WARNING: This black tea will make you evaluate all that you think you know about black tea. While visiting The Cultured Cup I sipped an assam tea masquerading as a white tea. If I hadn't seen the tea leaves myself I would not have believed that this sip was in fact Camelia Sinensis var. assamica. Check out my honest and revealing review of Darjeeling Risheehat by The Cultured Cup.
THE HUE
If you take a look at the hue of this black tea, you will not believe that it is a black tea. I can't use the adjective 'amber-y' (my infamous word to describe all black teas) for this tea, that's for sure! It is amazing how light this tea steeps.
THE SCENT
This tea has a unique 'Muscat' scent, or a musky scent. It reminds me of raisins. I was able to pick up some floral notes also.
THE SIP
The taste is herb meets floral. You continue to sip and when the floral scent hits your nostrils you think of an orchid. Very pleasant!
THE EFFECT
This tea may look like a white tea filled with theanine and significantly less caffeine, but don't let it fool you! This black tea is true to itself in effect, if not color. It is also a 'first flush' tea, meaning that any and all nutrients that the tea plant held while it was dormant was rushed to the leaf during first growth. This tea excites and awakens the body like a true black tea would.
Why is the “first flush”, or spring harvest, a desirable
characteristic in tea?
The tea root will remain dormant within the soil during winter. Meanwhile, the tea root will have accumulated all minerals and vitamins which will come rushing into the tea leaves when the tea begins to grow again. Even though the tea will grow multiple times, the rush of minerals and vitamins is only a characteristic of the first growth.
If you plan on being in Dallas, TX anytime soon, make sure you stop by and visit The Cultured Cup (13714 Gamma Rd #104, Dallas, TX 75244) and ask for the Darjeeling Risheehat 1st Flush.
You can also go to TheCulturedCup.com and purchase this tea directly online.
Have you ever sipped a tea masquerading as another tea?
Tell me about it!