Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
The true milky Jinxuan oolong tea with natural cream milk accent and luscious texture. The Alishan family farms tea trees that were bought from our family in 1990. They practice zero pesticide natural farming.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s no big secret that I absolutely adore a good Milky Oolong tea. This Milky Jinxuan High Mountain Oolong from Oollo Tea is one of the very best I’ve tried thus far. It’s so delightfully sweet and creamy but the creaminess isn’t heavy. It’s not overwhelming my palate.
I love the texture to this first cup (infusions 1, 2 & 3 – yes three infusions in one cup, I’m using a smaller gaiwan today), it’s very silky and softly creamy. Smooth!
The flavor is sweet with notes of orchid. It’s not sharply floral because the creamy buttery taste helps soften the floral taste without overpowering this delightful flowery essence. It’s not bitter or astringent. It’s just … lovely. Oh so delightful.
My second cup (infusions 4 – 6) still has some of that silky texture, although much of the milky taste has waned. This is much more floral than the first cup. It’s sweet with spun sugar notes. I taste light vegetal notes to this too. I am also tasting a light nutty flavor that almost tastes “popcorn” like to me. As the tea cools slightly, some of the creamy notes seem to develop so it’s not completely without that milky note.
My third cup (infusions 7 – 9) was softer in flavor than the second. Not as creamy as either the first or second cup, but still beautifully floral with more nutty flavors and even a hint of peach can be detected! I still get that light, spun-sugar type of flavor that I really like.
What a lovely tea!
Mango Kiwi Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Here’s a lovely organic Ceylon (Sri Lankan) green tea blended with freeze dried mango and kiwi and organic mango and kiwi flavors. It’s a little tart, a little sweet and all refreshing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
My review of this Mango Kiwi Green Tea may just be my last “SororiTea Sisters” review of a tea from 52Teas. In just a few days, my daughter takes over the business side of things with 52Teas and I become the mad tea artist! And since I’ll be crafting all the teas for 52Teas as of June 1st, I wouldn’t feel right about writing a critical review about the teas that I create. It just wouldn’t be ethical, you know? I’m excited and nervous, it’s a huge step for us but I believe it’s a step in the right direction.
So this review is a little bittersweet with an emphasis on the sweet, but I will miss writing reviews!
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch. I measured 2 bamboo scoops into the basket and poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the kettle. Then I set the temperature for 180°F and the timer for 2 minutes. And a few minutes later, I have TEA!
Yummy tea! Just like the description above says, this is a little sweet and a little tart. I like that it’s neither too sweet nor too tart, though. The sip starts out sweet with notes of mango. The mango seems to be the strongest flavor in the cup, with the kiwi playing in the background. At the finish of the sip, I start to notice the tart notes and those tarty flavors tickle on my tongue in the aftertaste.
The green tea is light and fresh tasting. It has hints of grass and a delicate buttery taste. It’s not bitter or astringent. The vegetal notes of this tea aren’t particularly strong. It’s a very soft, pleasant green tea. This is the kind of green tea I’d recommend to someone who thinks they don’t like green tea because it tastes like vegetables. This … doesn’t taste like vegetables! It’s just delicate and lovely.
A really nice tea! A good tea to have in the cupboard now as the weather is getting warmer because it tastes GREAT iced!
Mango Party Coffee Leaf Tea from Wize Monkey
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Coffee Leaf Tea
Where to Buy: Wize Monkey
Tea Description:
Juicy mangoes all up in your boca.
Stay tuned for the official release of our mango flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
You might remember back in November when I reviewed the Armando’s Original Blend Coffee Leaf Tea from Wize Monkey. I enjoyed that ‘tea’ – it was different from anything else that I had tried but similar in taste to Guayusa.
Well, the guys at Wize Monkey sent me some more samples to try, and this is the first one I’m trying: Mango Party Coffee Leaf Tea. The website says that this flavor is “coming soon” and I’m not sure exactly what that means, but if the idea of mango flavored coffee leaf tea intrigues you, keep your eye on the website for when it becomes available.
This is a bagged ‘tea’ but I appreciated that the bag is an unbleached bag and there’s plenty of room for leaf expansion. I put a bag in my teacup and added 8 ounces of water heated to 195°F. Then I let it steep for 4 minutes.
Wow! Mango!
The mango flavor is very prominent and I really like the way it marries with the flavor of the coffee leaf. It has a deliciously juicy, fruity flavor and the coffee leaf has a buttery flavor that I didn’t really pick up on when I tried the original coffee leaf tea in November. I think that the mango brings out the very best in the coffee leaf!
The overall flavor is smooth, buttery and MANGO! Really nice! This is something I’d be happy to drink again and again! Two thumbs up!
Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong from Nan Nuo Shan
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Nan Nuo Shan
Tea Description:
This tea is produced in Gande, a village famous for the complexity of its Tie Guan Yin tea. Clear and fragrant, it possesses a mild flowery taste and a milky texture.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! In an effort to get all the reviews finished that I want to get finished before May 31st, I’ll be writing about a lot more Oolongs! No complaints from me! I love Oolong!
And this Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong from Nan Nuo Shan is so delightful. Sweet and floral with a beautifully silky texture! It’s smooth from start to finish.
My first cup (infusions 1 – 3 … smaller gaiwan!) has very little astringency. I do notice a slight drying sensation toward the tail. Mostly what I notice is the sweet honey-like flavor that is accentuated with the soft, creamy texture and the lovely floral notes that evoke thoughts of orchid. No sharpness with this first cup – it has an almost vanilla-y flavor to it. Sweet, creamy and luscious!
And that cup was GONE before I could finish writing about it – that’s how delightful it tastes!
My second cup was stronger in flavor than the first. The creamy notes have waned and I’m not picking up on as much of the vanilla flavors that I noticed in the first cup. It’s still quite delicious but definitely different than the first cup. The floral notes are more pronounced now. I still get that lovely honey-like sweetness. The texture isn’t as silky as the first cup but I’m still noticing very little astringency here.
This cup seems to be more rounded – it’s not as sweet as the first – it’s more balanced between sweet and savory elements.
My third cup (infusions 7 – 9) was still really flavorful, even after so many infusions! That’s one thing you’ve got to love about Oolong tea – they deliver on the flavor and on mileage! They keep on steeping!
The cup was not quite as strong as the second cup. The floral notes were softer than the second cup, but stronger than the first. I still get that delicious honeyed note and I’m starting to pick up on the faintest notes of fruit now. Apple! Sweet and even hints of tart that provide a palate-pleasing roundness of flavor.
A really nice Tie Guan Yin, one of the nicest I’ve ever had! I have been so impressed with the teas that I’ve tried from Nan Nuo Shan these teas are of exceptional quality … seriously, if you haven’t tried anything from them yet, I recommend them highly!
Everest Earl Grey from Nepali Tea Traders
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
This is perfect Spring afternoon Earl Grey. The black tea is light and works to create an elegant blend. With the added sweet orange peel, fragrant bergamot and a touch of Bourbon vanilla bean from Madagascar, this is delicious with or without milk or sugar.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
25% of profits from our Nepal teas will be donated to the ‘Nepali Tea’ Restoration Fund for earthquake relief. Learn more here.
Taster’s Review:
Yay! Earl Grey! I was so happy to find this Everest Earl Grey from Nepali Tea Traders in this month’s box from Amoda Tea because it’s a tea that I’ve wanted to try for a while now. I mean, hey, if it’s Earl Grey – you know I want to try it!
To steep this tea, I used my Kati Tumbler. At first, I was going to use my Breville One-Touch and use the entire contents of the sampler package that Amoda Tea sends in their monthly box, but, I decided that I wanted to have two separate occasions where I could enjoy this tea so I used my Kati Tumbler, measured a bamboo scoop of tea into the basket and poured 12 ounces of boiling water into the tumbler. Then I let it steep for 3 minutes.
One tip about this tea: let it cool a bit. I find that the flavors emerge when the tea has cooled a little – the tea isn’t cold, not even what I’d call lukewarm, but it’s not piping hot. It’s somewhere between the lukewarm and piping hot. Not quite “hot” … it’s a pleasantly drinkable temperature.
The first sip or two was a little less than what I wanted in terms of flavor, to be honest. Then I let it cool a bit. (Check out the previous paragraph!) Once the temperature dropped to the “pleasantly drinkable temperature” the flavors came forward.
The black tea is the strongest flavor I taste here – but it’s not a really powerful or aggressive tasting black tea. It’s on the mellow side. Smooth, rich but not overly robust. As the description above suggests, it makes a nice afternoon cuppa.
Then I taste orange and vanilla notes. Not bergamot orange, but orange. It’s bright and a really refreshing orange taste. The vanilla is soft and not quite as creamy as I expected it to be. It’s more like a sweet accent rather than the creamy accent that I usually experience from an “Earl Grey Creme” type of tea.
I pick up on the bergamot by mid-sip. It’s not quite as tangy as I normally experience from a bergamot flavored tea. At least, not until the aftertaste. In the aftertaste, I get that bergamot tangy note. During the sip, I notice a sweet, flavorful citrus-y note with a distinct “bergamot-y” type of flavor.
While the bergamot is ‘distinct’ – it’s not as profound a bergamot flavor as I have experienced with other Earl Grey teas. This is the Earl Grey tea for someone who typically finds a strong bergamot presence to be a bit too much for them, because this bergamot is rather subdued. Distinct but subtle in it’s approach.
Overall, this is a really tasty tea. Is it my favorite Earl Grey tea? No, not by a long shot and if I were rating it according to my Earl Grey standards, it would probably end up with one or two stars on a five star rating scale. But, I think that the tea itself is worthy of at least a couple stars on it’s own. This isn’t a tea that would be part of my Earl Grey collection – but I would definitely enjoy having it as part of my overall tea collection.