Vahdam Teas

Had this one, in sachet format, earlier this week. It was a bit bean-y but overall pretty lightly and delicately flavoured without any obtrusive or upsetting flavours. Decent cup of green tea…

Adventaggedon Day 1 – Tea 2/6

Normally I would probably groan about getting a straight green from an advent (I certainly did last year) but I’ve actually had this one before and it’s not a green tea that I mind very much, so I was more impartial about seeing it today!

I steeped it hot and it’s much more bean-y as a hot tea than it tastes cold brewed, which is how I’ve had it in the past. Like an edamame/green bean kind of taste but backed by a whole lot of toasty, fatty nuttiness. My first instinct, sipping on it, was just how much it reminded me of a pan fried Chinese green tea – lots of those wok kind of notes.

Not my favourite, but definitely not bad either. I think I’d still opt to drink it chilled though!

Advent pics from today: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIRXCaNAoMq/

Cold Brew with fresh lemon!

It’s always a good day when you have new tea mail to dig into!! Thanks Vahdam for sending me three new teas to try this month, including this green tea! I’m not a big green tea drink, but free tea is free tea – so trying everything as open minded as possible.

It’s super crisp, light and refreshing & compliments the brightness of the lemon perfectly, which makes it an awesome choice for sipping on while working from home. I’ve been drinking tea from Vahdam for about three years now & I admit I’ve never paid close attention to the packaging, so I was surprised and pleased to see that it’s both climate and plastic neutral and that a portion of their revenue goes back to the education of their farmer’s children through the TEAchme initiative! Maybe I’ll make myself a Golden Milk latté next…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGFkAuSgaqi/

This is a light and brisk infusion, starting with herbaceous and citrusy notes, then slowly evolving into base notes of grapes and muscatel. Not my favourite tea, as I find it slightly too astringent for my taste, but pleasant enough.

I loved almost all Darjeelings from Vadham, but this one doesn’t cut it for me. No matter the amount of leaves I put in my cup, it always ends up tasting weak. I tried two different batches of this tea, and both performed poorly. It’s not undrinkable by all means, just unexciting.

This First Flush Darjeeling Blend is quite delicate for a black tea, in line with the general characteristics of first flush Darjeelings. It has notes of grass, apricot and a slight muscatel aftertaste. The second infusion leans more heavily towards the grassy and muscatel notes, and doesn’t seem to loose strength. I generally favour second flush Darjeelings, but this is a pleasant tea, well suited to summer afternoons when I prefer lighter flavours.

Enjoying this tea again today. It sits on my shelf and I normally bypass it for other black teas because I don’t want to use it up, but was really in the mood for it this morning. I seem to overlook how much I enjoy the lightness and flavors of second flush Darjeelings. I’ll be sad when I brew this for the last time. The muscatel and apricot are amazing here!

Another tea I forgot I had, but found once again while re-arranging my tea cupboard this week.

Definitely taste the muscatel and apricot in this — apricot is particularly strong as an aftertaste. Initial flavor is slightly floral. Also slightly astringent overall, but in a good way — not bitter.

As far as Darjeeling teas go, I prefer second flushes to first flushes. This tea is a perfect example of why — much more flavor and body. I’m glad I have enough of this one to last for the rest of summer!

Date of picking on label: 12 June 2017

My first tea from this brand, and I’m not disappointed! This Darjeeling Oolong has an earthy smell with notes of cocoa, quite strong when dry, more mellow and fruity when brewed. It’s a medium strength tea with the classic Darjeeling muscatel flavour, with notes of nuts and fruits. Love it, I can’t wait to try the rest of the samples I bought.

I had this yesterday at work and y’know, for a three year old tea, it was actually VERY good. I feel bad that I waited so long to try it, but at least it held up. Very fresh and floral tasting with a rich muscal grape note as well and just a slight hint of astringency/greener edge. Really easy to sip on, and a good change of pace from the black teas I’ve most recently had.

This is actually ‘Seeyok Classic Autumn flush’ according to my package, but this seemed like the most likely place to review it. Also it doesn’t look like Vahdam carries the classic version any longer. It’s about time I started sipping this one down, darjeelings are not a favorite of mine so I tend not to reach for them too often . I don’t think I’ve had a bad darjeeling from Vahdam, and this one is okay. Its nutty to start and floral to end, a rather light cup but still enjoyable. As it cools, its becoming a bit more floral, but not cloying like some darjeelings taste to me. The second steep adds a bit of bitter dark chocolate aftertaste and is less floral. On the whole, its a nice cup of tea, I might add a bit of assam to my next brewing to make it a more interesting blend.

This isn’t a great matcha. Added honey and oat milk, and it was still pretty bitter and astringent. Very dull greenish brown color.

Close to a sipdown on these sachets. After further reflection, while this has some higher-order flavor notes, it’s one of the un-Assam-iest Assams I’ve ever had. It may the fatigue talking here, but I just want my malt handed to me straight. I still appreciate it, but probably not enough to restock it.

You all know what a sloppy steeper I am, but I am aware that timing can make the difference with some teas. I believe that may be the case here. First cup (4-ish minutes) was smooth and pleasant—I gave it a sweet wheat-bread rating. I took a bag to work and gave it 5-ish minutes, and what to my wondering tastebuds should appear but things that reminded me of mahogany, molasses, and apples—much more depth of flavor to ponder. This one doesn’t need to be hurried.

Birthday surprise from my husband, whose love language is good gifts. Not necessarily pricey ones, but proof that after 34 1/2 years, he knows me better than I do.

I went ahead and made a separate entry for this one, as it’s a sachet rather than loose leaf and makes no mention which-flush-is-which on the packet. The sweet notes come through first—a little fruity; a little like honey-wheat bread. I’m not getting strong malty flavor, but it leaves a little buzz on your tongue after you swallow. Extremely drinkable—my first tumbler is already gone!

For the price point I was disappointed. The tea is just ok. Nothing wrong but nothing great. On lighter, subdued side. Not bold. No bitterness. Smooth for what flavor there is. Mildly fragrant. Floral hints.

I’ve been searching for a good vanilla matcha (preferably unsweetened, but I’ll take anything at this point). Vahdam had a 5 matcha sampler, so I went for that. Made the vanilla first, and it’s actually the best of any vanilla matcha I’ve tried. No bitterness to the matcha, and a nice creamy flavor. It’s a bit more of a coconut, rather than a pure vanilla flavor (which tends to happen a lot with vanilla flavoring, I’ve found). But, it’s still tasty. I’ll probably finish the bag I got, but won’t necessarily repurchase.

Scent of dry leaves is herbaceous fennel and rye bread.
Wet leaves give off more fennel and cocoa.

Steeped twice western style, 12 oz of 200 degree Fahrenheit water.

Flavor is light, herb-y, with fennel and rye taking center stage while malt and chocolate linger at the edges. Sweet toasted bread-fennel-malt aftertaste. The end is slightly astringent and drying.

Second infusion is much like the first, though with less astringency. Gentle toasted rye bread, juicy malt and chocolate, maybe caramel. Some apple and apple skin dryness in the aftertaste.

While not your typical oolong, it still offers an interesting range of flavors. I definitely recommend it to people who love rye bread, the rye note stayed throughout. If you enjoy summer darjeelings or want something different, I’d recommend giving it a try.

Over all a good white tea. Clean end floral with a slightly sweet overall flavor

Well I sipped down this whole bag of tea, so I figured it deserved a tasting note. The last cup from the bag was just as gingery as the first, and I did enjoy the spicyness of this cup. That being said, the clove note of the Chai was dominant as well, and rather competed with the ginger note. By this last sipdown cup I concluded I don’t like my ginger mixed with a chai, if I need the two mixed, I can do that myself. I’d rather have a ginger or ginger/citrus tea.