Thoughts on the Vahdam black tea sampler

Overall, I think I'd give it a 3.5 stars, honestly while there were a couple of definite highlights, a significant chunk of the selection, I'd say about 6 out of the 10 teas felt pretty mediocre or even disappointing. The standard English Breakfast, the Daily Assam, and even the Assam Gold just didn't bring much excitement or complexity to the table for me. They were drinkable, but largely forgettable and felt quite similar in their straightforwardness.

However, it wasn't all "meh." There were definitely standouts! I really enjoyed the Premium Darjeeling First Flush with its complex character, and the Muscatel Darjeeling Imperial Second Flush was the clear winner for me. That one had a lovely complexity and those distinctive muscatel notes that really shone through. In fact, the Muscatel Imperial is probably the only tea from this entire sampler that I would actively consider buying a larger bag of to add to my regular rotation.

At £15 for the 100g sampler (10 samples of 10g each), it feels like decent value purely in terms of getting to try a variety without committing to large quantities. It definitely served its purpose as an exploration tool.

My main takeaway is that while Vahdam clearly has some excellent teas (like that Muscatel!), the quality or distinctiveness across this particular selection felt a bit uneven. Many of the more basic offerings didn't stand out much from each other.

But hey, that's the point of a sampler, right? To discover what you like and what you don't. While I won't be rushing back to buy most of these, I'm glad I found at least one gem in the mix. I still have their 20 world samplers box next!