Tea: Kenyan Tinderet
| Brand: | DAVIDsTEA |
| Style: | Black Tea |
| Region: | Nandi, Kenya |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Loose? | Loose |
| # Ratings: | 3 View All |
| Product page: | Kenyan Tinderet |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 501 of Black Tea
✓ 954 of Pure Tea (Camellia sinensis)
✓ 3 of DAVIDsTEA
✓ 4 from Nandi, Kenya
✓ 27 from Kenya
Review of Kenyan Tinderet
April 1st, 2016
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 6 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 67 of 100 |
| Good | Good | Overpriced |
Thank you to my friend Sarah for bringing me this one! I love Kenyan teas, and this was a classic Kenyan CTC tea of decent quality. Quite good and pleasant to drink, but I think it is very overpriced.
Dry leaf is not very aromatic, nor is the brewed cup, but I find the flavor very pleasant. DavidsTea describes "light honey notes" and I can see this, it does have a significant amount of sweetness. When I pay close attention to the aroma, it's subtle, but I get a soft grainy smell, like corn grits or other hot cereal, and a hint of a sweet almond smell like amaretto or marzipan.
Brews a thick, dark cup that is very full-bodied relative to its low amount of bitterness and astringency. I actually preferred a shorter steep than recommended. DavidsTea says 4-7 minutes and I preferred 3-5. If you steep longer, as they recommend, I find the tea does get a tiny bit harsh by the end of the cup, although if you drink it with milk (which I do not) it might turn out better that way. Does not resteep very well though, and I usually only steep once.
I thought this tea was extremely overpriced. 100 grams costs $18, 50 grams (not much at all) almost $10. Contrast with Harney & Son's Kaimosi CTC, which I think is a better tea...it costs less than 1/4 as much, for $18 you can buy a whole pound! Or you could buy an orthodox Kenyan tea, like Harney's Kenya Milima, less than 1/3rd the price. Another great Kenyan CTC tea, one of the best CTC teas I've ever tried, is Ajiri tea, and it's also cheaper, about $10 for 3.5 oz, and they give a lot of their revenue towards educational projects and their business model is based around empowering women. The fact that competitors' teas are consistently better and cheaper makes the price of this tea seem like an outright scam. Where does that money go? Profit? Marketing? Rent for the high-end retail storefronts DavidsTea rents? I don't care, I don't want to pay it.
I would urge DavidsTea to find ways to streamline their operation and lower their prices, and in the absence of doing that, I'd point people in the direction of numerous other companies selling similar or better teas for lower prices.
