Tag: Black Tea

First Impressions

Udyan Tea’s Chocolate Luxe Black Tea came in a sealed, resealable matte black foil bag. The label doesn’t provide a whole lot of information about the tea, I had to pop over to the product page on their website for details about the tea’s ingredients and steeping instructions.

When I first opened the package, I noticed that I could definitely smell the spices. I could primarily smell cinnamon and cardamom, with hints of chocolate in the background. Chocolate Luxe Black Tea consists of: black tea, natural chocolate flavour, cocoa nibs, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and hops.

Preparation

Udyan Tea recommends steeping Chocolate Luxe Black Tea in 90-95°C (194-203°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes.  I opted for an initial steep of 93°C (200°F) water for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Chocolate Luxe Black Tea steeps to a deep reddish brown colour, with little flecks of oil on the surface of the tea. The aromas are a blend of chocolate, cardamom and cinnamon. When I tried the tea, I noticed it was slightly bitter with a slightly oily mouthfeel. I could taste the cinnamon and cardamom, and noticed a warming quality that I’m attributing to the presence of ginger, but the bitterness is what stands out the most when I sip this tea. It makes me think of like a mix between hot chocolate and masala chai – which worked for me taste-wise when I added a bit of evaporated milk to help temper the bitterness that I noticed.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Chocolate Luxe Black Tea once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the resteep. I found the flavour was pretty similar to the initial steep with less chocolate flavour.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Udyan Tea’s Chocolate Luxe Black Tea was just okay. The spices were nice in this black tea blend, but there was just something about the chocolate flavouring and/or cocoa nibs that just left a bit of bitterness in the tea that was just not appealing to me. The addition of evaporated milk definitely helped to improve it by making it more like a hot chocolate chai drink, and I really did enjoy the cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger in this blend. I just wasn’t a huge fan of the oily mouthfeel that I got mostly in the initial steep. I think this black tea could be better if prepared on a stovetop in milk, as if you were making a proper chai since the milk did help with the bitterness.

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Da Hong Pao Black Tea by Udyan Tea
Black Tea / Straight
₹585 for 100g

Udyan Tea has provided me with Da Hong Pao Black Tea for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Udyan Tea’s Da Hong Pao Black Tea came to me in a matte sealed, resealable bag with just a bit of information about the tea listed on the label. For those not in the know, the traditional Da Hong Pao tea (Big Red Robe tea) comes from Wuyishan in China and is a dark oolong tea. It’s traditionally a tea that is very expensive – the real stuff is more expensive than gold, at nearly $10,000USD for a pot of tea.

This Da Hong Pao from Udyan Tea is grown in Nepal and is processed as a black tea, which makes the name choice questionable considering the history (and legitimacy) of using the name of Da Hong Pao.

This Da Hong Pao is a black tea that was harvested in the autumn of 2018 and is considerably less expensive than $10,000USD for a pot. The leaves are wiry and dark, and are reddish brown in colour. There’s a mix of earthy and floral aroma from the dry leaf.

Preparation

Udyan Tea recommends steeping Da Hong Pao Black Tea in 90-95°C (194-203°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. My initial steep was for 5 minutes in 91°C (195°F) water.

First Taste

Da Hong Pao Black Tea steeps to a deep reddish orange. There’s a nice aroma from the steeped tea – it’s more floral than earthy compared to the dry leaf. I found when I steeped it for the 5 minutes, there was a slight bitterness and astringency to it. The earthy quality is more present in the taste of the tea than the floral, surprisingly. There’s no sweetness to it, despite the floral notes. The astringency makes itself known at the end of each sip.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Da Hong Pao Black Tea twice, adding an additional 30 seconds per resteep. I found that the tea got increasingly earthy in flavour and less floral in the flavour of the tea. Da Hong Pao became more astringent with each steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Udyan Tea’s Da Hong Pao Black Tea was just okay. I wish the tea had been more floral than earthy to my tastes as I drank it and resteeped the leaves, as I expected the flavours to match better with the dry leaf. As well, it’s a bit disappointing that a classic name of a tea is being appropriated, since there may be people who are wanting to try a Big Red Robe tea and getting a decent black tea from Nepal instead – not that there is anything wrong with tea from Nepal, but it’s the principle of the matter.

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