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“Yesterday evening, it started snowing. I am no stranger to snow, but it’s been noticeably absent from these parts for the past number of years. We’ll get one, maybe two inches – barely enough to...” Read full tasting note
“Having just finished cups of Black Orchid by Mariage Freres and Starry Night by the Jade Teapot, I’ve turned to this one as the third in my tale of three vanillas. The dry leaves look quite a bit...” Read full tasting note
“The amazing takgoti sent me this tea!!! My first Samovar tea!!! I made a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing this weekend, and we had two pieces left – I thought that this tea would go...” Read full tasting note
“It smells like caramelized vanilla and something heavy and almost coffee-like. The taste is unexpected – not sweet and soft like a typical vanilla but more… masculine, for want of a better word. ...” Read full tasting note
Origin: Organic, fair trade black tea from Yunnan, China. Blended with organic vanilla bean and natural vanilla flavor in the U.S.
Flavor Profile: Pungent, hearty notes of malt, cocoa, black pepper, brown sugar and bakey Graham crackers. This full-bodied tea is preceded by the scents of vanilla bean sugar, Cocoa Puffs and toasted marshmallows, and has a finish of cocoa and smooth vanilla bean with full tannins and lots of copper.
Tea Story: Dian Hong is a traditional Yunnan tea with a history of being blended with sweeter ingredients, such as lychee, rose or longan fruit (“dragon’s eye”). This blend is a tightrope balance of robust, peppery and even coppery Dian Hong with delectably smooth vanilla beans. It is set apart from other vanilla teas in that it is a completely natural, sophisticated, subtly flavored tea rather than a questionable flavor source with sub-par tea as a delivery vehicle. Also, unlike other vanilla blends, its vanilla notes are primarily in the bouquet and the aftertaste.
Bold Yunnan teas (like this one and our Samovar Breakfast Blend) particularly appeal to coffee drinkers. Vanilla Dian Hong is great on its own, with milk and sugar, or prepared as a latte.
Samovarian Poetry: Tealeaf and vanilla bean brew in dazzling harmony. Sip and savor the balance.
Food Pairings: Pair Vanilla Dian Hong with the sweeter end of the flavor spectrum – lavender butter cookies, tiramisu, German spice cake or rhubarb-compote-topped cinnamon French toast.
Formerly known as Vanilla Dian Hong
Samovar's is dedicated to preserving the simplicity and integrity of the tea traditions and inspiring people to practice peace through drinking tea.
I am adding this to my shopping list right now. This was another smokey sample that I thought about throwing out… and once you can get past the smoke (see last review… this isn’t part of the tea, just part of my particular samples) it’s amazing. And I typically don’t like vanilla tea at all. It’s perhaps my least favorite flavoring. But this one is just enough to make you think of vanilla without being overwhelming. Yum!!
Pulled out an old favorite this morning, for the sake of a quicker brewing process (in that I don’t sit there and wonder which tea to make). This time I put in a 1/2 tbsp of Samovar’s Masala Chai to give it a bit of spice/warmth. I have to say it was a good choice! I also have to say you can’t go wrong with this Dian Hong since it seems to provide a base to potentially mix in several other flavors. Cheers!
My black tea sampler from samovar came in today! For the price I paid (which was a lot—even with the steepster select) i secretly hoped it would be more than just 1 time samplers. But oh well~
this tea smells faintly like vanilla, but more on the weird side. I’m not sure whether or not to add milk and sugar….but after just taking a tiny sip I guess I’m going to. Yeah, the flavor is definitely better.
I can see why they say it “appeals to coffee drinkers”. Somehow it has similar tastes overall to coffee, but I can’t really pick out any specific flavors in it. I’m tasting some vanilla for sure but it’s not the most prominent flavor. Hmm, flavor profile says it has black pepper, that would make sense for this slightly weird flavor i’m tasting. I think the pepper is leaving a slightly weird after taste as well, but overall it’s a good tea. Really can’t say more considering I’m not that into black teas.
I bought “Vanilla Blossoming”, which I’m guessing is the same. Wow! This is magical! This is a really evocative tea. The first sniff took me straight back to childhood. Suddenly it’s Christmas and I’ve got my nose in a big box of chocolates. I smell chocolate, but also the fillings. Lots of sweetness. Complicated. The taste is a dark, vanilla, but also the bourbon. I could swear this has alcohol in it. I love this tea.
I only used 1 teaspoon in 8 oz water, so much less than the directions say. 2nd steep was still good.
The vanilla flavor is light and very well balanced with the natural tea flavor. Beneath the vanilla, the taste is earthy with currants. The aroma is mild vanilla and oak. The vanilla is dominant in the aftertaste. Mild astringency. Liquor brews up copper colored.
I was excited to try one of the Samovar teas finally, as I’ve heard such good things about them. The shop I visited was out of the Masala Chai I’d wanted, but the Vanilla Dian Hong was second on my list, and it was in stock. When I popped the lid, it wasn’t vanilla I noticed, but rather the scent of a chocolate liquor instead. I was very excited to try this one, but as it was late when I got home I opted to try it in the morning instead. When brewed, this tea doesn’t have the same taste as it smells dry, which was fine. You definitely get more of the vanilla in the tea itself. What I found was that it almost had a flavor similar to a rooibos, with the slight aftertaste of black tea. So I wasn’t blown away, though I felt I should have been for the $18.99 price tag. I’m hoping Samovar’s masala chai fares better for me.
I was also excited to try this after such great recommendations. I’m a recent coffee convert so this is supposed to be appealing and on the sweeter end of the spectrum. I did definitely notice the chocolate liquor scent after popping it open for the first time. Tasted it pure after 5 min of steeping and it came out ok… not as bold as I expected (maybe steep longer?) I do like how subtle the vanilla is tho. A teaspoon of sugar in 16 oz. is also pleasant.
I think this is what this is. I’m not sure. My sister gave me a pair of little rosettes, and I think that they are this.
I put one in my steeper basket and steeped for five minutes, and have been given a very pale, hay colored liquid which is nice, but very mild.
Hmm. Well, I’ve got one more of these little blooms, and I’ll give it a shot again!
