VAHDAM Earl Grey Tea Loose Leaf (12oz|170+ Cups) Black Tea with Bergamot

Update 2018-02-09 Vahdam teas are my daily beverage, all day long, now that i quit drinking coffee and alcohol. I am giving as gifts to friends and family in the convenient to use pyramid bags. The attractive boxes make a nice, affordable gift. I have been drinking Vahdam teas for a couple of years now. I received an email from Bala Sarda, the company founder, and decided to take the time to share about their products. If you like high-quality teas, you really need to check these out. I have a friend at work who visits the prime tea country back at his home in mainland China every few years, and brings back some of the most wonderful teas. They are prohibitively expense for me to purchase here in the US. Vahdam teas are the only teas that I have tasted that remind me of the high-quality, very expensive products from mainland China. Different products but similar high quality. And Vahdam teas from Amazon are very affordable. Here is Bala's story from his email, which I thought worthy of copy/pasting here: "I wish to introduce myself as the 25-year-old, Founder of Vahdam Teas . Your Amazon shipment is Out for Delivery and should reach you very soon. Firstly, thank you for choosing our teas. And before you try them, I wanted to share MY STORY with you. I come with a lineage of over 80 years in tea & I am the 4th generation in my family running a tea business. However, it is when I joined my bulk-tea-export family business, I noticed that most of the tea being sold across the world is passing through multiple middlemen & reaching consumers like you , a minimum of 6-12 months after harvest in the plantations . And by then, most of the PRIME freshness & flavour found in tea is lost. And even though, world famous tea brands are growing every year, the millions of tea growers back here in India are plagued with problems like low wages and are also facing an uncertain future . Yes, even though India grows some of the finest teas in the world (30% of the world's production), the absence of a home-grown brand has made the industry dependent on bulk tea exports to brands who move to poor quality teas from other tea growing regions in order to compete on price points & earn higher margins, as soon as the farmer's increase their price. And to initiate a journey to solve these problems, is when I decided to launch Vahdam Teas, a home-grown Indian tea brand, a couple of years back. How are Vahdam Teas exceptionally fresh? Unlike your everyday cuppa, V ahdam teas do not travel in containers for months before being packaged and sold. All our teas are procured direct from plantations & tea growers within 24-72 hours of harvest , packaged garden fresh and shipped to Amazon warehouses directly from source in India . By eliminating all middlemen we are not only able to make available garden fresh high quality teas but are also able to retain all earnings in the region where these divine teas are grown & nurtured by millions of growers with immense love, care and passion . A process which ultimately helps every farmer get a better price for their produce. Additionally, instead of a date of packaging, most Vahdam Teas come with a Date of Picking/Harvest which is the true indicator a tea's freshness. I would like to thank you for joining our tea family & patronizing a truly ethical, fair-trade tea. I am every excited for you to try our teas & taste the VAHDAM difference. We are honest company, working hard to get better every day & if for some reason you do not like your cup of tea or if they is any other feedback, please don't hesitate to mail me here, directly. I will personally ensure to send you a replacement or a refund. " The Earl Grey Citrus is my favorite, and after years of drinking Starbucks Verona, this is now my daily beverage.

When I opened the package, I was blown away by the wonderful Earl Grey and citrusy aroma. However, I have had several cups and made sure my palate was clean so that there was no other taste in my mouth. To me this taste like plain black tea. This tea is pretty much tasteless. Overall, this is an incredible disappointment. I drink lots of different teas and my favorite Earl Grey so far is Tippy Earl Grey from Golden Moon Tea - see here . I canceled this subscribe and save item as I am so disappointed. I expected better considering the overwhelmingly positive reviews. There is also one more negative. The bag is supposed to be resealable but the internal zip lock pulls away from the bag in spots leaving me without the ability to seal this bag. UPDATE May 10, 2018 - The owner contacted me and was generous enough to sent me some replacement teas to try (see picture and story). The customer service is outstanding and the teas smell great. Unfortunately, after have more than 10 cups of tea on a clean palate, I just could not taste any Bergamot flavor. The brew itself is clean (meaning no sediment) which is very good, but the tea is flavorless or almost flavorless as in the case of the chai I tried. I am always surprised when a tea smells fabulous but it does not carry over into the brew. I wish them well. UPDATE Oct 31, 2024 - After I tried the replacement tea the owner sent me, I put both packages aside for a couple of years. I decided to start drinking this tea again and it is very good. Perhaps it took time for the bergamot flavor to meld with the tea but now the same tea I rated 2 stars tastes like 4.5 stars to me.

This Vahdam Earl Grey (a classic blend of Indian black teas laced with bergamot oil, made popular in 19th-century Britain) is a rich, scented black tea blend. This type of tea originally was an attempt to replicate the flavors of Chinese teas, and selling tea with bergamot oil was frowned on (even tried in court cases). But its popularity and improved processing increased the demand, until Earl Grey became a recognized varietal blend in 1880s London. Vahdam is a seller that prides itself on changing the older, traditional (but slower) ways of marketing Indian teas, so that the consumer gets a fresher, tastier product soon after harvest and processing. When warehoused and retailed by third-party US sellers, some of that advantage is diminished, but read their mission statement above and you may decide to order tea direct. I've read, sampled and researched to learn more about fine teas. It helps to learn about tea grading, curing and number of harvests to help you choose more wisely--and realize the earth (terroir) and environment are as critical in tea culture as they are in wine cultivation. There is a major flavor difference between fannings used to make tea bags, and higher qualify full leaf single-estate teas. Varieties are detemined by the country of origin and even the microclimate or region, as Chinese Yunnan teas are different from Sri Lankan or Indian varieties, Jasmine or Darjeelings or Assams. Prices are influenced by the demand, the climate and weather, and the size of a year's harvest, so they vary annually. Vahdam's vacuum-sealed packages will assure the tea arrives fresh and are a good way to preserve the flavor and quality, often better than using tins or tea caddies. Only vacuum-sealed canisters will give your purchase the same protection and longevity. The smaller sample sizes let you decide if Earl Grey tea is to your liking; see the recommended brewing, steeping instructions, as they change with a tea variety.

Ok I have been using this tea for about 2 years or so now, have previously used Harney and Sons and Rishi, this tea is significantly more expensive than Harney and like wise less expensive than Rishi. Overall the quality of the tea is excellent, the blending and amount of bergamot oil is just about spot on. It is an absolute necessity to keep the tea leaves properly, the flavor will degrade rather quickly if you do not keep the tea sealed tightly. What we do is vacuum seal about 1/2 the bag and use the open half, however if we made 2 cups side by side with a brand new bag and the tea from the previous batch it becomes very obvious that the tea flavor is not the same. My only problem with this company is that they switched from 16 oz bags to 12 oz bags and the price stayed the same. Which means they raised the price 25% and didn't say anything about it, just repackaged it in a bit of a different way, if your going to do that at least be upfront with your customers, they are in fact the life of your business. Anyway it is an excellent tea and I think you will like it.

This excellent looseleaf tea in its many forms grown in India was first introduced to me by Oprah Winfrey. I tried it and I have loved it for several years now it’s many forms in different blends. Have never let me down. They meet all my expectations knowing that Management has shared with its growers. It’s harvester’s. It’s Packers. It shippers makes me very happy. Good to share.

Admittedly, I am not an experienced tea drinker, just started getting into it this year. I have tried the Solstice Earl Grey sampler, all of which was wonderful, and I have tried the Vahdam Green Tea sampler, which was also wonderful. That's the extent of my experience. With that, I fond the Vahdam Earl Grey tea to be phenomenal. Really pleasant and pronounced aroma, the tea leaves seem great quality, not tiny little crumbs like other loose teas I've seen and tried, and the perfect hint of bergemot in the background. I put two stars on the packaging because the bag is supposed to be resealable... and this will be hard for me to describe, but the part on the top of the bag that is supposed to "stick in" to the other side is attached to the bag by glue, and it wasn't strong and completely came apart. Not a big deal, I put the whole thing in another ziploc bag. I only say this because the review asks about packaging and the packaging was quite sub-excellent, but don't let that deter you from treating yourself to this incredible tea!

I thought that it was a tad expensive at first but as soon as I got the package and looked at the box I said "That's it?!" it looked small. Once I opened the box, the contents were a vacuum sealed bag of tea, another empty mylar bag that is resealable, a brochure about the tea and a sticker label for the empty bag with the tea info on it. I opened the package and I immediately noticed how amazing the tea smelled! I have fresh boxes of Twinning's and Bigelow earl grey tea and this is by far stronger than the other two. I couldn't even smell the twinning's compared to this tea. The leaves swell in size once boiled for 3-4 minutes and I use just a glass teapot I bought on Amazon. The flavor is amazing, I've had a pot of tea every day since I bought it and couldn't be happier. I transferred less than a 1/3rd of the tea to the resealable bag and used my vacuum sealer to reseal the original bag but I don't think I needed to since I'm sure I'll go through it in no time.

I like how it was packaged to prevent breakage/crumbling. Seems like a good quality tea but the bergamot was overwhelmingly floral or perfumey. It reminded me exactly of Twinings Earl Gray tea bags. Both of which I need to cut with an an english breakfast type blend to make a what I consider a good cuppa. I ordered because my usual Numi aged earl gray was out of stock.

good test tea and strong

This earl grey tea is gorgeous. The best earl grey I've tasted. My husband doesn't like earl grey but loves the smell when he opens the bag; it really is amazing.

One of the better earl grey teas Ive tried. Great value too! And none of those cornflowers most loose leaf earl grey tea has!!

主にスコーンにいれていました。値段も手ごろで良い商品だと思います。

Actualizacion 2022 Llevo cuatro años consumiendolo y renovando pedidos y estoy mas que satisfecho por su consistencia en la calidad (aunque tiene bastante marketing). Como decía alguien el te en bolsas sabe a bolsa, claro. Como muestra compre uno en bolsas, que es menos latazo de hacer, y nunca más. Este año esperaré a que se recoja la primera cosecha que se hace en marzo y compraré Vahdam fresco para que me dure, que siempre se me agota en otoño. Algun usuario decia que estaba un poco seco, teniendo en cuenta que lo compró en Noviembre no es de extrañar. Como consejo adicional, y dado que a veces, aprieta uno mal el zip y queda abierto, yo lo meto en una caja hermética de latón comome enseño mi bisabuela. 2018 Pruebo el Earl Grey de Vahdam y lo comparo con el que suelo tomar, el original de Twinings (en lata, que va suelto y no en bolsas) que dió lugar a este té. Este té de Vahdam me ha encantado. En mi paladar el Earl Grey de Vahdam tiene un sabor mas “agudo”, menos fuerte y mas lleno de matices y como ellos dicen, es mas cítrico. Me ha encantado y como no he de elegir, lo iré alternando con el original y profundizando en sus diferencias. El packaging y la presentación, son espléndidos, con detalles sobre el momento de recogida o los minutos infusionandose (no mas de cinco), estan haciendo una buen labor y le auguro un buen futuro a este té y a esta empresa. Esta mezcla esta hecha con té negro Indio del norte, de Assam, una de las mejores zonas para el té negro ( el de toda la vida en Occidente). Este té esta cortado en CTC, es decir fino, pero no en polvo. Otros tés de la marca vienen con las hojas enteras Su aroma es excelente y su sabor mas ligero que el original, hará un excelente té frio para el verano. Lo probare y actualizaré. Este es un té para dias de sol, por su sabor, aunque el comentario parezca tonto. Respecto a su precio, es algo msimilar a los tés buenecillos de super cuando no está. La competencia cuesta 5-6 € los cien gramos y este 22,95 € los 450 grs. En promoción (que lo estan introduciendo) es una grandisima compra, pero su calidad y frescura es muy superior en todos los casos.