Tea Type: Oolong Tea
Where To Buy:
The Persimmon Tree
Learn more about this tea here.
Product Description:
Ingredients
Organic Oolong Tea, Organic Lemon Myrtle, Marigold Petals, Natural Flavors * Characteristics Bold, Fragrant, Organic * Flavors Citrusy, Sweet * Caffeine Content Medium * Steep Temperature 195˚ * Steep Time 3-5 mins
Tasters Review:
This is one of the first online orders I placed as a new loose leaf tea drinker and oh what an introduction I got both from this tea and this company! Thinking back, this particular tea was sent as a sample with other items I ordered and it instantly went on my wish list for my next order. I didn’t find it difficult either to purchase my next order as The Persimmon Tree has a really generous rewards program! My only regret is I didn’t place my order sooner!
I shared this tea with many of my tea friends and the overall consensus was that this is a stellar tea!
I adore this tea! Its creamy, slightly tart with the lemon flavor I am finding I love in many teas, the vanilla is NOT over done and you can still taste the pouchong coming through. It has a silky creamy mouthfeel as well which I love. Whoever came up with this blend is a blending master because with so many wonderful flavor profiles going on in this tea the distinct pouchong flavor is top notch! They certainly did not skimp on the base in this tea, and the flavors do not cover it up at all yet each stand on their own quite nicely. Also it is not overly sweet which is nice, allowing one to add a little rock sugar, or whatever sweetener they prefer if they care to. This tea also holds up well to cream, almond milk, soy, again, whatever “creamer” you prefer.
This is a tea hardy enough to support whatever you wish to put into it without losing its wonderful aroma and flavors.
Oh and on the aroma … the smell is dreamy! The aromas that fill the air are that of a dessert tea yet the flavor itself does not latch on as cloying at all, even with a little added sweetener!
Generally this tea tastes like lemon bars, or vanilla cream filled lemon cookies, yet again, not in an overly sweet way.
I also find that a slightly lower heat level and a bit longer steep do this tea well. Otherwise you may find it a bit on the weak or watery side.
This tea is one of my favorites.
Zin Hsuan Golden Daylily from Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong, Mei Shan, Taiwan, Winter 2011, Late November Harvest
Where to Buy: Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Description: A full bodied oolong famous for its soft crème aroma and light green infusion. A particularly nice large leaf High Mountain varietal. It is really quite smooth, crisp, and refreshing,
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Have you ever had one of those teas that simply puffed up so much that you didn’t have enough room in your gaiwan, cup, steeping basket, etc… for it?
This is one of those teas! As if given miracle growth water the tiny little nuggets just poofed up into this huge puffy cloud of tea leaves. Beautiful!
I did a quick rinse and then steeped my first sampling. In the dry form we have typical oolong nuggets that smelled of earthy soil but that was nothing of the taste in this tea.
The first aroma to hit my nostrils was corn, sweet corn. First sip was also that of a sweet ripe corn, but perhaps a white corn rather than yellow. The mouthfeel was of milk, cream, and butter. I do love a creamy buttery tea.
When I ordered this from Stone Leaf Teahouse I had called to have a few question regarding their teas and website clarified and John Wetzel, at Stone Leaf was so accommodating and helpful. Which we all know good customer service is key in any business. John explained some of the differences between teas and helped me choose teas that I would most enjoy and he hit my taste buds as if they had a target on them! I am loving the flavor profiles of this Zin Hsuan which John educated me the literal translation is Golden Daylily.
The color of the cup is such a faint golden color that at first I was suspicious that there would be any flavor in there! To my delight I am finding my cup to be full of rich wonderful flavors and aroma!
The leaves unfurl into long stems with three to four leaves attached.
I was able to get multiple steeps from the leaves though out the day and with each cup the flavors held strong and true.
This is a lip licking tea that keeps you wanting more but it is rich and decedent! Dare I say a dessert tea? Normally I use the words “dessert tea” for flavored teas however this creamy delight for me is one that says YUMMMM Dessert!
If you too love flavor profiles that scream creamy, milky, buttery, with a vegetal hint then you must get some Zin Hsuan Golden Daylily from Stone Leaf Teahouse!
Sun Moon Lake Black Tea from Fong Mong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Hand-plucked Sun Moon Lake Black Tea Loose leaves
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea on eBay
Tea Description:
Sun Moon Lake black tea can be declared “Red Treasure” in central Taiwan. Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County is surrounded with mountains and lakes with remarkable environment and typical climate. Heavy moist and stable yearly average temperature make the tea trees grow thick and rich tea leaves which produce carmine and perfectly clear liquor. Its unique sweet aroma and strong mint taste make it truly unforgettable. It is also the best ingredient to make “bubble tea” (the most famous Taiwanese tea drink on earth).
Taster’s Review:
I was thrilled that Fong Mong Tea was offering some samplers a while back.
They provided a sampler pack that would allow two steeping sessions gongfu style.
I love it when a company includes enough in a sample to have more than one session. It allows for a learning curve if needed and for trying different steeping methods if one prefers.
I had the first session soon after I received the sample and now I am enjoying the second session.
I had been saving the rest of my sample for a day I needed a really relaxing and unique tea. A morning when I didn’t have to rush around, and didn’t want to. Today is that day.
Upon the initial sip my first thought was “is this a black tea?” well of course I knew it was but the flavor profile was so green. Fresh, vegetal, brothy, like juicy fresh from the garden green beans. I was slightly taken aback, although the flavor was absolutely delicious it was not what I was expecting. This prompted me to check my tasting notes from my first sampling of this tea! Indeed I also had felt the same way three months earlier when first trying Sun Moon Lake by Fong Mong.
I continued to sip and picked up mushroom notes, tree bark, and a hint of spice that caused a tingling sparkly sensation on the tongue. Ahhh, now the dark notes are beginning to show themselves lending to the black tea profile.
More of the black tea notes began to ring out loud and clear with a slight malt flavor, a milk chocolate flavor, and an oak moss flavor, however those light lilting green vegetal flavors never totally faded!
Lovely!
This is a very meditative tea. As a black tea I am not sure I would want this as my first cup in the morning as I tend to need far more of a punch in the face tea to wake up, however this is my second tea for today and its helping me ease into my afternoon beautifully. Its relaxing, assisting me in focusing on tasks I need to complete, and helping my creative juices to begin to flow gently, calmly, and with ease.
Now I have an admission to make. I used a lower water temperature than suggested. The reason why is quite simply that I was impatient and did not want to heat my water up. My Zojirushi water heater was already at 175 from the night before, and I just went ahead and used that temp for this tea. Granted I was taking a risk with this precious sample, being that one more session was all that was remaining. I have no regrets. This is obviously a forgiving tea, and of course it was not going to get burnt by over heated water but I have also not lost any flavors either. This tastes exactly as I remember it and matches my previous tasting notes perfectly. If nothing else perhaps steeping at this lower temperature will prolong my session allowing for even more steeps than I would normally have got. I am on my third steep now and it is ever bit as good as the first and I plan to keep on steeping until it stops giving.
I am surprised, actually shocked that this is not already holding a place in my permanent stash, but I am so happy that I had some left over as a reminder to place an order with Fong Mong Tea today!
In my previous tasting notes I said that this tea was like a soup created in the kitchen of a culinary master, one that needed to be allowed to simmer for a long time to allow the true flavors to develop. A broth that needed to age like a fine wine. This tea speaks to you as if it is knowing of secrets held within old trees, running streams that have spread gossip from one watering hole to the next and the memories of vegetation along the way. Sun Moon Lake is one that needs to be allowed to take you on a journey to unknown territories, allowed to tell you its stories. This is a slow, easy sipper tea, again not my preference for morning when I really need to suck a tea down in light speed to get “my fix”. This tea is one to be savored and appreciated.
Wild-Picked Yunnan Jin Jun Mei Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Type:
Black Tea
Where To Buy:
Verdant Tea
Product Description:
A malty, savory black tea with the crisp sweetness of Jin Jun Mei and the buttery thickness of Dian Hong…
This wild-picked budset tea provides a uniquely rich and savory cup. In early steepings, the malty profiles of barley and wheat are in the foreground, with the sweet creaminess of butter. These savory flavors feel somewhat like fresh-baked whole-grain toast with a touch of sweet cream butter melted on top. Yet the aftertaste betrays the fine budset quality of the tea through a smooth sweetness, as though a touch of honey was spread on the buttered toast.
In later steepings, the savory grain flavors are more subdued, replaced by an unexpected crisp flavor, and slight sparkling peppery texture. It may be a bit too metaphorical, but this tea almost tastes sunny in later steepings. There is a bright warmth, coupled with the brilliant red-orange of the tea in the cup that suggests morning sunlight.
Tasters Review:
Sure! I LOVE any and all types of Teas but there is a soft spot in my heart for Black Teas, first and foremost. I start each day with at least one (many times – many more – than just one) type of Black Tea. On top of that – I do LOVE a Good Yunnan Black Tea! So when I saw this one from Verdant – I knew it was going to be something special!
I have to admit – when I tried this at first – I then sampled it each day until it was gone! It didn’t last in my stash for long!
This has a hint of pepper but is a bit smooth and creamy – especially at the end of the sip. The toast-like flavors are great! It’s savory. It has hints of wheat and/or barley, sweet corn, and woodsy notes and I think they are great! The 2nd and 3rd infusions are sweeter.
This makes a great cup…or in my case…CUPS!
Creamy Toffee from Kaleisia Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kaleisia Tea
Tea Description:
This caramel and black tea blend delivers a bold and robust brew.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve often said that my three favorite “flavors” for tea are chocolate, bergamot and jasmine (not necessarily in that order). But if I were to list my four favorite flavors, I think caramel would be the fourth, only narrowly missing the mark as one of the top three. In fact, I think there is a part of me that probably prefers caramel flavored tea better than chocolate flavored tea because the sweetness of the caramel seems to go so perfectly with the flavor of tea (especially black tea) but the chocoholic in me won’t let caramel over-ride the chocolate. It’s an internal battle that I must contend with daily.
So, when I found this tea that promised me a creamy, caramel-y toffee flavor with a robust black tea, I couldn’t resist … I had to try it!
And this tea does deliver what it promised! This cup is rich and delicious, with lots of sweet, caramel-y flavor. The black tea is a good, solid black tea – perhaps not the most robust tea I’ve ever tasted, but, it provides a good background for the toffee flavor. I like that it is sweet and creamy without additions, however, if you wish to enhance the creaminess a bit, try adding a splash of milk or cream.
This is the first tea that I’ve tried from Kaleisia, and I’m quite pleased with what I’ve tasted. It makes a delectable dessert tea, and even a nice breakfast tea … for those of us who like to have our dessert first thing in the morning!
