Tea Time with Brandy: Choice Organic Teas

There is not a day that dawns for Brandy that doesn't begin with a cup of tea.  "There is no greater medicine, no better fuel for the body, mind, and soul than tea," as Brandy likes to say, "If I had my way, every home would come with a tap on their sinks that dispensed piping hot tea so that no one would ever have to wait for the kettle to boil."

Because of her great fondness for this miracle beverage, Brandy was thrilled to receive a care package from Choice Organic Teas, a company based in Seattle that is dedicated to producing certified organic and fair trade teas.  Choice Organic Teas creates a vast array of teas, from traditional blends to exotic ones, with choices like black, white, red, and green teas as well as oolong, herbal, and wellness varieties.

Brandy was sent three varieties of black tea to sample: English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, and Wild Forrest Black.  "I have to admit, I've always been curious about the difference between English and Irish breakfast teas, so I suppose this is the time for some significant scientific research," Brandy mused, so she brewed a cup of each tea, deciding to taste them along side each other, both in their natural state and with cream and sugar.

Without Cream or Sugar

Irish Breakfast: The lightest of the three teas in both color and flavor.  Without cream or sugar, this tea was smooth with a little malty sourness, but no bitterness.  This blend was made from Assam black tea from India.

Wild Forrest: The darkest of the three teas in color.  It had a natural sweetness that Brandy really liked as well as a bright, almost fruity flavor.  The flavor was so bold and pleasant that Brandy would have been happy to drink it as is without cream or sugar.  This tea originated in Southeast Asia.

English Breakfast: This tea was the darkest in color, but in the middle in terms of flavor and boldness.  It was deep and smooth with a sort of honey like flavor and just a touch of bitterness.  This tea was a combination of Assam tea and Ceylon.

With Cream and Sugar

Irish Breakfast: The lightness of this tea was a little over powered by the cream and sugar, though the sugar did tame some of the sourness.  Brandy suggests only lightly sweetening this tea and maybe skipping the cream

Wild Forrest: The cream took away some of this tea's natural sweetness, but worked well with the rich flavor.  Brandy actually preferred this tea black and without any added sweetener.

 English Breakfast: Teas like this one were made for cream and sugar.  For Brandy, it was hard to explain, but the combination just seemed right.

In the end, Brandy found merits to all three of the teas and decided to incorporate them into her regular rotation.  "Tea is meant to warm the body and the spirit, therefore the more care and love that is put into that tea, the more you feel it in your soul, and Choice Organic Teas are most definitely full of spirit lifting stuff."

The writers of this blog were send product samples free of charge in exchange for an honest review.