Tea Review: Black Leafy 1 (Bitaco)

Black Leafy 1

Bitaco
Type: Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of nut shells, wood, grains, and brown bread crust.  

The liquor is red with an aroma of fruit, cocoa, and a hint of nuts.  The taste has moderate astringency with notes of nuts and hints of fruit and cocoa.

The fullest flavor was in the first infusion which had tasty cocoa-like notes in the aroma and taste.  The cocoa gave way to malty notes in the second infusion, followed by a pleasantly mellow third infusion. 

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Black Wiry 1 (Bitaco)

Black Wiry 1
Bitaco
Type: Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaf has mild notes of fragrant wood and nut shells.

The dark red liquor has an aroma of baked fruit and warm berries.  The taste is moderately astringent with malty and brown bread notes and a dry finish.

Though this is an older sample, the flavor and aroma remain impressive.  While the first infusion produced the fullest flavor subsequent infusions are still enjoyable.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Black Wiry 2 (Bitaco)

Black Wiry 2
Bitaco
Type: Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description:

Larger, longer leaves, well sorted long, wiry leaves. Its liquor displays an amber color that is similar but paler than Leafy 1. It offers you a nice mellow-sweet cup, delightful in the afternoon or anytime.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of wood, stone fruit, oats, and honey. 

The copper red infusion has a sweet aroma of baked stone fruit and honey with a dark rich taste of dates and light malt with mild astringency and a long finish.

While the best results are in the first infusion, the mellower second infusion is also pleasant.  Steeping for 3 minutes provided the best results for my preference and for those that prefer something a little bolder with more astringency,  results are good with a slightly longer steeping time.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Black Tippy 1 (Bitaco)

Black Tippy 1
Bitaco
Type: Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: This distinctive tea has a golden tippy dry leaf. The brewed tea has the darkest liquor color of any of our teas — a clear, deep amber. You will find it fully but gently astringent, lightly fruity, with teasing flavor notes reminiscent of raisins, yet always keeping the notable sweetness of Bitaco® Teas. This is an ideal morning breakfast tea.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaf has mild notes of cocoa and fruit with a faint hint of wood.

The deep red infusion has a rich aroma of cocoa and fruit.  The taste is moderately astringent with woody notes and a long finish.

While enjoyable on its own, this would also make a very nice base for a breakfast tea blend.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Green Wiry (Bitaco)

Green Wiry
Bitaco
Type: Green
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: A perfectly rolled leaf with sweet, nutty flavors and a bright yellow/jade color.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a sweet and grassy green aroma with a hint of oats.

The light golden green infusion has a sweet green bean and lightly nutty flavor and aroma with a green finish.

While I enjoyed the mellow sweetness of this tea with a 3 minute infusion, I also appreciated the results from a longer 5 minute infusion which produced a moderately bolder taste and mild astringency.  The results were good throughout three infusions with toasty notes developing after the first infusion.  

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Black Tippy 2 (Bitaco)

Black Tippy 2
Bitaco
Type: Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: This tea has fewer tips than Tippy 1 but is really quite attractive visually. It has a lighter color than Tippy 1, an appealing clear, amber color. The brewed tea liquor delivers the subtle sweetness characteristic of Tippy 1 but with less overall astringency.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a sweet aroma of plums and seasoned wood.

The dark red infusion has an aroma of baked fruit and brown sugar while the taste is moderately astringent and sweet with notes of baked brown bread.

The first and second infusions were similarly full-flavored.  While the third infusion was mellower, I found it to be rather nice on its own merits.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Green Leafy (Bitaco)

Green Leafy
Bitaco
Type: Green
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description:  A well-rolled leaf and the largest leaves of our green teas. Green Leafy is low in astringency with sweet, nutty flavors; the liquor is clear and has a bright yellow/jade color.

Temperature: 175° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of fragrant wood, oats, and pepper.

The pale green infusion has a lightly nutty, toasty, and sweet green aroma with a mildly nutty green taste and a mild dry finish.

This green tea was very approachable with longer steeping times (3-5 minutes) bringing out more flavor without a notable increase in astringency.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Coffee Kisses (Bitaco)

Coffee Kisses
Bitaco
Type: Flavored Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: For decades Colombian coffee has been recognized as the finest and smoothest coffee available. The tropical climate, the luminosity of high mountain sunshine, and the caring production process produce exquisite coffee beans. Our supplier-partner families have a very long tradition of creating artisan coffee that is simply exceptional – a perfect coffee to be blended with our Bitaco® Black Tea. This blend perfectly balances the subtly-sweet nature of our Black Tea with Arabica Colombian coffee.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of rich coffee and cocoa.

The red infusion has an aroma and taste of fresh ground coffee and cocoa (light) with a dry finish.

Though cocoa was not in the blend, it brought to mind a coffeehouse mocha. By the third infusion, the black tea notes had moved to the front while the coffee notes stepped back.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Black Leafy 2 (Bitaco)

Black Leafy 2
Bitaco
Type: Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Larger twisted leaves that are a touch ragged. The liquor color is slightly darker than Leafy 1 and yields a sweet mellow cup like that of Leafy 1.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a mildly floral aroma with notes of aged wood and oats.

The bright orange-red infusion has a heady aroma of baked fruit with a taste that is lightly astringent and rich with notes of baked fruit, molasses, and brown bread.  

This is a very approachable black tea with the best flavor in the first two infusions.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Green Needles (Bitaco)

Green Needles
Bitaco
Type: Green
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description:  This tea has the marked character of a traditional green tea with sublime astringency, no grassy or bitter notes, and a pleasing brewed tea liquor that is lemon-green in color.

Temperature: 175° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of green beans on the vine with a hint of nori.

The pale green infusion has moderate astringency with a buttery aroma and taste and notes of edamame (cooked soybeans) throughout.

While the astringency became more prominent after the savory first steeping, a shorter steeping time of 1-1.5 minutes will bring it back down to mellower levels if that is your preference.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Mist Forest (Bitaco)

Mist Forest
Bitaco
Type: Flavored Green
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Pear Guava is a graft of Guava and Pear which creates a bigger fruit with a citrus flavor and red flesh, vastly consumed in Colombia. Soursop, coming from Central and South America, is a fruit with white juicy flesh surrounding the seed with high vitamin C contents.

This Blend gives some acidity to our Green tea Bitaco® soft flavor with an exquisite Guava residue allowing a unique flavor experience..

Temperature: 195° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves are blended with pear guava and soursop and have a heady aroma of tropical fruit.

The infusion is pale yellow with an aroma of tropical fruit and a hint of something buttery.  The taste is tropical with pear and savory rice and a short finish.

The full flavor and aroma come through in the first infusion and does not carry into a second infusion.  I need to eat pear guava soon because the blend of tropical fruit and pear in the flavor and aroma were intriguing.  The savory rice-like taste was an unusual though not unwelcome surprise.  

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Tropical Charming (Bitaco)

Tropical Charming
Bitaco
Type: Flavored Green
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Green Tea Bitaco®, Lulo, Starfruit and Mango.

Temperature: 185° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaf blend has an aroma of cocoa, raisins, and tropical fruit.

The infusion is pale yellow-green with a light green and fruity aroma and flavor and a mango fruit finish.

This tea was light in flavor and aroma and had no astringency.  It suspect it would do very nicely as an iced tea.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Andean Princess (Bitaco)

Andean Princess
Bitaco
Type: Flavored Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Black Tea Bitaco®, Isabella Grape Skin and Andean Raspberry

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of raspberries, grapes, cocoa, and fragrant wood.

The red-orange infusion has an aroma of warm rye bread, berries, grapes, and malt.  The taste is malty with a hint of grape and wood, similar to oak cask.  

One infusion is best with this tea.  The berry and grape flavor was surprisingly light, though this may also be a sign that no artificial flavors were added.  

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Cacao Kisses (Bitaco)

Cacao Kisses
Bitaco
Type: Flavored Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Black Tea Bitaco®, Cocoa Husk and Cacao Nibs

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of chocolate and red pepper.

The infusion is red-orange with an aroma of warm apricots and chocolate and a mild, lightly astringent flavor.

While the aroma was enticing, I was surprised to find that none of the cocoa flavor seemed to come through.  One steeping is best.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Black Tea (Bitaco)

Black Tea
Bitaco
Type: Black
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description: Our Black tea Bitaco is a low astringency tea with great body.  It distinguishes itself by its sweet liqueur flavor and aroma, similar to the one from the sugar cane with woody notes.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of cocoa and raspberries.

The infusion is red with a sweet and buttery aroma of warm fruit and pastry with a smooth, full-bodied flavor and very low astringency.

Three infusions continued to produce delicious results with little loss of flavor and aroma, while sweetness began to develop by the third infusion. The aroma reminded me of hot apple pie.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Green Tea (Bitaco)

Green Tea
Bitaco
Type: Green
Origin: Colombia, La Cumbre
Product Description:  Our Green tea Bitaco has a crystal clear liqueur with a very soft smooth taste without ash residue, which makes it a very well appreciated tea.

Temperature: 175° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have a light, spicy green aroma with a hint of sweet pear.

The infusion is clear and golden with a light, mellow aroma and taste of baked sweet potato and  wild rice.

This tea's profile is certainly unique to its terroir, producing a satisfyingly mild flavor and aroma I haven't encountered with other green teas.  I'm curious to see how the profile changes when steeped at higher temperatures.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.