Amba Thieves

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Fruity, Sweet, Tea
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Nicole
Average preparation
Boiling 3 min, 45 sec 26 oz / 768 ml

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I really need to get back in my tea game. Still slacking. I just keep going for the coffee packets because they seem easier in the AM. This one is good. Nothing special. I found myself putting more...” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “Hello, fellow Steepsters! It’s great to be back! I posted my last review 10 months ago. I don’t need to tell you what a crazy year this has been. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy. One...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • ““Thieves Tea”…yep, looks like they swept it up off of the trading floor, seriously. There are what look to be broken bits of leaves, stems, and maybe a bit of bark. Looking closer, I see bits of...” Read full tasting note
    81

From Harney & Sons

Amba Thieves Tea is handmade brisk black tea with a storied past. Years ago, all tea had to go to the owners. However some ladies plucked the tea and then made a crude and strong black tea in their hut. They were “Thieves.” The tea willingly accepts milk and sugar. You’ll find it lovely –and lively.

About Harney & Sons View company

Since 1983 Harney & Sons has been the source for fine teas. We travel the globe to find the best teas and accept only the exceptional. We put our years of experience to work to bring you the best Single-Estate teas, and blends beyond compare.

3 Tasting Notes

85
277 tasting notes

I really need to get back in my tea game. Still slacking. I just keep going for the coffee packets because they seem easier in the AM. This one is good. Nothing special. I found myself putting more sugar in it than the last variety of black tea I had- not good. This one can get a tinge bitter if overstepped, but nothing too bad. It’s ok though, it’s the bigger broken pieces. Probably wouldn’t go out my way to try it again.

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92
262 tasting notes

Hello, fellow Steepsters! It’s great to be back! I posted my last review 10 months ago. I don’t need to tell you what a crazy year this has been. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy. One of the personal consequences of the pandemic was it pushed me into full retirement when my employer laid off/furloughed 90 percent of the staff in March. I was already semi-retired so I’m enjoying the extra free time and not complaining. Now, onto the reason I am here…

I read about this tea on the Harney & Sons website. I was somewhat fascinated by its history. To quote the Harney folks:

“Amba Thieves Tea is handmade brisk black tea with a storied past. Years ago, all tea had to go to the owners. However some ladies plucked the tea and then made a crude and strong black tea in their hut. They were ‘Thieves.’”

The tea was highly rated on the website and sold at a reasonable price. For these reasons, I was moved to order a one pound bag of the blend.

When I opened up the bag, the aroma was full and rich and obviously a blend of several players. The short brown and black tea leaves were without uniformity and really did resemble leaves “plucked” from an agglomeration of black teas.

I steeped the leaves for five minutes at 212 degrees. The finished product had a color like dark molasses. The smoking smell was quite pronounced and pleasant, but indiscernible as a specific ceylon black tea.

The flavor of this blend is fabulous, with both sweet and fruity attributes. It is robust and full-bodied. It has everything that I hope for in a black tea. Astringency is little to none. The aftertaste is amiable without lingering bitterness.

This is an excellent tea that I intend to add to my morning black tea rotation. It matters nothing to me that I can’t be blindfolded and identify the origin and composition of this terrific concoction.

Flavors: Fruity, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 5 tsp 40 OZ / 1182 ML
ashmanra

Welcome back, Stoo!

Stoo

Thanks, ashmanra! I hope all is well with you.

mrmopar

Welcome back!

LuckyMe

Welcome back. Always enjoyed your reviews, hope to see more of your tasting notes!

Stoo

Thanks, mrmopar and LuckyMe! It’s great to be tasting and noting again!

Stoo

Thanks, LuckyMe! It’s great to be back! I appreciate the kind words!

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81
263 tasting notes

“Thieves Tea”…yep, looks like they swept it up off of the trading floor, seriously. There are what look to be broken bits of leaves, stems, and maybe a bit of bark. Looking closer, I see bits of leaves from green to brown to predominately black.
That aside, its a great cup of tea. It’s very generic and I don’t pick up a clear Ceylon or India regional flavor. I brewed my first cup conservatively, as reflected below, but I suspect that this tea can take a lot of abuse, because of its generic flavor.

Flavors: Tea

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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