Golden Tips Teas

I am not the biggest fan of this one. It is nutty and roasty, but there is a definite bitterness that I don’t care for. I steeped this for a short time on a fairly cool temperature, so I was surprised it was this astringent. Not my cup of tea, literally, but I am sure a person less sensitive to astringency would like it.

This was tasty and drinkable, but I found it to be pretty unremarkable. It was a bit bitter, but not so much I disliked it a lot, but I have also found that any bitterness prevents me from tasting a lot of the other flavors, because I am so sensitive to bitterness alone. This is probably why I don’t appreciate the astringency in tea all that much, as it blocks out other flavor for me. I am sure many people would like this, but overall it was unremarkable to me.

I’m not sure about this tea. The dry leaf sure is pretty. The liquor sure is beautiful. The aroma is outstanding.

The tea itself…it’s a tad too astringent for me.

It’s kinda bready, but not sweet at all. And now my mouth feels funny.

http://instagram.com/p/udy9Jzgyaq/

This is a “kick in the pants” breakfast tea. The fact that it is a CTC means not that it is a “lower grade” tea than orthodox teas….although some folks would like to believe that is the case. There is room in every tea cabinet for CTCs, and as Butiki Teas taught us with Crimson Horizon and Grandpa’s Anytime Tea, some CTCs are extraordinary.
This CTC offering from Golden Tips is a strong, full mouthfeel Assam with traditional malty notes, but also gives an unexpected note of something green….green wood perhaps? Or maybe a touch of vegetal? Not sure exactly (thanks to surgery my palate is still a bit out of whack), but this unexpected note gives the maltiness a different twist of taste. There isn’t a lot of astringency in my cup, but I short-steeped it at 2 min 30 seconds, as I didn’t need hair on my chest today. With milk and honey, this tea is a solid choice for when you hit the snooze button one too many times and now need assistance to get your motor running. I like it.

A green tea I like! A rarity so far in my adventure, unfortunately.
Aroma
Very transparent. A little vegetal.
Flavor
Flowery is certainly the flavor they went for. Its a very mild tea, very smooth.
Notes
This was a good tea for preparing for lunch. I’m not very partial to green teas in general, so I probably wouldn’t buy more, but its one of my more yummy greens. I’d certainly recommend it, a nice alternative to jasmine green.

For me, this one was not as good as some of the others I have tried from this brand. I am not a fan of astringency unless it is super mild, and this one was a hair over what I like. It is bready, but not sweet. I think I lean towards more fruity and sweet notes, which help cut any astringency. Someone who likes a bit of a “drier” taste would probably like this a lot more.

Had this one steep to another 4 min. still a light golden cup. O.k. black tea, but not strong and malty enoubh to my liking.

Quite standard breakfast tea, Grade FOP1
Second Flush

classic assam from the peak second flush season. Sprinkled evenly with golden tips, the tea make for a bright liquor, a full body with a unique maltiness.

TGOP1 Summer flush.

Malty, strong cup. Had this one for breakfast, and it’s actually quite good. A proper wake-=up tea.

oh la la….. stop the clocks, cut off the phone…

and find yourself in (Darjeeling) Heaven…

Wonderful, wonderful tea. Great muscatel flavours. Smells great, and tastes even beter! Advised to stock in bulk :)

Another one from the TTB….
Have really wanted to try something from Golden Tips Teas, so glad that someone threw this one in. So thanks to whoever put this in! :D
And guess what you guys!!
THIS ONE DOESN’T TASTE ONLY LIKE WOOD.
Probably is the best tea I’ve had all night. xD
It tastes a bit like wood, but there’s definitely some malt in it. Tastes almost creamy actually.
This is the win of the night!

First tea I’m trying from my large pack of samples from the GTT sale! Very exciting!

Aroma
Smells very earthy and malty. Some grassy scent is mixed in with it, but with a darker tone, not a fresh, green smell. This serious Assam means business. ^^
Flavor
Not a dime of astringency. Mmm this is rich. A very pleasant amount of malt, makes for a very smooth cup of tea. It leaves a yummy aftertaste that makes me want more between sips. Not as dark as the aroma was leading me to believe, but still a nicely bodied Assam.
Notes
I shall have to drink my 2nd steep in the morning, this would be a great way to wake up! Ah, but what an intro to GTT, I am excited to try more!

Straight black tea, nothing special.
Received a sample from Golden Tips. Wouldn’t buy again, just nog my cup of tea I guess. Lacks the boltness of a good Assam and the complexity of a Darjeeling.

From the Golden Tips August box

Oh Emm Gee.

Can you say Muscat Grapes?

I can. I think I just drank a glass of them.

This tea is what I think a second flush absolutely should be. It’s amazing.

Super muscatel and ends very complex.

I really like it.

This is as good as it gets…..

YUM!. Best chai I have ever had. Added hot soy milk, sweetened with acacia honey.

aggr… awful early grey.

Smells great, but it’s like drinking perfume. Very unnatural, odd taste. Looks like someone dropped the bergamot oil bottle in this tea. :(

Great fan of a proper earl grey, but will steer away from this one.

Summer flush from a renowned estate
golden orange cup

reliable darjeeling, with muscatel notes and fruity aftertaste

FTGFOP1 grade darjeeling.

subscribed to Golden Tips Teas India monthly tea club and received this generous sample.

This darjeeling is reminds me of why I am such a fan of Darjeeling teas!

Amazing. Very deep muscatel flavour, with a complex after-taste. This is darjeeling Heaven. !
Everything is just absolutely perfect about this one ….. mmm. this may well be one I would love to keep in stock forever!
A gem!

golden tip Assam tea

1 tablespoon – 200ml little glass teapot;
Taken plain, & no sugar.

1st steep: 4 min. a golden, almost deep orange tea, with a sweet aftertaste. Yummie. Hints of baked bread.
This one is amazing! This is …. well, YUM capital letters!

2nd steep: golden orange cuppa, yet again with a sweet aftertaste. Steeped a bit longer, but I guess this tea doesn’g get bitter, no matter what.

3rd steep: Golden yellow; hints of baked bread is now gone; but still very pleasant, like a 1st flush assam.

I think I can get one more steep, but since I have more teas from Golden Tips to review, i will leave that to others.

My final brew of this Goomtee Second Flush was not quite as good, as some of the leaves had crumbled to dust and passed through my sieve, resulting in a slightly over-steeped tea. I generally cut darjeelings off after only a couple of minutes…

This fragrant second flush darjeeling from Goomtee estate by way of Golden Tips brews up a beautiful amber color and tastes smooth and—I hate to say it, but it’s true—gulpable.

Delicious! I kept the temperature low and the steep time short, because it is so easy to oversteep good darjeelings and mistake poor parameters for bitterness in the tea itself. No bitterness here, and not too grassy either. This is a slightly sweeter darjeeling with, yes, a somewhat fruity demeanor. The dried tea is exceptionally fragrant and though mostly charcoal colored, there are also some lighter tips.

This tea is a good example of why people become obsessed with darjeeling. ;-)

Meh.

This is the first of the Golden Tips Teas teas from my subscription that I haven’t had any positive feelings about. Others might like it, but this tea is doing nothing good for me. It’s Meh at best. It’s not horrible, though, but it just doesn’t have anything that I’m liking about it.