Category: Review

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High Noon Tea Co.’s Maple Smoke

Maple Smoke by High Noon Tea Co.
Black Tea / Flavoured
$11.00 for 50g

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High Noon Tea Co.’s Maple Smoke came to me as part of The Sugared Teacup’s June themed subscription box.

First Impressions

I should have known from the name of the tea that this was some sort of lapsang souchong, but do I ever listen to myself? (The answer is sometimes.) If you’re not familiar with it, lapsang souchong is a black tea that’s been smoked so it has a very strong smokey aroma and flavour to it.

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If you’ve ever wanted to drink a campfire, lapsang souchong is the tea for you.

Maple Smoke is a black tea that consists of: black tea, natural smoke flavour, safflower petals, and real maple syrup. I love maple syrup, and I think that’s one of the reasons why Deb picked this one to go into a Canadiana themed tea box. This tea smells incredibly strong of smoke. It reminds me of campfires and all the fun things to do with Girl Guides. Unfortunately for the tea, I don’t smell the maple syrup at all.

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Preparation

High Noon Tea Co. recommends steeping Maple Smoke in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 7 minutes or to taste. My initial steep of Maple Smoke was for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Maple Smoke steeps to a beautiful golden red and it smells both smokey and sweet (which I will be attributing to the maple syrup). The taste of this tea is, without a doubt, smokey. It’s got a nice smoothness to it in terms of texture, but the overall taste of it is strongly of smoke. I don’t really taste the maple syrup in this because the smoke is so overpowering as a flavour.

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I did attempt to doctor up this tea with a bit of sweetener (I used honey because I didn’t have maple syrup on hand) and some evaporated milk. The milk helps to tone down the smokey flavour, but doesn’t cut it down to the point where I can make out the maple syrup.

A Second Cup?

I did attempt to resteep Maple Smoke, and found the flavour to remain the same – all smoke and no maple syrup.

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My Overall Impression

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I didn’t like High Noon Tea Co.’s Maple Smoke. If you’re a fan of lapsang souchong teas, this one will probably suit you a lot more than it suits me! I wasn’t a fan of the smokey flavour, because it made the tea taste very one dimensional. While I could smell the maple syrup after the tea had been steeped, I wasn’t able to taste it because the flavour of the smoke was so overpowering compared to the rest of the ingredients. If it had been less smokey, I might have enjoyed it a little bit more. If you’re trying this tea out and find it too smokey, a bit of milk or cream goes a long way to cutting down the smokey aroma and flavours.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Yunomi’s Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage

Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage by Yunomi
Black Tea / Straight
$8.00USD for 20g

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Yunomi has provided me with Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I was a little it surprised by how big this sample was, especially in comparison to the other 20g samples I received from Yunomi from the Takarabako Tea Farm (Shimane Oolong and Shimane Sencha Ou Midori). This black tea is aged at low temperatures and it’s a straight tea, so the only ingredient is black tea.

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The pieces are surprisingly small, with some tiny sticks mixed in with the leaves. There’s a slightly sweet aroma from the dry leaves that reminds me a bit of dried apricots.

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Preparation

Yunomi recommends steeping Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage at 90°C (194°F) for 3-5 minutes. My initial steep of this tea was at 4 minutes.

First Taste

Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage steeps to a deep orange. There’s a malty aroma that comes up from the tea when I poured it from my teapot to my cup. I found this tea to have a smooth mouthfeel to it when drinking it, and the malty aroma transfers into a malty flavour. There’s a touch of sweetness in the steeped tea that manages to make itself known with the malty flavours. I found that there’s a bit of a sour aftertaste with this tea, which reminds me a lot of Assam with the maltiness and sourness in that tea’s flavour profile.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage twice – I found that the colour was a lot lighter with the first resteep, and even lighter still for the second. The malty flavour of this aged black tea is robust enough to hold strong for each resteep, and the slightly sour aftertaste eases up after the initial steep, making the subsequent steeps more ideal (in my mind).

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My Overall Impression

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I liked Yunomi’s Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage. This aged black tea has a strong flavour profile of maltiness that would do well to replace any breakfast tea if you needed a tea that’s even stronger in the morning. Because of the Assam-like qualities, I think it could handle being doctored up with some sweetener or cream. I was more fond of the second steep than I was of the first, because the sour aftertaste was more subdued. I enjoyed this one and think it has its place at an afternoon tea party if you wanted to branch away from the standard Earl Grey.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Tea Ave’s Aroma Cup Set

Aroma Cup Set by Tea Ave
Porcelain and Oak
$34.99

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First Impressions

The Aroma Cup Set comes in beautiful packaging. The box itself is sturdy with a lovely texture feel to the outside with the Tea Ave logo in gold. The box stays close due to magnets in the flap. So nice. The aroma cup (tall cup) and the sipping cup (short cup) are nestled inside of the box in a thick black foam cut out that keeps everything safe inside. When you pull out the cups, you can pull out the foam insert. Underneath is a thick piece of black cardboard with a hole for easy removal. Under that is the smooth oak tray. It’s really quite beautiful. The porcelain feels thick and durable, all with a smooth finish. The oak tray is light but feels durable in my hands.

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Preparation

I washed the porcelain pieces with hot water (from the tap) to warm up the pieces before I used them in my first use with the set. I gave the oak tray a light swipe with a damp towel to get off any nonexistant dust on the surface.

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First Use

For my first use of Tea Ave’s Aroma Cup Set, I used a sample of Oriental Beauty that came in my order. I steeped this in my gaiwan for the recommended steeping time. I have a review of Tea Ave’s Oriental Beauty if you’re curious about the oolong that I used.

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I poured the oolong from the gaiwan into the aroma cup. I let the tea sit for about 30 seconds before I placed the sipping cup over top (it looks like a mushroom). What you want to do is pick up both of them together and (holding them tightly together!) then flip it over so that the mushroom is upside down and the sipping cup sits on the tray.

You could also pour it directly from the aroma cup to to sipping cup if you’re not confident in your cup-flipping skills. Safety first!

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After the flip, I let the cups sit for a little while (maybe about 15-20 seconds) before I gently lifted up the aroma cup at an angle. This allows the tea to fill the sipping cup without being a bubbly mess from the air entering the aroma cup.

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Once the tea is in the sipping cup, I alternated sniffing the aroma cup and taking a sip from the sipping cup. As the tea that remains in the aroma cup dries, the smell changes.  For the Oriental Beauty, the smell in the aroma cup got sweeter and more floral as it dried. This adds an extra level of experience to a tea session. Aroma cups are generally used for teas that have complex flavour and aroma profiles, like oolongs.

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For an intense steeping session, you can continue to refill the aroma cup (and then transfer to the sipping cup) for as long as you’re steeping your tea. And for some oolongs, that can go for quite a while, especially the ones that hold up for multiple resteeps.

Overall Impression

Tea Ave’s Aroma Cup Set is darling, useful, and fun. I think it would make a great gift for someone (or to yourself) because it comes in gift-ready packaging. Using the aroma cup helps add an extra layer of experience to tea as you drink it, which I think is so important to exploring the nuances in teas – especially oolongs. I’ve used this set multiple times now and always with oolongs because I find those resteep the best, and if I’m going to pull out extra tea ware, I better be able to resteep my tea. The presentation of the Aroma Cup Set made me feel like I was unboxing something luxurious, and the pieces feel like they’re durable and high quality.