Charleston Tea Plantation

I want to thank my friend Melissa (who isn’t on Steepster, but still…) for picking up 4 samples of Charleston Tea Plantation Tea while on vacation for me! It’s so sweet she thought of me! :)

This is the first of 4 I will be tasting and reviewing. Prior to this the only CTP Tea I have had was the Rockville one and that is one of the 4 samples she brought me. I remember liking that one so I am so happy I get to try it again!

As for this specific tea…

Dry – it smells like a black and airy tea
post infusion it smells like a black tea with a slight cotton type aroma trying to hide in there somewhere.

The taste is robust yet well rounded and in medium strength for a black. It has a mild yet crisp aftertaste I am really enjoying, too!

I really wish this was in loose leaf or at least family sized so I would be able to put, say, 2 or 4 bags instead of 16… but that said, I like my southern sweet tea strong and sweet, so I was pleased to find that this can handle a pretty intense amount of steep time… as in “oh crap I was supposed to take those out….” still not resulting in a bitter tea.

*EDIT!! My previous note said “I’m not sure what % of this tea’s leaves are FROM the SC plantation—it could be 10% USA tea and 90% other (Bigelow/the plantation haven’t answered my 3 email attempts!), but…” See the comment by Kathy, and HOORAY, it IS 100% SC goodness!

And back to the review: …but it is perfect for cold sweet tea and leaves NO bitterness. I’ve found AGE matters—the boxes aren’t really sealed well and the leaves being quite small, there’s a decent amount of powder that ends up spilling out. Older boxes definitely show their age in strength as it takes several more bags (and when I use 16, it’s for a half gallon that I add a very little bit of ice to). When I’ve been able to get it in grocery stores in NC, though, it was much fresher than what Bigelow delivered (my sister’s b-day gift to me)… still, it’s good stuff. Don’t miss out on it; again, with age, it only loses strength; it doesn’t get bitter at all (I also recommend you store it in zip lock bags or snapware etc—something air tight will serve it well!)

Special Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea to try. YUM!

This has a delicious raspberry taste. The black tea is smooth with very little astringency. A rich tasting black tea with a sweet yet tart berry flavor… yum! So glad I got to try this!

Today got away from me…updating websites and blogs and such.

Backlogging this one.
See other notes

My sister brought some of this back for me while she was in Charleston! Woot! I have a nice bit of it in my stash now! I had at least 10 cups last week! BACK LOG! Sorry for the dashboard flood! Sorry I was ‘missing’ last week! I should be ‘back’ most days now :) Miss everyone!

SIPDOWN and started my day with this…it will be missed!

I’m so excited my friend Melissa picked up a bag of this for me while she was on vacation! I’m so grateful! I’m starting my morning with this one – check out my previous review…that sums it up nicely, I think :)

Special thanks to Jaime for this one! OMG! Jaime spoiled me!!! Stay tuned for more reviews!

I can’t stop thinking about a Raspberry -Jelly Lined Chocolate Cake I had for my Dad’s Surprise Party this summer because that is what this tea smells like!!!! Raspberry and cake! YUM! There is a cake-bake-spongy-chocolate type aroma trying to eeeeek out from somewhere but this is a marvvvy aroma! And, yes! That’s MARVY with 3 V’s!!!

The taste is wonderful, too! It’s a true black tea but the raspberry is a creamier raspberry not a tart or bitter raspberry. And I like that very much! This is a nice treat!!!!

This is by far one of my favorite teas. I’m not much of a taster, but I love peach tea and this happens to be one of the best that I’ve tried. I bought a loose leaf tin of this while touring the Charleston Plantation this summer. While there, they mentioned that since this is a premium tea, it needs more tea leaves to make it stronger. You can let a small amount steep forever and it won’t get the strength you’re looking for. Personally, I use a spoon and a half and love it.

One of the best perks about it is that you’re supporting American made products. :) If you get the chance, definitely tour the plantation. It’s beautiful and you will learn a lot about tea.

I tend to like my black teas on the light side; Earl Greys included. This American-spun, bergamot-scented pekoe was not only light but “first flush” light. Makes sense since it is a pekoe after all. Taste-wise, it had more in common with a Ceylon in its floral and clean characteristics. The bergamot provided a slight sour tap but nothing overly discernible. Someone used to stronger Earl variants would have a hard time finding it at all. That said, I liked it. It makes me want to kiss a Governor in gratitude.

Er…after election season, of course.

PS – Thanks to Jaime for the blend.

I forgot how much I loved and hated this tea. I love it because it tastes really good. I hate it because the end of the cup tastes really bitter and bad. Bad enough for me to drop the rating by a few points, but not much since it is still really good tea. I just found a smoother cup.

I think I finally found a Grey that is a good day to day Grey. It is nice and smooth. It isn’t rough at all but it isn’t weak either. It is just a nice well-rounded tea. I am sad that I don’t have more of it.

I’d been wanting to try this tea for a couple of years now, ever since I found out about the Charleston Tea Plantation. Why? Because it was “Amurrcan” gash-durrnit! Seriously, it’s from one of only two active tea growers in the country. And it’s a robust, sometimes average, blunt, spry, and crisp orange pekoe. Not unlike a certain upstart country I’m proud to live in.

PS ~ Thank you, Jaime, for sending this one along!

I just steeped this as my cuppa before bed. My friend went to the tea plantation this summer and brought me back some samples.

It smells nice and peachy. This is my first peach tea so I’m not sure if I’ll like it. It is just hot and plain right now. Something tells me that I should have let this steep for much longer than I did. It doesn’t taste like much but I’m not sure if it is just because I have a bigger mug or not.

It isn’t bad but I was expecting a stronger flavor. A few more sips later and I have decided that the tea is very light and almost buttery. It leaves my throat a little try but it isn’t unpleasant. Maybe if I had more fruit teas, I would like this more.

This Tea was given to me as a gift and started intense love for this tea!
It has a “woody” bouquet, rich amber color. As far as the flavor (this is the first time I’ve ever put into words my opinion) it is silky smooth, with a very delicate ligneous, earthy flavor. It is fabulous!
I have purposely over steeped this tea with no ill effects to my palate or experience. This tea does not know “bitter”! Reminds me of aged Pu ehr.

This is probably one of the lightest Earl Grey-type teas that I’ve had. Not a bad thing, since some can be quite overpowering. It’s my favorite, no-frills Earl Grey. This is another purchase from my visit to the Charleston Tea Plantation.

I think I’ve said it before, but there is definitely a distinct taste to these Charleston-grown teas. I can almost taste that it was grown in the South; it’s got some quality that makes it perfect for sipping on the porch and letting the day drift by. I would love to be at the tea plantation today, curled up in one of their rocking chairs on their front porch, simply staring out onto the tea fields.

I won’t pretend that I’m a knowledgeable tea drinker. I couldn’t tell you the differences in the flavor profile of an Assam versus a Ceylon versus a Darjeeling. Someday I hope to be able to tell you that, and also be able to tell you the differences in how different varietals of tea taste. But for now, you’ll just have to deal with my ignorance of such things.

And, in all my ignorance, I think this is perhaps the best, plain, straight-up black tea I’ve had to date. It’s rich, thick, and slightly sweet. It has the perfect astringency.
And, if you like good ol’ Southern-style sweet tea, there’s nothing I’ve found yet that makes a better pitcher.

I loaded my One-Touch with this last night. How did I live without this machine before now? After a night spent tossing and turning and trying to sleep, I woke up to a pot of tea. No putting the kettle on. No finding a clean strainer. No spilling of tea due to sleep-induced dexterity. Just pour.

Yes, I do notice a difference in the taste of this tea when made with the Breville (I shall have to name her, she is quite special). The taste of the tea itself is much more developed and prominent, with the peach as a very delicate note. It’s still very much one of my favorite teas.

This is perhaps my most favorite tea. The scent is pure peaches. Ripe, southern-grown, juicy peaches. The peach flavor isn’t as strong as the scent, but rather it pulls out the sweet notes of the tea and enhances the tea’s natural flavor. It’s one of the most comforting cups I’ve ever had; no matter what has happened, I know I can drink a cup of this and instantly be soothed. Happy Wednesday!

Mmm…raspberry.

See prior log for more notes. It’s still as good as it was the last time I drank it.