Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Teavivre

Tea Description:

• Grown and produced in Xinzhu (Hsinchu), Taiwan
• Tea buds covered in white tips, with one or two leaves
• Bright-reddish orange tea liquor
• A mellow, sweet taste

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

True to its name, this is definitely a beauty!

Using my gaiwan, I steeped this tea using short steeps:  following a quick 10 second rinse, I steeped it for about 45 seconds for the first infusion, and a full minute for the second infusion, and combined these two infusions in one cup.  Each subsequent cup was poured in the same fashion, adding 15 seconds to each steep, and combining the brewed tea of two infusions.  This produced a beautiful golden, honey-colored tea with a delicious honey-esque flavor to match its color.

There are delicate peach notes in the background which add to the sweetness but not in a way that renders it cloying.  There is an earthiness to this cup as well, which offers the palate some balance to the sweet flavors of honey and peach.

The flavor seems to get better and better with each cup!  The first cup was light and crisp in flavor and quite delicious, but with the second cup, the tea brewed a darker color and produced a deeper, richer flavor.  The honey tones are now quite distinct.

The third cup was a little lighter than the second, but richer than the first.  As I noticed that the tea was beginning to taper, I decided to stop at three cups … six very delicious infusions from one measurement of leaves!

Another delightful tea from Teavivre.  If you tend to prefer your Oolongs to taste more of honey-fruit rather than floral, this would be an excellent choice!

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos

Where to Buy:  The Tea Spot

Tisane Description:

Our blend of naturally caffeine–free South African red rooibos, vanilla, and almond bits is an herbal delight! Rooibos is full of antioxidants and healthy minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and fluoride. It has a wonderfully smooth flavor, and is a great cold buster as well as thirst quencher. It brews into a dark red liquor and has a naturally sweet, earthy scent, reminiscent of pipe–tobacco. You cannot over–steep this tea (the longer the better!) and it is fantastic by itself, or with cream and a bit of sweetener. Red Rocks is the perfect, healthy, all-around herbal tea – a favorite amongst athletes and as mom’s choice for children.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

I had been hearing some good things about this rooibos blend over on Steepster, so I knew I had to try it … even if it IS rooibos!

The aroma of the dry leaf is pretty much what you might expect from rooibos:  sweet and earthy, with nutty notes (which are further highlighted by the almond) and hints of wood and tobacco.  I can also smell the vanilla.  The brewed tea smells warm and inviting, like sweet nutty muffins fresh out of the oven.

This is really quite tasty.  With most rooibos blends, I’m usually happy if the taste of the rooibos is masked or obscured by the other ingredients, because the flavor of rooibos just isn’t my favorite.  But here, The Tea Spot did something a little different, something that I find every once in a while in a rooibos blend … but not often.  Here, The Tea Spot utilized the ingredients to highlight the nutty flavors of the rooibos – and they did it well!

The almond and the natural nutty tones of the rooibos work very well together, enhancing the almond notes and adding depth to the overall cup.  The vanilla not only softens the cup, but also sweetens it and manages to marry with the sweetness of the rooibos so that it doesn’t have that funky aftertaste that I so dislike.  Instead, I just taste a sweet, lingering note of vanilla together with a delicate nutty taste.

This is a very good rooibos blend – one I’d recommend to those who generally do not like rooibos.  The flavors here work so magnificently together to create a deliciously smooth cup that is cozy and comforting when served hot, and a tasty, refreshing treat when served iced.

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Red Leaf Tea

Tea Description:

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

When it comes to Earl Grey, one of my favorite tea purveyors is Red Leaf Tea.  They have a HUGE selection of bergamot flavored teas, from the classic Earl Grey black tea to some modern twists on this traditional favorite like Honeybush Earl Grey. It’s a dizzying array of Earl Grey teas!

This Earl Grey de la Crème is a bit closer to the classic than some of the “modern twists” that I mentioned.  It has a robust black tea base providing a delicious, rich flavor.  The tea is strong and full-bodied, and is a substantial tea that doesn’t allow itself to be masked or obscured by the strong bergamot flavor.  And this is, indeed, strongly flavored with the bergamot, which is the way I like it!

The bergamot is tangy and sharp, but to help soften those sharp edges is a touch of vanilla, which adds a sweet creaminess to the overall cup without mellowing the bergamot out to the point of tasting more like a creamsicle than an Earl Grey tea.  It is sweet and smooth, but, it still has some of the tangy bergamot qualities that I love in an Earl Grey!

One of the better Earl Grey with creme teas I’ve tried in a long while.

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Tea Chai Té

Tea Description:

This Japanese sencha tea is flavored with bits of strawberry, creating a strong aroma reminiscent of frolicking in the buff, hand in hand with your lover, through a strawberry patch.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

On Tuesday, my dear husband took me out for lunch in the Sellwood neighborhood in Portland, and after lunch, he pulled up directions to the new Tea Chai Té in the neighborhood and asked me if I wanted to go.  Yes, I proclaimed quite enthusiastically!

I have tried teas from Tea Chai Té, but I haven’t actually been to either location (they have another location on 23rd Street in Portland).  So, I was really excited to check out this tea lounge.  This establishment is an old, red train caboose turned into a tea lounge.  This is not one of those fancy tea houses (although I like those too), this is a lounge, complete with a comfortable, casual atmosphere where people were reading their tablets and browsing the internet on their laptops.

I had ordered a 20 oz. cup of this tea iced, as well as purchased a 1 ounce loose leaf package to take with me.  And while I did enjoy the tea that they made for me at Tea Chai Té (and the guy who worked the counter was so pleasant), I have to admit that I’m finding this cup that I made myself to be much better than the one that was made for me.  This tastes stronger than that one did, so I suspect that either they should have made a more concentrated brew before icing it.

This is amazing.  The Sencha tastes and feels smooth and buttery.  The green tea offers a barely-there grassy note in the distance, while allowing the strawberry flavor to be the focus of this cup.

The straberry melds deliciously with the aforementioned buttery tones, giving it an almost berries and cream kind of quality.  Sweet, juicy strawberry flavor that tastes very authentic – like someone had liquified a fresh, ripe strawberry and added it to my teacup.  YUM!

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos

Where to Buy:  Shanti Tea

Tisane Description:

This herbal blend is an exciting combination of herbs and spices. It embodies the smells and flavours of the African festival season and piques all of your senses creating an experience that walks a fine line between excitement and relaxing escape.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

I know I’ve said it before, but, I prefer green rooibos over the oxidized, red variety.  The green rooibos (which is not oxidized) has a fresher, fruitier flavor that I really enjoy.  Unfortunately, there really are so few green rooibos blends out there … at least when compared to the red rooibos blends.  So when I saw that this rooibos blend from Shanti Tea was a green rooibos blend, I was very pleased.

While Shanti Tea does not go into details on their website about the ingredients of this blend, I can see large rose petals, chunks of citrus peel and pieces of dried fruit in there amongst the needle-thin green rooibos leaves.  It brews to a golden color that’s full of fruit flavor!

The citrus notes are prominent, and they add a certain brightness to the cup, as well as a tangy taste that offers a nice contrast to the sweeter fruit notes of peach and apple.  I taste the floral notes as well, starting out with a very soft rose flavor at the start of the cup, and by the time I’ve reached mid-cup, the rose becomes a little more focused.

Overall, I’d describe this cup as a deliciously fruity, lightly sweet cup – very enjoyable!  It is a tisane that I think kids would really like because of its sweet, nectar-y like taste, and because it’s naturally caffeine-free you won’t have to worry about it keeping them over-stimulated … and they certainly don’t need that!

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  David’s Tea

Tea Description:

Lychees are just about the cutest little fruits around. But their perfumed flavour is all sophistication. After all, they’ve been the favourite snack of Chinese emperors since the 1st century. This lychee-scented black tea is made by placing baskets of tea leaves over big pots of simmering lychee fruits. Now getting the royal treatment is as easy as steeping a cup.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This has to be one of the nicest Lychee scented black teas I’ve ever encountered.  The flavor doesn’t taste over-the-top or chemical-y the way so many Lychee teas have the tendency to be.  Instead the flavor is smooth and sweet.

Lychee is a very unique fruit in that it has a somewhat perfume-y flavor, but somehow David’s Tea managed to capture the fruit flavor without making it taste like Aunt Mary’s soap. Instead, the lychee here is softer, less sharp, while still managing to be a easily distinguished flavor.  That is to say, when you taste this, there’s no doubt that it’s a lychee flavored tea.  It just doesn’t have to knock you over the head with its flavor … and this tea doesn’t.

The black tea is not overshadowed by the fruit flavor.  In fact, the black tea is the strongest flavor of the cup, which is what makes this lychee flavored tea so unique.  The lychee isn’t aggressively attacking my palate with its perfume-y flavor, the black tea isn’t obscured by that strong, distinct lychee flavor, and the black tea reigns as the dominate flavor … without taking anything away from the lychee.  A perfect presentation of flavors.

This is what all lychee flavored black teas should strive to become.

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Joy’s Teaspoon

Tea Description:

Like a refreshing dessert with a touch of something special – a very trendy finale to the perfect dinner.  An elegant decoration of fine marigold blossoms simply adds to the beautiful image of this blend.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I brewed this tea without looking it up (yep, I did it again!) and I brewed this Oolong blend as a black tea, using boiling water and steeping for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch.

Dry, the leaf looks very much like a black tea, as the tea leaves are quite dark, so I thought it was a black tea and brewed it the way I would most black teas.  Also, I must admit that the name tricked me a little bit.  With the dark leaves and a name like Summer Sunrise, my thought was:  this must be a black tea!

However, Joy’s Teaspoon has it categorized as an Oolong, and after first looking for the tea under “Flavored Blacks” and then finally finding it under “Flavored Oolongs” I started to worry that I might have scorched the leaves with the high temperature.

However, one taste tells me that the Oolong leaves did not suffer from the exposure to the boiling water, nor did the flavor suffer.  This is a really delightful cuppa!

This is one of the more unique flavored teas I’ve tried, with its slightly spicy, basil overtones and a hint of lemon in the background.  The basil gives it a peppery taste, with a hint of menthol and a slight sweetness.  The lemon is more prominent at the start of the sip, like a quick “how-do-you-do?” and then quickly subsides into the background, giving it a bright, sunny flavor without tasting like a strong, distinct lemon note.

Despite these strong flavors, the tea is not overwhelmed.  The Oolong tastes sweet with notes of peach in the background.  The mouthfeel is quite smooth and silky.

Unique – yes!  Delicious – definitely!  If you’re one who enjoys unusual tea blends, you should add this one to your must try list!

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tea Description:

I’m hoping this is a good idea and doesn’t just get me into a lot of trouble. It will probably just get me into trouble. I seem to attract it. Anyway, you might want to snap this up before we get sued.

[A brief plea to the good folks at Ben & Jerry's: Please don't sue us. We don't have any money. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you know.]

I’m not going to say anything more–no sense in giving the lawyers any more ammunition.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I was very excited to try this tea.  Cherry Garcia is one of my favorite teas from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, and I love the idea of a Cherry Garcia inspired tea.

The aroma of the dry leaf is scrumptious!  Cherries and chocolate and a hint of cream along with the black tea notes.  My mouth began watering!  I brewed this with eager anticipation and happy thoughts of yummy ice cream flavors dancing around in my head!

The dry leaf looks different from most of 52Teas black tea blends.  And it is different.  Instead of the usual black tea blend of Assam and Nilgiri teas that 52Teas uses in most of its black tea blends, this is a blend of the Assam and Nilgiri plus some CTC (also Nilgiri?) to add some body to the cup.  When you get your pouch and open it and see the small tea bits in there, I don’t want you to be concerned that your tea got smashed in transit!

OK… now that some of the business is out of the way, let’s get on to the tea … my taste buds cannot wait!

My first sip was a bit of a disappointment.  There is a strong black tea flavor, but very little chocolate and cherry flavor.  Where’s my Cherry Garcia?  Then I allowed the tea to cool a bit to see if this would give the flavors some time to develop.

Yes!  This is a tea that definitely needs some cooling time.  It doesn’t have to be cold; I would say that the cup sitting in front of me is probably about 140°F – not what I’d call lukewarm or tepid, but, not piping hot.

Now the flavors are there.  I can taste the cherry and the chocolate, and there is a delicious creaminess that washes over the palate throughout the sip, like melted ice cream.  YUM!

The black tea is still quite strong, too, but this IS a tea … if you want the ice cream, go to the store and get some!  This is supposed to be tea so I’m glad that the tea flavor is there, and it does, indeed have a rich, satisfying body to it.  The aftertaste is definitely cherry, with a sweet cherry taste with a hint of tartness that tingles in the mouth.  There is some astringency, but I notice that it gets smoother with each sip.

And that’s the best part about this tea:  it keeps getting better and better with each sip.  I’ve consumed more than half my cup now (I have a large tea mug!) and it becomes creamier, and sweeter and more delicious with each sip.  Very nicely done, 52Teas!

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  White

Where to Buy:  Culinary Teas

Tea Description:

Visually Sowmee is not a typical white tea, since it is sundried after special hand rolling. It’s pleasant toasty character is astringent and full flavored.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I tasted and reviewed this tea a couple of years ago.  That was my first experience with Sowmee white teas, and since that time, I’ve tried a few others.  I was very interested to revisit this tea and find out how I feel about that first Sowmee that opened my eyes to a different white tea.

My thoughts aren’t all that different now than they were back then – I still find this to be a much more robust white tea than other white teas with which I’m more familiar, like Silver Needle or Bai Mu Dan.  It is sweet and toasty.  In my first review of this tea, I thought it tasted a bit more like a Formosa Oolong, and I do still see those similarities, but today, I am finding this cup to taste a bit more like a Houjicha with its warm, toasty character.

Still a very enjoyable tea experience!  If you typically shy away from white teas because they’re a little too delicate for your taste, I highly recommend trying this Sowmee White Tea from Culinary Teas – it has a stronger taste and fuller body, I think you’ll like it!

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Le Palais Des Thés

Tea Description:

Inspired by the Japanese Hanami tradition of cherry blossom viewing, Fleur de Geisha is a refined Japanese green tea, delicately flavored with cherry blossom.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Without having read the description of this tea and knowing only that it was a green tea, I brewed it and served it hot.  The aroma of the dry leaf was very cherry-like with beautiful floral background notes, making me think that this was a cherry blossom tea.  A spring-time favorite, I couldn’t have “blindly” chosen a better tea to enjoy this afternoon.  (By “blindly” I mean this:  as Le Palais Des Thés is a company based in France and the labels on this gift set are all in French, I didn’t know which tea I was choosing, only that “vert” meant that it would be a green tea)

The brewed tea maintains much of its cherry-like fragrance.  The flavor is delicate, especially when served hot.  As the tea cools, the flavor intensifies.  Served hot, the tea has a very soft balance between cherry blossom notes and hints of sweet cherry flavor mingling with a fresh, sweet vegetative tone.  It is very sweet and evokes thoughts of the beautiful cherry blossom trees.

Once the tea has cooled, the cherry flavor becomes much stronger, while some of the floral tones diminish somewhat.  The flavor of the green tea remains very sweet and lush, balancing out the sweet cherry flavor with a hint of vegetation.

While I personally prefer this tea hot, I can see how this would be a big hit as an iced tea … especially for those who enjoy cherry fruit notes over those of the cherry blossom.  I do like cherry, but I think I like better being able to taste those delicate cherry blossom notes that seem to subside as the tea cools.

A beautiful spring-time treat!