The outside of the tin for this says “Super Fancy Oolong,” which meant I had to show it to everyone in my office AND put it on my Snapchat. I curse like a pirate, dress like a goth, and look like a Muppet, so no one really bought the act. For a moment, though, I felt like maybe classiness was within reach.
The dry leaves are long and curled. They are brown and amber, and some ends have white bits. While you’re steeping them, they don’t uncurl as much as you’d expect, but don’t worry: the tea taste is definitely entering the water.
The taste is fragrant, orchid-like, flowery, and buttery. It leans more toward the green end of oolong than black. Which is great for the afternoon, when I want something chiller.
The flavor of this tea very delicate. I could see a French person sipping this during the Rococo period (think: Marie Antoinette). She’d gush something problematic like “one of my SERVANTS brought this from the ORIENT — HOW QUAINT.”
And a peasant from Horse-Butt, not-Paris (think: beginning of Beauty and the Beast), would spend the rest of his life wondering what this tea was like. He’d wonder about it while mucking the straw and sleeping on a bed of straw. He’d ponder it while pulling on itchy britches and a hilarious hat. He’d whisper of it to his livestock.
You, in the modern era, don’t have to fret about such things. You can calm your thirst by just purchasing it here. It’s $32.79 USD, and if you have prime, it could be to you immediately.
Aren’t you glad you aren’t a French peasant during the Rococo era?
In 2017, we can all live like royalty. We can all be “super fancy.”
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Solstice Tea Traders
Description
- Deluxe Loose Leaf Tea Set #3 Oolong Tea Sampler includes Formosa BT Black Oolong, Ti Kwan (Kuan) Yin Oolong, Magnolia Oolong, Super Fancy Oolong, Formosa Standard Oolong, and Fujian Jade Oolong.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
English Breakfast – Solstice Tea Traders
Scroll down and look at the description. A bit disappointing right? Especially considering how nice and earthy the flavor is. Honestly, I tend to not drink many Irish or English breakfast teas because I tend to stick to the greener side of teas but it is good to try the ‘darker side’ particularly when you savor a clean flavor like this one.
Clean seems like it might be a weird word to use to describe tea but honestly that was what my first thought was. Perhaps pure would be better? Even the color of the brewed tea is somewhat more elegant.
Truly its the flavor that impresses me the most though. Definitely earthy with essences of both wood and forest. The wet aroma is reminiscent of wood chips.
This is the type of black tea that will make you cringe when people ask you to put milk in it. No offense if you do of course. Now that I think about it though, I wonder if you ground up the leaves like match and made a latte…. with some frothed vanilla almond milk?
If I had the ability to froth milk I would do this. . . .
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Solstice Tea Traders
Description
English Breakfast Tea– Just as Irish Breakfast Tea, English Breakfast Tea is and always was a tea sourced from India or Sri Lanka.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Coming Soon: TeaMarket!
Tea Market (teamarket.us) is a multi-boutique platform that will, like Etsy, Amazon, or Ebay, allow individual sellers to sell their teas to the user.“I was at work looking for tea since I was running low, but googling ‘where to find good tea online,’ doesn’t really help you at all. So I was like, ‘to heck with this, I can do this better.’ “
“In my opinion, trying to decide which tea you want from the description is like reading a wine or beer list at a restaurant, you kind of just go with what you know, or whatever sounds good. We want to encourage user reviews so we’re going to do that with points. Once customers have their own profile, they get points (1 point for every dollar spent), but when they review the tea, they double their points. The points can be used towards anything on the site.”
“Once we grow big enough to have our own space, we’ll have a tea and coffee bar in the office for employees but also like a film studio area where we have live streams of tea blenders or tea authorities come in and talk or show how they blend some of their favorite teas. It’s something I’ve always wanted to learn.”
MatchaSticks Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha to Go from Magus Brands
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/Matcha
Where to Buy: Magus Brands
Tea Description:
- ✔ MATCHA WITHOUT THE MESS – Our convenient stickpacks have made enjoying ceremonial grade matcha a breeze!
- ✔ STEEPED IN TRADITION – Enjoy the same Matcha used in traditional tea houses in Japan.
- ✔ ORGANIC QUALITY YOU CAN TRUST – USDA Organic and JAS-KOAA Organic from the oldest tea farm in Kagoshima, Japan Sourced from a Japanese National Tea Competition winning tea farm
- ✔ 100% PURE MATCHA – NO sweeteners, NO colors, NO additives, just 100% pure organic ceremonial grade matcha. Just mix with water for clean green healthy energy to go!
- ✔ ALL NATURAL ALWAYS FRESH – Small batch production to ensure maximum freshness. Brought to you by Magus Brands of Orange County, California.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been on a matcha craze for the last few days. I don’t know why. Matcha isn’t something I typically drink but will admit that I do go thru spells where I crave it. I guess I’m in one of those moods right now. When it comes to matcha, I’m incredibly picky. A lot of matcha to me tastes incredibly bitter and I usually have to add in some honey to pep up the flavor.
When I stumbled upon these matcha sticks on Amazon from Magus Brands, I had to check them out. I love the convenience and idea of a to go version of matcha. I am usually prone to making what I call “matcha messes” in the kitchen when I’m scooping out the fine powder so the fact these are in a one serving pouch already delights me to no end.
To prep the matcha up, I just pour in almond milk in my blender bottle and the contents of one of the pouches, shake it up and I’m set and ready to go. You really can’t get any easier than that. So the convenience factor gets an A+++ from me.
The flavor is exactly what you want from matcha. Slightly sweet with a subtle bitter edge that tastes amazing. The flavor is creamy and is simple yet completely satisfying. This is one of those matchas that makes you want to keep drinking and drinking and drinking it. Froths up nicely and looks gorgeous!
I haven’t tried it yet with water but I’m off to do that now. This is just delicious and perfect for this summer weather! Refreshing and delightful! I’m happy!
Pomegranate Green Tea from Solstice Tea Traders
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Solstice Tea Traders
Tea Description:
Solstice Tea Traders Pomegranate Loose Leaf Green Tea is an amazing tea that lends itself well to hot or iced applications, and is a perfect option for summer afternoons, or cold mornings.Enjoy our pomegranate tea packed in large one pound bags, an amazing way to enjoy green tea, with a little extra flavor, without having to add a lot of sugar.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ever stumble upon a tea that just completely makes you say “What?!?” This tea did that to me.
I review products for companies on Amazon all the time. Besides my blog and doing tea reviews for SororiTea Sisters, it is one of my favorite ways to spend my time. Whenever I see tea up for grabs needing a review, I always get giddy and hope I make the cut.
So when this tea arrived in its giant 16oz package (yes, 1 lb!) I wasn’t sure what I would be in for except that I have a pound of this tea. I opened the enormous tea pouch up and was hit with this lovely fragrance mix of green tea, pomegranate, and a sweet rose bud floral undertone. I was incredibly impressed. The tea leaves didn’t’ appear to be crushed but lovely and with a lot of substance. I couldn’t wait to try this tea.
Brewed up like a green tea and allowed to steep for about 4 minutes, this tea yields an amazing flavor. Lovely rich buttery green tea notes with a jammy pomegranate flavor and a sweetness from the rose buds that really bring this tea to another notch. There is just a slight hint of a tartness from the pomegranate but it is very very slight. Everything is just so smooth and all the flavors are right where they need to be. (I have a feeling I’ll be drinking this tea all day).
The jammy notes are what get me the most and I can say that this tea has me hooked. I’ve already got a pitcher going for a cold brew for this week and I’m planning on making some iced tea as well for the day. I’m on my third cup from the same infusion and the flavors are still giving me so much love.
This is one of those teas that proves you can’t judge a book (or tea) by its cover. This tea is amazingly priced for what you get and I can’t wait to try and check out the other teas I have coming. Highly recommend this tea for a flavored green tea that bursts with flavor. I’m absolutely serving this at my sister in law’s baby shower in a few weeks. It is really that good and one that everybody would enjoy. The flavors are bright enough to give flavor but not so overwhelming that you can’t taste the green tea base. One of those teas you just have to share!