Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Description:
A perfect cup of all natural apple cider to warm you up this autumn and winter.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The last couple of weeks have been crazy and the next week is going to be even more so – so it’s nice to have a tea like this Soul Good Organic Oolong from Tea Leaf Co. to help me collect myself and find a sense of calm. Tea is delightful like that – I love how I can sip it and it helps to de-stress me.
And what a delightful tea this is!
Even though it’s not autumn or winter – I am enjoying this cup of “apple cider” tea. It’s pleasantly sweet with a nice essence of apple and warm spices. And even though these flavors are prominent, they don’t overwhelm the sweet Oolong tea which appears to be a Tie Guan Yin based on the little green pellets of tea that I saw when I was measuring out the tea.
And the flavor and texture suggests a Tie Guan Yin tea to me. It’s sweet and has a soft, slightly creamy mouthfeel. There’s a light, buttery flavor to the tea that melds quite beautifully with the notes of apple and the spices.
The ginger is really nice – it’s warm and peppery without being too spicy. Generally when I think “apple cider,” I think of cinnamon flavor but I like that ginger is the star of this show – I’m really enjoying how nicely the apple and ginger taste together.
And the apple is wonderful here – it’s a strong flavor. My own experience with tea blending has taught me that apple can be a difficult flavor to nail but Tea Leaf Co. has nailed it here! It’s sweet and apple-y and authentic! This tastes very true-to-the-fruit!
A really lovely tea – and while it does have a very autumnal flavor to it, this is something I can see myself enjoying year round!
North Winds from Whispering Pines Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Co.
Tea Description:
My house black tea for good reason — North Winds is the essence of northern Michigan. A blend of a malty and chocolaty black tea from Fujian and a rustic high mountain dian hong with subtle fruity notes, this tea brings me home every time. Sweet fruity notes of apricot and white grape bring you to Traverse City while heavy dark chocolate notes allow you to have that Mackinaw Island fudge desert without having to take the ferry. Notes of toasted rye with cherry preserves show up mid-sip with a beautiful malt and wildflower honey finish. Light hints of sweet potato and clean white pepper mingle through the malt. These velvety smooth, decadent notes combine into a medium-bodied tea with a bold and rustic feel that makes for a perfect breakfast tea — but you’ll want to drink this all day long!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is Whispering Pines’ house black tea, and it’s become one of my house teas as well. It sits in a little tin at the front of my tea cupboard, and I drink it several times a week. When I feel like I’m beginning to run low I place an order for a couple more ounces because I never want to run out of this one. Given that I love trying new teas there aren’t too many teas that I say that about! It’s a delicious blend of Yunnan Dian Hong and Fujian Black Tea that makes me happy each time I drink it.
When I first sip this tea I get a nice mix of dark chocolate and malt. The chocolate note is deep but has a sweetness that makes me think chocolate rather than cocoa. There is also a sweet, fruity, cherry note that is eye rollingly good combined with the chocolate and malt notes. The mix of flavors reminds me of the braided cherry chocolate tarts I sometimes buy at Redding Terminal in Philadelphia. Both the tea and the tarts are sweet but not overly so. There is an underlying earthy flavor to North Winds which I appreciate since it grounds some of the brighter flavors and makes this a tea that’s good both in the morning and the afternoon. I’ve paired this tea with eggs and biscuits for breakfast. I’ve also served it with sour cream chocolate chip cake at a tea party, and my guest really enjoyed it. Overall it’s a nice, versatile, and down right tasty blend.
Whispering Pines recommends Gongfu Style brewing for this tea. I have always brewed this Western Style using 1/2 a tablespoon of leaves in 8 ounces of 205°F water, steeping the leaves for 3 minutes. I am curious to try the Gongfu Style brewing to see if it’s possible for me to enjoy this tea more than I already do. If you use different brewing styles with this tea leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
North Winds is a winner for me and one that I’ll happily repurchase again. I’d recommend this tea to black tea lovers and anyone who enjoys or is curious about Chinese black teas.
Brown Sugar Organic Oolong Tea from Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Description:
A wonderfully bold and smooth organic tea blend of dark oolong and maple, a perfect pairing. While the oolong is bold, full-bodied, and lightly smoked, the maple is light, aromatic, and sweet. The combination of the two flavors results in a well-balanced, featured favorite maple tea blend.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This Brown Sugar Organic Oolong Tea from Tea Leaf Co. is the first from this new-to-me tea company that I’ve tried, and it’s a good one!
The maple flavor is strong but I like that it’s not overpowering the Oolong tea. Tea Leaf Co. has managed to strike a really delightful balance between the sweetness and rich flavor of the maple and the Oolong tea with its fruit notes and hints of smoke.
The base tea possesses notes of stone fruit (peach) and I taste wisps of smoke. I like this delicate smoky note and how it plays to the notes of the sweet maple. Nutty flavors develop as I continue to sip and I like how these interact with the maple notes as well. This is a full-flavored Oolong, it’s rugged and has notes of wood and earth. It’s a strong flavor that doesn’t wimp out behind the sweetness of the maple. The contrasts in flavor from the woodsy, earthy, nutty and smoky flavors help keep the maple in check and keep it from becoming too cloying a drink.
The maple notes are sweet and pleasant. They don’t taste chemical or artificial. It tastes like someone drizzled a drop or two of real maple syrup in my teacup! Quite delectable!
A real treat – this “Brown Sugar.”
Green Dragon from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Blended for us by Rare Tea Hunter, Phil Mumby, this is a base of China Green Sencha given a full makeover with the citrus kick of lemon zest, lemongrass, lemon oil – and ginger. The combination of the fresh, green grass sencha notes, the lemony flavour and the warming ginger is completed by the subtlest hint of liquorice root to give a lingering sweetness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! When Canton Tea Co.asked me to try their new Green Dragon – I was excited! I’ve been really impressed with the quality of teas that I’ve tried from Canton and I love the combination of lemon and ginger – so I was sure that I’d enjoy this new blend of theirs.
And I do! The lemony notes are tart with just enough sweetness to them to keep me from puckering when I take a sip. The warmth from the ginger is mild. And the licorice root is barely noticeable – even those who don’t typically like licorice root would probably enjoy this because the licorice root doesn’t really stand out as an obvious flavor. It’s more like a hint of sweetness toward the tail.
The Chinese Sencha is a sweet, fresh taste with a hint of grassy flavor. It has a pleasant creaminess to it, light and buttery. I like the way this buttery quality melds with the lemon-y notes, creating an almost lemon custard type of experience with each sip. It’s very smooth.
As I continue to sip, the warmth from the ginger builds slightly in the back of the throat. It never gets really warm though. It’s a very mild, gentle peppery note that offers contrast to the creaminess of the tea and the tangy lemon notes.
A really lovely tea – it’s a delightful summertime tea that tastes great as a hot tea or a refreshing iced tea!
Canton Assam Black Tea from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
We have waited a long time to bring in our own house Assam. Now we have one to shout about and have made it a Canton signature tea. It is a blend of two, high grade, Khongea Estate teas – one of which has just won the North American Tea Championships in the Assam category. That’s how good it is. The family-owned estate is known to us and we are delighted to be working closely with them. Do what Assam is made to do and steep the leaves for several minutes to get a really good, strong, dark liquor that is smooth and rich with notes of fruit. Not heavily malty, but brisk and full-bodied making it a classic breakfast tea which works well with milk. As with all of our teas, it can also be brewed light and quick and enjoyed it without milk. The golden tips you can see in the dry leaf is the higher grade CL.GFBOP: Clonal Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t think that Assam teas are actually my favorite type of black tea but I can’t deny that when I find an Assam tea in my stash of teas to try, I’m a happy sipper. Assam teas may not be my favorite, but a good Assam tea is certainly always welcome in my teacup – I love that rich, robust, malty flavor that it provides.
And this Canton Assam Black Tea from Canton Tea Co. has what I typically look for in an Assam tea, although it is a little different than what I would normally expect.
This Assam is a bit smoother than I’m typically used to in an Assam – it isn’t quite as astringent. But the trade-in for that is that it does lack a little bit of the strong, hefty body that I usually expect from an Assam. It’s not quite as strong or sturdy as a typical Assam – although this would still make a great breakfast tea. It’s still a robust, bold tea – but it’s a little lighter and smoother than what you might be expecting from an Assam.
It’s also not quite as malty as I usually expect. There is still malty notes here and hints of caramel. It’s still pleasantly sweet. But, I’m getting more sweetness from a stone fruit (plum) note than I am from caramel or malt. I also taste hints of raisin that are quite nice.
It’s still a full-bodied tea – it’s just not quite as rugged as I usually experience with an Assam. But that’s OK – it’s still really good and it reaffirms for me just why I get excited when I am offered a new-to-me Assam to try.
I like that I can try a tea and have an idea of what to expect and get something a little different than I expected. That’s one of the great things about tea and why I encourage people to try different teas! Even if you’ve tried Assam teas in the past (and this applies to any other type of tea as well) – and even if that experience wasn’t all of what you wanted, you shouldn’t give up on Assam. Try new teas and you might just find one that you not only like, but LOVE! It’s a journey well worth taking when you find that tea that becomes your new favorite.
So if you’re looking for a new Assam to try – you should consider this one! It’s lovely!