The Simple Leaf

Today is an amazingly annoying day. I’m herding cats, apparently through minefields. So I’m trying to not scream at people and drink lots of tea. I’m starting with some of this iced.. I think I brewed this too strong, but I think overall I may just like this better iced than not. We’ll see..

Cross your fingers for me!

I wanted to like this tea. I really did. But it’s just not oolong enough for me. This is too mild, and even when steeped extra strong tastes a little like it’s watered down to me. The aromas are nice, and I taste some of the sweet. But this just isn’t gonna be one of my all-time favorite oolongs. Sigh.

Second and final infusion of my pouch of Dawn. I added a touch of honey, which is something I don’t usually do with Dawn, due to the last cup being a tad on the bitter side. The honey did work to smooth things out, but the result still isn’t awesome as I remember Dawn being.

I’m finishing up the last of Dawn tonight as I work on completing my new goal of finishing up all my teas before acquiring more. I don’t know if my sample is just old or something, but Dawn didn’t taste as great as I remember. Still really good and impressive for an unflavored tea, just not like I remember.

Just when I thought that this would be the last serving, I have enough left over for another pot, another day! I think I’m going to miss this tea, but not immediately. There are too many other teas I want to get my hands on right now.

Mmm…Dawn. I’ve missed you. I know you won’t be with me for much longer but I will enjoy each minute we have together.

If you’re curious, I have a longer review up on It’s All About the Leaf: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/799/tea-review-the-simple-leaf-dawn-2/

I had this one again last night. I haven’t been craving this tea as much as I once was…perhaps I don’t love it as much as I thought. Still a very interesting and delicious tea though.

As a side note, I left part of my cup from last night in the fridge…this one is not so special cold (perhaps if I had added sweetener or something).

It has been several days since I’ve enjoyed this tea and it sounded really good tonight. It is nice to have a black tea that doesn’t need additions in order for it to be drinkable. I’m not even sure how long I steeped this for (I’m guessing closer to 10 minutes than 5) but it is still great.

I’ve been working on this tea throughout the evening and am currently on the 2nd and final infusion. This tea just works. It is one of the best unflavored teas I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to try others from the Simple Leaf.

Dawn…where have you been all my life? Seriously, how am I deserving of such an interesting cup of delicious complexity? Okay, I love this tea. Very smooth, chocolate, and dark oolong-esque. I only wish you could take an many infusions as a real oolong.

It is official, I think I’m in love with Dawn….
I almost didn’t make any Dawn today because I’ve had a nasty headache all morning and I was afraid that Dawn just wouldn’t taste good. I went ahead and gave in and I have received a warm, chocolatey hug in a cup. I just love this tea. It is one of the most complex teas I’ve ever had and I’m still amazed that the leaves aren’t flavored. The more I drink it, the more I like it. Wow, I’m bumping the rating a little bit. It is consistently good each day, which you don’t always get when dealing with flavored teas that may be unevenly mixed. Just great.

Yes, I’m breaking my own rule and drinking Dawn twice in one day. Why? Because the online tea randomizer told me to…3 times in a row. Haha!

I was just sitting here trying to decide what tea to have next when I became inspired by JacquelineM and her enjoyment of Dawn. I was a bit hesitant to try this tea again because it seems that one day I like it, the next I could pass on it. I think I’ve figured out a strange pattern however. On days that I drink Dawn as my first tea of the day, I don’t like it too much. But on days that I drink Dawn after a heartier breakfast tea, I absolutely love it. My conclusion: Both me and my tastebuds need caffeine in order to appreciate the nuances of this tea.

So today, after drinking Vanilla Black by Harney & Sons, I am able to appreciate and enjoy Dawn. This tea is both light and full-bodied which almost seems like an impossible contradiction. I think that once my sample bag is gone, I will have to order more of this. So far I have had it every day and now that I know what it takes for me to enjoy it, I will continue to have it. This deserves a bump in ratings just because it is so interesting, calming, and makes me feel quite poetic and philosophical for some reason.

Okay, enough procrastination, on to my 8 page essay!!

I’ve been continually playing with this tea in an attempt to either persuade myself that I don’t need to order more or to convince myself that it is worth the money. I tried for a 3rd infusion today…on a black tea. I let the tea steep for around 10 minutes which resulted in a very light tea and cocoa flavor. It definitely had some flavor and is impressive that it tasted okay and not bitter at the 3rd infusion, but it isn’t an infusion that I will probably do again.

Its strange, I had this tea yesterday and I swear it was like the best thing I had ever tasted. I had it again today and it was good, but not amazing. Maybe it is because I started yesterday with a hardier black tea before moving to Dawn. I think that perhaps it is hard for me to taste all the nuances of this tea without being properly caffeinated and awake. I will be having this again tomorrow (I’ve limited myself to one infusion series per day of this tea) and will try it after my breakfast tea to see if the amazing feeling from drinking this returns. If it does, I promise that I will have to keep this tea around.

Maybe this tea is growing on me. I think I like it more today than I did previously. In fact, I was drinking another tea but stopped halfway through the infusions because Dawn sounded SO good. I think this tea is much better with boiling water which I did not use before. I brewed for 4 minutes again, but am drinking it plain today. Very nice, light, and smooth but is also a pretty full-bodied tea. I will make my final decision after finishing my sample bag, but so far I think this may have to go on my shopping list along with other interesting teas from The Simple Leaf like Honeybee and Mountain Malt. This tea is just so complex, which is strange for an unflavored tea.

This is an interesting tea that I’m not entirely sure about yet. At the suggested 5 minutes, I find this tea to be earthy with an aftertaste of baking chocolate. I still haven’t decided if the earthiness is good or off-putting, but it reminds me of an oolong, so it is in the good category for now. At 4 minutes, the tea is less earthy and more of a chocolate, sweet taste which is why I prefer this tea at 4 minutes. It is a pretty light tea but I found it could stand up to a small amount of milk as a breakfast tea and doesn’t need any sweetener. I think I like this tea, I’m just not sure how much yet. So far I’ve been able to get 2 infusions of of the leaves, I think they could go more though. My rating is tentative based on several factors which will determine my ultimate like or love for this tea.

Thanks to MRAWLINS2 for letting me sample this tea with her today. I was completely amazed at the appearance of the leaves. Long, rolled leaves with a matte black color. The smell of the dry leaves had a scent..is that cocoa that I smell? We brewed this in my Ingenitea and watched as the leaves unfurled and danced around…way cool! A nice amber brew in my cup. Now for the first sip, black tea with a nuance…an earthy tone. Where have I tasted this before? MRAWLINS2 is right, it reminds me of a dark oolong. This is one tea that could go for several infusions. I agree with Ricky, this is a must try for all black tea lovers. Lots of layers to this tea. The smell of the wet leaves reminds me of a robust Ceylon, could that be? This is one tea that deserves another tasting note in the near future. I will be watching for MRAWLINS2 review with anticipation:)

Learned this morning that I don’t quite care for this with a bit of cream. It’s much more chocolate-y all by itself. I might try a second steep today (if I ever make it through this first cuppa) of additive free dawn. I do enjoy this tea in the mornings, surprisingly enough.

Thank you Kristin for sending this tea my way.

I love the size and shape of the large black tea leaves. They remind me that I really need (want) to get a tea scale/food scale so I can weigh my teas out. These were hard leaves to measure by the teaspoon. I just used a few pinches of tea. Dawn’s dry leaves smell like a decadent dark chocolate. Like those Lindt 80% cacao bars right after peeling away the tinfoil. Wow!

The wet leaves turn a little sweeter, a honey sweetness to the dark chocolate. This tea wasn’t as pungent looking or smelling as I was afraid of. It is a nice, sweet, slightly earthy tea. I do smell something earthy (not quite the manure Kristin mentioned) but their is something there that I can’t quite place. But oddly enough I like it in this tea.

Mucho Gracias Kristin.

When I previously posted this note, I was asked to compare this tea w/Mountain Malt. I would have to say this one is MUCH BOLDER as would be expected from a CTC tea. But even though it is bold it is in no way astringent or unpleasant. Just a solid, bold black tea for the morning. I will be placing a full order of this tea.

Simple Leaf provides $5 sample packs that are quite generous..

This is a CTC (crush, tear, curl) tea so instead of whole leaves, the tea leaves were ground into nuggets – I was expecting it to be bitter….but lo and behold- no bitterness. in fact, it was “meaty”. and perfect for a AM cup….I need to try this one a few more times but after experimenting with a gazillion breakfast blends, this one is defintiely a keeper….

This isn’t the first time I’ve enjoyed this tea. I have a tendancy to enjoy this one while out at sea… which I will being doing with may more of my teas in the future. Sigh.
This is a lovely tea full of fruity floral notes and a wonderful kiss of honey.
We don’t tend to have many fancy honey onboard but we do pack a basket full of honey bears and this tea requires none of the like. It again is pleasant and while it has a softness of character it doesn’t like to be neglected in the cup longer than 30 minutes. Then the tartness of the tanins kick in but by then you should be well on the way to sipping and putting aside your nightly powerpoints. :)
A fine tea to enjoy with company! I would buy this one again… along with Dawn.

Decided to steep for only 2 mins just for the hell of it. Oddly enough…this smells like pasts (minus the sauce) today…like “just done” Noodles! It’s not as grassy…it’s actually quite refreshing, mellow, and almost juicy. It’s still nutty tasting but it works!