Tasting Notes: The New Collection
Why This Collection
I built this collection around a simple idea: you deserve better than what's in the bag.
Most people's experience with tea starts and ends with a tea bag. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's familiar, it's easy. But what you're getting in most tea bags are fannings. The small, broken-down remnants of the leaf. Think of it like taking a full bottle of your favorite drink and watering it down. You'll still taste it, but you're not getting the full picture.
This collection is the full picture.
Five teas, three black and two green, sourced from specific regions, chosen for quality, and curated for anyone who's curious about what tea actually tastes like when it's done right. Whether you're a longtime tea drinker or someone who's been meaning to explore beyond the basics, this is the collection I put together for you.
Think of it like your new exclusive tea cellar. These are the teas you're going to start reaching for every single time.
How I Tasted These
Before we get into the notes, here's how I approached this.
I started by looking at the dry leaf: the color, the texture, the density. Then the aroma, dry first, then wet, because those are two completely different smells and both tell you something. Then the color of the brew itself, its depth, its clarity, how it carries light. And finally, the taste: its complexity, its layers, its briskness, any bitterness or sweetness, and how it finishes.
I'm not going to use a lot of jargon here. If something tastes like caramel, I'm going to say it tastes like caramel. If the bitterness reminds me of collard greens, that's what I'm going to say. The goal is for you to recognize something in these descriptions, something that helps you decide which cup is yours.
English Breakfast
English Breakfast is your standard morning tea, but the difference between what you've had in a tea bag and what you're getting here in whole leaf is significant. It's not night and day, but it's close. Whole leaf gives you the full flavor, the full body, the full experience of what this blend is actually supposed to taste like.
This isn't a single-origin tea. It's a blend, and that's intentional. English Breakfast is designed to be consistent, bold, and reliable every single morning.
In the cup, you're getting a deep amber with a clean, brisk finish. It's malt-forward. It holds up to milk if that's your preference, but it doesn't need it. Caffeine-wise, you're looking at around 60 milligrams, lower than coffee, but enough to start your day.
This is the tea for the morning you have a croissant. The morning you're getting the kids ready. The morning you're heading into work and need something that's going to hold you. If you've been drinking coffee and you're looking for something to ease into, this is where you start.
Cinnamon Noir
Another black tea blend, but this one goes somewhere different.
Cinnamon Noir is built around the balance of cinnamon spice and black tea, with orange peel in the mix to bring a quiet sweetness to the edge. What you get is a push and pull between spicy and sweet that works. Nothing overpowers anything else.
The aroma hits immediately. The moment you open it, you're getting that warm, spiced cinnamon through the nose. It's the smell of a cinnamon latte, but without the dairy, without the sugar. Just the spice itself, clean and direct.
In the cup, the color is a soft orange. You can see the influence of both the cinnamon and the orange peel in the brew. The taste has a nice bitterness from the black tea base, balanced by the warmth of the spice. It's not sweet on its own, but the orange peel keeps it from being sharp.
This one works hot or cold. If you've been reaching for a spiced latte and want something without the added sugar, this is the move.
Le Bon Vivant
This is my favorite.
Le Bon Vivant translates from French as good living, a person devoted to the finer things. Food, wine, good company, the kind of moments you actually slow down for. That's exactly what I wanted this tea to feel like.
It's a black tea blend with vanilla and bergamot, and the balance is what makes it. You're getting a buttery caramel note on the nose, vanilla through the body, and a finish that's smooth without being sweet. Nothing is off. Nothing is competing. It's just a well-made cup of tea that you're going to want to come back to.
In the cup, it's a warm amber. The aroma is rich without being heavy. The bitterness is there, it's still a black tea, but it's balanced against the vanilla in a way that makes it easy to drink at any point in the day.
Morning, afternoon, evening. This is the one I reach for when I want something that feels like a moment. Share it with someone. Have it with a good meal. This is the tea for the finer version of your regular day.
Jasmine Tea
Now we move into green.
Jasmine Tea is sourced from Fujian Province, China, a region that's been producing jasmine tea the same way for centuries. It's the lighter tea in this collection, and intentionally so.
The aroma is delicate, a soft sweetness with a floral layer on top, something close to honeysuckle. It's present but not loud. On a scale of intensity, it's a 3 out of 5. Enough to notice, not enough to overwhelm.
In the cup, the color is a clear, pale gold. No haze, no heaviness. Just a clean, light brew that shows you exactly what a quality green tea looks like. The taste has a slight briskness to it, a gentle bitterness that's more expressive than you might expect from something this light. It's not a complex tea, and that's the point. It's approachable.
This is the tea for lunch. For a mid-morning break. For anyone who wants something green without the intensity of a full-bodied green tea. If you're new to green teas, Jasmine is where you start.
Japanese Sencha
If Jasmine is the introduction, Sencha is the full statement.
Japanese Sencha is single-origin from Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, one of the country's most respected tea-growing regions. And to me, this is the definition of what green tea is supposed to be.
When you look at the dry leaf, it looks like mulched grass. That's the best way I can describe it. But the smell is something else. If you've ever boiled collard greens with good seasoning, you know that deep, vegetal, almost savory aroma that comes off the pot. That's the direction Sencha goes. The people who picked and processed this tea did an outstanding job. You can taste the craft in it.
In the cup, it's a clear green-gold. The taste is grassy, bright, and clean, with more briskness than the Jasmine and more complexity than most green teas you've had. If you're a matcha drinker, you're going to recognize something familiar here. Sencha and matcha come from the same plant, processed differently. Sencha is the whole leaf version of that same flavor profile. Not identical, but close enough that if matcha is your thing, Sencha is going to make sense to you immediately.
This is the tea for the focused morning. The quiet afternoon. The cup you make when you actually want to pay attention to what you're drinking.
A Note on Brewing
Brewing loose leaf comes down to two things: temperature and time.
Green teas are sensitive. Steep them too long or too hot and the tannins come out fast. You'll taste the bitterness immediately. For Jasmine and Sencha, keep it under three minutes and use water that's hot but not boiling. That's the window.
Black teas are more forgiving. Five minutes is your target. You don't have to watch it as closely. The bitterness is already part of the profile, and a little extra time won't ruin the cup.
On temperature: you don't need a thermometer to make a good cup of tea. But if you want to get precise about it, different teas have different ideal ranges, greens lower, blacks higher, all the way up to a full boil for some. I'll get into the specifics in a dedicated brewing post. For now, the Brew Guide covers everything you need to get started.
The Collection
Curation is the whole point.
There are thousands of teas out there. I'm not going to make you sort through all of them. My job is to find the best, bring it to you, and make the choice easy. Not because the options aren't interesting, but because your time is better spent drinking a great cup than researching whether it's the right one.
This collection is the start. Favorites you'll reach for every day, and rare finds you'll want to explore. We're building this together, me as your curator, you as someone who deserves better than what's in the bag.
Next up: the story behind the leaf, starting with Japanese Sencha.
