Organic Canadian Breakfast

I received a free pouch of this tea in the spring of 2017 in exchange for a review. Because I am an unfocused slacker, I forgot about it and only got around to trying it while I was recovering from my snakebite in the second part of August. I think this blend was a little past its prime when I got around to trying it because I did not find it to be all that satisfying or memorable. It also could have just been me. I was not in the best of places when working my way through this tea, and anyway, I only drink blends like this sporadically.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 1 teaspoon of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I neither rinsed the leaves nor attempted any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf blend produced subtle aromas of raisin, prune, and fig. After infusion, I detected new aromas of malt, toast, cream, orange, and pine. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of cream, toast, malt, orange, prune, raisin, pine, honey, and fig that were backed by hints of black pepper, straw, and nutmeg. The finish was mostly creamy and malty, though I could find some touches of honey and dried fruit here and there.

For the most part, this seemed to be a pretty standard black tea blend. I’m fairly certain that I would have enjoyed it more had I been in both a better physical state and frame of mind at the time I committed to drinking it, but I still doubt that it would ever be something I would choose to seek out on my own. For what this was, I suppose it was decent, but honestly, blends like this are not really for me.

This was a whopper Gongfu style. It is more akin to a sturdy Irish Breakfast tea rather than an English Breakfast. This tea will wake you up. It brewed up strong and with a tart bite rather than malty yet it smelled malty. I think I’ll brew it up Western Style next time as it can take honey and milk.

Oh strange, somehow this time around, I’m picking up a smoky note that I didn’t get the last time. Must be the Keemun coming forth. It’s just so odd how it was non-existent last time. Steeping perimeters are a mystical thing.

Thank you to the Teaguy for sending me a generous sample of this! I’m always on the hunt for a breakfast tea that stands out from the crowd, and the components of this one sounded unique due to the inclusion of Hao Ya A, a delicious Keemun that I’ve had the pleasure of drinking straight. My cup turned out smooth and virtually free of bitterness and that tannic aftertaste, but still brisk and malty enough to call itself a breakfast blend. Although it was wonderful without cream, I’ll try adding some next time!

So, I was really excited when The Teaguy offered to send me a few samples to review. It’s one more option for me, here in Canada, besides David’s and Camellia Sinensis (and sometimes Teavana), plus they have a very large selection of organic teas which is a major advantage for me (my boyfriend told me about this show where they tested for pesticides in the teas and most of them were above the safe limits, so I always try to pick organic teas whenever I can from now on…)

The package arrived yesterday, right on time for my finals revision week… (bleh) It’s so hard to stay inside and study when it’s finally getting warm and sunny outside…

The tea smelled slightly different than other breakfast blends I tried. I checked the ingredients list, and I think it’s because of the Keemun: it smells a bit peppery which intrigued me. I had the first cup plain and it’s already very good like this: there is no bitterness.
But then I had to add some cream and sugar because this is how I prefer to drink my breakfast blends!

I wasn’t sure if I’d like the Keemun but it’s actually a really nice addition, the smokiness/pepperiness gives it a distinctive taste without being too overpowering and it blends well with the honey notes and maltiness from the Assam.

All in all, it’s a very easy drinking cup, very smooth, the whole teapot disappeared in less than 20 min… I’m pretty sure I will repurchase once I’ve finished my sample.

So now back to more revisions… and more tea drinking!

Thank you to the tea guy for this sample. Starting off with a 80 ml yixing, I started with nearly boiling water and let it steep for just 15 seconds in the yixing. I usually dont rinse black teas as they really dont need it.

First infusion I got a clear red liquor, with aroma of cocoa, malt and nuttyness. It also has a very intense black tea aroma, and you all know what Im talking about. Tasting I got many of the same flavors as well as smooth sweetness. This is a very easy drinking tea, that is actually just right for breakfast, when you need something smooth and easy to drink.

Second infusion produced much of the same, with the color getting just slightly darker. It also had a bit of creaminess this infusion, and for a black tea its holding up surprisingly well over infusions. I have a feeling the blended tea is releasing it’s flavor as each tea hits its release point.

The third infusion is a bit weaker, but still has good flavor and aroma, black tea’s generally dont get too many infusions even when done gong fu style, but this one seems to be holding up reasonably well.

I figure this has another few infusions to brew out, the flavor isnt overly complex, but in this case its a good thing, its a breakfast tea, which is something that should be smooth and easy to drink. I had this without milk and sugar, but Im sure it would go well with both. I might post another review later with adding both of those.

I recommend this tea for someone looking for a smooth, easy drinking tea to relax with. This makes me think of a winter tea, something you might drink to get warm on a cold winters night.

My second tea from The Teaguy, this one sounds interesting as they say it’s a blend of Assam, Keemun, Ceylon, and Vietnamese grown tea. Small-ish dark leaves with a few silvery buds. The aroma is light and citrusy with a hint of dry oats.

I tried following their recommended brewing, 2 tsp, 90C for 3-4 minutes, but while I probably added a bit too much water, it came out very weak, so I let it keep brewing, and after about six more minutes it was closer to the proper strength.

The resulting brew is still a little on the weak side, but it’s tasty. Slightly sweet with little to no bitterness, the flavor is light but malty with slight oat, citrus, and cocoa notes.

This was fairly good, but I think I’ll try it again at a higher temperature with a bit more leaf.