The Simple Leaf

Nice smooth an enjoyable cuppa. Allergies really have me down today so I’ll have to come back and add a better tasting note when I feel better.

Update: Yummy, smooth and a great cup for anytime.

Still hanging on to a little bit of this left over and it is still amazing. I know it’s been awhile since I’ve been on but life just seems to be crazy these days.

So I’ve been sitting on this one for almost a year thanks to Tamm. I’ve tried some here and there and well…it’s one of those teas that you don’t want advertise that it’s in your cabinet. I also have realized that after being a steepsterite for two years now and that The Simple Leaf ceased to be before I became an avid tea drinker. To my dismay, but I’m also realizing the freshness window might be waning. I’ve been making cups here and there just saving it for special time or when I just really want a good tea(like the Imperial Pu-Erh I keep on hand). Today I felt like I needed a pick me up. It’s been really crazy at work. Which happens every year at this time because we are a station that goes all Christmas music for a month. Oddly enough we are one of three radio stations that goes all Christmas music every year. How Cleveland became a Christmas music battleground…I don’t know. It also means it takes me longer to get music logs done as the music director because I have to look over the logs more with a fine tooth comb. Besides that this is time of the year that things get tight financially in our house(which also means drink what ya got because not too many new purchases are going to be made). This year more so than others since my wife is working part-time instead of full, and there aren’t nearly as many wedding gigs as there are during the summer. The wee man has been battling his first cold the less sleep he gets the less sleep mommy and I get. This seemed like a good idea this morning to make a full pot. So I pulled out the pouch and breathed in the goodness. I breathed in an aroma of cocoa that was just outstanding. I could feel an endorphin rush that brought a smile to my face. I have seen this one compared to a black oolong, beans, raisins, chocolaty. Yes it’s all the above. Like Assam and his cousin Ceylon were hanging out a swanky jazz club. Listening to the band do their best rendition of Brubeck’s-Take 5 and throwing back Scotch on the rocks(Macallan not Glenfiddich). So what I needed today. Normally I’ll make a cup of Mate, Pu-Erh, and Coffee in the morning. Today only the coffee and Dawn. I don’t know if there is too much to say but this is just an exceptional tea. After searching the internet high low for other places that carry tea from Arunachal Pradesh sadly there is only one. It is very much like an Assam Oolong. So good.

Thanks so much to Jillian for this one who answered my swap request for some more green darjeelings to try! I’m sorry abut the now defunct Simple Leaf because I never got to order anything from them but at least I get to try this one.

This reminds me a lot of a Chinese green tea and I don’t think there’s terribly much about it which would cause me to suspect it’s from darjeeling. It is nutty and slightly vegetal, very mild in flavor with some astringency in the finish. I think I am picking up a few delicate spicy notes – or is that just wishful thinking? In any case I was just sitting here reading JacquelineM ‘s note thinking I might try cold brewing some of this as well. I generally prefer my green teas to be slightly more flavorful but this wasn’t bad at all.

Honey-like sweetness, mild and smooth. Faint notes of honeysuckle and toast.

A pleasure to drink!

I miss you The Simple Leaf!

I think I can taste the age creeping into this one. I really shouldn’t put off finishing off my Simple Leaf teas. I love them to bits, but it’s best to enjoy them while they’re still good.

I always need the right mood for tea types. I need to be in the mood for a Darjeeling, or I don’t like it. I definitely can’t have them in the mornings. I enjoy them best in the afternoon, I think, after I’ve already had a cup or two of something else.

Still nutty—walnut—although less sharp than I remember it being. It’s still got a wine-like quality, but I’m obviously not the best person to be describing anything to do with wine, being a teetotaller.

As always, going more bitter as it cools, but not a dislikable astringency. Reminds me of the taste of the ‘skins’ on cracked walnuts. Clings a bit to the mouth afterwards.

Revisiting this one and how much it smells like a bouquet of flowers. I read somewhere that most Darjeeling “blacks” are actually a mixture of green, oolong and black, hence the multi-colour appearance they commonly possess, but are just labeled as “black”. Odd. But explains a lot.

Light and floral and also strongly walnutty, just as I remember.

I actually had this yesterday, but when I was steeping it, I completely forgot about and left it for a good twenty minutes. It was bitter, but the bitterness didn’t quite set it until it had cooled a bit.

Having it again today. Properly steeped this time.

I’d like to start by pointing out that I just recently came down with a cold, so my tastebuds may be off. I should be drinking smokey teas instead. That’d clear me right up.

It’s got the usual lighter flavour of the darjeeling. I’m finding it hard to discern much flavour, but I remember it being good and flavourful yesterday, and the bitterness again mixed in pleasantly to give it a walnut taste. However, no bitterness today it seems. But that might just be my tastebuds out of whack. My nose isn’t plugged up at least.

I’m not getting any fruity or wine notes. I am getting something akin to nuttyness but not quite (makes me think of Keemun). It’s enjoyable though. This’ only the second darjeeling I’ve ever tried, after Margaret’s Hope that Jillian sent me.

It got a bit bitter as it cooled down, but not in an unpleasant way. Just like how Margaret’s Hope did. Walnutty.

Very delicious. A nice surprise of deep, rich flavors. Thank you Jessica for sending me this sample. I regret not tasting this sooner.

Thanks to LiberTeas for the sample of this.

I’ve never had a green tea from India, so it was fun to try one. This isn’t one I would seek after, but it was pleasant enough.

The leaves looked like I would think of as a small-leaf green phoenix oolong (if there was such a thing). They smelled like Gunpowder green tea, somewhat smokey and pan fried.

The flavor was like dragonwell/long jing, in that it was something like chestnuts, stir fry, but not as good. However, it had a very strong note of honey at the top of the mouth that was quite tasty and interesting. Strange too, to feel like it was a savory flavor on the one hand, and then a sweet one on the other (aftertaste).
As I said, it’s a pleasant cup.

Thanks for this MandyB!

This was Darjeeling-reminiscent! But I cannot tell you in which way! I just kind of reminded me of Darjeeling. It tasted like a green tea or a black and green blend tho. This was quite masculine to the nose…wait…that sounded funny…it didn’t smell like a MAN!!!! LOL But I think you know what I mean by that…

In the middle of the sip there was a slight fruitiness that came and went quickly and the beginning and end of the sip was more nutty. This was different and pretty good!

I squeezed the last little bit I had of this into one final, smooth cup of great tea. It’s got such a nice, rounded flavor to it. The malt, roast, starch, and fruit notes all dance around so well with each other – it’s truly a shame that the supplier is no longer in business.

A strong yet sensitive type, this tea is! It came out malty and a little astringent, with a rich and doughy smell and thick texture. I second the sentiments of those who are looking for an alternative supplier to The Simple Leaf – this is a fantastic example of the bready, malty black tea style.

I promised myself I’d try this again with cream and sugar, so here we are. I steeped it up pretty strong, until I could really smell the yeasty baked goods aroma of the black tea, then added a good dollop of cream and some sugar to boot. How nice! It’s very comforting this way, and doesn’t lose track of the characteristics I like most about this tea. I really think it’s only my imagination, but I keep thinking there may be a hint of cinnamon in there – probably only because I really want to have a gooey sticky bun to go with this and don’t!

I received a sample of this in a swap with Meghann – thanks Meghann! It’s one I’ve been wanting to try for a long time, so it’s very exciting to be able to get my hands on some.

The dry leaves are big and luxurious, and remind me of Samovar’s Hawaii-grown black. The smell is heavy on the malt/bread/yeast side, and immediately brings to mind cookies, rolls, and other fresh baked goods.

It looks like it can take a long steep well – I gave it six minutes and ended up with a medium-dark brown liquor full of roasty aroma. The taste is heavenly; it’s like liquid Grandma’s house, full of warm ovens holding sweet surprises. It follows through on the yeasty/bready promise of the scent and is crying out for me to drink this with something sweet and starchy. I’ll have to try that next time, and see how it works with cream and sugar too. Yum to the nth degree!

I’m drinking the very last of this, and trying to make it count.

This is still my favourite black to date. Made it slightly strong (using up the last of the tea leaves/fannings at the bottom of the bag), but still delicious.

Drinking this tea makes me so happy and so sad at the same time. I don’t ever want to run out of it, but I’ve only a few teaspoons left. Every time I drink it while in front of the computer, I have to run a search on google for sites that sell black tea grown in Arunachai Pradesh, India.

I never have any luck.

Dawn, don’t ever leave me again. Even though I know the hard water of Up North would have reeked havoc on you. And I’ve only a few teaspoons of your deliciousness left.