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Our fine loose-leaf Black Teas (or more correctly called Red Teas, as per the countries of origin) come from India, China, Sri Lanka, Rwanda and Kenya and represent fully oxidized camellia sinensis leaves that have been carefully processed by a dance of withering, rolling, oxidizing and drying.
$ 10.00
Tasting Notes: Robust sienna-colored liquor with balanced tannins and notes of tobacco and sweet malt.
Coming from Assam, one of India's largest growing regions, our organic English Breakfast tea is not only certified-organic, but also Fairtrade!
Our English Breakfast Assam comes from the single garden and is made with a nice proportion of tippy golden buds that help to balance the natural tannins in traditionally produced Indian black teas.
This English Breakfast tea is full-bodied with flavors of tobacco, sweet malt, and dried fruit. Naturally very sweet and generous with perfectly balanced tannins, every cup of our Assam is ready to be enjoyed however you prepare your tea. For those who enjoy a dollop of milk and honey, this English Breakfast takes milk especially well!
If you prefer a sweetened breakfast tea, we recommend our English Breakfast Assam Banaspaty paired with Saratoga Wildflower, Cinnamon Infused or Palmetto Honey.
We recommend our English Breakfast tea enjoyed after brewing in the Western-style that made this style of tea so popular in Great Britain all those centuries ago. You can expect 2-3 steeps from each portion of English Breakfast tea, sometimes more depending on your brewing habits! We recommend steeping your tea leaves for increasing intervals with each subsequent steep.
$ 10.00
Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied amber liquor with well-structured tannin and notes of fruit.
Coming from Sri Lanka, our Ceylon Orange Pekoe black tea is a classic, full-leafed example of one of the most famous of the English colonial teas. Orange Pekoe is a specific grade of black tea coming from India, Sri Lanka, and other parts of Asia - though Chinese teas are not typically classified this way. While it is not clear where the name for this grade originated, we do know that Orange Pekoe or OP tea has been used to indicate a high grade, full-leaf tea since Dutch and British colonial trading in tea originated.
Medium bodied and fruity with a good, firm structure, our Ceylon Orange Pekoe is good with a splash of milk or by itself. We particularly love this tea with a little cinnamon honey.
We recommend brewing this black tea Western-style and enjoying with or without a splash of milk and honey! Ceylon Orange Pekoe iced tea is also one of our favorite cold brewed teas to serve in the summer, so be sure to try this delicious tea every way possible!
$ 10.00
Tasting Notes: Deep and full-bodied umber liquor with notes of tobacco, smoke, and spiced fruit.
This popular, lightly smoked black tea blend originated in the 18th century as something of an accident. As traders carried sacks of tea on a 6,000 mile journey across Russia on their way to bring tea from China to Europe, it is speculated that the campfires added a smokey quality to the original black teas that has become so much a part of the character of Russian Caravan teas. Now, master tea blenders blend Chinese black tea with smokey Lapsang Souchong to create a robust black tea with just a whiff of smoke to ward off the chill on winter mornings.
Our Russian Caravan is blended from top Chinese teas in the assertive and slightly smoky style favored by the Russians for centuries. Full bodied and strong with flavors of dried fruits, tobacco and spice, Russian Caravan is excellent hot or iced and stands up very well to a bit of milk and honey.
We recommend Russian Caravan to lovers of Irish Breakfast tea, for its similar lightly smoked flavor profile. For tea drinkers who enjoy an even smokier tea, don't miss our gorgeous Cedar-smoked Lapsang Souchong!
Black teas like the Russian Caravan are more traditionally prepared in the Western-style, as they are the result of the tea trade. Your Russian Caravan leaves will steep a delightful 2-3 times in a Western-style teapot. Or enjoy this blended Chinese black tea 4-5 times in a Gaiwan or Yixing.
$ 14.00
Tasting Notes: Amber-colored liquor with mellow tannins and notes of sweet brioche and salted caramel.
Jin Die (Golden Butterfly) organic black tea is comprised entirely of hand-rolled golden buds (hence its name). Jin Die is one of our favorite and most-recommended black teas in our Saratoga Springs flagship store.
Golden bud teas like Jin Die or our Yunnan Da Ye black tea are unique among black teas because they are made not from the mature leaves of the tea tree, but the buds. Usually in tea picking and processing, we associate bud teas with white teas, which are comprised of the unoxidized buds or buds and first few leaves of the camellia sinensis tea plant. In the early twentieth century, tea cultivators began experimenting with oxidizing the buds, creating Golden Bud black tea. Golden Bud black teas like Jin Die (Golden Butterfly) are characterized by smooth liquors with mellow tannins but satisfying body and a naturally sweet flavor profile with notes of malt and caramel.
Jin Die is silky smooth and mouth filling with flavors of sweet brioche and salted caramel. Though this organic black tea has a mellow tannin profile, it still holds up extremely well to a little milk and honey. You will enjoy these hand-rolled buds unfurling as if a golden butterfly from its chrysalis as you steep your morning cup.
Jin Die black tea may be enjoyed brewed in either a Western-style teapot or a traditional gaiwan or yixing. Learn more about how to brew teas here.
$ 10.00
Tasting Notes: Dark amber liquor with bold notes of wood smoke and cedar.
The classic pine-smoked Chinese black tea, Lapsang Souchong has a bold woody flavor, with sweet-smokey cedar undertones. Lapsang Souchong is a black tea for lovers of cigars, campfires and bacon.
Sometimes referred to as the first black tea, the origin of Lapsang Souchong is up for a bit of debate, so we will leave it up to you to decide which story you find more plausible. One origin story credits the resourceful villagers of Tong Mu in the Wuyi province with rescuing their tea crop through creativity. In this legend, picking and processing in the Wuyi region that traditionally produces full-leaf oolongs was interrupted by an invading army. As the army arrived, villagers abandoned their crop and came back to find their leaves turning brown (oxidizing), so they quickly dried them over pine fires, creating the first black tea: Laspang Souchong. Another story for the origin of this tea is much more banal: the traditional green (unoxidized) teas that the Chinese had been trading with Europeans were losing quality over the long trade routes. So, tea makers devised a new way of drying leaves over pine fires that preserved their quality and imparted a distinctly smokey flavor.
Whichever origin story you believe, we are certainly glad that an enterprising tea maker developed the process to oxidize and smoke tea, creating Lapsang Souchong!
Lapsang Souchong has a distinctive, smokey taste that makes for an excellent and bracing morning cup - especially when camping. Add a little Ghost Pepper honey for a cup of tea that'll warm you up like no coffee can!
We also highly recommend using Lapsang Souchong to make hot toddies or cocktail syrups. Lapsang Souchong also makes a great addition to vegan cupboards, as it will impart a smokey, bacony flavor to meat substitutes and vegetables when used in broths and marinades.
You can brew your Lapsang using Western-style or traditional methods. Learn more about how to brew black tea using a traditional gaiwan or yixing teapot here!
$ 14.00
Tasting Notes: Rich sienna-colored liquor with notes of sweet malt, citrus and spice.
The goldilocks of black tea, Yunnan Da Ye is just right, with a rich and full-bodied liquor but mellow tannins. Made from the indigenous large leafed varietal known in Yunnan as "Da Ye," this organic black tea is lightly hand rolled and contains a generous amount of golden twisted bud contributing to its balanced sweetness.
A gorgeous combination of finesse, rustic malty sweetness, and citrus fruit briskness, this tea is an example of the huge potential of the Yunnan. A staff favorite, Yunnan Da Ye is often highlighted when introducing our black tea.
Black tea lovers might enjoy comparing Yunnan Da Ye with our other golden bud tea, Jin Die.
Yunnan Da Ye may be enjoyed brewed in either the Western-style or using traditional Chinese teaware. If brewing using a Western-style teapot, you may anticipate 2-3 lovely steeps from each portion of Yunnan Da Ye. Traditional brewing techniques using a gaiwan or yixing will yield 4-6 steeps.
$ 10.00
Tasting Notes: Robust, burnt-siennna liquor with notes of spice, fruit, and honeyed toast.
Arriving to us from Africa's Rift Valley and grown from the same varietal as India's famous black teas of Nilgiri, Kenya Kangaita black tea tea is produced with uncharacteristic care using traditional Orthodox methods from an area where many teas are industrial, CTC grade (CTC or Cut, Tear, Curl is a grade of tea generally made for mass production in tea bags).
Spicy, and fruity with a sweetness something like toast, Kenya Kangaita is tannic but balanced. This full leaf African black tea is sure to be a favorite with lovers of strong, smooth tea.
Kenya Kangaita steeps well using both Western and traditional methods. Brewing in a Western-style teapot you may anticipate 2-3 steeps. Traditional brewing in a gaiwan or yixing pot will yield 4-6 steeps.
Kenya Kangaita also makes an excellent iced tea that stands up well to sweeteners like honey or sugar.
$ 10.00
Tasting Notes: Rich, amber liquor with notes of dark chocolate and sweet potato.
This elegant Chinese black tea comes from Anhui, a province usually more famous for its green tea. Nevertheless, Keemun Mao Feng is one of our favorite and most popular black teas, often featuring as our iced tea of the week!
Keemun Mao Feng's sleek black leaves yield a dark amber infusion, and deep, earthy aroma. Its rich flavor with distinctly smokey notes of dark chocolate and sweet potato, holds up through a multiple infusions.
Keemun Mao Feng is one of our most versatile black teas, and a favorite iced tea in the summer months. Brew this black tea in a Western-style teapot for 2-3 steeps or using a traditional gaiwan or yixing teapot for 4-6 steeps.
$ 24.00
Tasting Notes: Tawny liquor with notes of chestnut and toasted barley sugar.
Coming from Feng Huang, the Phoenix Mountain, in the Guandong Province of China, this incredible black tea shows many of the characteristics of the famous Oolongs of the region. With balanced tannins and a flavor profile that evolves on the palate, Feng Huang Hong Cha starts with a delicate bite of tart berry and finishes with honeyed notes of sweet malt.
Without doubt our most interesting black tea, the tightly twisted black leaves of Feng Huang Hong Cha (Phoenix Mountain Black Tea) yield a complex and satisfying cup. Once infused, you will notice aromas of flowers and warm honey with abundant flavors of chestnut and blackcurrant that give way to a long and comforting finish of sweet barley sugar. Rich and intricate, fans of Spanish Black Forest will enjoy Feng Huang Hong Cha's interesting and unique character.
Due to its unique processing, Feng Huang Hong Cha acts much like an oolong and you may expect many beautiful steeps from each portion of this lovely black tea. Brewed Western-style, each portion of Feng Huang Hong Cha may yield 4-5 steeps. Brewed in a traditional gaiwan or yixing, you may anticipate 8-10 steeps from this complex black tea.
$ 10.00
Tasting Notes: Golden amber liquor with notes of malt, tobacco, sweet spice and red berries.
Another fantastic organic breakfast tea, our Rwanda Rukeri is a rare, organic black tea from Africa. Produced at 1600m by a cooperative of farmers in a mountainous, sunny and humid environment in central Africa, Rwanda Rukeri is from a less-traditional tea-growing region - but one that is nonetheless ideal for the cultivation of quality loose leaf teas!
This African black tea's strong, full-bodied liquor boasts notes of malt, tobacco, and sweet pepper typical of the assamica cultivars. Fine nuances of cooked raspberries, cocoa and spices add to its interesting palate. Certainly an everyday black tea that will never get old.
We recommend brewing your Rwanda Rukeri in a Western-style teapot and enjoying 2-3 steeps from each portion of leaves, remembering to brew for increasing intervals with each steep.
$ 14.00
Tasting Notes: Auburn liquor with the slightest bite of tannin giving way to notes of cinnamon and clove.
Red Jade Tea - also known as Taiwan Tea No. 18, brews a rich, full-bodied tea with subtle hints of clove, cinnamon and mint in its complex composition.
The character of Red Jade is unique among black teas, and this organic black tea is sustainably produced by hand in the hills above Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County, Taiwan. Our producer takes great care in his low-impact farming methods, minimal processing and uses no chemicals whatsoever.
#18 refers to the hybrid cultivar Tai Cha which is the marriage of the assamica tea plant with a wild tea tree that is naturally occurring in Taiwan.
If you are a black tea lover, you deserve a sampling of this unique strain!
We recommend our Red Jade No. 18 hot or cold brewed for a delicious iced tea! Expect 2-3 steeps using your Western-Style teapot.
$ 14.00
Tasting Notes: Gorgeously smooth light umber liquor with notes of coffee, caramel, and roasted hazelnut
This Grand Cru Darjeeling from the Castleton Estate Garden is a gorgeous infusion and an essential tea for every black tea connoisseur. The Castleton gardens have been producing gorgeous teas for over 130 years and are one of the most prestigious in the region. This year's 2nd Flush boasts copper-colored leaves and buds that release a spicy floral nose that develops into a rich and earthy brew with a well balanced but sustained tannin.
Tasting Notes: Rich and silky sienna liquor with notes of nuts, dried fruit, spice, and wood with just a hint of malt.
We are so happy at the return of one of our favorite gardens in Darjeeling, Gopaldhara. This 2020 third flush Darjeeling is harvested at the end of autumn and affectionately titled by the producer, "Red Thunder".
Enjoy a cup filled with refinement that boasts subtle flavors of dried fruit, nuts, wood, and spices with a hint of malt. A perfect tea for any moment, quite frankly.
Darjeeling is a tea growing region in India with a relatively recent history of tea production (in comparison with some Chinese regions that have been cultivating tea for thousands of years). Though the tea tree camellia sinensis is native to parts of India, it wasn't until the British Colonial government began putting tea nurseries in the area that large tea estates were planted in the mid-1800s.
Darjeeling tea is unique in that most major estates harvest 4 different flushes each year, with the same tea bushes creating four teas distinct in character and flavor but all generally categorized as black teas. In contrast, while we do see some Chinese black teas being produced from buds and young leaves like the golden bud varietals: Jin Die and Yunnan Da Ye, it is typical for spring and summer harvests in China to be used for white and green teas.
It is understandable, then that a 1st Flush Darjeeling (harvested March-May 1) may bee much closer in character to green tea and tends to have a mild liquor with a floral aroma. 2nd Flush Darjeeling (harvested end of May - end of June) is a bit more mature in aroma and liquor, and it is this 2nd Flush that may yield the renowned, slightly sweet muscatel flavor in your Darjeeling. The 3rd Flush (harvested July-September 22) produces a darker Darjeeling and is made difficult to produce due to Monsoon season. The 4th Flush or Autumnal Flush (harvested end of September - early November) yields an even stronger liquor with a unique aroma full of autumn sunshine.
A colonial tea, we recommend brewing your Darjeeling in a Western-style teapot. Depending on the flush, you may anticipate 2-4 beautiful steeps from each portion of leaves. We also highly recommend your Darjeeling cold brewed for a refreshing and bold iced tea!
$ 22.00
Tasting Notes: Silky, amber liquor with notes of sweet potato, dried fruit, and summer squash.
This special, spring harvest organic black tea from Fujian Province is produced at 800m by Mr. He. He is a creative and innovative tea producer and this experiment yields delicious results. Using a cultivar, Jin Guan Yin, that is usually used in Wuyi Mountains for oolong production, Mr. He applies the traditional method of black tea production instead. The cup reveals an extraordinary silkiness and fruity profile.
Low in tannins, but high in flavor, a cup of Jin Guan Yin Hong organic black tea has notes of sweet potato and dried fruits. Pair this elegant tea with an afternoon treat and have a beautiful evening.
Depending on your preference, you can brew your Jin Guan Yin Hong Western-style or using a traditional Chinese teaware. Western-style brewers may anticipate 2-3 steeps from each portion of tea. Using a traditional gaiwan or yixing teapot, your Jin Guan Yin Hong may yield 6-8 gorgeous infusions. Remember to steep your leaves for increasing intervals with each brew.
