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Monday, December 27, 2010

Samovar Loose Leaf Black Tea 'Breakfast Blend'

Tea Information:
Tea: Breakfast Blend
Type: Black Tea
Packaging: Loose Leaf
Company: Samovar
Purchase: Here
Description:
Samovarian Poertry: Kindle clarity. Banish stupor. Full malty flavor with delicate dryness.

Flavor Profile: Smooth, full bodied, malty, and classically brisk.

Tea Story: This is the Samovar version of English Breakfast- a tea you can count on time and again. Wake up with this tea like so many of our ex-coffee-drinking tea converts do.

Breakfast Blend teas were created as the signature blend of a particular tea company. A "Breakfast Blend" is a blend of tea from a company's tea gardens that is blended to achieve a uniform and reliable flavor season after season- regardless of weather conditions that might effect a tea's flavor. At the beginning of the 19th century, some tea sellers were even creating tea blends that best suited a town or city's local water supply.

Samovar's Breakfast Blend is a blend of Dian Hong style tea from Yunnan, China. This means that it is only top-quality tea with whole leaves and a high content of fine golden leaf buds: "golden tips."

Ingredients: Organic black tea from Yunnan, China.

Steep Information:
Prepared in store. Served in a teapot without leaves and a small cup.

Tasting Notes:
Steeped Tea Smell: Honey and black tea
Flavor: Black tea, sweet
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: none
Liquor: hard to see in the dark lounge

MilitiaJim ordered this tea with the Wasabi Caesar Salad w/ Wild Smoked Salmon (Organic hearts of romaine, wild smoked salmon, shaved parmesan, garlic, croutons, & Caesar dressing w/ a wasabi kick)

Post-Steep Additives: MilitiaJim experimented with both the provided brown sugar and cream.

Ordered at the Zen Valley location for dinner with Squash Dumplings w/ Dipping Sauce (Handmade vegetarian squash dumplings w/ spicy sesame-soy sauce).

We were seated in the upper area in the back at a table for two. The back area was dimly lit. The place was a very relaxed atmosphere with an attentive staff. We purchased a tin of Russian blend and tea oil to take home (sadly the tea oil was confiscated by the TSA because we forgot to mail it home or check a bag). The place was not very busy, there were two other couples there when we first arrived for dinner Saturday night.

I enjoyed the other Samovar lounge location more and would prefer to return to Yerba Buena Gardens rather than this one. We did not get to try the Mission-Castro location.

Rating: 3/4 leaves


Leaf system:
1=Bleh! not again if it were free
2=Acceptable, if it were free or there were limited other tea options
3=I might purchase this tea from time to time, or select it while out
4=A staple in our cupboard from now on, I will purchase and keep purchasing



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