Vahdam Teas

There are black teas that are nice to wake up to on any given morning that go along with just about whatever you are eating. This is one of those teas but on a higher level. English, Irish, and Scottish breakfast are all great for morning (or if you are a Brit whenever) cuppas. They all have good briskness as does this one. This one has a bit of astringency as well. So what is the higher level you ask? The aroma. When the initial steam lifted from the leaves after being hit with the first dose of water my nose was overcome with rose and woody notes. Like walking in a rose garden with freshly laid woodchips.

As mentioned in my prior tasting note on this, this has a nice prominent citrusy bergamot flavor, but I had trouble finding any character within the tea. So I steeped it longer (6 minutes) to see if that changes things.

It didn’t. Tastes exactly the same.

It is a pleasant drink, however. I can think of brands I can get in Earl Grey teabags from the grocery store shelves however that I would get before this. But only because this tea is lacking. The bergamot flavor here tastes a bit better than that store brand.

I’m starting today with a pyramid bag of this, which I picked up with some other brands a couple months back when I decided to see what all this Earl Grey fuss was about (yes, my life was indeed spent living under each and every rock).

Initially of the six I selected, this was my favorite. Then it became less favored. Now I consider it rather highly but am quite frankly unsure what to think overall about all this Earl Grey hullabaloo.

The citrusy bergamot flavor is very forward, teetering just short of being overwhelming. The tea itself is quite good but I find it hard to pick out specific characteristics among all the citrus. I suspect that the tea on it’s own is probably light and citrusy to try and complement the bergamot as opposed to providing depth or contrast.

I definitely like this one. Of the Earl Grey’s I’ve tried I would choose this as the first one a new Earl Grey drinker should sample. But it’s not my current favorite of the ones I’ve tried. Earl Grey is a rather vexing thing for me.

Still drinking through Vadham sampler and this is definitely not a fave. It has the balls of tea, Im just not a fan of that tea style. It just tastes harsher and odd. Like the spices but since I don’t like the base tea.. meh.

Sipping on this one currently as I get ready to crank out some tasting notes…

Honestly this doesn’t taste bad but there is something about the aroma that’s throwing me off a little. It’s a bit sulpherous and eggy, but I can’t really figure out why? The taste is reminding me HEAVILY of DT’s Baked Apple Chai but with a little less apple and a bit more anise. The rest of the spices are pretty similar though.

Cold Brew!

Vahdam randomly sent me a box of Halloween teas last week without any context – I guess I was still on their “influencer” mailing list?? They didn’t ask me to review them or give me a heads up they were coming though – they just kind, well, did. I gave a couple to coworkers since they were blends I already had but I was intrigued by some of the newer fall blends…

I cold brewed this one and then added a generous amount of coconut milk and the resulting tea was really good! Very “apple pie ala mode” in terms of flavour but heavier on the cinnamon. The dry leaf of the blend smells intense and so heavy on the spices so I was actually worried how much apple would come through but the baked apple note was nice, and I think adding something rich and creamy to temper some of those spices was a good call.

Sample from Variatea..this one was the winner for me..if by winner you mean least offensive tea :) Always appreciate the share and happy to have a little time to get through a few of the samples you’ve given me!

Sample from Variatea…funnily enough i also had this one alongside te oher darjeeling sample she sent me. That being said, i still don’t love darjeelings. I find them to be often on the bitter and meh side of things. I vastly prefer actual black teas…this are just greens mascarading as blacks lol

however, you never know unless you try as there aer a few darjeelings out there that i’ve liked. thanks variatea!

Very well balanced with a bit of everything. You can taste the chamomile mint, green notes are muted but works well.

I’m not sure if this is truly double the normal spice of what’s expected in Chai. I would like it stronger and spicier but that’s just a personal preference. This is very well balanced and tasty as well. I drink mine with sugar and milk. Highly recommend to chai lovers.

The first two Vadham teas I tried, I loved- this one I expected to love because I love Cardamom but not so. It has those little balls of rolled up tea which I have had before in a Harry Potter tea set I got as a gift from my sister. Its like the tea is not rounded enough or is generally lacking something for me. I do like the Cardamom. Idk there are other chai flavors in the sampler set I prefer more. Wouldn’t purchase a large of this one

Sipdown 165-2021
I’ve been putting off drinking this for some reason. There aren’t any ingredients I dislike, but I never quite felt like drinking it. Today was finally the day I tried, and….not a fan. Everything just tastes muddled and indistinct. It’s not spicy enough, it’s not citrusy enough. It just doesn’t have enough of anything to make it worth drinking.

Is this the best Chai? Yes! I never want the bagged stuff again. The spices are perfect, the tea is perfect. I make it on the stovetop with milk. Gotta be careful it doesn’t boil over. So good though. I started with the Assam in the sampler because i really like Assam tea… and I didnt know where to start. Anyway, if you like spicy chai tea, you cant go wrong with these.