This tea sample came to me in a crisp, red and gold package with simple, symbolic instructions and the tea’s name: Huang Guan Yin or Yellow Goddess of Mercy. With a name like that, it certainly felt special to crack the seal on the red and gold foil and pour the lovely dark tea leaves into my teapot. The dry leaves smelled faintly musky, like newly-turned earth, but were otherwise very mild.
I did a little more research on brewing tips beyond the information on the package and found that this is a wuji oolong, meant to be steeped for a short period of time over a few sessions.
For the first brew, the leaves quickly turned the water dark. The brew smelled toasty and rich, like caramel and burnt sugar. I always tend to associate oolongs with the fruity, floral, green notes, but then I encounter a tea like this, heavily oxidized, and am reminded that some oolongs can be just as bold and dark as black teas.
Upon further steeping, the brew has stronger sweet rice and breakfast cereal tones among all the toasty caramel notes. The mouthfeel gets smoother with each steep, and brings out a oddly fruity note, a bit like raisins. Beneath all these flavors there is a musky depth, slightly sour and reminiscent of tobacco.
This was a delicious bold oolong, rich and full of complex and tasty flavors. Though the tea itself isn’t yellow, I still love the name, Yellow Goddess of Mercy. Have mercy on yourself after a long day and have a tea session with this oolong to help bring you comfort and solace.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Old Ways Tea
Description:
Also known as 105 this tea is a cross between Tie Guan Yin and Huang Jin Gui. The name Huang Guan Yin means Yellow Goddess of Mercy. This is the newest Wuyi oolong cultivar, having been introduced in 2003 by the Fujian Tea Research Institute.
Huang Guan Yin is interesting since in many ways it is one of the least traditional of the teas being produced in the Wuyi mountains. It is newly developed, and has genetic origins outside the original mountains. At the same time it is often packaged in a bag reading “Da Hong Pao” and processed in the same manner as the other Wuyi teas. The interplay between new and old provides for an interesting experience. Personally, I greatly enjoy this tea and when I can not decide which to brew will grab a bag of Huang Guan Yin.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Ginger Spiced Pear Cake from A Quarter to Tea. . . .
If you’re looking for some tea to go with your post-holiday fruitcake, or just some tea that tastes a bit like holiday fruitcake, brew up a cup of Ginger Spiced Pear Cake from A Quarter to Tea.
This black tea smells sweet in the dry left and in the brew. The taste of the blend is not too sweet, mainly driven by the appropriately clean and tart breakfast black tea base. There is a hint of juicy pear with each sip, and a touch of ginger heat behind the pear. The ginger is not too spicy, mainly adding a little herbal flavor and sweetness to make the tea feel festive. I don’t taste any buttery cake or pastry flavors, just pear and ginger.
It’s possible that my small sample wasn’t at peak freshness or maybe I just needed a bigger serving of tea leaves to get the flavor intensity I was looking for. I’ll have to keep an eye out for this blend in the future and give it another try.
This is a gently flavored blend, but very drinkable. There are not many pear teas on my shelf, so this was a nice brew to have in my mug.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White/Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter to Tea
Description:
Sweet pastry with pear, spicy ginger, and cinnamon and clove accents.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
A Trio of Peach Teas from Beleave, Rishi, and Teavana. . . .
Who knew I had so many peachy teas in my cupboard? Let’s look at a spontaneous peach tea trio!
Pinkies Up Peach from Beleave Teas
Leaf type: white tea
This is a white tea with peach pieces and added flavors. The dry leaf smells fruity and juicy without being artificial. When brewed, the white tea base is smooth and buttery and pairs perfectly with the bright sweet peach overtones. White tea and peach are a winning combination. Black tea blends tend to get too tart or overbearing against the sweet fruit. Pinkies Up Peach from Beleave would make a great summer iced tea.
Peach Blossom White from Rishi Tea
Leaf type: white tea
Wow, blossoms indeed! There are plenty of buds and petals in the dry leaf, and the blend smells a flower box. Brewed, the fragrance is even stronger with jasmine and peony. The peach takes a back seat in this blend, and taste a bit more peach candies than fresh fruit. The peach tones pop up in the aftertaste, alongside citrus notes like mandarin orange. This wasn’t a very peachy tea, but it was a unique floral blend that surprised me.
Peach Cran Tango from Teavana
Leaf type: black tea
Even before Teavana closed its online shop, I believe the Peach Cran Tango blend was discontinued. So it’s a bit of a moot point for me to review it now. To help soothe the Teavana ache, I tried to replicate this blend on Adagio’s custom tea builder. Give my Peach Cran Tango and try and see how it stacks up.
The last of the Teavana sample I tasted was simple but enjoyable. Sweet peach is balanced with a bit of tart cranberry, all atop a solid black tea base. This is technically a peach blend, though it also features a good dose of cranberry. Cranberries are sweet, tangy and versatile, and seem to tango with just about any fruit partner. The red-berry tartness help the peach from being too cloying and make for a balanced fruit blend.
Well I’m feeling just peachy after all these peach teas. All this sweet fruit makes me feel like warmer weather is on its way already…
Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies
Just because the holiday season is behind us doesn’t mean that the time for holiday-themed teas is over! In the spirit of keeping the good holiday vibes going, I brewed up a cup of Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies. I don’t see this flavor listed on the PaperBoxGoodies Etsy shop so I’m not sure of the ingredients, but it looks to be an herbal blend with mint, chocolate chips, and licorice root.
I was excited about the herbal nature of this blend. I love candy cane teas, but they all seem to have a black tea base which makes it hard to drink when I don’t need all the caffeine. Having an herbal decaf option was just the tea I needed when relaxing and recovering from the busy end of the year.
Brewed, this blend is smooth, sweet, and minty. The dry crispness of the mint is lessened by the licorice root. Any herbal harshness that sometimes comes with pure mint teas is lessened by the rich chocolate chips. Minty candy cane is the main flavor, followed by a mild cocoa aftertaste. The licorice root doesn’t impart a specific flavor, but adds a natural sweetness and a smooth mouthfeel.
This is one of those teas that would benefit from a strong brewing and then made into a latte with whipped cream. I didn’t quite have enough in my sample to go the whole latte route, so I’ll have to try it next time.
Overall this was a great decaf candy cane blend that I would try again next holiday season.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: herbal
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Have a Sweeter Breakfast Blend with Aso Black from Mellow Monk
Aso Black from Mellow Monk is technically a black tea but it is processed a little differently that most black teas. If I understood their description correctly, Aso Black tea is made from the tea leaves that would normally go into making sencha green tea. Picked in the mountains of Japan, these leaves are less processed and less fermented than traditional black tea. Aso Black is also called “kocha” or “crimson tea”, perhaps due to its medium level of oxidation. But I digress.
The leaves in my sample were small and flat, though very dark in color. As it brewed, the tea smelled distinctly starchy like oats or bread. It had none of the citrus brightness I associate with other black teas.
Mellow Monk recommends letting this tea cool slightly before drinking to let the flavors come forward, so I stepped away from my cup to let it cool down.
When I took my first sip of the tea, I was once again hit with the starchiness of the flavors, though this time it also had quite a bit of sweetness. In an abstract way, the tea reminded me of oatmeal raisin cookies if they could be turned into a breakfast tea.
In the aftertaste there is a vegetal note that I expect more often from green teas. It reminds me of the sweet and sour fermented green tea note that I often taste in kukicha green. With all the sweetness and smooth mouthfeel of the rest of the blend, the green tea aftertaste is less grassy and more fruity, complimenting the sweet oat flavors in the overall smell and taste.
This is a unique tea, worth a taste by black tea and green tea lovers alike. If you are tired of ceylon’s sharpness, or assam’s full fuzziness, try Aso Black for your next breakfast blend and maybe you’ll find it makes for a sweeter morning.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black and Green
Where to Buy: Mellow Monk
Description:
How about a nice change of pace? Aso Black™ is black tea (kocha, or “crimson tea” in Japanese) made from the leaves of green tea varietals grown in the pristine foothills of Mt. Aso. Gently harvested leaves are only lightly fermented compared to conventional black tea, for a sweetness not found in ordinary black teas.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!