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“This tea courtesy of Doulton! I am very excited because I’ve been wanting to try this tea ever since I read about it. The leaves are absolutely GORGEOUS! Long, dark and handsome! It’s so hard to...” Read full tasting note
“My order from The Simple Leaf arrived today and I’m so excited to try this tea! I’ve been reading some really fantastic reviews about this tea on Steepster, so my expectations are high. The aroma...” Read full tasting note
“Mmm…Dawn. I’ve missed you. I know you won’t be with me for much longer but I will enjoy each minute we have together. If you’re curious, I have a longer review up on It’s All About the Leaf:...” Read full tasting note
“I know, I know, it’s way past its prime now, but I hoarded my last 1/3 packet of this for cold weather sipping; even when it’s elderly, it’s heavy and luscious and cocoa-y. When (ha!) I get time to...” Read full tasting note
If you haven’t heard about Arunachal Pradesh or Abali before, prepare to be delighted. When we first received this tea, we just had to stare and wonder at these gorgeous, long, hand-rolled orthodox leaves with prominent tips. Simply smelling the aroma from the leaf had us floored before we had even taken our first sip. When brewed, it produced a wonderful mellow, golden liquor that was pleasantly smooth and refreshing. Tasting this tea brought back visions of a light mist hovering over tea bushes at dawn. Enjoy hot or iced.
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This tea courtesy of Doulton!
I am very excited because I’ve been wanting to try this tea ever since I read about it. The leaves are absolutely GORGEOUS! Long, dark and handsome! It’s so hard to believe they are not blended with chocolate!!
This tea is ridiculous, and I mean that in the most highly complimentary way possible! It’s deliciously tea-ish and a chocolatey roasty flavor. Not hot chocolate, not coffee, not chicory although all these things come to mind. It’s something all it’s own and simply sublime!!! I want to wander the streets and go up to random strangers and say “Taste this tea! It is simply pure camellia sinensis, but have you EVER tasted anything like it!?!?!?!?”
!!!!
Now that it is cooling a bit I am tasting a caramel note joining in with the tea/chocolate/coffee/chicory. Wow. This is one of the highlights of my tea tasting experiences thus far!!!! THANK YOU DOULTON!!!!!
EDIT: Great resteep! 6 minutes, more roasty chicory chocolate. Lighter but so delicious. Better than many teas first steep! but steep #1 is the best one.
My order from The Simple Leaf arrived today and I’m so excited to try this tea! I’ve been reading some really fantastic reviews about this tea on Steepster, so my expectations are high.
The aroma is amazing. I can smell the hint of cocoa, and there is a deep earthy undertone to it as well… almost smoky, but not quite. I think I’d describe it as a roasted characteristic – kind of like roasted cacao beans.
The flavor is remarkable. Very smooth. Honey-like sweetness with an appealing cocoa note. Lovely, complex, and absolutely delightfully delicious.
I thank each and every one who had reviewed this tea previously – it was your reviews that inspired me to try it, and I’m so very glad that I have.
I have this at home and have yet to try it! Honey and cocoa? Yummy!
Yes! Another convert!
Stephanie: The flavor is amazing! You really must try!
I really must get this one. I need to finish off some of the teas I already have first though.
I managed two very flavorful infusions of Dawn. I tried for a third, but unfortunately, the leaves were quite spent and the flavor of the resulting tea was quite weak.
Mmm…Dawn. I’ve missed you. I know you won’t be with me for much longer but I will enjoy each minute we have together.
If you’re curious, I have a longer review up on It’s All About the Leaf: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/799/tea-review-the-simple-leaf-dawn-2/
I know, I know, it’s way past its prime now, but I hoarded my last 1/3 packet of this for cold weather sipping; even when it’s elderly, it’s heavy and luscious and cocoa-y.
When (ha!) I get time to be scientific about it, I’d love to put this side-by-side with my new favorite Fujian Congou from Nature’s Tea Leaf. I think in previous notes I whinged a little about not having an equivalent once my Dawn was Done, but I’m thinking that there may be some strong similarities. (Which would explain why I am so crazy about the FC.)
I am wondering how I could possibly be good enough to deserve this tea and my mind is humming over trying to give examples (I cleaned out all the kitchen cupboards yesterday, I finished a significant task at work last week, etc.). But the truth is that no one is good enough to deserve this tea. It is a work of grace that this tea exists and we mortals can enjoy its warm cocoa taste with complex notes of tea and caramel. So now I’m blissing out on grace.
O rly? Damn it. Now I’m going to have to get it, Carolyn.
Hold tight and I’ll send you a sample. (I do have a pound of this tea now.)
I heart you. Give me a few weeks to order some stuff and then I’ll ask you if you want anything from me.
I really don’t need anything right now. My teas have been exiled to the dining room table awaiting reorganization before I can put them back in the kitchen. My beloved says he is tired of my teas taking over the kitchen and preventing him from preparing what he likes. So what I really need right now is less tea or a bigger cabinet or some sort of mind-bending technology to use on my beloved to convince him that he loves being attacked by tea.
This looks pretty amazing I must say. Those leaves are so beautiful. Into the shopping cart it goes. I’m becoming more and more intrigued by the teas on The Simple Leaf website. They look really nice!
Oh, this sounds so nice! Too bad the company only ships to the US, Canada and the UK. I do plan to write to them to ask about adding another country to the list ~_^…
Oh wow.
Oh man.
Okay. So.
Wow.
I’ve found a new favorite tea. Dawn is a wonderful, full-bodied black tea. The dry leaves smell like cocoa, and when steeped, there is a hint of cocoa in the taste.
For such a simple tea, I’m having a hard time describing it.
The texture is so smooth and creamy. It is so simple and delicious. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially black tea lovers.
Wow.
Dawn is really an achievement. I’ve never had another tea like it. It’s delicious, but even more noteworthy because it’s delicious and unique. Nice review.
This I’s a tea I hope to try soon.
Man, I have to try Dawn! Maybe the Simple Leaf will offer free shipping soon?
The code “simple20” got me 20% off my order, maybe it will work for you.
thank you, harfatum!
Yay! Thanks Harfatum! I ordered samples of Dawn, Maharani and Honeybee.
I am confused where do you put the code?
There’s a box (called “Coupons/Discounts”) to put the code on the “Step 2 —> Payment & Delivery” page.
Just a quick blurb before dinner:
Oh my god, this is cocoa tea!! Everything about this tea is cocoa-ish—from the dry leaves, to the brewed aroma, to the taste! It’s like bittersweet, malty cocoa. Gosh, how many times can I say “cocoa” in this note? But that’s the best thing I can compare this to. It’s smooth, slightly smoky cocoa. Please get this if cocoa (or chocolate) is your love!
This is my #1 favorite tea!
@Erin – and they know it at simpleleaf : http://www.thesimpleleaf.com/ – congrats you are on the front page!
I just ordered some of this because it sounds so terrific!
I’m glad you finally decided to try this. It really is good. Perhaps the best unflavored black tea I’ve yet to try… I would be hard pressed to think of an unflavored black tea that is better!
Me too! I have so many teas to try and I’ve mostly gravitated toward the flavored ones, but this one (like Jackee) was a revelation!
Unfortunately, I missed out on the Andrews & Dunham series 2 – I’ve been reading so many fine reviews of them that I wish I could have tried these two. I have been seriously contemplating ordering series 3, but, the one thing that is causing me to hesitate is the Caravan… I am not a fan of smoky teas. Maybe if I could find someone to go in half with me, and take the Caravan so that I knew it was going to a happy home.
My order for series 3 just came today! And I actually got it because of Caravan! Wow, it’s amazing how my tastes have changed since I first started this tea journey. Before Steepster, I only really liked the flowery stuff. Now the smoky, earthy teas intrigue me.
Yes, our tastes do change a bit over time – I have grown quite fond of the grassy nature of green teas – when before, this was something that was so off-putting for me! I hated Dragon Well teas, now I adore them! Unfortunately, my feelings have not changed for the strong smoky teas.
LiberTEAS, I bet if you put up a post in the Discussions someone would offer to split or trade with you for the Caravan – there are a lot of smoky lovers around Steepster. I’d offer, but I already made a similar trade with JacquelineM ;)
I received a sample of this in a swap with Meghann – thanks Meghann! It’s one I’ve been wanting to try for a long time, so it’s very exciting to be able to get my hands on some.
The dry leaves are big and luxurious, and remind me of Samovar’s Hawaii-grown black. The smell is heavy on the malt/bread/yeast side, and immediately brings to mind cookies, rolls, and other fresh baked goods.
It looks like it can take a long steep well – I gave it six minutes and ended up with a medium-dark brown liquor full of roasty aroma. The taste is heavenly; it’s like liquid Grandma’s house, full of warm ovens holding sweet surprises. It follows through on the yeasty/bready promise of the scent and is crying out for me to drink this with something sweet and starchy. I’ll have to try that next time, and see how it works with cream and sugar too. Yum to the nth degree!
Weird. Yesterday I wasn’t really tired as such, I just couldn’t be bothered. Today, I had an hour over time, I’m really really tired, I’ve found a bagel-place where I can get Dr Pepper (!!! (It’s not impossible that I’ve seen that before and forgotten it, actually)) and I haven’t opened it yet. It’s just standing there looking inviting and yummy.
And what I really want is tea. More specifically, the Dawn from JacquelineM. I don’t know, maybe I had to sort of… prepare myself mentally for it. Whatever it was, I knew for absolute certain that I was going to try it now.
I’ve been really looking forward to this one because all the posts I’ve read about it have reminded me of the beloved Tan Yang from TeaSpring. You know… the one they don’t have anymore! And that was one awesome tea. Seriously.
The leaves look really big and long and to my surprise they smell of chocolate. Not cocoa as I had expected, but real chocolate, all sweet and milky, as if the bag I got the sample in used to contain sweets. After steeping it has this funny sort of smell that I know what is, I just don’t know what it is. But I know I know the smell. It’s sort of like a dark oolong, with some chocolate notes and some fruity notes and something kinda malty. It’s… It’s…. I don’t know what exactly it is, but it is it.
Interesting flavour! It definitely reminds me of the Tan Yang with the initial fruityness and then some cocoa-y chocolate and a touch of… is that smoke??? IT IS!!! Just a touch, but it’s there. Just like in the Tan Yang. Seriously, if I didn’t know better, I would swear it was the same tea. This is really really REALLY good. I’ll savour the sample, and I’m looking forward to seeing if it’ll turn properly smoky on second steep.
I need to check this company out, their shipping policies in particular. If this is available to me, I must have it. (But later.)
I love this one too!
I’m getting some very soon – I can’t wait to try it.
So you’re a Dr. Pepper fan? My boyfriend is a HUGE Dr. Pepper fan. Almost his entire T-shirt wardrobe is Dr. Pepper T-shirts and he used to drink it by the case. Not a Dr. Pepper fan here, though I expect to be a big Dawn fan when I finally crack it open.
Morgana, I am! Unfortunately it’s difficult to get in Denmark. They tried selling it in most stores for a couple of years, but they’ve stopped doing that. I’m guessing it probably didn’t sell well enough. Now I can only get it when I’m lucky enough to find small cafes and such that have it. It’s currently standing in my fridge. I’m saving it for later. I think it’ll go nicely with dinner tonight. :)
Interesting tea when you get chocolate notes and there is no chocolate in the tea. Tea steeps up dark and smells a little earthy. The taste I get is an earthy chocolate with no bitterness or astringency. Very smooth and mellow tea.
Stop! You’re making me drool! o.O
The info on Steepster doesn’t seem to say, but do you know anything about where it’s from? It’s kind of reminding me of my Tan Yang with the natural cocoa notes.
This is interesting actually! It’s from Arunachal Pradesh which (from wikipedia):
Arunachal Pradesh is a federated state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south and southeast, and shares borders with Burma/Myanmar in the east, Bhutan in the northwest, and Tibet (part of China) in the north. The majority of its territory is claimed by the People’s Republic of China which regards the claimed area as South Tibet. The current border is the McMahon Line agreed upon by Great Britain and the then de facto independent Tibet in a 1914 treaty. The Chinese government of the time had not been party to the treaty, resulting in a dispute over the treaty’s legitimacy. Itanagar is the capital of the state.
Arunachal Pradesh means “land of the dawn lit mountains”1 in Sanskrit. It is also known as “land of the rising sun”2 (“pradesh” means “state” or “region”) in reference to its position as the easternmost state of India. Most of the people native to and/or living in Arunachal Pradesh are of Tibeto-Burman origin. A large and increasing number of migrants have reached Arunachal Pradesh from many other parts of India, although no reliable population count of the migrant population has been conducted, and percentage estimates of total population accordingly vary widely. Part of the famous Ledo Burma Road, which was a lifeline to China during World War II, passes through the eastern part of the state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachal_Pradesh
Interesting. Also strange that it sounds like it’s so similar to the Tan Yang, because that one’s from the Fujian province, so it’s not even remotely in the same area! I think you would enjoy the Tan Yang. Sadly I don’t have enough left to share, or I’d have sent you some. :(
Once I get a proper size of this I will send you some!! I’ll PM you when I order, probably in a month :)
Aw, that’s sweet of you. :)
Okay, that’s it! I’m getting this now. I’ve put it off long enough, but that is totally happening. Mentioning chicory to someone who grew up drinking coffee from New Orleans…yeah. Done!
My students would say that the tea is “sick”. I’m glad you like it.
this one is on my list as well. I just cannot resist chicory…
oh the romance of it – “land of the dawn lit mountains” – doesn’t that inspire one with images of beauty and serenity and peaceful graceful tea drinking?
I love this tea! I love this tea! It’s amazing!!!
‘…that the tea is “sick”.’
I giggled. Doulton, I love reading your notes and comments.
Dude, this tea is definitely sick! In the best way possible! It’s rad!
I can’t believe it’s not blended with chocolate either! It’s totally amazing. But have you noticed that the sides of the bag look like they’re dusted with cocoa?
Tubular!
Stephanie – I got it as a sample from Doulton but once I order I’ll take a look!