THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! PLEASE VISIT AGAIN SOON TO CATCH OUR NEXT GIVEAWAY!
After a brief break during our Season of Giveaways here on the SororiTEA Sisters blog, we’re back with an all new giveaway! Our sponsor this week is Boutique Teas! I’ve had the opportunity to try a couple of their teas so far: check out my reviews for their Phoenix Oolong and their Big Red Robe Oolong!
This week, we’ll have not just one, not two, but THREE winners of a sample tin size of their amazing Phoenix Oolong Tea! And these are no ordinary “samples!” These tins hold enough tea to make 15 – 20 cups of tea. That’s a lot of Oolong goodness!
So if I’ve whetted your appetite for some delicious Phoenix Oolong and you want to win some of this amazing tea … here’s all you have to do to enter:
1. Post a comment to this blog. Your blog comment should include a way that we can contact you in case you’re the lucky winner! The best way to do this is to either join Steepster or Tea Trade so that we can contact you via Private Message at either one of these, or let me know your user name and which site on which I can contact you.
Want to earn additional entries? Here’s how!
2. Become a fan of Boutique Teas on Facebook. Be sure to come back here and let us know that you’ve done this, we do check, but all fans are not automatically entered into this contest … so please let us know!
3. Follow Boutique Teas on Twitter. Again, be sure to come back here and let us know that you’ve done so!
4. Tweet about this contest! It’s as simple as it sounds! Be sure to include #SororiTeaSister in your tweet so that we see it, and come back here and let us know that you’ve tweeted about the contest.
5. Share about this contest on your Facebook page. Again … easy peasy! Be sure to come back here and provide a link to your post on Facebook so that we can verify the entry when it comes time to tally up the entries and pick a winner.
Now … let’s get down to the nitty gritty … or … the fine print as some would say. You can enter now through February 10, 2013. On February 11, I will tally the entries and select three winners randomly via Random.org. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents. Your prize will be shipped within 10 days of receipt of your shipping information … so be sure to get back to us promptly if you’re notified as a winner! If you have been selected as a winner and I do not hear back from you three days after I’ve attempted to notify you, I will need to consider your entry invalid and select a new winner … so like I said, be sure to contact me right away when I contact you. This ensures a smooth process.
That’s it … GOOD LUCK!
Phoenix Oolong Tea from Boutique Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Boutique Teas
Tea Description:
A single trunk oolong tea, over 100 years old, this oolong has floral,peach and apricot notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am loving this Phoenix Oolong Tea from Boutique Teas!
My first sip, I was greeted with a pleasing, sharp floral note that is slightly softened with a honey-esque sweetness, and delightful background notes of stone fruit. As I continue to sip, I notice that the fruit notes get a little stronger, particularly a peach-y like taste that I’m finding almost irresistible. It’s so sweet and luscious!
I brewed this the way I would usually brew an Oolong, in my gaiwan, using hot water – but not boiling, I usually brew darker Oolong teas such as this at about 180°F. I do a quick, 15 second rinse, and then I start the infusion time at 45 seconds, and increase the infusion time by 15 seconds for each subsequent infusion. I usually combine two infusions in one cup. This is the way I’ve found that works for my personal taste buds, the tea is the strength that I like it, and I am able to manage at least six infusions from each measurement of leaves … quite often more.
Subsequent infusions proved to be smoother, with the floral tones evening out and becoming less sharp and distinct … they seem to meld with the honey and fruit notes. My favorite cup of the three cups (a total of six infusions) was the second, which was very smooth, with a rich, brothy mouthfeel and a delicious fruit and flower taste with a sweet honey undertone.
I could not find this tea offered individually on the Boutique Teas website at the time of writing this review, but, I did find it as part of this Oolong Tribute Set from Boutique Teas … which looks like a fine assortment of three delightful Oolong teas, including the previously reviewed Big Red Robe! That’s an awesome collection of teas!
Organic Big Red Robe Oolong from Boutique Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Boutique Teas
Tea Description:
Legend says this tea restored the health of a Ming dynasty official, who in gratitude honored the tea bushes by leaving his red cape behind as protection. Produced in the famous Fujian province, Big Red Robe grows on the rocky cliffs in Fujian, China. This rare oolong tea brews a unique woodsy character with fruity muscatel notes that can be steeped multiple times.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oolong is one of my favorite types of tea (second only to yellow tea), although, as I’m sure most of you are already aware, not all Oolong teas are created equal, so it is perhaps needless to say that I like some Oolong teas better than others.
Big Red Robe Oolong teas are not my favorite, but I’ve grown to appreciate them more than I once did. This Organic Big Red Robe Oolong form Boutique Teas is one of the nicest that I’ve tried … I think that had I tried this Da Hong Pao Oolong the first time I tried one, I probably would have embraced it immediately! This is really good!
There are hints of fruit notes in this tea that are reminiscent of plum and peach and grape which give the cup a pleasing sweetness. I can even taste the faintest hints of muscatel which took me totally by surprise! These fruit notes mingle with a strong woodsy tone that is slightly smoky, but what I like about this particular Big Red Robe Oolong is that the smoky note is on the subtle side, tasting slightly more like charcoal than smoke.
There is a mineral-y like taste that arrives on the palate toward the finish. This is definitely what I’d call a masculine tea, but it has a smoothness to it … like a sophisticated, charming gentleman.
This is the kind of tea that you want to infuse multiple times, and just sit back and relax as you allow the flavors to play upon your palate. I find that the flavor becomes even more enjoyable with the subsequent infusions … my favorite were the fifth and sixth infusions, which I combined into one cup. The flavor was sweeter, and possessed less of the smoky earthiness of the earlier infusions. Those first infusions were good … but the subsequent infusions were great!