Kenyan Black Tea

It’s a nice strong black tea.
I’ve been sitting on this one for a little while and I’m not sure why.
It’s a little on the astringent side but not disgustingly so.
More in a “strong” tea way.
Drank it plain, no sugar or cream, and kept brew time to the minimum recommended (3 minutes)

This was a sample I received a while back. This was one heck of a pick me up cup. I don’t usually react to caffeine overdose, but man oh man were my hands shaking this morning after this bad boy. It was an astringent, strong cup. Being that I like these strong brews I found this very enjoyable for my morning cup. This cup reminded me of Big Red Sun. ( Sipdown )

This is a WEIRD tea. Got it as a sample from a tea friend, who picked it up from the show in Philadelphia.

Flavor wise, this tea isn’t much. There is some astringency and a lot of malt. There’s a bit of dark brown bread flavor, but it’s very subtle.

What gets me is the texture of this tea. It’s THICK. It feels like heavy cream in the mouth and lingers afterward like fat from real whipped cream.

For a bagged tea, this is pretty decent. I’d drink this again.

DAMNIT THERE’S STILL LEMON MYRTLE IN THE CUPBOARD HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

Ah well.

Rainy sick day today so I decided to brew this up traditionally. Similar to a marsala chai without the spices! A real treat.

I picked this tea up on a whim. I was at the mall because I needed to go to the DMV and change my driver’s license to NY, so I stopped by the health food store to check out their tea selection. Honestly, it was pretty disappointing… Mostly Republic of Tea and similar bagged brands, but this cute little handmade box caught my eye, so I bought it! I must say, the box is stunning. The scene on the front/sides is actually made of individual paper cutouts that are pasted on. So cool!

The tea itself is a CTC black, which is a new one for me. It resembles coffee grounds. Dry scent is very strong and malty, with maybe a bit of bread? I’ve tried brewing this tea a few times and it always comes out too strong for my tastes, so I’m giving it one last chance and finally writing a note. This time I did a scant teaspoon of tea for 1 minute at 200 degrees.

Brewed aroma is strong and malty with a sharp, almost sour note. At first sip, I am reminded of miso soup. Eh? Strange but there it is. Definitely very malty, with a hint of seaweed or some other savory green. It’s somewhat drying on my tongue, but not enough to be a bother. Definitely not like any other black tea I’ve tried! :P

Mmmm.

Received this surprise sample from Sil, decided that today was the day to try it. Made it for my breakfast tea. All the reviews talk about it like it’s not a tea for the faint of heart, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, haha.

I half expected it to brew into some kind of thick black sludge or something.

But in seriousness, I am a fan of a good sturdy tea so I figured I’d enjoy this. Then I did!

I tried it without milk and it was tasty, but the old coffee drinker in me prefers a breakfast tea with milk in it so that’s what I did.

I’d consider buying some at some point in the future, good cause too!

Thanks, Sil!

My rating and notes for this one seem to have disappeared. BOOOOO! This tea is really lovely. It’s a beautifully smooth black tea that’s middle of the road in my world in terms of boldness and strength. I have thoroughly enjoyed having these tea bags around because they’re just a quick and delicious option. Plus i adore the handmade aspect to the boxes they come in and the handmade beads that are used to close off the plastic wrapper inside. I fully support what these guys are trying to do as well – especially since their end product is delicious!

Thanks to Sil for this surprise sample! I haven’t had too many Kenyan teas (although I have had tea in Kenya, haha) so I’m always interested to try some out. This was a tea bag version of this tea, and I used both tea bags in my 12oz mug. I steeped it on the cooler side knowing that these types of teas tend to get a little overly robust for me.

This turned out rather pleasant. There was little bitterness in the cup as brewed, although there was a bit of a “kick” in the back part of the sip. I did put a splash of milk in after a few sips to smooth it out a bit. It had a nice malty flavor with some hints of grains. I also got a bit of powderiness, probably because of the tea bags and tea dust likely present in them.

This would be perfect for those mornings where you really need a kick in the pants. I remember the last time I was in Nairobi, I was having tea after a night of nearly no sleep (red-eye flight), and these types of teas have a certain comforting and jolting effect that can really set you straight in a situation like that. Not something I would reach for often, but it certianly has its place. Thanks, Sil!

I was lucky enough to visit their booth during the Coffee & Tea Festival in Philadelphia! I sampled their ginger variation of the black tea, but decided that I wanted to acquire a box of their plain offering.

It is a CTC black tea and comes in standard bag form. You must be careful not to oversteep.

I found it to be very astringent and strong. I forced myself to drink it plain to get to know it, as I’ve not really had Kenyan black tea before. I then had some cut with cream and a smidge of honey. It was much more enjoyable that way. It is a very malty and robust tea, and for the weak of heart (I admit, I was a little weak that day) it is a force to be reckoned with without something cut in to make it gentler.

I underrated this a little at first. It is a pretty generic-tasting black tea, but it has a citrusey note to it that I appreciate.