Tea Blog

Over the years I have had the pleasure of trying quite a few teas from The English Tea Store. Most proved to be quite a pleasure, but some outshone the rest and became true favorites. I thought I’d share them with you here (half here and half tomorrow on this blog since there were more than I first thought), and then maybe you could post your own favorite English Tea Store teas in a comment.

This is a bit of a different approach, using the Gallery feature in WordPress to lay out the photos (some show 2 or more teas). There are quite a few, so this seemed more user friendly. You can scroll through them. I have also listed them below with links to my original review (or article on this blog) as well as where they are on the store site. Enjoy!

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The teas (I used to rate teas on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, and so included those ratings were appropriate):

• Assam TGFOP Tea – A 2nd flush tea from the gardens of Assam, India; flavorful with superb astringency and a jammy character; the expansive malt quality develops more fully with milk. – no rating [Article]
• Bohemian Raspberry Tea – Sencha, a Japanese style green tea, with natural raspberry flavoring. It infuses a pale green to yellow liquid, that is smooth with mellow grassy undertones, sweet raspberry notes, and a sweetish, honey like finish. – 5.0 rating [Review] and Lovers Leap Estate Tea – A tea from one of the best tea gardens in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). The liquor is bright with an excellent light and flowery flavor, making this a good after-dinner tea. – 4.5 rating [Review] and Spring Pouchong Tea – Fresh and lively with a light astringent finish. One of the world’s most exceptional teas, with fragrances of flowers and melon, and a rich, yet mild cup. – 4.5 rating [Review]
• Borengajuli Estate Tea – from the Darrang (Mangaldai) region of the state of Assam in India. The flavor is malty with a jammy-like character and is great straight (infuse 2-3 minutes) or with milk and sweetener (5 minutes). – 4.5 rating [Review] and Sylvakandy Estate Orange Pekoe Tea – A single-estate tea from the Kandy region of Sri Lanka (Ceylon); grown at 3,000 feet above sea level. It has a malty flavor that smoothes to a floral character. Enhance this by serving hot with a dash of milk and enjoy for your afternoon or after dinner tea. – no rating [Review]
• English Breakfast Blend No. 1 Tea – The finest Assam, Kenyan, and other choice teas. Strong, malty flavor that makes a great start to the day. Best served hot with milk and a little sugar, or try with lemon or even as iced tea. – 4.5 rating [Review]
• Genmaicha Japanese Green Tea – A good grade Japan sencha tea blended with fire-toasted rice, has a fresh vegetative bakey-like character with a natural sweetness and almost chewy character to the finish. (Note: the legend on the store site has been shown to be just one of those stories that makes the rounds.) – 5.0 rating [Review]
• Golden Heaven Yunnan China Black Tea – Made of tippy, neat, wiry, and well-made leaves and is characterized by its shape, color, aroma, and malty taste. Infuses a bright reddish cup with a brisk, fragrant aroma. One of the highest quality teas available from Yunnan Province in southwest China. It also takes a bit of milk or sugar well, as it helps to capture the malty character. – no rating [Article] and Lavender Butterfly Tea – A blend of soothing lavender and Chinese green tea with notes of sweet grass, moss and honey leading to a finish sprinkled with peach and floral tones. – 5.0 rating [Review]
• Indian Spiced Chai – Unlike many spiced chais (“chai” means “tea”), this one is made from premium Ceylon black tea blended with an assortment of delightful spices. Best enjoyed with milk and sugar. Turn the bag upside down then back right side up a few times to redistribute the spices that settle at the bottom. – 4.5 rating [Review]
• Kambaa Estate Tea – A Kenyan tea with a very malty flavor and light hints of currant. The tea plants grown there are originally from India, brought in after India declared its independence from the British Empire. This garden is east of the Rift Valley, an area best for growing tea in that country. – 5.0 rating [Review]
• Keemun Panda China Black Tea – A tea from Qimen province in China. It infuses up a bright, reddish liquid with a winey, fruity flavor that has depth and complexity. Takes milk well. – 5.0 rating [Review]
• Lapsang Souchong China Black Tea – A tea from the Fujian province of eastern China. It’s famous for its aroma of pine and oak wood fire smoke. The best Lapsang is produced in the Wuyi mountains with thick pine forests and heavy mist providing an ideal environment for growing top quality tea (the area is said to the be origin of wulong/oolong teas). The legend on the store site is a fairly popular story of how this tea was originally created, but it’s difficult to know for sure. – 4.5 rating [Review]

See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.

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