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“This is my first Nilgiri. Dry leaves are dark brown and twisted. Dry leaf aroma is a little malty and similar to an Assam. Liquor is lightly copper-maybe just a bit darker than a Darjeeling. I...” Read full tasting note
“Yes…yes…I AM eating Lentil Chips at 9:30 in the morning…sue me! LOL Special thanks to LiberTEAs for this one! This is mellower than I thought it would be but still a nice straight-up black tea. ...” Read full tasting note
“This is a really fantastic Nilgiri. Bright and flavorful. A lovely floral note that arrives about mid-sip. Moderately astringent. I’d classify it as something between an Assam and a Ceylon –...” Read full tasting note
“I’ve never had Nilgiri on its own, only in a few blends I’ve tried. It smells and tastes similar to a Ceylon… a bit brighter and crisper than I usually like for a hot tea. Like Ceylon, it’s a taste...” Read full tasting note
This very fine black tea is produced at the Korakundah estate in the Nilgiri region of southern India, surrounded by pristine streams and virgin forests and nearly crowning the Nilgiri ranges at 8,000 feet above sea level. This organic and Fair Trade Certified tea is composed of twisted leaves of uniform size and deep brown color. As is typical of high-quality Nilgiris, the infusion offers a straightforward but delicate flavor, floral and brisk.
Sustainability is a cornerstone of Arbor Teas’ business philosophy. In addition to offering an exclusively organic selection of teas, they recently became the first tea company to offer their whole catalog in 100% backyard compostable packaging. They’ve also carbon-offset the entire supply chain of their products, from origin to the customer, making Arbor Teas the greenest option for Earth-conscious tea drinkers, and one of few tea companies recognized by Green America.
We’re tea enthusiasts with a lot of passion. Passion for top quality tea, the environment, fair trade, and our community. We started Arbor Teas in Ann Arbor, Michigan, intent on creating a tea company as passionate as we are. Our passion is reflected in every aspect of Arbor Teas. You’ll certainly notice it in the exceptional collection of teas we offer - one of the largest catalogs of USDA certified organic teas around, nearly three-quarters of which are Fair Trade Certified®.
This is my first Nilgiri.
Dry leaves are dark brown and twisted. Dry leaf aroma is a little malty and similar to an Assam. Liquor is lightly copper-maybe just a bit darker than a Darjeeling.
I really didn’t know what to expect from this tea-I bought it because I had never had a Nilgiri. I like most Indian blacks, so it seemed to be a reasonable choice. I agree there is a resemblance to a Ceylon tea-in fact, until I’m more experienced with Nilgiris, I’m not sure that I could tell this apart from a Ceylon in a blind taste test. I don’t taste the Assam notes I detected in the dry leaf. I don’t taste the floral notes that Arbor promises-which is fine, because I’m not big on floral. I also disagree in Arbor describing this tea as “delicate”-when I think delicate, I think of a white tea. I think it’s rather full-bodied and brisk. It’s fairly smooth, however-is it possible for tea to have characteristics of both briskness and smoothness?
Although I disagree with Arbor’s descriptions, I did enjoy this cup and look forward to drinking more of it.
Yes…yes…I AM eating Lentil Chips at 9:30 in the morning…sue me! LOL
Special thanks to LiberTEAs for this one!
This is mellower than I thought it would be but still a nice straight-up black tea. It’s very clean tasting and I would side with those saying it’s more like a Ceylon (instead of an Assam) – not that THAT is good, bad, or indifferent…just a personal observation.
This one is alright. I kinda of wish it had a little more oooomph tho. Still tasty, regardless!
This is a really fantastic Nilgiri. Bright and flavorful. A lovely floral note that arrives about mid-sip. Moderately astringent. I’d classify it as something between an Assam and a Ceylon – with the brisk tones of the Ceylon and the deep, rich flavor of freshly baked bread of an Assam. A very pleasant cup, indeed!
I notice as the tea cools a bit the flavors smooth out very nicely, this would be awesome iced!
I need to try this the next time I order something from Arbor!
I liked it a lot. I am thinking about picking up more of it when summer arrives, because as lovely as it was hot, I prefer it iced.
I tend not to order Nilgiri Blacks, because the few I tried many years ago were too lemony for my tastes. Maybe I’d like them now though. Nilgiri’s do tend to make good iced tea.
I’ve never had Nilgiri on its own, only in a few blends I’ve tried. It smells and tastes similar to a Ceylon… a bit brighter and crisper than I usually like for a hot tea. Like Ceylon, it’s a taste I neither crave nor dislike. It should probably work well iced.
This might be the most mild flavored black tea I’ve had. No overwhelming notes of anything. No real hints that stand out. This tea is very delicate with a touch of astringency and medium mount feel. All in all it’s a decent black tea that lends its self well to blending. I’m not much of a flavored tea guy, but I appreciate the medicinal benifiets of plants and have grown fond of the flavor of a few. One that comes to mind is the ginseng vitality offer from Teavana, over priced high pressure money machine that it is actually has a decen ginseng blend and it goes great with this unremarkable tea for your first thing in the morning pick me up. Not bad
I’ve always heard NIlgiri makes a good iced tea. Regardless, I’ve only had one that was from the Tao of Tea…
Yes, Arbor says it’s nice for iced tea because it won’t cloud. Hopefully, I will get a chance to try it that way.
I’ve only had one or two Nilgiri teas-years ago, and at the time I didn’t really care for them. They do tend to be brisk, and the one (s) I had were citrusy-like lemons. I don;t really like lemon in my tea, so that’s why I didn’t really go GAGA over it. I may like a good Nilgiri now though, because my tastes in tea have evolved, so I should try some soon.
Amy, everyone says they make good iced tea, so it’s probably true. Did you like the one you had from Tao of Tea?
Scott-I don’t really care for lemon either and I did not taste any citrus notes of any kind in this. It didn’t really hold up well to a second infusion,though.
I don’t really remember what garden my Nilgiri tea came from, but it was brisk & lemomy. I’m sure they’re all not the same though.
I had the plain nilgiri and the Lemon drops which had lemon myrtle in it. I liked them both but it sounds like I’m more of a lemon fan than either of you Scotts. :)
At some point-soon, I need to try Nilgiri tea again, b/c my tastes could’ve changed. It may be that I like these teas more now. I was sort of a loose tea newb, back then. :))
Scott-Yeah, Nilgiri seems pretty adventurous for someone just starting out. Tastes do change, so there might be a Nilgiri you like.
Amy-I like strawberry or raspberry lemonade, but otherwise, can’t think of much I like with lemon. Perhaps that’s why I don’t like Earl Grey-bergamot tastes too lemony to me.
Interesting…….I like Earl Grey, & bergamot doesn’t taste lemony to me. At least I never noticed it before. Well, I’m off to try to brew my Goomtee Darjeeling gongfu style. :))
Oh, I hope I didn’t put lemon in your mind while your drinking Earl Grey! I wouldn’t say that it tastes exactly like lemon to me-but bergamot does taste more like lemon than any other citrus I am familiar with. Enjoy your brew.