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Alex Zorach

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Member since Sep. 1st, 2009. Reviewed 1448 teas.

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Picture of Black Pearl Tea

Black Pearl Tea from Lipton Tea

Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Sri Lanka / Ceylon

57 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Jun. 14th, 2010

Surprisingly different from Lipton teabags, and surprisingly high quality. Rich, malty aroma, some bitterness in the aftertaste but smoother up front. A remarkably pleasing, full-bodied tea. I recommend brewing for about 3 minutes...more and it becomes too tannic.

My main complaint about this one, like all of Lip...

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Picture of Himalayan Black | Intensity™

Himalayan Black | Intensity™ from Ineeka

Style: Black Tea – Region: ?????

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 3/5
Jun. 8th, 2010

Very malty aroma, but smooth flavor, almost sweet, like a smooth Assam. Aroma and dark color of the cup suggests a strong tannic character, but I found this tea to be far from overly tannic. Aroma has a hint of raisins, and some herbaceous tones too. Some bitterness and astringency, but overall, much less than I'd e...

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Picture of Awake English Breakfast Filterbag

Awake English Breakfast Filterbag from Tazo Tea

Style: English Breakfast – Region: Blend

57 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 3/5
May. 12th, 2010

Aroma rather complex...there's a hint of maltiness like an Assam, and a fairly strong presence of the light, clean quality of a high-grown Ceylon (as from Nuwara Eliya), and there are some spicy tones as well, including a hint of clove...and it oddly also has a suggestion of orange in there too.

Flavor is very sour....

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Picture of Assam Gold Rain Black Tea

Assam Gold Rain Black Tea from Teavana

Style: Assam – Region: Assam, India

67 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
May. 2nd, 2010

The dry leaf is by far the fruitiest-smelling Assam that I have yet encountered...but upon brewing it's a little less fruity. This is a very strong tea...when brewed it's maltier than fruity, and has a fairly tannic aftertaste like Teavana describes. Bitter and somewhat astringent...I've had much smoother Assams.

...

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Picture of English Breakfast Black Tea

English Breakfast Black Tea from Bigelow Tea

Style: English Breakfast – Region: ?????

57 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
May. 2nd, 2010

In my opinion, this is the best straight black tea from Bigelow and it really stands out among the rest of their offerings. It's a fairly powerful black tea, but it also has some complexity in the aroma...some of the tones suggest that there's a bit of Darjeeling mixed in with whatever else is this blend.

Fairly bi...

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Picture of Koslanda Estate OP

Koslanda Estate OP from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Uva, Sri Lanka

63 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Apr. 26th, 2010

Upton suggests that this tea has "raisin like nuances" and I'd go even father and be more direct: it smells and tastes a like raisins, and leaves an aftertaste of raisins! Smooth but without being weak. A fair amount of the rice-like quality that I find in many Ceylon teas, and almost a hint of wintergreen. Medium-b...

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Pure Ceylon Tea from New English Teas

Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Sri Lanka / Ceylon

60 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Apr. 24th, 2010

After being highly disappointed by the English Afternoon Tea of the same brand, this was a pleasant surprise. Again, very fine dust/fannings in the teabag, so I wasn't expecting much.

When I brewed the tea though I tasted an astonishingly complex, gentle Ceylon with a distinct high-grown character reminiscent of te...

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Picture of English Afternoon

English Afternoon from New English Teas

Style: Black Tea – Region: Blend

33 / 100 Aroma: 3/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 2/5
Apr. 21st, 2010

This teabag just contained dust and fannings. It was surprisingly weak, even when I brewed it for 4 minutes with boiling water, using less than one 8-oz cup with a single teabag.

Aroma weak, nondescript. Smooth...almost no bitterness, and very little astringency. But very little flavor of any sort. Highly disapp...

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Picture of Irish Breakfast Tea Bags

Irish Breakfast Tea Bags from Taylors of Harrogate

Style: Irish Breakfast – Region: Blend

60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Apr. 19th, 2010

This is what I'd expect from this style: a very strong black tea, bitter, full-bodied, and very malty. It isn't my favorite type of tea but for what it is, and for the fact that it's in teabags, I think it's pretty good.

This tea really works best with one teabag per cup. It's strong enough that you can brew it mo...

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Picture of Afternoon Darjeeling Tea Bags

Afternoon Darjeeling Tea Bags from Taylors of Harrogate

Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, India

47 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Apr. 16th, 2010

Fruity, even for a Darjeeling, and mellow, except for some very strong objectionable qualities that emerge. There's a harshness in the aroma that I could do without...the aftertaste is also very tannic even though at first this tea tastes smooth. Astringent for a Darjeeling.

Disappointing. Definitely recognizable...

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Picture of London Cuppa Loose Tea

London Cuppa Loose Tea from The London Cuppa

Style: Black Tea – Region: Blend

57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Apr. 5th, 2010

Very finely broken black tea--no semblance of whole leaf left in the mix. Aroma is mostly malty with a hint of rice-like tones. Fairly tannic even if brewed weakly.

The instructions on the tin said 3-4 minutes; 4 minutes yields a very strong cup, which some people may like, but I preferred 2 or less.

Overall ch...

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Picture of English Breakfast

English Breakfast from Darvilles of Windsor

Style: English Breakfast – Region: Blend

70 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Apr. 3rd, 2010

This is a very strong black tea. While I tend to prefer slightly more mellow black teas, this tea is among one of the better teas of such strength that I've tried. Unusually malty for an English breakfast, and the malt is rich and fulfilling. Almost more like an Irish breakfast. Strongly bitter and strongly astring...

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Picture of English Breakfast

English Breakfast from Hampstead Tea

Style: English Breakfast – Region: India

63 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Apr. 2nd, 2010

Aroma is rice-like, and very slightly malty, with a slight hint of smokiness, and somewhat fruity. Most of these qualities are very subtle. It's hard to say whether the aroma is balanced or muddled...it somehow straddles these two possibilities. I am not crazy about how the different aspects of the aroma blend toget...

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Picture of Greenfield Estate BOP1

Greenfield Estate BOP1 from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Uva, Sri Lanka

63 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Mar. 25th, 2010

A solid, if somewhat generic black tea that is dark and full-bodied but tends on the mellow side of flavor.

The aroma is typical for a Ceylon black tea, and has only mild nuances of dried fruit and nut (like Upton suggests). I'm not really feeling the "citrus notes" but I do notice a sweet aftertaste. There's much...

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Picture of Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales from Twinings

Style: Black Tea – Region: China

53 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 22nd, 2010

Fairly light overall, especially compared to Twinings' other black teas. There's some complexity in the aroma, in my opinion, more than their other black teas with the exception of their Ceylon (my favorite). Smooth...less astringency or bitterness. I find you can steep this one a little longer without it becoming t...

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Picture of Luxury Blend Tea

Luxury Blend Tea from Chai Bora

Style: Black Tea – Region: Tanzania

57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 19th, 2010

I was pleasantly surprised with this teabag; it's just fannings/dust and doesn't look like much, but even the dry teabag is pleasantly aromatic. The name surprised me--I was expecting a kind of spiced tea but then I realized that "Chai Bora" is just the brand name. And "chai" just means tea after all!

The brewed t...

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Picture of Darjeeling

Darjeeling from Darvilles of Windsor

Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, India

67 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 10th, 2010

This tea's complexity surprised me! Unusually vegetal for a black tea, with a hint of savory qualities. Dark in color, and full-bodied, but delicate. Fairly bitter, especially in the aftertaste...moderately tannic and astringent.

The aroma of this tea would place it on par with some of the better single-estate Da...

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Picture of Darjeeling (Loose)

Darjeeling (Loose) from Hampstead Tea

Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, India

88 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 6th, 2010

This seemingly straightforward Darjeeling has quickly become one of my favorite everyday teas. Although "typical" in many respects, it is surprisingly complex...the aroma has many different aspects to it: a fruitiness, a hint of a rice-like quality, some floral tones, a bit of spice, a suggestion of fall leaves, and s...

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Picture of Nuwara Eliya BOP

Nuwara Eliya BOP from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

70 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 3rd, 2010

This is the first broken-leaf Ceylon from Upton that has been drinkable to me, and I'm surprised to find it completely lacking in the harshness that the other ones I've tried have had.

The aroma is totally unlike any black tea I have tried...it reminds me of rice and rice pastries. I like Upton's description "brigh...

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Picture of East Frisian BOP

East Frisian BOP from Upton Tea Imports

Style: East Frisian Tea (Ostfriesentee) – Region: Blend

67 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 29th, 2010

Strong but without an edge; malty, full-bodied, but not overly tannic. The dry leaf has a pleasantly strong vegetal aroma, unusual for a black tea, but I was disappointed to find little of this characteristic come through in the brewed cup.

Not the most interesting tea, perhaps, but a very enjoyable tea to drink, m...

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Picture of Vietnam Black Pekoe

Vietnam Black Pekoe from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Black Tea – Region: Vietnam

63 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Jan. 28th, 2010

A pleasantly mellow tea, unlike anything else I've tried before. Definitely noticeable as a Vietnamese tea; it's interesting how both their black and green teas share certain characteristics in common.

Very smooth, little bitterness, even when steeped for a long time. I find a hint of lemon in the aroma, which is ...

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Picture of Castleton Estate TGBOP Ch. First Flush (DJ-25)

Castleton Estate TGBOP Ch. First Flush (DJ-25) from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Darjeeling First Flush – Region: Darjeeling, India

77 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 8th, 2010

Very green character, even more than typical for a first-flush, both in the appearance of the leaves and the aroma. The cup is a deep amber color. The aroma is light and mostly floral, almost reminiscent of queen Anne's lace blossoms. On my second brewing I did detect a faint suggestion of spearmint in the aroma, an...

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Picture of Dimbula BOP

Dimbula BOP from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Ceylon Black Tea – Region: Matale, Sri Lanka (Dimbula)

37 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 1/5
Jan. 7th, 2010

In contrast to Upton's broken-leaf teas from Darjeeling and other Himalayan regions, I am continuously disappointed by Upton's broken-leaf Ceylons, and this one continues the pattern.

Brewed as recommended, this tea is undrinkably strong. I recommend using less leaf and a much shorter steeping time. Even then, it'...

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Picture of Steinthal Estate TGBOP First Flush (DJ-25) Organic

Steinthal Estate TGBOP First Flush (DJ-25) Organic from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Darjeeling First Flush – Region: Darjeeling, India

63 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 3/5
Jan. 5th, 2010

Disappointing for a first flush and even among broken-leaf Darjeelings. There's a heaviness to the flavor, even though it is smooth. I'm detecting neither the "fresh floral note" nor the "hint of citrus".

I'm not sure what to recommend with the brewing; if you go longer this tea becomes heavy, although not too bit...

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Picture of Tippy Assam

Tippy Assam from Williamson Tea

Style: Assam – Region: Assam, India

60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Jan. 4th, 2010

A bold and powerful tea but with some complexity. Fine broken leaf. Infuses quickly...I recommend one and a half minutes, and using less than a teaspoon of leaves. However, if you enjoy a stronger cup, this tea does not get as astringent as you might expect if you brew it longer.

Aroma malty, slightly more vegeta...

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