The Teabox Top 10 Teas of 2015

Most of us who work at Teabox begin with at least a vague fondness for tea, if not a deeper affection for it. And of course there are some who border on expert. And no matter what, chai is the unanimous and necessary choice for the mid morning and late afternoon hours. But a pleasant consequence of working at Teabox has meant that there are always some excellent teas to try, and some interesting tea makers as well; the single cup tea infuser has found a home with our UX designer while our Ukranian customer service head will always have some Chinese tea steeping in his pot, offering a short lesson in the differences between the first and subsequent steeps. Then there’s our procurement team in Siliguri whose job requires them to taste more than 20-25 teas a day and who can still distinguish between each! And of course, all new staff will find themselves being offered a cup of fine Darjeeling or a special blend by our writer and tea evangelist, Meeta.

Suffice to say, we don’t drink tea the way we used to anymore. Now, there are moments when chai isn’t enough when we’ll reach for our preferred teas from a private office stash. So here’s our pick of 2015’s top teas from Teabox.

#1 Jasmine Jade – a green tea infused with the aroma of jasmine flowers.

Says Gopal, head of procurement, “Our Jasmine Jade is so special to me that I constantly look for a reason to sip it. It’s a perfect blend, where dry jasmine flower and curly tea leaves truly complements each other. Fragrant and delicate, and also very seductive.” Chahana, a senior UX designer, adds, “I have tried jasmine teas before, but never liked those. Somehow all of them had a strange artificial flavored-oil taste. This one, I fell in love with instantly. I guess, it was because of the elaborate process of the tea leaves being dried with a layer of Jasmine flowers. No wonder it tastes so divine.”

#2 Castleton Moonlight White – floral, citrusy and exceptionally decadent.

Ravi, in-charge of procurement, calls it “the perfect cup of Darjeeling.” Can’t beat that! It’s also our founder, Kaushal’s pick of the year.

#3 Mountain Rose – intensely sweet, smooth, and full of rose and cardamom.
We’d recommend it as a gift for the ladies. Says Saloni, marketing associate, “I absolutely love the heady mix of jasmine and rose and it’s my perfect break in the day, at 4:30pm (sharp), whether social or solitary.”

#4 Jungpana Spring Black – a classic Darjeeling Chinary tea with the smoothest spring flavors.

Meeta, our marketing associate, says, “I had my first cup of this tea back in March, and I still remember how it tasted of guava and raw mangoes. It was the first time I could pick out all of the flavors, enough to talk about it like a pro. It was the first tea that evoked overwhelming flavor feelings and no tea has come close to its experience.”

#5 Assam Masala Chai – a warm, spiced chai blend.

Says Sunisha, a senior catalog manager at Teabox, “I love the aroma and the strong spicy flavor of this chai.” Also, it’s the chai blend that can be found simmering in the office pantry every morning at 10 am.

#6 Kolkata Street Chai – a chai blend of strong tea with ginger, cardamom and saffron.

Says Rohini, our HR, “I was not a tea lover before I took a sip of this tea. Now I can’t stop raving about it!”

#7 Darjeeling Special Spring White – with a whiff of wild flowers.

Says Aravinda, editor of the Teabox blog, “I found myself remembering the taste of this tea late afternoons and bought myself some. It’s a great tea to drink late in the day. I think the wild flowers make it memorable for me!”

#8 Goomtee Spring Black – indulgently citrusy and floral.

Says Rohan, head of inbound marketing, “It was the first time I felt that the descriptions were genuine and that teas can indeed be floral.”

#9 Rose Mist – a decadent white tea blended with pink rose buds.

Says Vishal, head of strategy, “I love it for the smell.” Adds Smit, manager for merchandising efforts who can be found instagramming this tea quite often, “I love its light flavor and the garnish of rose buds looks very appealing.”

#10 Jungpana Muscatel – intoxicating muscatel flavors that linger long.

Says Khilan, product manager at Teabox, “I have tried many muscatels, but this is the one I keep coming back to. It’s flavors are bold, pronounced and the muscatel is so clearly present in the cup.”

So there you have it, our top teas of 2015. If you’ve wondered what teas to try, give this list a go. It won’t disappoint!

+4