Black Frost

23 days ago I wrote a rather luke-warm review of this tea. I got it out today to send a sample to Lena and decided to give it a try. It’s not been the most successful tea day for me for various reasons and I thought that an uncomplicated, unblended straight-up tea would be a good cure-all for whatever it is that ails me (Who saw “Office Space?” “Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays?” Well, that’s me. I recommend this movie highly. Put aside any reservations you might have about Jennifer Aniston and see this now! “Office Space,” however, did get me into some flabberghasting moments with my students. I told them I wanted them to add “pieces of flair” to their writing. A student’s idea of a piece of written flair is to say that something is “very unique”.

I apologize for the bad digression. In any event, I’ve finished my mug of Black Frost and my opinion is revised considerably. Since I first tasted this tea, I’ve been exposed to too many blends; to quite a few bad teas, and to too many meek and shy little teas.

Black Frost is a bold single note Nilgari. It brews up into a good strong cup that does not play around. It does have some taste overtones—slightly vegetal for a black and a bit sweet but not in a bad way. I don’t think it has the taste complexity of Dawn, also by “The Simple Leaf” but it’s a good no-nonsense tea. I think such teas should win higher accolades. It has made me perk up from my cast of the “Mondays” (not to mention that the clock is right at 3 PM).
Nice to get some real caffeine here, too.

I’ve only had one other Nilgiri and I honestly wasn’t a fan. There was an edge to it that made me think of thick, rough plant leaves – you know, the kind you’d find in a cheapy bouquet – and I just couldn’t get over that. It’s one of those tastes for me (like rooibos) that no matter how little of it there is in something, that’s all my mind can focus on. And I smell a little bit of that raw leafness in this cup. Uh oh.

Yeah, I taste it, too. There’s a floral hint that sweetens the tea a little and it is definitely bolder and richer than the previous Nilgiri I have had (Tao of Tea’s Neela) but all I can focus on is that leaf that somehow got into my cup. I keep thinking, “This must be what it is like to eat a tea-flavored rose bush leaf.” Because yeah, that’s what I get. There’s also a hint of sharpness at the end that makes me think of a Darjeeling but only in a not-so-positive way.

I tried to tweak this a bit with sugar and half & half since the company’s tasting notes say that it can take it but, meh. Nothing I did really seemed to help – half & half made the raw leaf bit calm down but seemed to accentuate the bitterness. Sugar didn’t really do anything until I put in more than I wanted – then it was just sweet. And raw. And leafy.

I just don’t think Nilgiris and I are ever going to get along.

Forgot to log yesterday before leaving work! This follow-up attempt was better than the first. Will try again today and report back…

I think my tasting is off kilter today. Last night I burnt my tongue really bad on some Beef Pho. It was still very tasty…but I can tell my taste buds are still in a state of repair. As of right now, the tea tastes like light black tea mixed with tree bark. Oddly enough, it’s not awful…just kind of odd. There is a sweet note but the level of astringency is pretty killer. It’s bad when you take a sip of tea and immediately have to follow it with a drink of water to re-hydrate your mouth. The flavor isn’t the worse I’ve ever tasted, but it is far from the best. The astringency and thinness of the tea are the big downers.

Ok, after reading the other tasting notes on Black Frost, perhaps my taste buds aren’t too far off on this tea. If you are a Darjeeling fan you might like the flavor profile here.

The dry leaves smell a bit like a keemun but not as strong as some I’ve smelled. There is another grassy barely there floral tinge to the leaves as well. Once brewed the tea loses that heavy strange keemun fragrance and I smell floral notes amid a sea of malty goodness with barely there notes of resin. It is one of the better tea fragrances I’ve experienced. The wet leaves unfold into whole green and brown leaves that are slightly more ovoid shaped than other wet tea leaves I’ve seen and the liquor is reddish brown. It is a much lighter tea than many I’ve had lately. The taste is sharp and bright with the slightest hint of floral but all the other notes disappear. Still, it is a nice tea.

Another Bethany tea. I remember picking this one for my wishlist for her, because I have never had tea from the Nilgiri region before. I have no clue what to expect, but I’m expecting something akin to Ceylon, since that’s relatively close.

It’s got a nice golden colour and a very grassy aroma, almost like a newly mowed lawn. A spicier than that, though. Underneath it I’m picking up a sweet note, almost caramel-like, and all in all, it’s reminding me more of Darjeeling than it does of Ceylon. Or both maybe. Like a middle thing between Darjeeling and Ceylon. I’m not really sure, I change my mind every time I sniff it.

It’s very vegetal in flavour and very sweet in an almost sour-like way. Like citrus-fruit, without actually having even a hint of a citrus flavour. It tastes kind of green the same way that a Darjeeling can taste green and it definitely doesn’t remind me of Ceylon in flavour at all. It’s almost like… like it’s not quite ripe yet.

I’m not sure it’s something I would seek out as a type all that eagerly again, but it’s definitely drinkable.

Has a slightly sweet and sour flavor, as well as a lot of grassiness. This was in my “drink it up” pile. Tasty.

I need to spend more time with this one before I do a review, but it’s good. Black Frost is more robust than most Nilgiris that I have tried – the others were truly spicy, which I don’t like much. Seeing that in reviews of this drove me away at first. But I got a 1oz sample this time, and it’s not very spicy. There is a hint of the vegetality of other Nilgiris, maybe a little floweriness. Otherwise, it’s like a very slightly more subdued Ceylon. The dry leaves smell really nice, a full but brisk aroma.

I’m still tweaking parameters on the actual brew. So far it’s had a good but not particularly strong flavor. It definitely has less on the low end than The Simple Leaf’s Assams, but is quite enjoyable and is not too weak for milk.

Got this in a swap, thanks Bethany!

Aroma is ever so slightly smokey though that does not come through in the taste. It is very clean and smooth, no astringency so far. This almost reminds me of a Darjeeling, but it doesn’t quite reach being exactly like one. Has a little bit of sweetness and I have to say I quite like it. After my earlier horrible cup of tea, this more than makes up for it.

Another of my hoarded Simple Leaf teas that I just opened up. I steeped this hotter than the package directions mostly by accident. I didn’t think about looking at the package this morning. I’ll try it the other way another time.

I don’t have a distinct mental flavor profile of a Nilgiri even though I’ve had them before. For whatever reason, there’s not a distinctive map in my mind that identifies Nilgiris, the way I have a map of Assams, Darjeelings, Yunnans, and Keemuns. But this particular one is lovely in my book.

In the packet it smells bready. After steeping I get sweet notes of caramel, coffee, and berry. The tea is a clear, light-hued coppery golden.

It’s a mellow, mild flavored tea. Generally less sweet in flavor that aroma, but with bursts of sweetness that pop in the mouth during the sip and just a tad of smokiness. There’s an interesting softness to the mouthfeel that makes it very pleasant to drink, and a cooling sensation in the aftertaste.

It’s one of the better Nilgiri’s I’ve had. Even though I don’t have a mental map, I can remember that though I’ve liked some of those I’ve had in the past, none of them have really bowled me over.

This one comes close, which is why I’m sad it’s no longer around.