Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Arum Tea
Tea Description:
This gentle green tea has a sweet vegetal aroma. The mild floral flavors are smooth and refreshing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had limited experience with Indonesian teas. That is to say that I’ve tasted many more Chinese, Japanese and Indian teas than I have Indonesian teas. So, I’m always excited for the opportunity to try more!
The dry leaf of this Organic Green Tea looks very much like I’d expect an Oolong to appear with dark green leaves that have been wound into pellets. (Think about the pellets of a Tie Guan Yin Oolong as an example.) But this tea smells much more “green” than an Oolong typically smells. I believe that the longer oxidation process of the Oolong tea (however long or short that may be) allows other aromas to be developed. The aroma of this tea smells a bit grassy, reminiscent of a freshly cut lawn with the faintest hint of a flowery fragrance in the background.
I noticed the difference in aroma (between this Organic Green Tea from Arum Tea and a greener Oolong) to be especially apparent when the tea was finished brewing. I brewed this tea in my Breville One-Touch tea maker. I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket of my tea maker and then poured in 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug and set the controls for 180°F and 1 1/2 minutes.
The tea brews up light in color: a clear, very pale spring green. And it is very aromatic! I could smell the vibrant, fresh grassy tones. The fragrance reminds me of the aforementioned freshly cut lawn. Imagine the smell of the air after the first lawn cutting of the spring when the grass is new and green. Now imagine how the air would smell if after mowing the lawn you trimmed the flower hedges. There’s a slight floral element in the air along with the fresh grassy notes. That’s the aroma that filled my kitchen after this tea was brewed! What a delight to experience!
The tea is very flavorful! Sweet with notes of vegetable and a light buttery note. There is notes of flower in there too, just as the aroma would suggest. I had kind of expected all those flavors before lifting the cup to my lips but what I wasn’t prepared for was the fruit notes of this tea. I taste sweet notes of melon! A juicy honeydew melon! Nice!
I like that the flavor is sweet but there is a certain savory element that arrives on the palate toward the tail to offer some contrast and complexity to the taste. It’s not overly “kelpy” or “seaweedish” which I like, because I’m not a big seaweed fan.
This is a very light, smooth, pleasantly sweet and refreshing tea. I would highly recommend this to those who are looking for something that is somewhat familiar to the usual green tea but with some really interesting differences too. This is deliciously familiar but intriguingly different!
Buckingham Palace Garden Party Tea Blend from English Tea Store
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green
Where to Buy: English Tea Store
Tea Description:
The Buckingham Palace Garden Party tea loose leaf blend from English Tea Store is a delicate medium tea with a hint of Earl Grey and Jasmine. This is a lighter afternoon tea.
Every May, the Queen holds a garden party at Buckingham Palace, a lovely English springtime tradition. The tea that is served is a long time favorite, a delicious Palace medley specially selected for this occasion. Intriguing hints of high-grown pure Ceylon Earl Grey blend effortlessly with the soft jasmine from Fujian Province. Couple this with malty Assam (from the estate of Borengajuli) flavory Dimbula Ceylon (from Hatton), brisk and golden cup East of Rift Kenya (from Kambaa and Kagwe) and you have one of the most flavorful teas to come from the British Isles. Each cup is a cup of mystery – the flavors all come to the fore at separate times – one minute you taste the Earl Grey, the next second you can almost feel the soft floral notes of jasmine and finally you get the satisfying fullness of the Assam Ceylon and Kenya blend. Enjoy this tea and be a part of the annual tradition in the west gardens of Buckingham Palace, without having to dress up.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Buckingham Palace Garden Party Tea is an example of a tea that I should have read the description of before I brewed it, because by simply looking at the loose leaf, it is difficult to tell that it’s a blend of black and green teas. I should have used a slightly lower temperature to steep this tea! And there is some bitterness as a result. I steeped this for 3 minutes using boiling water, and I think I should have used water that was closer to 180°F. Even with the bitterness, it isn’t a bad tasting tea, but I think it could be better. Unfortunately, I don’t have more of this tea to experiment with it.
The aroma is lovely! I can smell the bergamot and the jasmine, but neither offers an overpowering fragrance. This seems to be nicely balanced between the two classic ingredients of jasmine and bergamot.
The black tea is rich and flavorful. I can taste the malty notes of Assam and the aforementioned bitterness may be a result of the Assam’s presence in the blend. The bitterness is not something that I find off-putting as it’s not an intrusive flavor. It doesn’t get in the way of me tasting the other flavors of the tea nor does it get in the way of the enjoyment of the overall cup. I’d rather the bitterness not be there, of course, and if I had a little more of this tea, I’d experiment with it a little to figure out a better way to brew it so that the bitterness wasn’t present.
The green tea is a little less discernible than the black tea. This isn’t surprising, as green tea tends to have a lighter flavor than black tea. However, that isn’t to say that the green tea can’t be tasted because I definitely taste it’s softer, somewhat vegetal taste and a silky texture that is unmistakably green tea-ish.
The jasmine is a sweet, exotic note that compliments the tangy bergamot. The bergamot it not as strong as I typically like a bergamot in an Earl Grey blend, however, since this is a “garden party” blend (for Buckingham Palace, no less), I can let the softer bergamot slide because a stronger bergamot essence may very well overpower the delicate notes of jasmine and a good balance between the two has been achieved here. It’s a pleasantly floral, tangy cup that is very satisfying.
Overall, an enjoyable cup that I’d suggest as an afternoon cuppa. It’s not quite robust enough – in my opinion – to serve as a breakfast blend or that first cup of the day when you need that jump start. This is ideal to serve to guests though, and makes a lovely cup of tea to enjoy in the afternoon, even if your garden party is a party of one.
Organic Light Oolong Tea from Arum Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Arum Tea
Tea Description:
Very Smooth. Light golden hue with a fruity and floral fragrance. As the tea develops, the initial earthy flavors transforms into a lingering finish of herbs and flowers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I wanted to try this Light Oolong tea not too long after trying the Medium Oolong Tea from Arum Tea to see if I could describe some of the differences between the two teas.
The appearance of both teas in dry leaf form are very similar. They look very much the way a greener Oolong tea looks (think Tie Guan Yin) with the leaves tightly wound into small pellets. The aroma of the dry leaf of this tea is sweet and fruity, with fragrant floral notes. The brewed tea smells more floral than fruity while the dry leaf smells more fruity than floral. In contrast, the dry leaf aroma of the Medium Oolong tea is nutty and sweet with a slight earthiness.
Parameters: I steeped this tea using my gaiwan as the brewing vessel. I put one bamboo scoop of tea into the bottom of my gaiwan and then poured 180°F water over the leaves – just enough to cover the leaves. I let that steep for 15 seconds and then drained off the liquid and discarded it. (The rinse cycle!) Then I refilled the gaiwan with water (same temperature) and let the leaves steep for 45 seconds. I strained the tea into my teacup and resteeped the leaves for 1 minute. Then I added the newly brewed tea to the teacup with the first infusion. I combine 2 infusions with each cup, and I infused these leaves a total of 8 times for four cups of delicious tea.
The brewed tea here is lighter in color than the Medium Oolong. This cup is a very pale golden yellow, and the flavor is lighter too.
The first few sips were very delicate, but after two or three sips, the flavors began to develop. As the above description suggests, those initial two or three sips were light and earthy. Now, I’m tasting more of an herbaceous floral note and this flavor stays on the palate long after the sip. For as light in color as this tea is and as light in flavor as the first couple of sips were, I was really taken by surprise by just how flavorful this tea has become.
This tea is quite smooth but not so much buttery or creamy like you might expect a greener Oolong like this to be, however, as the tea cools slightly, I find that some creamy taste and texture develops. The floral notes are profound. There is a very distant background note of earth, and equally as distant is a fruity tone. These flavors are off in the distance as if to beckon to the palate, saying, hey! Keep on steeping so you can experience us!
My second cup (infusions 3 and 4) was stronger in color and flavor. The floral notes of the first cup are still present but they’re not quite as sharp as they were toward mid-cup of the first cup. Smooth and sweet! The fruity notes are making their way out of the distance. I find that the flavors here taste less focused and distinct, although the overall flavor is stronger, the notes have become more unified.
Later infusions became smoother tasting. I found the third cup (infusions 5 and 6) to be the strongest in flavor. The flavors at this point are really quite seamless. The individual flavors are less focused than they were in the first cup, but the flavor is richer with this cup. The fourth cup started to become softer in flavor, reminding me a bit of the first cup, although with the fourth cup I could taste more of the fruit and earth notes that were mere insinuations in that cup.
As I promised, I offer the following comparison between the Medium and Light Oolong teas from Arum Tea: while the Medium Oolong has more of a honey and nutty flavor, the Light Oolong is flowery with notes of fruit. There are certainly some similarities to the two teas, but they are two very distinctly different teas, and I think that both deserve to be experienced by those that want to experience Oolong teas from Indonesia!
Summer Garden Citrus Mint Blend from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & Oolong Teas
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Summer calls for a blend that’s crisp, sweet, and tangy enough to be a showstopping iced tea. We wanted to do something a little different to celebrate the season, so we sourced a beautiful Wenshan Baozhong Taiwanese oolong tea as the base of our recipe. Wenshan Baozhong is an extremely green oolong, full of grassy notes, but with floral and creamy aftertastes. Mixed with a dash of Yunnan Jingshan Green to round out the body, we think this makes the perfect green base for summer.
To bring out the fruity and floral notes naturally present in Wenshan Baozhong, we picked out creamy and sweet orange peel, rich lemongrass and a juicy bergamot. We use roasted dandelion root and licorice root to draw out the sweetness and help you make a satisfying iced tea- no sugar necessary! Finally, we make it crisp and refreshing with a dash of lavender and spearmint. Enjoy!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This tea really is the perfect summer refreshment. This summer has been so hot and uncomfortably muggy that there have been times when I couldn’t bear to brew a pot of hot tea because even though I know that hot tea tends to be more cooling than a cold drink, I couldn’t bring myself to brewing something hot to drink. Thank goodness I had a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge for times like that.
This! This tea would make a perfect iced tea. I’m drinking it hot right now, and even served hot, it’s incredibly refreshing. The base of Yunnan Jinshan Green and Wenshan Baozhong Oolong makes for a wonderful sweet and light flavor with a lovely creamy texture. It’s lightly vegetal with just the right buttery note.
The lemon grass, orange peel and touch of bergamot adds a bright citrus note. The bergamot does not give this an Earl Grey-ish sort of flavor, but instead just enhances the sunny citrus flavors with it’s zesty character. I don’t know that I necessarily taste the dandelion root, although I do taste a toasty, nutty flavor which may be the presence of the roasted dandelion root. I also don’t taste a lot of licorice. But I do get a nice sweetness here – it’s pleasantly sweet without the addition of sweetener.
But the real star of this cup is the spearmint. It adds just the right touch of crisp, cool minty flavor without getting too aggressive. It doesn’t overpower … everything tastes very harmonious. This tea is named perfectly: Summer Garden Citrus Mint Blend. I taste fresh leafy notes, citrus, mint. It’s a beautifully smooth and enjoyable cup.
I can’t wait to be drinking this one chilled tomorrow! YUM!
Jungpana Imperial Autumn Flush (2013) from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
JUNGPANA IMPERIAL is another wonderful tea in offering this season from the vintage Junpana Tea Garden.
This tea has very high “Autumnal tea flavours”. After drinking this tea, you will feel the whole mouth is full of sweetness and the orchid aroma is lingering between your teeth.
Normally for tea from JUNGPANA, you will easily smell the delicate and sharp aroma after brewing. This tea is no different. A perfect specimen for what AUTUMNAL BLACK TEA should be.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Awesome! This Jungpana Imperial Autumn Flush from Darjeeling Tea Lovers is a seriously good tea! I actually found myself questioning whether I’d be happy with it, because when my tea maker finished the brewing of this tea, the liquor seemed rather “light.” And while I’ve had plenty of amazing teas with a lighter liquor like this one, I still have that response, I judge a tea based on its color and this delightful tea just goes to prove that! Don’t pre-judge a tea … let the proof be in the tasting!
I agree with the above description, this tea does have high autumnal flavors. I taste intriguing notes of spice that are contrasted by notes of sweetness. Notes of fruit, earth, wood and flower are also present. It’s a lovely, complex, nicely round cuppa!
Although the color of the liquid is light, there is a pleasing, thick texture to it. Not “heavy” but a rich thickness that gently coats the palate with a delicious sweetness that has notes of fruit (I taste notes of grape, plum, currant and even hints of apple), flower (I don’t know if I’m tasting orchid, but, it’s a lovely floral essence) as well as notes of rustic wood and subtle earth notes that lie beneath the overtones of spice and an almost sugary sweetness.
This is a truly lovely offering from Darjeeling Tea Lovers. If you haven’t yet tried their teas, I highly recommend doing so! Put them at the top of your must try list!