I seem to be in a funk lately. I need to snap out of it. If I continue to drink tasty teas like this one – it just might help! The tea I’m sipping on today is Little Red Cup Tea Co’s Da Hong Pao Premium Oolong.
This tea brews to a deep mahogany red. I can pick up notes of cinnamon-plum, and gently roasted caramel. It’s robust but not overly robust and this tea has no bitter notes! It offers the perfect balance of smooth, deep, rich, and natural flavor.
I do LOVE the aroma before, during, and after infusing, too! There is a spec of cocao nib nose on it that was a pleasant surprise! It’s delish on the tongue and taste-buds, to boot!
This is one of the better oolongs I have tried in the past year! Hands Down! I would suggest it to just about anyone!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Little Red Cup
Description
Our Da Hong Pao (大红袍) is a marvelous mountain-grown rock tea from Enshi Prefecture in southwestern Hubei Province. Almost fully oxidized, it brews a deep mahogany red — with notes of cinnamon, plums, and caramel. Robust yet easy to brew, this tea has no bitter notes — only smooth, deep, rich, flavor.
This is a tea to be enjoyed on a regular basis, but also one to bring out for special occasions. It has taken us nearly ten years since we began our search for a great Da Hong Pao that is both organic and Fair Trade to get to the point where we can add this special oolong to our offerings. It is at once familiar and yet a cut above ordinary oolongs, a tea we are certain you will love.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chai Rooibos from TopQualiTea. . . .
It’s getting to be that time of year again when I crave warm tea with cozy spices like cinnamon and ginger.
It’s nice to have a chai option that is also caffeine free as most are made with black tea. The first thing I noticed about this tea is that although the usual chai spices definitely stand out, I can still taste the earthy Rooibos. I’ve had a few other chai rooibos blends and usually the spices kind of takeover. I’m enjoying my delicious chai with a splash of coconut milk and a little brown sugar.
All I had was brown sugar and it actually goes really well with the tea! This would be a wonderful dessert tea since it is caffeine. But it’s also a nice tea to have in the morning. The spices help wake up your senses, and it’s a nice gentle way to bring on your day.
This is also safe for those who don’t like really sharp, spicy Chai blends. This has flavor, but it’s definitely on the gentle side. I really enjoyed this tea, and I love to have Chai in the winter.
This will definitely be in my regular rotation. This tea is also organic, free of pesticides, and fair trade which makes it taste even better in my opinion!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: TopQualiTea
Description
Masala chai (“spiced tea”) is a beverage from the Indian subcontinent made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. By itself, chai is merely the generic word for tea in Hindi and many other languages around the world, and was adopted into British slang as “cha” or “char”. The added ginger and other spices give the Rooibos tea some warm and spicy taste nice in the cold evenings with milk and honey but also loved by many at any time of the day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Aries from the Zodiac Collection by AstroloTea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black/Floral
Where to Buy: AstroloTea
Tea Description:
An energetic dance of flavors to initiate the courageous and enterprising new beginnings of the Ram.
Every sign rules a different part of the body, Aries rules the head and the face. The Aries blend, a light and subtle flavor with tones of fruit and flowers, helps promote mental clarity, new beginnings, and fresh perspective.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
First thought when I saw this tea was YES! Chrysanthemums!
Over the summer, I discovered these delicious floral teas with Chrysanthemum in it. Wow. My taste buds squealed in delight!
This tea is a unique blend of floral, spices, black tea, and a few herbals sprinkled in for good measure. This tea looks amazing. The dry leaf mixture had such a nice sweet slightly savory/floral aroma. Really nice. I couldn’t wait to brew this up. I poured the entire sample I bought into my tea pot, added the water and let it steep for 4 minutes.
While this tea was steeping, I swear I was drooling. This tea smelled just so good!
Finally it was time to try it. Took my first sip and yes, there is the good stuff. This tea really gives me the “wow” factor I look for. There is a unique sweet taste with hints of floral notes and a slightly savory sage finish. The tea base is nice and gives the tea a nice background depth. There are also notes of lemon here and there. Such a silky like smooth tea. So rich and full of flavor! I can’t get enough!
What is fantastic is that when you order this tea, you can order it caffeinated or not. Of course I choose caffeinated. I need something to get me thru the 2pm hour! I was also able to steep this tea about 4 times before noticing a lack of flavor.
If you aren’t familiar with AstroloTea, take a moment and check out the site. The owner is amazing and has such a great variety of teas for everybody!
By the way, if anybody is following my epic adventure to sipdown my teas. . .This makes #9! Woohoo!
Bao Zhong from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pouchong, Oolong
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
The Bao Zhong tea’s hand-picked, long, twisted pouchong tea leaves are slightly oxidized, brewing a fresh, jade-colored infusion with delicate notes of lilac and pear.
IngredientsOrganic Oolong Loose-Leaf Tea, Bao Zhong Tea, Pouchong Tea
CharacteristicsRefreshing, Organic, Unblended
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love a good pouchong and Bao Zhong from The Persimmon Tree fits this craving I am having! Its even better because it is organic!
The Persimmon Tree is dedicated to providing fair trade, organic, loose leaf teas. See more information about that here.
When I was young we had white lilac bushes growing between my home and my neighbor’s home. They were so beautiful and oh so fragrant. This tea takes me back to those years.
The floral after taste is lovely, light, and lingering. It makes me feel as though I have a vase full of flowers right next to me. The pear note is really quite light and I am not sure that I detect it as well as I could but it does have a very naturally sweet note with the littlest bit of a tang from the pear note.
What I love is that there is nothing like a good pouchong. It has such a wonderfully distinct flavor and aroma. Its something between coconut, vanilla, and floral scent that just captivates me, pulls me in, and won’t let me go, leaving me craving it for days after days until finally it allows my mind to release it long enough so that I can go back to other teas and rediscover this again, at a later time, each time fully being enraptured just as I was the last time I sipped it. Every time I have this pouchong its like a totally new experience all over again.
