Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Description:
Jinggu, Spring 2011
Smooth, velvety, nutty
The most delicate combined with the robust; a skilled harvest of just the tips of the tea plant, exposed to the outside world for one day, then processed as black tea. Features characteristic earthy tones of Dian Hong, yet yields an incredibly soft, sweet cup. Notes of grape, slight pepper, and olive.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Yunnan Golden Strand Spring 2011 from Stone Leaf Teahouse has the sweetest bready flavor. It reminds me of raisin bread, or fig cake. There is even a yeasty quality to the sip that makes it even more like a true gourmet baked good.
While it is sweet, very sweet, there is something interesting about this tea that brings it toward a savory note as well. I do get the olive note that is mentioned in the description, and just a light taste of black pepper, which is very nice, but I also taste bulgar wheat, and milo.
The mouthfeel of this tea is heavy but not thick. It fills the mouth and has a near creamy feel, but with all the sweetness it finds a way not to become syrupy. It has a clear finish.
The leaf itself is beautiful, one of the lightest colored Golden Strand teas I have encountered.
Other notes worthy of mention are caramel, cocoa, fruit, hay, cane sugar, indeed it is a strange brew, but quite delicious.
Stone Leaf Teahouse never fails to provide tea of the highest quality.
Caramel Apple Oolong from 52 Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Here’s a premium oolong tea from the Fujian province in China blended with large pieces of freeze-dried Fuji apples and natural and organic flavors. And no, I didn’t mistype: Fujian Oolong and Fuji apples. Serendipitous. I didn’t even realize I had done that until I typed it.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Caramel Apple Oolong from 52 Teas is one of those teas that I begged and prayed for a re-blend of, and it was indeed re-blended! I love how on 52 Teas website you can sign up to be notified of a re-blend, and it is also 52 Tea’s method to determine which teas are most requested for a re-blend!
So this tea has an excellent oolong base, and the perfect flavors to make you feel like your sipping on sweet succulent caramel apple juices! The caramel flavor is well balanced so that you also get a wonderful fresh fujian apple taste as well, and I do know my apples, I love Fuji apples, and this tea tastes exactly like them! The apple tastes so fresh I swear I can taste the skin!
Some sips provide a slight bit more caramel flavor and some a slight bit more apple flavor but overall most sips are well balanced. I find I enjoy that sip now and then with one flavor more than the other because I do love both apple and caramel so now and again I get a boost of one flavor or another to give me my fix.
Oh and let’s not forget the oolong, its a nice quality oolong that does provide a very good base for this flavor combination, as Frank says, serendipitous, but it works perfectly!
I will savor each sip of this tea, then put in my bid for a re-blend and once again, cross my fingers. A stash must have!
Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast 2012 from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This quality Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast Oolong is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Alishan oolong. Use only the charcoal made of either Taiwan Longan wood or Taiwan Acacia wood to roast the tea (NOT by electric roasters), and follow old traditional method. This tea has a strong charcoal aroma and taste mixing with flavors of Alishan oolong. The aftertaste is enjoyable and long lasting. It tastes very smooth, sweet, rich and complex, and stands up very well to multiple infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Today I reached into my grab bag of teas to review, and was thrilled when I pulled this, Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast 2012 from T-Oolong Tea! Not only has my tasting from T-Oolong Tea been sorely underdone, but an oolong, Yes! Not only an oolong but a fire roasted oolong, yes again! This sounds so good that I hope it meets my high expectations!
I sneak a sniff as it steeps. I smell roasted fruitiness, and the aroma of a very clean spring from the mountains. Granted I do use good bottled water, but this aroma is not simply the water I use, its different, and reminds me of the natural stream I used to sip from with friends when I was younger, back in the days when I rode horses, daily. We knew of a stream – the best tasting water I have ever had, that we would ride to when we were parched.
So I have taken my first sip and oh my goodness, this is delicious! As I taste fruity notes, smokiness, and mineral notes. There is a wonderful sweetness to this tea, a brown sugar or German rock sugar sweetness, somewhere in between the two. I am not getting as deep of a sweetness of a brown sugar, but there is something a little more to it, like a caramel perhaps.
I also get a lovely white flower note as well as a green note, but not green like vegetal, more green like greens themselves, almost like dandelion leaves.
The after taste is clean, clear, and very refreshing! The sweetness gives way leaving a wonderful rock mineral note, floral, and that green bite, not bitter but tart.
The sad thing about this tea is that T-Oolong Tea is currently out of stock, I assume waiting on the 2013 batch, I am going to have to keep my eyes peeled for this one, this is absolutely a reorder worthy tea, and permanent stock worthy as well!
This tea is a must try for anyone who loves oolongs, especially darker roasted oolong tea.
Yes it certainly did meet my expectations, soared over them! I love this one.
Lilac Blend from Strand Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Strand Tea Company
Tea Description:
Premium Black Teas from highland China blended with lilac flowers. This tea looks, smells, and tastes great.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Lilac Blend from Strand Tea Company has me just beaming with happiness. It is a beautiful sun shiny day outside, I am looking at my first flowers of the year, although they are daffodils, not lilacs, and dreamily sipping on such a delightful surprise! I love lilacs, they are so very fragrant and beautiful. This tea speaks to my sensibilities of summer, flowers, and yet there is a wonderful, surprising fruitiness as well. Mmmmm, so good!
I have to say I have never heard of Strand before a generous tea trade with a fellow Steepster but I am really glad to know of this company and am looking forward to exploring their site more throughly.
I have read on Steepster that this company sends a tea sample and a cookie with orders! WHAT? Okay this place may have me breaking my no order streak! Cookies and tea, YES PLEASE!
And then I saw the price of this tea. No its not a bad thing, rather shockingly good! 2 ounces for only 3.50 – are you kidding me? Wow what a bargain!
And the taste? Can it match up to all my self imposed hype? Why yes, it can! It is sweet – like honey, fruity, wonderful berry notes, almost a blueberry flavor but I get some deep red berry notes in here too. It tastes wine like, a bit like a blueberry mead tea.
The aroma is beautiful as well. This is a cup you just hold up under your nose and deeply inhale the aroma between sips. Gad this is good!
Lilac from Strand Tea Company has a full mouthfeel nearly creamy. Add a splash of milk and you have a dessert tea for sure, oh so creamy and delicious! The mouthfeel is surprisingly heavy for what one would think is a light dainty tea. This tea has some heft to it.
A perfect tea for younger ones too! I could easily see this being the hit at a tea party for young and old alike! I doubt the kids would even know this is tea and mistake it for some sugary drink if you didn’t tell them about it!
I can’t wait to try this tea iced!
I had to come back and add this to my review. My daughter tried this tea after it had become cold. She prefers cold tea to hot. Regardless she found a note in this tea that I had totally missed but should not have! I think my daughter is getting really good at detecting flavor notes in tea. Before long she may be better than I am at it because this note is SO obvious, yet I missed it! Walnut! Yes walnut, I can’t believe I missed it because as soon as she said it – it become so obvious! I made a second steep in addition to enjoying the rest of my cold cup and I am even more in love. You know how once you identify a flavor note it becomes even easier to pick out? Well now I am enjoying this sweet, honey kissed, blueberry, creamy, floral, WALNUT tasting tea. Yummm
Eggnog Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Matcha, Green Tea
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Despite its name, eggnog is a delicious and sweet drink which can be combined with other beverages to make it truly delicious and unforgettable. Combined with exotic Matcha, Eggnog Matcha can easily become a favorite especially at many social occasions where people want to appear trendy and adventurous at the same time. This interesting and sweetish vanilla-like drink is perfectly blended to suit many audiences both young and old and because of its lingering taste, can be very sumptuous on the palate. It can be taken both night or day depending on the audience and occasion.
Eggnog Matcha, despite its name, does not taste at all like eggs but borders more on the taste of vanilla or even custard. This taste is refined by the balancing effect of Matcha to make a mellow treat that is very pleasurable for the palate. Its thick creamy feel in the mouth makes it an easy favorite for those wanting to treat their palates to pure leisure and unforgettable pleasure. It can be an excellent companion to many snack alternatives because of its sweet base and sumptuous feel on the palate. Eggnog Matcha is a heavenly snack for those occasions where guests deserve to relax and enjoy a full bodied sensation on their palates.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I want something really frothy and creamy, Eggnog Matcha from Red Leaf Tea fits the bill!
So I am trying to slim down my matcha stash, not because I want to get rid of it, but rather I want to order some of the awesome new flavors that Red Leaf Tea has! So I looked over my matcha stash and saw this Eggnog Matcha sitting there beckoning me. I decided that it was what I was craving! Thick, creamy, very frothy, and heavy in the mouthfeel. It reminds me of custard, just like the description says. I like making mine with vanilla almond milk to give it a bit of a sweeter taste, but the flavors are dead on for Eggnog, and who says that it has to be the holidays to enjoy eggnog? Not me that’s for sure.
I like my flavored matcha from Red Leaf Tea cold, or made into an iced latte personally, and I have only had eggnog served cold as well, so it makes sense to me to prepare it cold.
There is a distinct vanilla flavor to eggnog, but also a slight nod toward nutmeg as well. What I really love about this flavor is that the matcha flavor is not lost in the blend. I can taste all of the matcha goodness here too! I would suggest you consider ordering the robust or at least distinctive blend in this specific flavor because it is not as strong as some of the other Red Leaf Tea flavor options. That is not to say you can’t taste the Eggnog flavor, you can, but if you really want that punch in the face flavor you need to at least go with Robust. When I order this flavor again it will be in the “There’s Matcha In There?” option.
I have enough of this left to do one more thing with it that I have been dying to do, and that is make an Eggnog Shake with it! This is one of those flavors that is a must try with ice cream!