Tag: Black Tea

Tielka Breakfast by Tielka
Black Tea / Straight
$13.00 for 65g

Tielka has provided me with Tielka Breakfast for the purposes of writing an honest review.

Until June 21st 2020, when you order a pouch of Tielka Breakfast from Tielka, you’ll receive a free storage tin with your order when you mention One More Steep in the comments of your order!

First Impressions

Tielka Breakfast comes in a printed white cardstock box that has a printed label on it. The label has a perforation right where the flap closes, which is a nice feature because you don’t have to peel it up to open the box. The tea itself comes in a vacuum sealed pouch that is not resealable, but that’s nothing that a plastic zip top bag won’t fix (I like to keep my tea in original packaging when possible, and using a baggie helps keep the tea longer since exposure to air, light, and moisture is usually what gets the tea stale, or moldy if it’s water exposure).

Tielka Breakfast is a Dianhong black tea from Yunnan Province, China. It’s a black tea that’s harvested in the May to August season (so summer), and Tielka describes it as being “hand harvested and crafted by organic artisan tea farmers”. This tea is certified organic and fair trade, which I think is awesome because it means that the workers on tea farms are being paid fair wages for their labour. The tea leaves themselves are a lovely dark brown with some golden pops throughout. There’s a rich aroma to the tea leaves – a mix of yeast that reminds me of baked goods, with some caramel notes.

Preparation

Tielka recommends steeping Tielka Breakfast in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions to a tee (to a tea?).

First Taste

Tielka Breakfast steeps to a dark reddish brown colour, and it has a caramel aroma to it. The tea itself is smooth with a mild astringency. I notice that there’s some yeasty notes again, it still reminds me of freshly baked bread, as well as some caramel flavours. There’s a slight sweetness to it, which I think could be easily boosted with some sweetener if that’s your norm for a breakfast tea.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Tielka Breakfast twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour was fairly strong still for the first resteep but was a bit weak for more with the second resteep. I would recommend experimenting a bit, if you’re not that picky you can definitely get three steeps out of the same leaves.

My Overall Impression

I loved Tielka’s Tiekla Breakfast. I really enjoyed the flavour of this straight black tea, it had some nice caramel notes and bread-y/yeasty flavours to it. It kind of lends itself to an almost malty flavour, like what you usually find in Assam black teas. It’s not as in-your-face as a traditional breakfast blend would be, there’s definitely some milder flavours in there, but I think it’s really well balanced. This tea would take to sweetener and creamer really nicely, in my opinion, so it’s a great option for afternoon tea if you’re setting something up at home.

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

Earl Royale by Tielka
Black Tea / Flavoured
$10.00CAD for 24g (12 tea sachets)

Tielka has provided me with Earl Royale for the purposes of writing an honest review.

Until June 14th 2020, when you order a pouch of Earl Royale from Tielka, you’ll receive a free storage tin with your order when you mention One More Steep in the comments of your order!

First Impressions

Earl Royale comes in an adorable green cardstock box with a white leaf design. The information of the tea comes on a printed label that seals the packaging. Inside of the cardstock box is a foil package that helps keep the tea fresh, which I do appreciate! The tea itself comes portioned into pyramid tea sachets, which is a nice touch. They’re very translucent, so you can really see the details of the tea – which of course I tore open for a photo.

There’s an amazingly strong bergamot aroma, which is what I like when it comes to Earl Grey. The packaging tells me that this Earl Grey features Dianhong black tea, which is from Yunnan Province, China – which is a lot of information for a blended tea. The tea is certified organic and fair-trade, and the tea sachet material is plastic-free and plant-based fibres (pretty cool!). Earl Royale consists of: black tea, sweet orange peel, cornflower petals, and bergamot oil.

Preparation

Tielka recommends steeping Earl Royale in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions for the initial steep.

First Taste

Earl Royale steeps to a lovely golden orange colour with a strong bergamot aroma. There’s a pleasant smoothness from the tea – no bitterness or astringency – with a nice citrus profile, a sweet and mild floral taste in the background, all supported by the black tea base that has a slight earthiness to it that I think just balances really nicely with the citrus notes.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Earl Royale once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the subsequent steep. I found that the bergamot and orange flavours just weren’t as strong as they were for the initial steep, but the black tea base shined through a bit more with a nice earthy flavour with just a touch of umami in it. If you’re a bigger fan of Earl Grey than regular black tea, I would stick to the initial steep (but if you also like a more traditional black tea, resteep Earl Royale because there’s still flavour in those teas!).

My Overall Impression

I loved Tielka’s Earl Royale. I’m a fan of Earl Grey – as anyone who’s read my website before knows. I really enjoyed the balance of bergamot to the sweet orange peel, and also how well the black tea based shined through. I didn’t add anything to my initial steep of Earl Royale, but I think this would do beautifully as the base of a London Fog as well and would do very nicely as a tea addition to your afternoon tea menu, as it would take nicely to cream and sweetener, if needed.

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