OPINION: Huangshan Wild Mao Feng Green Tea

Produced by: TeaHorse 

Price: N/A (No longer trading)

I have a love it or hate it relationship with green tea, it all started when I first tried green tea in teabag form, then brewed it to the packet instructions (ie boiling water) and ended up with this rotten brew that tasted like a crap vegetable soup. I’ve never really gotten over that experience but I’m open minded enough to try again and so I dug out another TeaHorse pack, this time their Mao Feng.

The first thing that strikes me is how light the colour is, this is a brew that isn’t that far away from a white tea and doesn’t contain that “vegetable” sort of taste that puts people off drinking greens. It is very light and delicate in taste and would be a good starting point for someone trying green tea or who has had it before and didn’t like it. I’m still no convert but this is a better example of a green tea for those who aren’t too keen on it.

60%

OPINION: Assam Mangalam SFTGFOP1

 

 

Produced by: TeaHorse

Price: N/A (No longer trading)

Nothing starts the day off better than a good Assam tea, for those none coffee drinkers such as myself, this is what is gonna give you the best start to the day. And here is another fine example of a good quality Assam from the now sadly defunct TeaHorse. This just sits below the real hard hitters of this tea, given you enough bite but without it being heavy on the maltiness. If you want an Assam that doesn’t need or want milk then this would be a good quality one to opt for.

Brewed up for four minutes with boiling water this is a lovely example of an Assam tea, it doesnt reach the usual colour of an Assam and sits closer to a Ceylon but taste wise this is just fantastic. I would definitely buy this again and for those of you who want to try Assam but don’t want something too intense this would be a good tea to choose.

90%

OPINION: Russian Caravan

Purchased from: http://www.teahorse.co.uk

Price: £11.95 monthly subscription

http://teahorse.co.uk/tea/russian-caravan/

 

Smoked ham. Smoked cheese. Smoked bacon. All good in my book. Smokey tea though….?

 

I’ve never enjoyed Lapsang Souchong tea but I wanted to try a different smoked tea and as this came as part of my monthly subscription it wasn’t costing me anything to try it.

 

 

The dry leaves smell lovely and the smokiness doesn’t take over. There is a lovely blend of teas in here with some oolong blended in for good measure too and a pinch of Lapsang. This looks like a quality blend as you can see in the picture above.

Four minutes with boiling water and it’s ready – this smells lovely as it is brewing.

What works well with this Russian Caravan is that it doesn’t suffer from being overpowering. The smokiness is there and it’s pretty much at the front of the aroma but it never takes over and this has changed my opinion on smoked tea.

I couldn’t drink this all the time but as a little treat once in a while it would be nice. Pop it in an airtight tin and bring it out once in a while when you want something flavoursome.

60%

OPINION: Green Mint

Purchased from: http://www.teahorse.co.uk

Price: £3.75 for 25g

http://teahorse.co.uk/tea/green-mint/

 

Teahorses’ Green Mint tea combines Gunpowder Green Tea with peppermint – at first sounding like a really delightful combination. When you open up the pack the aroma of the mint really hits you.

This really does smell amazing prior to brewing; a real feel of freshness to the mint combined with tightly rolled balls of green tea. Hitting the kettle on and allowing to cool to the suggested 80C – pouring water over it brings out the minty aroma even more.

 

 

As it brews the gunpowder tea unfurls and the dried mint leaf opens out and this looks amazing as it is brewing in a glass pot!

 

 

It’s only as you taste it that it loses that real initial promise that the dried leaves offer – in terms of taste the mint is still there but it doesn’t take over or dominate the cup in any way. Don’t buy this as a mint tea as you may feel disappointed (see https://morebloodytea.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/opinion-twinings-mint-humbug-pyramids/ for a really strong mint tea) but that said the two flavours do work well together. My first thought was when would I drink this, if I want green tea that is what I would brew, if I wanted a mint tea then likewise but these two together? Just a thought.

Still it is a nice brew, it works ok but again, I’ve tried it but wouldn’t buy more.

 

50%

 

OPINION: English Breakfast Tea

Purchased from: http://www.teahorse.co.uk

Price: £1.50 (Sample pack)

http://teahorse.co.uk/tea/english-breakfast/

 

I don’t usually buy blends of tea but as I got this as a sample I thought who better than to get a decent breakfast tea from than the lovely people at Teahorse. This combines both Assam and Ceylon to make something that gets your day off to a flyer.

 

The dry tea is pretty fine, a step up from teabags of course but not the usual quality leaf tea that I am becoming used to drinking. So how did it taste?

 

This lovely golden tea is exactly what it says but it isn’t anything outstanding either. A nice brew that would work well with milk and sugar or a dash of honey but it just doesn’t feel amazing either. It is what it is – a breakfast tea but it would be interesting to try blending my own Ceylon and Assam teas to see how that would taste.

45%

 

 

OPINION: 2nd Flush Assam (2013)

Purchased from: http://www.teahorse.co.uk

Price: £1.50 (sample)

http://teahorse.co.uk/tea/2nd-flush-assam/

 

My third and final Assam of the day came courtesy of the lovely people at Teahorse, a sample of their second flush TGFOP1. This contains a lovely mixture and has a very high amount of tips in the dry leaf.

 

Brewing brings out the usual Assam colours of dark orange / red so after three minutes in boiling water I poured it to sample, served black and not sugared.

 

 

What I found with this Assam is that I didn’t enjoy it as much, please don’t get me wrong it is a nice enough tea but it just feels rather ordinary and perhaps even a tad boring…

For those who like Assam teas it will no doubt hit the spot but as a person who is trying different ones at the moment this just feels like it would sit somewhere in the middle of the ones I have tried.

45%

 

REVIEW: TeaHorse

TeaHorse was the first online supplier I purchased from. As a newbie to loose tea I was intrigued by their monthly subscription deal, offering you a small pack of four different teas usually tied in or related to a theme. £11.95 a month gets you four different teas in sealed packs, brewing instructions on the label, a sheet including tasting notes and a handy pack of loose tea papers allowing you to brew loose leaf tea without the need for a teapot or infuser. Superb!

My first order comprised of a mixture of sample packs of tea, each enough to make a couple of cups with, priced at £1.50 it allowed me the chance to learn and develop my tea tastes and £20 got me a nice varied selection of different teas from several countries. As one of the teas was not available, the delivery note included a hand written apology and they substituted it with a decent Assam and even threw in a free sample pack of English Breakfast tea for no extra charge. A very personal touch indeed.

The order was placed on Saturday and was posted through my door on Tuesday which is an impressive turnaround time. Each tea comes in a foil resealable pack with the name of the tea, its origin, brewing instructions which were very clear and concise. When looking at the pricing structure of their larger size packs they are not the cheapest out there but it is clear that the people at TeaHorse care very much about their business and their customers.

If you subscribe to the monthly scheme you can pause your subscription if you are away on holiday or you don’t particularly want that months choices so it doesn’t feel like you are tied into them. For the new person to loose tea this is an ideal way to learn and develop your tastes, not the most cost effective in terms of tea received per £ spent but the convenience of a new tea selection every month for a reasonable sum of money would make a good start for most people. If you want to buy your subscriptions in advance then the monthly cost becomes less.

I also contacted them via email and Twitter and on both counts they responded quickly and in a helpful manner and they made me feel really valued as a customer. Would I return and use them again? Most definitly.

 

Packaging – 9 / 10

Excellent

 

Information – 9 / 10

Full instructions given on the front of each pack – very handy

 

Price – 7 / 10

Still affordable. Decent price for the quality.

 

Service – 10 / 10

Brilliant after care.

 

Delivery – 9 / 10

Can’t fault – well packed into a box that fits through the letterbox

 

TEAHORSE = 46 / 50

http://www.teahorse.co.uk