Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Kusmi Tea
Tea Description:
Green Zoubrovka is the green tea version of the exclusive Zoubrovka blend. It’s a green tea from China flavored with sweetgrass, which adds a subtle texture of honey to this beverage.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This has a very strong vegetal aroma. It smells earthy and grassy. The dry leaf looks like a large gunpowder tea.
To brew this tea, I used my Breville tea maker and added 2 bamboo scoops to the basket and 500ml of water to the jug. I set the temperature at 180°F and the steep time for 2 minutes.
The result is a cup of tea that tastes very much like green tea. Gunpowder green, to be specific. But there is a little more to it than that. I also taste the sweetgrass which adds sweetness as well as more of a grassy note. While many green teas taste somewhere between ‘vegetable’ and ‘grassy’ … this tea definitely leans more to the grassy than the vegetable.
There are sweet notes, honey-like flavors, hints of mint, and a clean grassy note. I can see how this tea would not be for everyone. If you tend to like that heavier, buttery quality to a green tea, this one will probably not be one of your favorite greens. On the other hand, if you appreciate the soothing vegetal/brothy qualities of a green tea, this one is going to be right up your alley.
The texture is brothy, reminding me both in taste and texture of sipping a hot broth. This would be a really nice tea to have on hand when feeling under the weather because it has that soothing quality to it – like drinking a hot cup of chicken soup. Only better because it’s tea.
While it is quite soothing, it also has an invigorating quality to it that I find quite appealing. It would be a good tea to drink later in the afternoon when you’re feeling a little drained of energy and need a boost. Sweet, a little bitter (but in a savory sort of way), and enjoyable. It has a moderate astringency that is slightly drying.
Overall, a pleasant cup of tea.
Feng Huang Dan Cong Special Oolong Tea from Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Le Palais des Thés
Tea Description:
Feng Huang Dan Cong “Special” (Special Phoenix tea) comes from Guangdong province (Chao Zhou district) in China. The leaves, which are only fermented briefly, are generally very long (5 to 6 cm), and the liquor evokes fruity, floral and spicy notes.
This superior quality tea grows at a high altitude (1,500 metres), and pluckings are often reserved in advance by wealthy connoisseurs.
An exceptional tea with intense fruity, floral and spicy notes. Very rich and incredibly long in the mouth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I prepared this tea, I was impressed with how fragrant it is. The strong aroma of spiced fruit with notes of flower filled the kitchen. My mouth started watering because my taste buds were anticipating the luscious flavor of a Phoenix Oolong! Yes!
To prepare this “Special” Feng Huang Dan Cong, I used my gaiwan and measured a bamboo scoop of tea into the bowl of the vessel. I then added enough water to cover the leaves (heated to 180°F) and let the tea “rinse” for 15 seconds. I strained off the liquid and discarded it, and then I steeped the rinsed leaves for 45 seconds. With each subsequent infusion, I add 15 seconds. I combine the first and second infusions to make my first cup. My second cup is infusion three and four. And so on . . .
When I brew tea this way (gong fu), I find that my first cup is usually the softest in flavor because the leaves haven’t fully opened yet. But this first cup is quite strong in flavor! Sweet! Delicious! Fruity, floral with intriguing spicy notes. It’s so warm and beautiful – a perfect tea for this chilly autumn day.
The sip starts with a note of sweetness that isn’t immediately recognized, but after a moment or two my palate decides it tastes like honey. I notice fruit notes – stone fruits, like a cross between nectarine and plum – mingling with the honey flavor. Floral notes begin to weave their way in and out just before mid-sip. There is a delicate undertone of spice throughout the sip and by the time I reach the tail, the spice comes through for a strong finish.
The second cup is much smoother than the first. It’s stronger in flavor, but the flavors seem to be more mellowed out now. They are less focused, as if they’ve been softened around the edges. The honeyed notes meld harmoniously with the fruit and flower notes and the spice is still strongest at the tail.
Later infusions continued to mellow. The flavor still strong, I kept noticing a more unified flavor where the fruit and the flower became more of a seamless note, and the spice progressed softly and came on strong at the end. The honeyed notes became less distinct as they seemed to become part of the floral, fruity flavors rather than it’s own individual flavor.
This is a really beautiful tea that was a real treat to explore! I highly recommend it!
Wedding Tea Blend from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
This elegant tea is a special tea for that special event. Mutan White tea with a touch of lemon-vanilla to taste, nicely offset with pink rose petals.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
A really nice blend from Harney & Sons. The delicate white tea is flavored with just a hint of lemon and vanilla and rose, creating a soft, sweet, and brightly flavored cup.
The white tea is a sweet and smooth tasting tea and these characteristics are enhanced by the addition of vanilla. The light touch of vanilla makes the tea taste just a little sweeter, a little smoother and a little softer. It adds a pleasant creaminess to the cup.
And I like the way the creaminess plays with the notes of lemon. The lemon is bright and tart, but not pucker-y tart. The sweetness of the vanilla curbs the lemon so that it doesn’t come off as sour. Instead, it tastes a little bit like someone may have dissolved a little bit of lemon curd into my tea! YUM!
To brew this, I used a lower temperature (as is usually the case when it comes to white teas. I almost always go with a temperature that is 170°F or lower, this time, I used the 170°F) and steeped the sachet for 3 1/2 minutes.
Something else that’s kind of neat about this blend is that because it is the “Wedding Blend,” it can also serve as a wedding favor! You can even special order it with the name of the bride and groom and the wedding date imprinted on the lid of the little “tagalong tins” (these tins really are adorable). How awesome is that? Can you think of a cooler wedding favor to give to your guests on your special day?
Yunnan Jig Black Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Black tea from the Yunnan province of China, the birthplace of tea itself. Yunnan black tea is easily identified by its abundance of soft golden tips, and savory cocoa and black pepper flavors. It is a very forgiving tea; will not taste bitter when over-steeped. Our Yunnan Jig has a sweet, almost creamy aroma. Rich and savory flavor, with a slight cocoa powder finish. Earthy and spicy and soft, smooth mouthfeel and finish. Classic Yunnan.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op program here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! Now this is the kind of tea that I like to wake up to!
The dry leaf is beautiful. The aroma is very leather-like, evoking thoughts of an old library with lots of old, leather bound books. The leaves are long and curly, looking a bit like thick pieces of wire in colors of chocolate brown and gold. When I see golden leaves like this, I immediately think of autumn and the leaves. I love this time of year with the beautiful leaves!
And I am loving this tea!
I brewed the tea in my Breville One-Touch. I poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the kettle/jug. Measuring this tea is a bit of a challenge, because of the long, wiry leaves! I measured out what looked to me like 2 bamboo scoops of tea. I guess with teas like this, a scale would be really handy to have, but again, you probably won’t ever find a tea scale in my kitchen because I live by the ideal that tea should be simple and more gadgets don’t make it a simpler process to me. I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and the temperature for 212°F.
The brewed tea has more of an earthy fragrance than a leathery one, although I do still pick up on some subtle leathery notes as well as a gentle spice-like note. It’s a very masculine aroma.
The flavor is delightful. And as I typed the word “delightful” I found myself questioning the word, because I don’t think that delightful is enough of a word to describe just how lovely this tea is! It is rich and smooth from start to finish. There is next to no astringency. I only pick up on mere hints of astringency – a slight dryness – toward the very tip of the tail of the sip. It is very slight. It’s not bitter and while the description above states that it’s a very forgiving tea, I didn’t try to overbrew it to test that out, but based on what I’m tasting, I’d say that’s probably very true. I’m not even tasting the slightest insinuation of bitterness here.
Notes of cacao and warm spice notes. There is a sweet caramel-y note that offers a nice contrast to the savory notes of this tea. It’s an amazing balance between sweet and savory which is what gives this tea it’s smooth character. It is so well-rounded and palate pleasing. It certainly has an invigorating quality to it, but this isn’t the tea that will give you that jolt that you might look for in that first cup of the day, instead, this will give you a warm caress that will gently nudge you awake and make you much happier to be alive and kicking!
White Currant Tea from Caraway Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Caraway Tea Company
Product Description:
Juicy aromatic currants paired with the delicacy of white tea leaves delivers a smooth flavor profile with a deeply fruity finish. There’s a lot of flavor is this healthy white tea.
Ingredients
China Pai Mu Tan, China Cui Min, rose hip peel, freeze-dried blackcurrants, flavoring, mallow blossoms, cornflower blossoms.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about UniqTeas here – UniqTeas is the “sister site” of Caraway Tea where you can create your own unique tea blend!
Taster’s Review:
Oh yum!
As I was preparing this review, I had the teacup sitting just under my nose (well, about a foot from my nose) and I enjoyed the fragrance of the tea. It smells really yummy. And as I was enjoying the aroma, I started thinking: there really aren’t a lot of currant flavored white teas. I’ve encountered quite a few currant flavored black teas and maybe a couple of currant flavored green teas, but I think I’ve only tried a couple of currant flavored white teas.
And that’s a shame, because I think that the tart with a touch of sweet flavor of currants seems really well paired with the crisp sweetness of white tea.
What I’m drinking now – this White Currant Tea from Caraway Tea – tastes a lot like a sweet wine, only without the tannic quality of a wine. Sure, tea has tannins too, but I find white teas to be less tannic than black teas. Perhaps this is because I brew my white teas at a lower temperature. Or perhaps it’s because they’re just less tannic. I don’t know.
Disclaimer: I’m not a tannin expert.
So, imagine if you would, a sweet red wine without the tannins. Now, imagine it … served hot. That’s what I’m tasting now. Since I don’t usually drink wine hot, I’m thinking that this tea is a stunner served iced. (Then again, I don’t drink wine much at all. Hot or otherwise.)
The currant flavor is lightly tart – not puckery – and there is a pleasant sweetness to it too. The white tea is not overpowered by the flavors of this tea. It is light and refreshing with delicate vegetal notes and a sweet, airy quality. I also notice a hint – just a hint! – of a warm, gentle spice to this too. Like a slight peppery kick. It’s a nice contrast to the tart and sweet fruit notes and the light sweetness from the white tea.
A really good tea. This is one that I’d happily drink again!