Navy Black Tea
Soyuz Chai
$16.77USD for 150g Bar

I contacted Soyuz Chai on Instagram. They commented on my #TeaTriviaTuesday post and since I’m always looking for new companies to send samples I messaged them to see if they wanted to partner up. They sent me a sample of their 3 black teas- Army, Navy, and Air Force. I picked two for Trivia and kept one for myself to taste and review. I was NOT disappointed.

Packaging

My samples arrived from China in a sturdy box. I received 2 squares from a tea brick of each of the three teas. They were labeled so I knew which tea I was looking at. It also gave the steeping instructions in both English and Russian.
I looked at their website and the actual tea brick cover has STUNNING artwork depicting each military branch. The website names the illistrator as Kot of Almaty.

I opened the bag that held the Navy sample and was greeted by a sweet, floral, almost fruity aroma with a light haylike quality. It was very light for a black tea. This surprised me since the website describes it as “full bodied”. But I was looking forward to giving it a try.

How to Brew

The bag says to brew 7grams in a 300-500ml pot using boiling water for 5-7 minutes. I weighed the pieces that I had and found that the two squares together weighed 15grams. Even though I have broken apart many tea cakes, I have never had a tea brick before. I found that it was easy enough to get the two squares apart and I managed to get exactly 7 grams. I used my small red dragonfly cast iron tea pot that is 16oz (454grams), the perfect size for this tea.

The Experience

I followed the instructions and, after a quick 10 second rinse, steeped the Navy black tea at 212*F for 6 minutes. It steeped to a beautiful burnt orange color. My first sip was sweet and fruity with hints of plums and apricots. There was a slight cedar smokiness to the aftertaste which was really pleasant. I was surprised that the tea was not as light as the original aroma suggested. It was, indeed, full bodied and lovely!

In Conclusion

The leaves were beautiful as they brewed. They lightened as they unraveled. It was a wonderful process to watch and was really difficult not to just leave the tea pot open. But to keep the heat in, you have to keep the tea pot closed so after sneaking a peek half way through I closed the pot and let the leaves enjoy the heat.

I absolutely fell in love with this tea. I enjoyed the sweet, fruity flavor that I got in the beginning and even loved the light smokiness that came out at the end. Soyuz Chai’s Navy Black Tea can be re-steeped multiple times. I re-steeped the leaves two more times at 7 minutes each and enjoyed the tea all day. It was even nice once it at cooled off!

I am so glad that I have another square to play with. I will absolutely be adding more of this to my collection. This is a tea that I could enjoy on a regular basis. It would be a great wake up tea in the morning and I already know it is wonderful to sip throughout the day. If you are looking for an every day black tea, Navy from Soyuz Chai is a wonderful option!!

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