Atlas Tea Club Burma Review

By

Bryan Huynh

on March 21, 2024

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Although I am a coffee lover at heart, I decided to give Atlas Tea Club a shot after learning that they had introduced this subscription for tea aficionados. Atlas Tea Club is a monthly tea subscription service that curates great single origin teas from across the world. Each month includes two different teas along flavor notes, a postcard, and preparation instructions. You can acquire fantastic teas that you won't find anywhere else. Every month, a different country and delectable tastes to experience with your cup of tea.

If you enjoy trying new teas from all over the world, this is some excellent news for you. The subscription tea package Atlas Tea Club meets your single origin tea needs by exposing your palate to the world's many tea locations. Here’s my review of Atlas Tea Club’s Burma themed tea bag! Check out our Tea Clubs page to compare and read reviews of our favorite tea clubs!

Why Choose Atlas Tea Club

Every year, they taste hundreds of outstanding and award-winning teas from across the world and share their favorites with club members.

They source their teas ethically from small farms owned by real people, emphasizing sustainable agricultural techniques in order to give you the finest teas produced with care.

From the comfort of your own home, sample the various local flavors at each place on your tea world journey. Take your palette on a monthly vacation to a new destination, learn about a new culture, and sip a one-of-a-kind tea.

Background

The history of tea in Burma might be as old as tea itself. Tea most likely originated not only in Yunnan, the "birthplace of tea," but also in neighboring regions such as Kokang. Tea plantation records dating back to the 11th century reveal that tea was a part of Burmese culture long prior western invasion and Chinese influence. Indigenous Burmese developed their own tea traditions, including a distinct fondness for eating  fermented tea leaves, for which they save their best tea harvest. Laphet thoke, a classic dish in Burmese cuisine, is still a popular delicacy today.

From its roots as a peace offering between warring kingdoms to its role in every Burmese household as an offering for guests, tea has remained a symbol of welcoming in Burma. With the top grade teas from tiny farms in Kokang, this important component of Burmese life is gradually and progressively being shared and cherished worldwide.

Burma is a country with a rich history, a view into millennia-old traditions, and a tenuous developing democracy. This is one of the very few surviving areas on the planet that may both surprise and astonish the modern visitor. Burma has been isolated from the rest of the world for decades, and only over the last ten years has it begun to slowly expose its striking natural beauty. And its remarkable and intricate composition. Thousands of delicately pointed stupas cover an area, and the sturdy, gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, which looks down on 2,500 years of Burma's ebbs and flows, reminding us of how precious and relevant the past can be. The unexplored corals and nomadic so-called sea gypsies of the Myeik Archipelago, and the giant teetering rock of Boulder Island, inspiration for Peter Pan’s Neverland, remind us how to let go of time. 

Summary 

Atlas Tea Club supplies all single-origin teas. I would describe this cup of pure black tea as having a smooth, medium body. These tightly curled, entire black leaves, freshly harvested from 100-year-old tea plants, offer the distinguishing feature of Kokang teas: a strong orchid aroma.

The fragrant, flowery scent of the steeped leaves provides a woodsy and earthy grounding to this medium-bodied tea. The bergamot, citrus, and orange flower scents create a bright cup with a moderate astringency and a smooth texture.

On further steeps, the maple syrup and malt notes provide a warming quality that fills out the cup well, with a fuller body and reduced acidity or bitterness

Region: Muang Tai

Altitude: 1800 Meters

Processing: Orthodox

Body: Medium

Tasting Notes: Bergamot, Graham cracker, Maple syrup

Pros

  • Tea-source focused - Each month, a different country's tea is highlighted.
  • Postcards with geographical information, tasting notes, and steeping tips.
  • Comes with free tea bags
  • Travel-themed - The worldwide flair adds another layer to the tea, making you feel as though you're traveling to each destination.
  • High quality tea from over 50+ countries (In this case, Burma) 
  • Subscriptions are customizable. Want herbal teas? Caffeinated teas? or a mix of both?
  • Satisfaction guarantee. Their customer service team works hard to meet your tea satisfaction
  • Great for last minute gifts because you can schedule it out and recipients can choose their own preferences 

Cons

  • This is a subscription to loose leaf tea. If you like bagged tea, this subscription might not be suitable for you.
  • This subscription is generally suitable for adventurous tea consumers who like to try different things. Because Atlas Tea Club does not allow you to hand-pick your teas, you can expect a wide range of flavors.
  • May not be the cheapest option to receive your tea. (See alternatives below)

Buying the Product

Atlas Tea Club orders are packaged safely in a brown cardboard box. Tea is presented in sealed bags that help keep the tea fresh.

Each shipment contains two 40-gram bags of tea leaves, all natural, recyclable tea filters packed in a tiny linen bag for easy brewing, steeping instructions to bring the tea to its peak form, detailed tasting notes, and a postcard from the country of origin so you can learn about the background of tea culture within the region and what went into growing your leaves. Customers may also choose between the caffeinated Tea World Tour and the caffeine-free Herbal Tea Tour, as well as their tea preference of green tea, black tea, or a selection of pure teas.

Another advantage of single-origin, pure tea is that it commonly contains the entire leaf rather than the small parts or powder seen in blends. With the full leaf, you're one step closer to drinking tea directly from the source.

Here is how to acquire yourself (or another tea time lover) a tea haul each month:

  1. First, you will answer a few questions about your tea drinking preferences.
  2. Next, choose between variety, pure teas, or blended teas.
  3. Then you are able to choose between caffeinated and caffeine-free options. You can narrow your selections further by choosing between green, oolong, or black tea. 
  4. Finally, indicate how many tea pouches you want every shipment and whether you want them every two or four weeks. 

Amount of Tea Leaves: 1 tsp Amount of Water: 8oz water Temperature: 210° F Steep Time: 3-4 min steep (Re-steep 1-2 times) Caffeine Level: High

Learn more about Atlas Tea Club here.

At the current time of writing, the pricings are:

Atlas Tea - $14 per shipment plus $4.95 shipping

Simple Loose Leaf - $9 per shipment

Sips by -  $16 per month with free shipping.

Tea Box-  $25.50 per month

Benefits of Tea

For starters, tea contains less caffeine than coffee, which means you're less likely to experience caffeine-induced jitters, anxiety, or anxiousness than if you drank a cup of coffee. For example, an eight-ounce cup of black tea contains around half the amount of caffeine as an eight-ounce cup of black coffee.

Certain types of tea also include high levels of beneficial elements associated with heart health, disease prevention, and weight management. Green tea has been shown to be an excellent weight loss aid, and white tea contains polyphenols associated with a lower risk of heart disease. No matter how much I love coffee, I give props to tea: it's also incredibly great!

Results

It's a delicious smooth black tea that smells like bergamot and tastes like Earl Gray. If you really tried, you should smell maple syrup or graham cracker notes. If you don’t think you like black tea, it’s time you reconsider. You might even surprise yourself and find a new favorite. I had no idea that black tea could ever naturally taste like maple syrup.

Bottom Line

Despite the fact that I am a coffee addict, I have also been enjoying a wonderful cup of tea after a heavy lunch or even prior to bed. The tea leaves from Atlas Tea Club are single-origin, freshly harvested, responsibly sourced, and, most importantly, consistently produce a delicious tea experience. I really like how easy it is to pause or cancel subscriptions at any time. Most importantly, the prices are comparable to specialized grocery store prices, but the tastes are noticeably superior.

All in all, if you enjoy tea or alternate your coffee habit with a cup of tea every now and then, and want to understand about the history of your leaves, I think the Atlas Tea Club membership is worth a go. Overall, I'm a big fan of the "travel via tea" concept and think Atlas Tea Club is a terrific alternative for the more established demographic of tea aficionados who prefer single-origin, pure tea. This monthly membership may be more challenging to sell to casual tea consumers. We've tried a lot of tea, but if you're not interested in tea from Burma, check out our other tea reviews!

Atlas Tea Club Thailand Review

Atlas Tea Club Nepal Review

About the Author

Product Tester & Writer

Bryan Huynh

Product Tester & Writer

Bryan Huynh is a determined Product Tester & Writer. Being a coffee addict, it is only right that he mainly tests and reviews different coffee from around the world and coffee subscription services.

Bryan Huynh is a determined Product Tester & Writer. Being a coffee addict, it is only right that he mainly tests and reviews different coffee from around the world and coffee subscription services.