Tag: Ahista Tea

Blue City by Ahista Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$14.99 for 100g

Ahista Tea has provided me with Blue City for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

For those that haven’t been following One More Steep for a while, I’m a huge fan of Earl Grey. It is one of my first tea loves outside of the Orange Pekoe staple from my childhood. Things I love about Earl Grey: the bergamot, the brightness, and the richness in flavour. Ahista Tea sent me a sample of their Blue City – which at first glance at the name, doesn’t really tell you much at all! But if you take a look at the dry leaf, it definitely looks like a familiar favourite of mine in both looks and aroma.

Blue City came in sealed tea bags, the little bags were made of a gauze-like material, which I’m not sold on the fact that it could be biodegradable because they felt very much like plastic (to be on the safe side, I separated the tea bag material from the tea leaves for composting purposes). Visibly, Blue City has black tea leaves and blue cornflower petals. There’s an obvious citrus aroma to it and it basically smells like an Earl Grey blend to me.

Blue City consists of: black tea, blue cornflowers, vanilla bean flavour, and bergamot oil.

Preparation

Ahista Tea recommends steeping Blue City in 95-100°C (203-212°F) water for 3 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of Blue City in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Blue City steeps to a golden red colour, with a lovely mix of floral and citrus notes – heavy on the citrus. There’s a hint of vanilla in the steeped tea that wasn’t really prevalent in the dry leaf. I found the aroma of the tea to be quite pleasant and inviting – basically what I look for in an Earl Grey. There’s a nice sweetness, with just a touch of astringency to the end of each sip. I greatly enjoyed the vanilla notes, it added a level of creaminess that helps to set it apart.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Blue City once (adding an additional 30 seconds for the subsequent steep), but found the bergamot and vanilla flavours to be quite muted compared to the initial steep. I would recommend Blue City for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Ahista Tea’s Blue City. I’m a sucker for an Earl Grey, so it was nice to try their take on the classic black tea blend. I really enjoyed the bergamot and vanilla notes in the steeped tea, which made the tea quite pleasant. I wasn’t too big on the slight astringency when I steeped it according to Ahista Tea’s recommendations, but I’m also a fan of adding a bit of sugar and evaporated milk to my Earl Grey, so it balanced out and made for a nice cuppa.

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

Roadside Chai by Ahista Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$14.99 for 100g

Ahista Tea has provided me with Roadside Chai for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Ahista Tea’s Roadside Chai came in a resealable bag – but not sealed. The tea came in prepackaged sachets, but the tea has a very strong lemongrass and mint aroma, which is interesting because I do spy some black tea in the blend – but I can’t smell it.

Roadside Chai consists of black tea, ginger, lemongrass, and field mint. So I wasn’t off about the lemongrass and mint – although the visible lemongrass is a giveaway. I don’t really smell the black tea or the ginger, but I think that’s because both lemongrass and mint are both such strong aromatic ingredients. Because of the mint, I don’t really get a ‘chai’ spice feeling from the blend.

Preparation

Ahista Tea recommends steeping Roadside Chai in 90-100°C (194-212°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. My initial steep was with 91°C (195°F) for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Roadside Chai steeps to a golden brown with orange undertones. The aroma is very strongly of lemongrass with mint in the background, which is not overly surprising given the ingredients in this blend and how the dry leaf smelled. I found the tea to be lightly sweet, with strong lemongrass and mint flavours. I don’t really taste the ginger – it’s lacking that warming quality that ginger usually has.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Roadside Chai once, adding an additional 30 seconds. I found the flavour to be quite similar to the initial steep – lemongrass and mint.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Ahista Tea’s Roadside Chai was just okay. The lemongrass and mint was strong compared to the black tea base – I find both lemongrass and mint to be very strong ingredients and they overpowered both the black tea base and the ginger. I do think the tea is missing some of those spicy notes that I enjoy in a chai, which isn’t helped with the strong lemongrass and the lack of warmth from the ginger. I think the flavour would have been better if the ginger was stronger.

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