Oliver Pluff & Co. Colonial Bohea Black Tea | Complex, Smokey, Strong | Loose Leaf | 3 oz

I absolutely love this tea - as someone else said it has the aroma of bbq smoke and is a very smooth easy to drink black tea. It doesnt 'need' milk or sugar but you can dress it how you want. Its not a super dark black tea either, it does not have any bitter or astringent qualities. So it depends on what you are looking for. But this is something very distinctive in a good way.The smell and taste are excellent and I look forward to buying more soon.

If you've never tried this tea before, now is the best time (fall time). Smells like a campfire and tastes delicious. Purchased twice already. All the other teas I've purchased from Oliver Pluff are just as delicious and make the perfect gift. The Lapsang Souchong is the smokiest tea they have and it's my favorite.

I really enjoyed the freshness of the tea.While drinking, the taste is dark, but smooth.The smoky aroma sets this tea as an tea for conisuers who want to try them all.Very good.You will be wanting a second cup.

This is a difficult review because it’s probably a very high quality tea, and perhaps even exotic, but the smoky flavor just wasn’t appealing to my taste buds at all. I enjoy strong black tea, and wanted to try something old and a throwback to the American Independence. The smoky flavor was more than I bargained for. I’m giving 3 stars because it was a good black tea and it definitely lives up to the description of being smoky. There is a light smoky smell in the cup. Although the smoke flavor isn’t so strong that it inhibits the flavor of the tea leaves, its very presence is such an off taste that it is impossible for me to enjoy.

I'm probably more upset that I got suckered into buying yet another smoked tea than I am with the quality of the actual product. The packaging is nice enough, quality tin and clever design. The tea was fresh, and made up of fine quality unbroken blend of teas.The problem was the description of Bohea as "a distinctive black tea blend with a light smoky flavor." As I am always on the lookout for a tea that has a natural hint of smokiness, as a very few fine Keemun's I've had do, I thought I'd give it a try.Alas, "Lightly Smoky" means "Smoked" and it's no different as matter of taste than Harney's Smoke Tea, or T2's Russian Caravan or practically every 'lightly smoked' lapsang souchong that exists. If you're a fan of these types of teas, I'd put it equal in smokiness to the Harney's and a fine re-stock.But I have to deduct points for a slightly misleading copy that seems to imply this is some new, different type of product from the early days of the Colonies, when it's really just another Lap blend. Russian Caravan at least admits it's got Lap in it so you know what you're getting into.On a quality and freshness scale stacked against the other's mentioned in this review, this is surely in the 5-star range, if this is your sort of thing. On a personal taste scale, this gets a 3-star dropping towards 2.5 both for the misleading packaging and that I already have too much smoke tea in my cupboard.Final: 4-stars. Barely.

I love the smoky flavor of this tea. It's the only tea I don't have to sweeten. It's also fun to be tasting history.

Fascinating Tea! I love historic reproductions, this bohea fit the bill. The fragrance from the container is fairly intense, very smoky and deep, much like a historic home in Jamestown or Williamsburg, a smokehouse or blacksmith shop perhaps.The smell was intimidating but didn't deter me from making a pot. Bringing spring water to a boil and steeping for 5 minutes the fragrance filled the parlor. I was transported to the 18th century. The scent developed while steeping, dried fruits and delicate dried flowers became prominent, with just a hint of smoke. A surprisingly mild tea but very complex. I tried it without sugar and found its lovely as is, then I used unrefined European brown sugar cubes which complimented the tea brilliantly. It just came alive, rich and smooth, delicate but fulfilling, strong like a good black coffee but without the acidity.This is a remarkable tea! The history that comes from a tea such as this makes it a must have. Like most households in the 18th tea blending would be likely with a tea like this but it's so unique I would enjoy it unblended.A deep flavor tea would be necessary in the 18th century to stand up to the strong flavors and spices used in most foods and meats so I totally see why this would be popular.I'm so glad I got this tea!

Do you like beef jerky without the beef? Thats what this tasted like to me. All smoke and little tea flavor. I followed suit with what the colonists did and dumped mine in the sea as well. Love the tin if I can get the nasty strongly smoked tea smell out, Ill reuse that.