Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Tea Description:
High Mountain Oolong Tea is synonymous with the finest Oolong teas in the world. They are grown at high elevations in Taiwan, which has a unique environment due to its geographical location, mountainous terrain, and subtropical climate. The result is a greater quality tea. Also known as Wu-long Tea, this semi-oxidized tea is commonly brewed strong and is known to help metabolism.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve not had the opportunity to try a lot of Bird Pick Tea & Herb’s teas, but the ones that I have tried, I’ve been very impressed with and I can say without hesitation have been among some of the very best that I’ve tasted. This Taiwan High Mountain Oolong is no exception.
This is exquisite! The flavor is sweet and creamy, but not in a similar way to the creamy, buttery and/or milky notes that I’ve experienced from other green Oolongs. This is a bit like sweet cream, yes, but, it doesn’t ever feel like it’s going to overwhelm the palate the way so many milk Oolong teas can. It finishes so softly, so cleanly. I get that sweet, creamy taste but without feeling like it’s building up on my tongue.
There is a lovely fruit note here as well, as though the sweet cream had been sweetened with fruit. Plum, perhaps? But a bit sweeter … like the sweetness of the plum without the tartness.
And of course there are some floral notes – but again, the floral tones are different here. They aren’t sharp – just smooth and sweet. Like a flower from a dream: sweet, soft and gentle. Nothing distinct or rudimentary, instead, this is like a billowy cloud of flowers floating off in the distance.
Another lovely and unique tea experience from Bird Pick Tea & Herb. I love this!
Silky Green Tea from Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Product Description:
Entice your senses with Premium Silky Green Tea. Offering a pleasantly sweet and creamy aroma and flavor, its refreshing brew provides surprisingly light and delicate notes that easily pleases the taste buds. Try adding sugar and ice for a refreshing beverage that will surely not disappoint any palate.
Taster’s Review:
A quick glance at these tea leaves and one might think that they’re looking at an Oolong tea – I know I did! The leaves are tightly wound into little pellets and look a lot like a green Oolong. So, I decided to treat this one like an Oolong, and I brewed it in my gaiwan.
The flavor is also quite similar to an Oolong – there is a silky mouthfeel and it has a sweet, buttery taste that I’ve often experienced with green Oolong. The first two infusions (following a quick rinse) tasted so very much like a milk Oolong. It was sweet, creamy and rich.
Following those two infusions, I noticed that the leaves were barely opened, and were begging for more infusions. I just had to oblige. The next two infusions were similar in taste, but lighter on the creamy/buttery taste. These two infusions did not have as thick a mouthfeel to it, and floral notes began to emerge. These two infusions may have tasted different, but they were every bit as lovely to experience as the first two.
If you’re an Oolong enthusiast, you really must try this tea. You’ll be surprised at just how much this green tea tastes like an Oolong!
Organic Dragons Well from Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Product Description:
Dragon’s Well Green Tea originates from the mountains surrounding West Lake in the Zhejiang province of China. Today, this tea remains a specialty of this region. The name was given according to legend of a dragon that lived in a well near West Lake Village. It is said that it saved the village from a long drought by bringing rain. The tea has a unique appearance of smooth, flat green leaves with pointed ends – resembling that of a sparrow’s tongue.
Taster’s Review:
An excellent Dragons Well tea!
The tea is crisp and light-bodied and yet full of flavor. It is grassy/vegetative but there is also a pleasant fruit-like flavor in the forefront that mingles deliciously with the vegetative quality.
The sip approaches the palate with a sweet, almost creamy taste. The fruit flavor then presents itself, and it is somewhat citrus-y. A grassy undercurrent is present throughout the sip while the taste of lightly buttered vegetables weave in and out. The sip finishes with a light astringency with a nutty aftertaste.
I brewed this in my gaiwan and it produced four delightful infusions that way. It is a very mild tea, one that is very enjoyable later in the afternoon when a black tea might seem too heavy. A nice way to unwind!
Bird Pick Tea & Herb comes through with yet another high quality, delicious tea! I’m really impressed with this company.
Supreme Gongfu Black Tea from Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Product Description:
The term Gongfu is a term used to describe the Chao Zhou and Min Nan way of preparing tea in a skillful manner. Rather than focusing on symbolic hand gestures like Japanese tea ceremonies, Gongfu focuses on accomplishing a great taste of tea to satisfy the soul. This tea is characterized by fine, unbroken twisted leaves.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf has a very interesting aroma. I can smell notes of cocoa, but I can also smell a distinct licorice note. I don’t recall ever smelling a licorice-y smell in a tea that didn’t actually contain licorice root (or anise or fennel). But, I don’t find this off-putting in the least; I adore licorice. I was actually quite excited to try it after smelling it. This licorice-y fragrance disappears when brewed and does not translate into the flavor.
That might be a little disappointing if the tea didn’t taste as fabulous as it does! This is a remarkable tea!
The flavor is quite rich and smooth. There are faint savory cocoa notes in the background as a sweet caramel-like note approaches the palate. There is an earthy quality to this tea as well although I do not find this to be overwhelming.
I can also taste intriguing notes of spice which seem to perk up the palate just as the sip finishes and they linger well into the aftertaste. There is a light astringency to this tea and even a faint hint of bitterness that contrasts nicely with the sweet tastes that I described a moment ago. I like how this tea seems to tempt all areas of the palate. A full-flavored, full-bodied, and fully pleasurable tea!