Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Nuvola Tea
Tea Description:
The saffron-coloured Muzha Ti Kuan Yin Tea has a light fruity aroma and a melting creamy mouth-feel. The flavors are strong and long-lasting even after several infusions, which leaves a sweet lingering sensation in the mouth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Taiwan Muzha Ti Kuan Yin from Nuvola Tea is a complex, multiple layered taste exploration. It captures flavors of sweet, savory, salty, roasty, creamy, and more. There is an undeniable aroma that really captures the senses and makes you sit a moment, cup close to your nose, just breathing in its notes.
Nuvola Tea has some of the finest teas I have come across in my tea discovery. This is no exception. Hints of nuttiness capture my attentions first, followed by a creamy full mouthful and flavor that is captivating as well. While sweet berry notes dance about on my tongue the roasted backdrop comes into focus, but then the berry re-emerges once again. Its like a ferris wheel of flavors here! Flavor notes go up, then down, then round and round playfully dancing and playing on my palette.
Preceding infusions are just as delicious – I am up to infusion 5 and seem to be going strong even still. The berry notes are not as profound in later infusions but still nice when they peek through.
Granted there is a distinct woodsy flavor to this tea and I adore a woodsy roasty tea, but to me, what really springs forth the most is that wonderful berry note! Its so surprising and unexpected. Okay maybe the berry note does not spring forth the most, perhaps it is just that here I have one of my all time favorite flavor profiles of a dark roasted, nutty, woody, deep, oolong, and then that berry comes and zips in with its fresh note illuminating my cup. I mean its just so hard not to notice! Normally I go for a Dong Ding Oolong as my favorite but I am seriously considering this as a replacement for my most beloved oolong! I do have it on my wish list for future tea orders regardless and I look forward to many more infusions with this leaf to come!
Peach Melba from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Tea Description:
The delicious aroma of peaches and cream brings out the sweetness of the rooibos tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Peach Melba from Lupicia – WOW! Okay so if you read the blog regularly you may know I do not do reviews on rooibos tea. Okay maybe I have once before, maybe, I don’t recall to be honest, but I really do not care for rooibos at all. However, I have to admit, this rooibos is not only drinkable for me, it is extremely good! The flavor additives in this tea make it so that it blends in perfect harmony with the rooibos. It is peachy, it is creamy, it is sweet, it is like dessert in a cup. It makes me feel happy, soothed, and satisfies any sweet tooth, and I mean that. I know people often say that a tea can satisfy a sweet craving, and really we are just fooling ourselves most of the time. Even after a dessert tea I still want dessert dangit! With this one though, its different. There is something quite magical about this blend.
I got this in my Happy Bag from Lupicia this year. I love the Happy Bags and highly recommend them. Lupicia sells them every year right after midnight on the 1st of January. I got the 60.00 bag this year but next year I will be saving up for the 100.00 bag! Lupicia also offers a 30.00 bag as well.
Now another way you can know just how yummy this rooibos is, is that it is 12:30 am. I am tired, and I really had no intentions of doing a review at this hour. However, when I made this cup I just had to jump on here and do this review because it inspired me! I even rated it 100 on steepster because if a rooibos impresses me it deserves the highest rating possible.
There really isn’t much more I can say about this rooibos from Lupicia other than once again, Lupicia has not disappointed me! Well there was one tea, one time from Lupicia that I did not care for but it was also a rooibos blend. I passed onto one of my SororiTea Sisters because I did not care for it but that was because as usual I can’t tolerate rooibos. Which is only more proof that this one is really darn good!
If you love peaches, and you love cream, and you like rooibos, then get some because this is just the cream of the peach crop here!
Sweet Potato Pie from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Tea Description:
A black tea blend with a generous portion of creamy Japanese sweet potatoes. The buttery sweet aroma will remind you of a cozy holiday gathering.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I waited for Sweet Potato Pie from Lupicia Teas to come back out with much anticipation. They only release it around the holidays. I absolutely love sweet potatoes and eat them on a regular basis, not just around the holiday season.
I have to say I did not care for the aroma of this tea in dry form, not at all. There is an aroma of alcohol to it that was very off putting to me, and it smelled as though it would be intensely strong. However, upon brewing the tea the aroma of sweet potatoes came to life! I instantly though to myself “this is more like it!” I was excited for my first sip.
The flavor of this tea is amazing! It is spot on for a sweet potato casserole! Buttery, creamy, and even a little starchy. The black base is nicely robust but I get no astringency. The after taste lingers a while as well.
This tea is sweet in the way that a sweet potato is but not in a sugary way. I do get hints at a brown sugar note but its not too sweet either. The flavor that lingers on the palate is one of buttery sweet potato with just a slight touch of marshmallow and brown sugar. And then, out of nowhere, right before the aftertaste, right after the swallow, I get a dash of salty flavor! What a surprise! I love salt! It creates this sort of twang on the tongue and a tiny bit of tartness that quickly disappears.
I can also pick up a subtle maltiness, and a slight taste of caramel in the flavor as well.
I have only had one other Sweet Potato Pie tea previously, it was pretty good, but I was so desiring a sweet potato tea that I probably would have liked anything I could get my hands on. In comparison, this one outshines the other by far!
CNNP Yellow Mark Ripe Pu’er from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Ripe Pu’er
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
I love this tea. Spring of 2003 CNNP Yellow Mark ripe pu’er. Brew this up in your gaiwan or favorite yixing pot and enjoy a creamy, earthy and well-aged tea. We first had this in Kunming, China in autumn of 2008 and fell in love with it, buying all we could get. Since then, it has been stored (as all of our pu’er teas) in our climate and humidity controlled vault and we have tasted some nice changes since then.
The selfish part of me wants to keep it all for myself, but this is a tea that needs to be enjoyed by as many people as I can get it out to! If you are a lover of well-kept (never wet-stored) ripe tea, this is a heavy hitter… a must try. I am drinking some right now!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
CNNP Yellow Mark Ripe Pu’er from Mandala Tea has a lovely heaviness to it in the flavor notes. So much so that I could have possibly been fooled into thinking this were a high quality coffee had I not made it myself. Now granted, a thin coffee, but then again I used to drink a very thick turkish coffee before my conversion over to tea. So for most, this probably is exactly the heaviness of a coffee.
This tea has a lovely earthiness to it without being too earthy. The mouthfeel does have a creamy texture which is quite nice. I get hints of notes of vanilla, and butter, but its not too intense on those notes. There is a nice woody taste to the cup as well.
One does not need to use much leaf to get the full effect of this tea. When steeped it has a deep red tone to it. I find the aroma of the tea to be heavier than the flavor itself.
There is a subtle sweetness to the tea which is nice, it is on the dessert end of the pu’er spectrum.
To me, this is more of an every day pu’er – and that is not an insult by any means. Usually when I take the time to sit down and enjoy pu’er it is a process, an event if you will. To me, this is one of those pu’er that is not so complicated that you can’t just make some up and enjoy it every day, on the go, or while working. While it is quite good, very good, it is not so complex that I feel I need to do nothing else but sit down with my yixing pot and dissect it.
Now of course you do get multiple steeps from this tea and you need not steep it for very long. I find that about 20 seconds on the first steep, 30 on the second, about 45 on the third and so on do just fine. This makes it even easier to make while you are working, cleaning, multitasking, and so on. The water temp you can use is also very forgiving. I have made it with water anywhere from 212 degrees to 180 and it fairs well however the recommendation is between 208 and 212. Still if you are on the go and need to use a coffee station somewhere and the boiling water they offer its perfect and you need not steep long so it truly is my favorite “on the go” pu’er, tea for that matter, as it has a real deep flavor that I tend to crave when running errands. Now I dare to say it, but I have actually enjoyed this tea iced as well!
The notes come over as direct and are unassuming. Creamy, full, robust even, woodsy, perhaps a hint of mushroom, buttery, and warm. Simple enough to enjoy every day but delicious enough to savor and appreciate in the moment without it taking too much time to figure it out. I will not say it is my all time favorite pu’er, nor even my favorite from Mandala Tea, but for what it is, it is hardy, and delicious!
Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea Flavored from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Different from our Unflavored Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea, this Flavored Jin Xuan Oolong Tea is produced by adding edible flavoring to accentuate the milk flavor. So the milk aroma of this Flavored Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong is stronger. It is better for people who like strong milk fragrance.
This Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea we selected is imported directly from Taiwan to Fujian, China. This tea meets the most strictly European low pesticide residues standard for agricultural products.
View Quality Safety Analyzing ReportThe flavor used for this Flavored Jin Xuan Milk Tea is from Mane (Shanghai), the branch company of the famous Flavours and Fragrances company “Mane”, which is founded in 1871 in the Grasse area, France.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea Flavored from Teavivre is creamy, soothing, and delicious, just what I want in a milk oolong! I really quite enjoy this tea for its creamy goodness. While I love Teavivre’s unflavored version this version provides a bit more sweetness, almost a caramel note.
I typically enjoy a darker roasted oolong as a rule however now and then I prefer something on the green side of oolongs. This is a nice departure with more vegetal notes, and buttery goodness!
Some have said this reminds them of a cream cheese frosting more than milk and I tend to agree with that assessment. There is something so intriguing about this tea flavor that it is really difficult to describe and has to be experience for yourself. Now with that said, its not too sweet, its not sappy or cloying, so don’t be afraid to give it a go if you are not one who appreciates sweeter teas. Its not even the kind of sweetness one would get from tea with honey or maple notes. The sour cream frosting flavor really isn’t all that sweet, but there is some sort of bite to the milkiness, or just a hint at a sour note that keeps me trying to dissect it. You see the more I attempt to describe this tea the worse I feel I make it sound. Its not sour like sour milk where one’s mind may naturally go to considering it is a milk flavored tea right? But its not like that either. There is nothing off putting about this tea whatsoever. Its very soothing, very mellow, very relaxing, sedating almost.
For me it brings back childhood memories of my great great grandmother’s milk toast she used to feed me when I was little especially when I had tummy aches. I still love milk toast and I love this tea.