Nilgiri "Woodlands"

Nigiri Woodlands :
Welp, I honestly don’t usually have just straight black tea, so I can’t really compare one from another. I’m hoping that I can get a baseline soon though.

I know enough to able to smell that it’s a black tea, at least. Hrmm…. Malty and dark, but with this brewing time, very little astringency, I can certainly see how it would threaten to get bitter with a longer steep though. I get the barest hint of smoke that’s mentioned if I really try, but I was hoping for a bit more. So, lots of malt and wood, not a lot of smoke, with a sweetness carrying it. The further I get into the cup, the more dry it leaves my tongue.

HGTTB not too shabby. I have had other instances of this tea from other companies before, so going in to it i knew it wasn’t going to be my favourite sort of black tea. However, this one isn’t bad…it’s just not what i prefer. It’s bold, and strong but there’s also an astringency here that i’m not a fan of.

I already use Nilgiri as my everyday black, so I picked this one out to see if it was different. The leaves are small BoP, mine are usually a lot thicker and longer. The aroma was way better than the variety that I use. The stem rising from my cup smells of a cabin in the Yukon territory. I can hint at large maple trees, cinnamon and undertones of cured leather. The taste is somewhat different. It has a dominant sweet flavor. I can taste green pine and sugarcane. This is an interesting brew and very surprising. I always enjoy tea that makes me reconsider my expectations.

Hidden Gems TTB #11

Wow, this stuff is potent! Super strong and malty with a dense, “chewy” sort of flavor. I followed my standard parameters for black tea (3-minute steep at 205F) but I’m thinking a shorter steep time would benefit this particular tea, as it came out slightly bitter and quite astringent.

This is a sip down, and while it’s better than my previous cup, I’m still okay with it being out of my cupboard. A 2:15 min steep yielded a strong tasting cup with only a hint of astringency, and a good balance of malty and tart fruity flavours, with a touch of cinnamon.

Bumping up my rating a bit, but I probably wouldn’t buy this again, as there are just so many other Nilgiri blacks that are more noteworthy.