Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Republic
Product Description:
This excellent first flush tea delivers a rich liquor with sweet floral notes and creamy undertones. Hints of juicy pineapple are apparent in this well balanced selection. Plucking date: April 19, 2011.
Taster’s Review:
OK, let me say it right now. I’m LOVING Rare Tea Republic. First of all, their packaging is really cool. Not necessarily the box that it was shipped in, or even the pouches that they packaged their samples in. It’s the “packing peanuts.” That’s right. I saying I love their packing peanuts. They aren’t the typical Styrofoam peanuts, or even the new biodegradable cornstarch peanuts… these are little, light-weight (cardstock weight) cardboard bits that have been folded into a dimensional triangle. I love them because they ARE biodegradable, and beyond that, they’re even recyclable and perfectly acceptable to toss into the recycle bin! But, I plan on re-purposing them and turning them into a holiday decoration of some sort (add that onto my list of art projects!)
And… that’s just me excited about the packing peanuts! I haven’t even gotten to the best part about Rare Tea Republic – their TEAS! This First Flush Darjeeling from the Sikkim region is absolutely delightful. The freshness of this tea is apparent from the flavor: it tastes light, crisp and very fresh. 
I would classify this as a medium-bodied tea because of it’s light-weight feel to the palate, but it offers an astonishing amount of flavor for a medium-bodied tea. So many beautiful layers of flavor to this complex Darjeeling: in one sip, I note floral tones, a hint of earth, a musky wood-tone, and an outstanding fruit note. Yes I can taste the pineapple as mentioned in the above description, but there’s something else too. Something that tends to be pretty important to those of us who love Darjeeling: Muscatel! Yes, I am getting that distinct muscat grape taste to this, but, there is a surprising smoothness to this too. I don’t taste much astringency, something that I generally prepare myself for when I sip a Darjeeling … it is quite unnoticeable in this cup.
This is an excellent Darjeeling – one that I would say stands out amongst even the best Darjeeling teas that I’ve tasted. In fact, I even rated it 100 on Steepster. Yes, it’s that good. I highly recommend it to those who like Darjeeling, and I would even recommend this to those who have tried Darjeeling in the past and felt it was not for them. I think this one can change your ideas about Darjeeling.
Wild Fresh Buds – Puerh from In Nature Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: In Nature Teas
Product Description:
Wild Fresh Buds – Puerh, hand picked in the high mountains of Yunnan.
This naturally grown tea is a delicacy which is produced and delivered by Mother Nature without any human interference. It is the purest form of tea one can drink. The sweet taste and aroma are a feast and its endless health properties makes it a very special treat for the body, mind and spirit.
Taster’s Review:
This is really unexpected. Unexpectedly delightful!
The first thing I notice is the aroma – or should I say lack of aroma? Normally when I open a package of Pu-erh the surrounding air is immediately filled with that distinctive earthy quality. That didn’t happen this time. Instead, I was greeted with a very soft, vegetative scent that sort of reminded me of the salad bar when I visit Sweet Tomatoes.
Then I notice the leaves. They look like dry, white leaf buds. Very young leaf buds. Think of the earliest days of spring, when the tiniest of leaf buds begin forming on the trees. Yes, that is what they look like. Tiny, white, and covered with fluffy fuzz.
The flavor these soft, delicate leaf buds produce is amazing. This … THIS? … is Pu-erh? It tastes like no other Pu-erh I’ve ever tasted. It tastes light and crisp. Clean. Slightly vegetative. I wouldn’t describe it as earthy, at least, not in the same context as I would describe other Pu-erh teas that I’ve tasted. There are some earthy tones to this cup but it is more like a vegetal earthiness.
As I continue to sip, the earthy flavors develop slightly, but they never become overwhelming. What I taste mostly from this tea, though, is sweetness. The cool sweetness you might expect after biting into a crisp piece of celery.
One of the most surprising and delicious Pu-erh teas I’ve yet to taste! I like this very much.
Farm Fresh Huoshan Yellow Bud Tea from Chi of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yellow
Where to Buy: Chi of Tea
Product Description:
This rare tea was imperial tribute tea in the Tang, Ming and Qing Dynasty. The processing method was said to be lost and only to be re-discovered after the 70s, since then, it has been sent as tribute tea to China National Departments every year.
The aroma of the dry leaf is gentle with a hint of sweet hay and the liquor has a soft, fresh sappy aroma of great charm, with a warm toasty edge and a delicate vegetal taste that lingers on the tongue. This is the best of the harvest, which produces a slightly more refined, lighter liquor, yet retaining the characteristics of a green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love yellow tea! And this may just be the BEST yellow tea I’ve yet to taste. It’s absolutely extraordinary!
It tastes and smells incredibly fresh. It is sweet and vegetative, smooth and mellow. When I inhale the aroma before taking a sip, it is like breathing in the clean air of a grassy meadow, with the fragrance of wildflowers dancing in the air. That is very much what it tastes like, too.
It is because of this type of experience that yellow tea is my favorite. I love the way it smells and tastes, and I love the way it makes me feel when I sip it. And somehow, these yellow buds from Chi of Tea taste even fresher than others that I’ve tried.
If you adore yellow tea as I do, I strongly recommend trying these Farm Fresh yellow buds. You’ll be glad you did.
Farm Fresh Tai Ping Monkey Chief from Chi of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chi of Tea
About Chi of Tea:
We specialize in hard to find, high quality, organic, farm fresh loose leaf teas. It is is getting harder and harder to find fresh organic tea in today’s tea market. Tea factories aim for large harvests and quick production for the commercial tea industry. We aim for finding the highest quality, small batches of exceptional teas. Taste the difference, experience high quality tea that is no longer found on the markets, strait from small organic tea farms from around the world that focus on growing tea for the best taste, not to supply the masses. Sometimes a farm may only produce a couple pounds of tea that meet our high expectations. Our mission is to bring this exceptional tea to those who wish to experience unique, rare, high quality tea.
Taster’s Review:
I received a free sampling of this tea with a recent order, and I was so thrilled to receive it. I love Tai Ping! The dry leaf is beautiful – large, dark green, flat leaves. There is just something that draws me to Tai Ping leaves. They are truly a marvel.
And the liquor that they render is divine! It is a very light flavor, but so pleasant to sip. The mouthfeel is quite luxurious – very silky smooth. The flavor is sweet with notes of flower (honeysuckle?) and fruit within its many complex layers, with very brief hints of vegetative/grassy tones. There is very little astringency to this tea, and what little there is can be detected only well into the aftertaste when I experience a lightly dry sensation on the palate. The aftertaste is sweet.
Admittedly, I have not had the opportunity to try a lot of Tai Ping as the price can be quite prohibitive. However, of the few that I have had the chance to try, this is easily the best that I’ve tried.
As I write this review, I attempted to find this tea on the Chi of Tea website, but could not. I do hope that they will choose to start carrying it, because it is really good, and definitely worth the investment for true tea connoisseurs! This is absolutely exquisite!
Ti Quan Yin Oolong with Fresh Ginger and Turkish Rose from Aftelier Perfumed Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Aftelier Perfumed Teas
Product Description:
Monkey-picked Tie Guan Yin oolong tea starts with a roasted-rice aroma and finishes with a fruity taste, blending beautifully with the refined Turkish rose and warm fresh ginger. These rolled leaves provide up to 4 infusions.
Taster’s Review:
Oh … WOW! This tea is absolutely dreamy! Like some sort of euphoric dream that’s been scented with roses and ginger and even a hint of smoke. That’s not only what it smells like, it’s what it tastes like too!
It’s amazing! The sip begins with an introduction from the rose. It is a sweet and almost intoxicating rose flavor that is not bitter, it’s not even what I would consider to be sharp. It is a distinct rose flavor, but, at the same time, it is unlike the rose flavors that I’ve experienced in teas before.
Shortly after your palate has become acquainted with the rose, a smooth yet smoky note from the Ti Quan Yin Oolong comes through and imparts its silky texture. The smoky flavor is not at all off-putting, rather, it seems to unite perfectly with the rose and the ginger to create a complete flavor experience.
The ginger comes in next, and this is not a strong, peppery kind of ginger, but rather, an almost sweet note of warm spice. It doesn’t taste hot or spicy, just mildly warm and enchanting. The sip finishes with a slightly drying astringency, and the aftertaste lingers with the perfumed flavor of rose and whispers of ginger.
This tea is absolutely lovely. Words cannot even begin to adequately describe just how lovely it truly is! It is a tea that must be experienced to appreciate fully. What a delight!