Tea Type: Oolong
Where To Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
One of the purest teas available on the world market.
Organic Wuyi Rock Oolong is one of the purest teas available on the world market. This rare oolong hails from Mount Wuyi in Nanping Prefecture, Fujian, up along the border of Jiangxi Province. In 1999, UNESCO listed the mountain as a World Heritage Site in part owing to its outstanding biodiversity. According to the UN, Mount Wuyi is one of the world’s finest, intact, subtropical forests. Further complimenting the region’s reputation, Mount Wuyi is registered with the Chinese government as a biodiversity conservation zone. The climate of the region is relatively humid due to the fact that the mountain prevents cool air from entering the valley, and the presence of the 9 Bend River meandering through its valleys. Living with this subtropical paradise is an almost unaccountable number of species of flora and fauna. Many of the plan species living on the mountain are considered relics of a bygone age, no longer found anywhere else on the planet. In amongst this jewel of biodiversity grows the world famous organic rock tea. The tea bushes, like many other plant species, are ancient, having grown amongst the mountain’s rocky outcroppings for generations. Cultivation of the plants is almost impossible given the topography, so exceptional care is taken when handling and plucking the fresh tea shoots. The harvesters typically wear light cotton gloves when handling the leaves, which are harvested in small quantities so as not to tire the bushes. The fresh leaf is then allowed to naturally semi-ferment. The resulting flavor is at once rich, delicate, and laden with floral nuance.
Tasters Review:
Right out of the envelop this smells nutty to me…much like almond, actually! As if infuses it starts smelling more woodsy almost like a damp twig.
As for the taste…this is a hearty brew! It’s quite masculine, woodsy, slightly peppery, and a little like roasted or toasted nuts! It has a gentle-semi-sweet after taste to it too!
This is interesting, different, and pretty good! Certainly a conversation piece – no matter which way you look at it. As for me…I look at it with a smiling face! This Oolong is very nice!
Thai Tea Blend from Teavana
Tea Type: Black Tea/Rooibos Blend
Where To Buy: Teavana
Product Description:
A delightful Thai restaurant blend of black and red teas, Hawaiian coconut pieces, almonds, and authentic Madagascar vanilla beans. Enjoy this delicious tea chilled with milk and Rock Cane Sugar. This tea contains nuts.
How to Prepare
Use 1 teaspoon of tea per 8oz of water. Heat water to 195-205 degrees and steep for 2-3 minutes. 2oz of tea equals 25-30 teaspoons.
Ingredients:
Black tea, red Rooibos tea, coconut bits, vanilla pieces and almond bits.
Tasters Review:
It’s been a while since I have been able to try a new (or new to me) Teavana Tea and this past week I was able to thanks to a fellow tea lover and tea swapper! I don’t know if the name Thai Tea Blend would be the first name that would pop into my head to title this tea but here IS what I do know…
I could taste the Rooibos more than the Black Tea and I could taste the Almond more than the Coconut. I did find that the vanilla was a good pairing with the coconut but more of an afterthought or aftertaste, actually.
Overall I did enjoy this blend. It had a pleasant aroma and a satisfying taste.
Almond Rooibos from TeaSpree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: TeaSpree
Company Description:
A decidedly sublime sweet, it’s the perfect dessert.
Ingredients: Organic Rooibos, Almonds, Solomon’s Seal, and Almond Essential Oil.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf is very pleasant – the nutty-sweet scent of the almonds together with the woodsy note of the rooibos creates a very pleasing fragrance. The brewed liquor smells a bit more of rooibos than it does of almonds, but it is still quite nice.
The flavor is surprisingly complex for a rooibos, which I generally would categorize as a thin or light tasting beverage. Here the tisane is a bit richer and even a little thicker on the palate and it presents interesting layers of flavor. This is not at all what I was expecting from this rooibos… a very happy surprise, indeed!
I can taste the woodsy note of the rooibos, it’s a little earthy but not overwhelmingly so. The almond flavor is sweet, toasty, and enhances that earthy quality of the rooibos a little bit, making it a deeper, richer taste. I normally don’t like “earthy” flavors but when paired with the sweet, nutty depth of the almond it is not only agreeable but quite tasty.
I wasn’t quite sure what Solomon’s Seal was, so I sent off an email to Tea Spree to learn more. They responded promptly and informed me that it is a plant which belongs to the Lily family, and referred me to this website for more information. It seems to be a very valuable and healthy herb, although, as I am quite unfamiliar with it, I can’t tell you how it contributes to the flavor of this particular tisane.
Regardless, Tea Spree definitely has a way with rooibos! This blend is fabulous (as is their Vanilla Rooibos, one of my faves!)
Pearl of Fruits from ESP Emporium
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Company Description:
This fruity creation will impress you with its unusual spicy influences. Notes of exotic fruits, berries and creamy soft almond endow this black and green tea blend from China and Ceylon with an exotic, oriental taste experience, and orange peels and various blossoms reflect this in its appearance.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of those teas that I wasn’t too sure about before I tasted it. It is a blend of black and green teas, and because this causes some concern when it comes to brewing the tea, I am always a little skeptical about these blends. Since black tea is best brewed when the water is brought to a gentle boil, and green tea is best brewed when the water is hot but not boiling, it can be a little confusing as to how to best extract the flavor from the tea without ruining it.
In cases like this, I always go with the lower temperature. This results in less flavor from the black tea, but, then again, with the lighter flavored green tea, this is probably a good thing. So, I heated the water to the steaming point, when the tiny bubbles began forming at the base of the kettle but weren’t yet rising to the surface. Then I steeped it for 4 minutes. I felt safe that this would result in a tasty brew.
And I was correct! This is very tasty, indeed. The black tea is indeed lighter than a typical black tea would be when brewed with boiling water, but it works in this cup. The combination of the two teas creates a very well-rounded taste – with a slightly woodsy note and a fresh note of vegetation. I can even taste just a hint of smoke in the background, but it is ever so slight.
This creates a nice backdrop for the flavoring. I taste a “fruit” taste that is somewhat like a tropical melangé. Like the description above suggests, it does have a very exotic taste to it, and I love the whisper of the nutty flavor of almond, and although I don’t get much of the creamy taste that the description implies, I do like how well the nutty tones meld with the other flavors here.
There is also a delicate floral note that hits about mid-sip. It is lightly sweet and gives a really interesting complexity to this refreshing cup of tea. But it is the fruit flavors that are the most prominent here: there is a distinct citrus-y tone to this tea, as well as an equally distinct berry tart taste that lingers in the finish.
Because of the overall lightness of this tea, it has very little to no astringency (I didn’t detect any, and my palate tends to be very sensitive in detecting astringency), and when brewed properly, it is not bitter. Just delicious, fruity flavor! Oh! And this one is even better when chilled! Yum!
Pearl of Fruits Tea from ESP Emporium
Tea Type: Black/Green Tea Blend
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Product Description:
This fruity creation will impress you with its unusual spicy influences. Notes of exotic fruits, berries and creamy soft almond endow this black and green tea blend from China and Ceylon with an exotic, oriental taste experience, and orange peels and various blossoms reflect this in its appearance.
Ingredients: black tea (55 %), green tea (30 %), orange peels, flavoring, rose petals, safflowers, marigold petals. Serving Size: 1 level tsp./6oz serving, Brew Temp: 203 to 212 degree F, Brew Time: 4 to 5 Minutes
Tasters Review:
Pearl of Fruits Tea from ESP Emporium is highly scented and very nice – to the eye, nose, and mouth!
Post infusion…everything seems to come together to create it’s-own aroma which is much different from before infusing but still VERY nice! I can smell the orange and floral tones a bit more than the others but not by much and I can smell a little something that reminds me of candy, too!
It has a very pleasant yet slightly juicy and floral taste to it but it’s certainly GOOD. I am very happy with this tea and so VERY glad I got to try it!