromas of passionfruits and orange. Smooth though!
The few remaining bags will be swapped too. I feel it has suffered a bit from the cardboard box once opened the inner foilwrapping of tea bags.

A duplicate spotted!

This is one of the teas I have received as a birthday gift from my co-workers. I have 7 or how many more boxes of Basilur teas and I am slowly drinking them there, as tea bags are perfect for work teas. You know, just a little time for preparations, not much time for contemplation about the tea and such. Convenience of tea bag is the key there.

Prepared hour before lunch as I had absolutely no time before.

It is a great tea — mellow orange flavouring, nice floral notes of passion fruit with nice, smooth base. Easy drinking and not bitter, rather smooth and a touch of creamy. But a little bit complexity it those flavours would be welcomed. Yes, it is distinctly orange and passion fruit, but nothing else. Though, I think this will be finished first.

Another treat from Martin’s Intercontinental Box of Happy Tea! The only unflavored Basilur tea I tried previously was an English Breakfast that was pretty so-so. This one was a pleasant step up. Less brassy, a little more malty, and it still has potential to improve … I used a little more mug and a little more water than was necessary. Looking forward to a more concentrated version.

It’ll flop back and forth for a month yet—snow flurries on my mid-April birthday are not unheard of—but it was a sun-on-your-bones springlike day. We hit Atwoods, the farm and home store, just because the baby chicks were supposed to be in (we don’t buy; just look). It was a jackpot run—free popcorn and our favorite Juliet tomato plants, for 99 cents, no less! We will love them and coddle them and take them in and out until it is safe to set them. (Imagine the abominable snowman voice in the Bugs Bunny Cartoon…we were that excited.)

One of the greenhouse shelves was filled with strawberry plant sets, which must have subliminally noodged me to seek this little bag out. It’s just a garden variety green tea base, a little spinachy, with pleasant strawberry flavor—not too syrupy or chemically. This is my last bag, but I have part of a tin of Brew-La-La strawberry on the shelf as well—I believe it is a Basilur cousin once removed, so the similarity between the two might be more than coicidence.

A sweet and gentle tea to keep Minnie and me company while we’re watching an episode of Violet Evergarden, which definitely fits the “please, can it be spring now?” theme today!

Brewed in the proper chai way, with milk.
The aroma is spicy, but very faintly.
Definitely more spiciness in taste, especially cinnamon and ginger.
Not bad for a cheap bagged chai tea. Passable for a chai tea in general.

I picked this up at a tea festival in town some time ago. Great juicy true mango and pineapple flavour on a Ceylon base. Yup, quite enjoyed this while making my way through 100 grams of it. I picked up a couple more Basilur fruity black teas—equally good with or without additions.

And it’s a sipdown!

#long time ago internet hiatus sipdown

Very nice Ceylon, bit of bitterness and tannin but at the same time smooth and easy to drink

This one a wee better than Gold. Well, it’s platinum which is more expensive than gold, huh?

Kind of lighter version of Gold, again quite tannic, but I notice some nuttiness and fruitiness now and then.

Maybe there are some cocoa notes reminding me white teas/tips. And hints of malt and astringency in aftersip. This is much better cup of tea.

I had this tea two times while I am this week in Prague at my friend’s flat (I just needed to unwind from my family a bit).

Not sure, if it’s Prague water or what; but this tea was only tannic, not complex at all and kind of flat. It was that “bagged black tea taste” if you know what I mean?

It wasn’t up to Basilur standards to me even. Was the baggie too old? I have no idea. Honestly kind of dismal, especially called “Gold”.

I had surprise mail from gmathis yesterday and it contained a generous sample of this tea! (Where do you get those pouches for the tea? Much nicer than what I use.)

Oh my goodness, the dry leaves smell amazing! This was definitely the right choice for today!

The steeped tea smells equally delicious and the taste is reminiscent of Nina’s Fete de Versailles. Bright citrus but not an astringent base tea, all made lightly creamy by a hint of vanilla. This goes on the “gotta find it” list.

Thank you, gmathis!

This tea has to be drank fresh. Otherwise it will lose it’s fruity and bit seed-y raspberry flavour.

As I have fresher batch than last time, I have to admit it is nicely fruity and as I wrote before, like biting seeds of raspberries. Hibiscus adds that general red fruits flavour to, but also some tartness, which is a bit too strong for my liking.

Raising the rating a bit. 70 → 74

Another big bags tea. And again, Basilur. Oh well…

It seems this tea has suffered a bit too much from age. It’s not awful, but raspberry is sadly not much present. It was rather Ceylon tea with rosehip tart/sweet-ness. And common Basilur base, present, but not overpowering the fruits. But others are saying juicy raspberries and I didn’t had them — though, some notes were there. Certainly a tea to re-try one day.

I needed a bold and pure black tea today afternoon, as in the morning I had no time to drink any tea (blame my dentist, not me!) and then I had swollen mouth and had no mood to drink anything but water.

Anyway, I took this tea from Izzy though again, as a Basilur I am sure I had it before. Anyway, thank you! I have last one left to make face-to-face comparison with same region tea, but from MlesnA. I am pretty sure I know the winner already, but whatever.

This tea, after four minutes steeping is indeed a bold black tea, which is quite malty, but as well quite sweet (read: no, or low bitterness) and I notice nuts as well. Mostly in aroma than in taste and pretty much not sure which ones. Theris is some tannic note showing that it is pure tea and no additives added and I liked it, indeed. Low grown Ceylon teas seems like a good daily-drinker teas, I am trying to remember Wild Monsoon tea from teakruthi but unfortunately it is already 4 years and I wrote no notes back then. I recall some nutiness, but if it was Wild Monsoon, I am not really sure about.

Well, into further research of southern Ceylon teas!

Took again a tea bag from my big bags section and I haven’t took a bag from those for long. Mostly because most of the blends doesn’t sound good, or I would rather try something loose leaf than those old tea bags. But while searching for a needle in a haystack I found foilwrapped this tea bag, a tea I always wanted to try.

I steeped it for 3 minutes (there weren’t any steeping parameters on the wrapper), with boiling water.

Definitely a better base than MlesnA uses in their bags. Malty and lightly citrusy and certainly not bitter base. Combined with fruity and sweett cranberry flavour, just top-notch of those berries to keep it fruity but not tart.

In conclusion, a wonderful cup, but for calling it winter… I miss something. Probably some spice hints.

My morning cup of tea today is Basilur’s Radella green tea. I’ve got the teabag version, rather than the loose leaf.

It’s a pretty basic, simple green tea. Grassy hay notes swirl around in the aroma and the flavour is light and slightly sweet like freshly mowed grass. It’s smooth too, with no bitterness. Refreshing.

An inoffensive cup of green tea. It’s not something I’d go out of my way to buy, but it’s still pleasant. It makes a great mixer with fruit tisanes.

Blog review with images: https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/basilur-radella-tea-review/

Drank the penultimate tea sachet of Basilur Love Story Vol II this morning. It was the right kind of subtle after a terrible night’s sleep.

The rose dominates the aroma, leaving it sweetly perfumed but not overpowering or sickly. It’s the first flavour note you get when you take a sip too, but with the light-bodied black tea and sweet nutty almonds, it really works. This is a gentle tea. A caress.

I’m not sure what amaranth should smell/taste like, but there’s definitely a new floral note hidden in there. I assume that’s what the amaranth is. It’s not strong enough to define with words.

Reading my initial blog review after my first cup of this tea is nice. When I started blogging, I didn’t imagine looking back a year and 5 months later. It’s good to reminisce. Although my photography skills weren’t all that… https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/basilur-love-story-volume-ii-tea-review/

It is absolutely freezing right now. Feels like -3c outside and I just can’t get the warmth back into my fingers even though I got back from my walk hours ago.

So I brewed this tea to hang on to. I think it has changed since it was first logged on Steepster, as there’s definitely no added caramel flavouring in the teabags I’m sampling. It does have a natural caramel and nutty aroma though.

The smooth sweetness of this tea just glides over your tongue – there’s no bitterness, even though I’ve brewed it deep and dark. Rich malty notes and nutty hints (a mix of almond, roasted chestnut and maybe pecan) are delicious.

It could be better though. The flavours could be brighter. The sweetness could pop more. But no. It’s missing something. Perhaps if this was loose leaf it would be different.

Nonetheless, it’s as pleasant and satisfying now as it was when I first reviewed it for the blog: https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/basilur-ruhunu-tea-review/

I got a sample offical packed by Basilur itself and it’s from Izzy again. The sample has BB date 22/02/2020 (DD/MM/YYYY) which is almost 10 months past, but I think there is nothing what could go wrong in sealed small sample and leaves and everything seemed okay, so I decided to brew it.

I am pretty much sure I tried moringa before, but can’t recall, moreover it seems this is a blend. I don’t see any rusty rooibos pieces, so maybe they used green one? I see lemongrass and leaves, not sure if only moringa, or as well blackberry which should be in. Also not sure about ginger in, but I just don’t think it’s pure moringa.

The aroma of dry stuff is mostly on orange/herbal note. I used approximately bit over the half, so I think it could be around 3 grams. They recommend 2 grams, and 5-7 minutes long steep. I thought that four would be just right, as it got correct colour in my opinion and smell was already quite heavy.

In the aroma I do notice the orange quite clearly. Then some herbal and musty note, but certainly not awful. There is a lemongrass for sure as well I think!

Oh my… the orange is even in the flavour! It’s not even much musty as I was afraid of. Actually not at all, at least in taste! There is another citrusy feel from lemongrass. There is as well aftertaste of Jaffa cakes with orange flavour, and I can’t really find out why. The cup was cleaned. I had used that strainer for Passion Fruit (Advent tea) before, but was washed afterwards and I make sure there is not single forgetten leaf that would contamine the flavour.

There is not a mouth-coating quality. There is not long aftertaste. But flavour itself? Wow! I wasn’t expecting that. I just hope that pyramid sachets (available on Amazon btw) are in same great quality as my loose leaf sample.