Tea has often been a solitary experience for me. It’s an opportunity for me to get lost in a cuppa, explore the aroma of the blend, and let the heat of the fresh brew melt away my thoughts. There are opportunities that allow tea to be communal in my life and I had that opportunity recently with a friend. One of my husband’s childhood friends is Korean and grew up with tea as a strong part of his daily routine. I had the opportunity to share Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom from Blend Bee with him. This tea had a sweet aroma that reminded me of a berry, but I couldn’t place which berry to save my life! I even had other people smell the tea and try to guess the berry – with no luck. Thankfully, Blend Bee’s website let me know that this blend features strawberry! I’m typically hesitant with berry or fruit based blends as there is a distinct possibility the fruit will overpower the tea, but with this blend, the mix of oolong to strawberry is blended perfectly.
Once brewed, this tea presented an aromatic profile like a black tea, and created a lovely rose color in the cup. We drank this tea without cream or sugar so that we could truly enjoy the flavor profile of this tea. Overall, I think that this is one of the better oolong blends that I’ve tried. My husband’s friend had multiple cups; since he grew up with oolong, I think it’s safe to say that he like it as well. Anytime tea can be a communal event, let it! This tea is perfect for a relaxed morning or an afternoon moment. For lovers of black tea, this is a great tea to try in order to expand your palate!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
Juicy and refreshing, this blend has just a hint of sweetness and is rounded out with bold red fruit flavors. You will long for Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Cherry Latte Oolong by A Quarter to Tea
The high-quality oolong leaves swell and uncurl while steeping–something I always find fascinating (in addition to comforting because I know it means I’m about to drink some excellent tea!)
Once the steeping gets going it smells strongly of chocolate and cherry, which I take as a good sign! Actually it smells almost overwhelmingly of cherry while steeping, but after steeping that abates somewhat. The cherry flavor still hits your nose first but as you keep inhaling you can dig down and find the grounding, comforting chocolate smell too. It’s rounder and creamier. and the oolong lends butteriness and a floral note to the scent.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Roasty enough to appease the coffee lover in you! The blend of hojicha and oolong makes a robust, coffee like base without the jitters. Mellowed out with chicory, chocolate, and cherries.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On Wisconsin from A Quarter To Tea. . .
This tea caught my eye due to the description of cheesecake and honey. Doesn’t that sound heavenly? This is an Oolong blend and it contains REAL pieces of graham crackers. The Oolong itself is actually a little bit more floral than I would have thought. However, the floral aspect works well with the honey. The taste of cheesecake is not something I would have picked out initially, but thinking about it now I do taste it lingering once the sip is gone
Opposed to what you would think when hearing the description of this yummy blend, i’m not quite sure if I would classify it as a dessert blend. It isn’t overly sweet or anything. This is still one that could be drunk in the morning before work or for a quick pick-me-up during that mid-afternoon slump. My favorite part was definitely seeing the pieces of graham crackers in the blend, I think that that is the first time I’ve seen it! I also enjoyed how no one ingredient took over the entire cup, they all blended nicely and were subtle. I would definitely recommend to give this blend, and a plethora of other blends from A Quarter to Tea a try. I think all of their tea blends are well done and very creative! I haven’t met one that I truly dislike.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
A sweet and creamy jade oolong with sweet honey and cheesecake flavors and cow sprinkles straight from the dairy state.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
The Skinny from DAVIDs Tea. . . .
If you like a mildly spicy sheng flavor, and would like to drop a few pounds, I have just the thing for you: “The Skinny” by David’s Tea.
Actually, I can’t promise the weight loss thing. That’s a combination of diet, exercise, metabolism, and genetics.
But this tea is literally called “The Skinny,” so it’s more or less a claim they’re making. The description for this tea says: “Looking for the next big beauty secret or weight loss trend? Let us give you a hint: try water.”
I know the water thing is sound. It’s basically the first thing every weight loss article ever written says. However, you can pry the Diet Coke from my cold, dead hands.
In between Diet Cokes, I will, however, partake in water or tea (which is basically water with some stuff mixed in). This afternoon was this tea. It’s recommended to take this tea “after a heavy meal” to “block fat absorption.”
So I took it post-lunch, which was a giant shawarma pita from the nice people at Pita Cabana, which is running a Ramadan Special. (The key to Ramadan, for those not in the know, is not eating during sunlight hours. Running a food special during Ramadan must be brutal for the Muslim people who are serving a lunch they can’t eat.)
Speaking of shawarma… did you know?
I needed to pair the tea with this lunch because there was a LOT OF CHEESE on that pita. I wonder if the tea will really block fat absorption. We’ll have to see what my weekly weigh-in says next Wednesday morning.
In the meantime, though, regardless of whether this makes me “skinny,” it was a pretty good sip. Give it a whirl!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong/Puerh
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
With pu’erh, ginger, eleuthero and oolong, it’s the ultimate digestive aid.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Fruit Punch from The NecessiTeas. . . .
Often, when I’m about to review a tea, I ask myself: what does this tea make me think of? What memory is associated with these flavors? But you guys– I couldn’t even do it with this one. The flavors of “fruit punch” are apparently so ingrained in my childhood that even with thoughts long and hard, I couldn’t pinpoint one specific memory, just a flood of tasting this exact fruity mix over and over again throughout the years. (And ending up with a cherry-red-stained mouth every time!)
This oolong blend from The Necessiteas is impressive– even just by scent alone, it is spot-on, bright red fruit punch flavor. You know, the kind that comes in those little juice tubs that look like barrels? Cherry red and bursting with flavor, this is it. I of course had to brew this one iced– is there even another option? I got the same scent in the brewed tea as the dry leaf, but upon sipping, the candy-cherry had mellowed out a bit to brew into a slightly more lightly fruity brew. I couldn’t really pick out specific oolong flavors here, but I can imagine them competing with the fruit, so it’s probably better that they took a backseat. On the whole, this one was tasty iced, but with the plethora of iced tea options I have at my disposal, it’s not one I adored so much that I feel the need to make it again and again.
That said– if you’re able to pick out much more specific cherry-punch-flavored from your memory than I, I think this one is going to be delightfully right up your alley– no cherry-stained-mouth necessary!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
This blend brings back childhood memories of me at the pool with a red stained smile on my face. What is even better about this tea, you don’t have to have a red stained smile to be happy. Fruit punch is a spring and summer must have around here! If it’s a party, shower or barbecue, they just seem to go hand in hand. So obviously I had to create a punch inspired tea. If you’re anything like me and enjoyed that sweet red punch as a kid then you’ll love this refreshing combo of strawberry, cherry and orange.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
