Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tiesta Tea
Tea Description:
Throw a jolt of passion in your day! With a unified blend of Assam black tea, cornflowers, marigolds, and passion fruit flavoring, this fruity Energizer is sure to keep you locked, loaded, and ready to go. Tastes great iced!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf of this Passion Berry Jolt Black Tea Blend from Tiesta Tea is delightful! Highly fragrant with notes of passion fruit and raspberry, and lovely floral tones … I found myself very eagerly awaiting this tea to HURRY UP and brew! I couldn’t wait to taste it.
And I’ve tried a number of passion fruit flavored teas … and it probably goes without saying that some I’ve enjoyed more than others. This one … this one is spectacular! This is one of the best passion fruit flavored teas I’ve encountered. The passion fruit and the raspberry meld BEAUTIFULLY together. I don’t really consider myself to be an expert on things passion fruit flavored, but I will say that I am really enjoying this tea’s fruit flavoring.
The fruit tastes very authentic … it doesn’t have that chemical-y, artificial-ish taste that sometimes accompanies fruit flavored teas. This tastes more like real fruit to me. It is sweet, juicy-tasting, and there is just enough tartness to the flavors to keep it from being a cloying drink. Very pleasant, and very easy to sip.
And I like that I taste the black tea here. It is an Assam base, and it is good and strong like a good Assam should be. It has a hint of malty taste, and just a hint of a wine-ish kind of flavor too … and it’s this wine-like note that works so well with the fruit flavors, enhancing the berry tones and offering depth to the passion fruit notes. The combination of these three elements – Assam tea, passion fruit and raspberry – work so well together.
The flower adds more to the visual interest of the dry leaf than it does to the actual flavor, and I’m OK with that. I found the way these flavors came together to be so enjoyable that I didn’t need there to be more to the floral tones than maybe a hint or two of floral taste to the cup. I find that the floral notes do emerge more once the tea has cooled.
A really delightful cuppa from Tiesta Tea … this one may be my favorite that I’ve tried from them thus far! I highly recommend this one! I suspect that if you try it, it may just become a STAPLE in your tea cupboard during the summer … because it’s awesome iced!
Monkey Picked Oolong from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Deep in the forests of Southern China, tea leaves are still harvested by hand from wild tea trees. These are considered to be gourmet, premium teas among the Chinese, and there is always a light body, a delicate clarity, and an earthy nature to the brews of these leaves that is never found elsewhere. At one time, tradition says, the monks of a certain temple, desirous of harvesting more of these wild tree leaves at a quicker pace, trained dozens of monkeys to climb to the tops of the tea trees and pick the youngest leaves and pekoe buds up there! These monkey-picked leaves were then converted into oolong tea, the monk’s favored beverage. Today, Chinese tea drinkers call the very best oolong teas made from wild tree leaves, “Monkey-Picked,” even though more reliable methods of harvesting are now employed. Premium “Monkey-Picked” Oolong is rare, labor-intensive, and extremely delicate in flavor. It can be brewed for multiple infusions, with many declaring that the second steeping is the best! “Monkey-Picked” Ooloong has an extremely complex bouquet, with an earthiness in the brew usually found only in aged Pu Erh tea! Known to the Chinese as Ti Kuan Yin tea, or Goddess Tea, this ultimate oolong is a rare treasure for our Red Leaf customers! Try some today!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am a huge fan of oolong tea. Money Picked Oolong from Red Leaf Tea is a great one! The price is more than fair for this quality tea. At 7.99 per ounce it is robust with fruity juicy flavors and deep earthiness. The aroma is intoxicating and inviting. You can taste and smell ripely sweetened berries, and a caramelized sugar flavor that is just outstanding!
There is a slight rock mineral flavor that is not drying at all, rather quenching which I find interesting because mineral flavors are generally drying on my palate. This is a welcome and unique experience .
The flavors linger on the palate for quite a long time, beckoning me to take another sip, yet as I am generally one to drink my teas rather quickly, there is something that makes me just want to sit back and allow the flavors to meld over my palate, and just enjoy the after taste.
The color of the cup is delightful, deep golden orange almost verging on an amber color. Very cheerful to look at, and even more joyful to savor.
Red Leaf Tea is my “go to” place for straight and flavored matcha, but don’t overlook their abundant selection of straight and flavored teas!
I tend to be a big fan of Dong Ding Oolong, but this Monkey Picked Oolong from Red Leaf Tea my just be winning my top spot for oolong love!
Jasmine Ancient Beauty from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Jasmine Ancient Beauty tea features fragrant jasmine blossoms permeated with pure hand-harvested oolong loose-leaf tea, giving an amber peach color with a fresh aromatic bouquet and sweet refreshing taste.
This beautiful oolong jasmine tea comes from thousand year-old trees on the Jing Mai Mountain in China. The protected forest reserve is enshrouded in mist and located approximately 5,000 feet above sea level. The best buds and leaves are hand plucked by scaling the tall trees and then oxidized using a traditional oxidation process to reach a specific maturation point. They are then crafted with traditional scenting techniques using whole jasmine blossoms. Drink the Jasmine Ancient Beauty Tea and experience a real one-of-a-kind treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Jasmine Ancient Beauty from The Persimmon Tree is a cup that is full of flavors. It is by no means your typical oolong!
As a lover of oolong teas I can see how some people could be disappointed in this tea if they go into with expectations of it tasting like any other oolong they have ever had before.
Or if you are one who loves jasmine teas, I could see some disappointment there as well as this is not your typical jasmine tea either.
What this tea IS however is a tea with some amazing depth to it. The flavors are heady, hearty, and full, yet there are these berry like notes that give the cup a lightness that is just so cheery.
This is not robust like a morning black tea, yet there is an earthiness to the tea that makes it very full, almost thick.
Honestly, if no one told me, or I had not read the label before hand, I would have thought this to be a puerh. The leaves do come from a tree that is over a thousand years old according to The Persimmon Tree’s description and I believe it as this tea does have an aged flavor to it for sure.
Other notes I pick up on aside from honey, berry, jasmine, and oolong, are mushroom, earth, woods, brown sugar, toasted oat bread, to name a few. You really need to discover this tea for yourself.
The other thing I love about this tea, other than the wonderful flavor, is the look and feel of the leaves. They are quite stunning!
I really respect a company that gives back. You can read more about The Persimmon Tree and how it is working toward bettering our earth here.
2012 Margarets Hope Muscatel (2nd Flush) from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Darjeeling
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
Margarets Hope Muscatel comes from one of the best known gardens Margarets Hope Tea Garden. The dry leaves are black and dark chocolate in colour with fresh floral notes to the nose.
When steeped for 3 mins, it gives a brilliant deep golden liquor. It has a full bodied muscatel flavour with a distinct mint ‘twang’ in the nose. A perfect cup to make your evenings delightful.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
2012 Margarets Hope Muscatel (2nd Flush) from Darjeeling Tea Lovers is such an easy tea to drink. It’s light but full bodied, has that wonderful muscatel wine like flavor of fermented grapes, but is accompanied by an almost bubbly mouthfeel.
The tea is also complimented by spiced earth notes and woodsy flavors.
My sample is going on at least 5 to 6 months in age but its flavor is wonderful. I wish I had tried it when it first came out and truly hope I get to experience the 2013 leaf while it is still fresh and full of flavor.
I do love a good darjeeling and this one is slightly different from others I have enjoyed. This has a far more earthy and musk like note to it, which I love, yet a really good balance with its lighter fruity, berry, and red currant notes.
The more the tea cools the more rich and full it becomes. I find it reminding me almost of a pu-erh with notes ranging from peat, oaky, and other aged woods. While the cup begins rather light by the end of the more cooled cup it thickens up and becomes far heavier in the sip.
What an interesting tea! One everyone should try in order to understand a truly wonderful Darjeeling!
2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse
2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
A malty, rich Assam, perfect for a morning cup. It has a rich caramel, almost burnt sugar flavour with a maltiness and hints of fruit. This is a versatile tea. As good with a hearty cooked breakfast, bacon butty or toast and pastries as with a slice of fruitcake, piece of gingerbread or rich dark chocolate in the afternoon. It pairs well with dishes using cinnamon or nutmeg, as well as Mexican food or red meats.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse may be the first tea I have ever had from this company. I cannot recall another before it. This 2nd Flush is a good morning cup. I find the flavors evolve more if you let it cool just slightly before sipping. Regardless, the flavors are strong with berry notes, and have lovely caramel and malty notes. I find the malty notes to be less intense than many assam however.
What I find most pleasing with this tea is that the berry notes turn to something like a wine flavor as the cup breathes a little – cooling slightly more.
The downside of this tea is that I find you have to get the exact right steep time or you could end up with a bitter brew, or one that lacks flavor.
I found the perfect steep time for me was right at the 2 minute mark while my SororiTea Sister LiberTeas preferred hers at a minute and a half. There may be a “sweet spot” for each person and their personal taste but by no means would I suggest steeping this as long as the directions which say 4 minutes.
Personally I think this would make a far better tea iced or cold steeped because the longer I sip on this cup, the more flavors evolve with the caramel and malt waking up even more.
It is relatively bright in the mouthfeel however, its not heavy, or creamy, or even all that robust. It may not be the morning tea for everyone depending on how strong you like your morning tea to be.
I am glad that I have got to sample a Tea Horse tea and I look forward to trying more in the future.