Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: In Pursuit of Tea
Tea Description:
This hand harvested black tea is meticulously crafted from a white tea varietal and pile fermented for 45 days. Truly a labor of love and one of the finest examples of hand-made tea available.
Read other Steepster thoughts on this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the second tea from my Steepster Select tea that I decided to try: Golden Yunnan Black Tea from In Pursuit of Tea. I was very excited to see this company featured in this month’s box (with not just one but TWO teas!) because I can’t recall ever having tried teas from them. I love it when I’m introduced to new-to-me tea companies!
And this tea is fantastic. The dry leaf is gorgeous with curly leaves of chocolate brown that are tipped in gold. Beautiful! There isn’t a strong aroma to the dry leaf, but the brewed tea smells rich and sweet, with notes of earth, leather and tobacco.
The flavor is complex with earthy notes. I taste notes of tobacco, malt and honey. I find that the tobacco is particularly noticeable if I slurp to aerate the sip, and the drying sensation toward the tail of the sip seems to enhance the tobacco notes. There is an undertone of caramel and a hint of cacao to this cup as well.
A very masculine cuppa. Toward mid-cup, I start to pick up on notes of leather in the distance. There is an interesting balance between these savory notes of leather and tobacco and the sweetness of honey, malt, and cacao.
The second infusion is even better than the first! I don’t say that often about a black tea … in fact, I don’t often take a black tea for a second infusion because it isn’t often that I find one that holds up in the second infusion, but this tea definitely does.
The flavor of the second infusion is sweeter than the first, with the tobacco notes less prevalent. The earthy tones have softened here, making way for the delicious honeyed caramel notes and rich malty notes of this tea.
A remarkable Golden Yunnan! I did not find this tea on the In Pursuit of Tea website under Black Teas; however, it does appear that this tea may be available through this samples listing. This is a must try for Yunnan enthusiasts out there, and really, anyone who appreciates high quality tea!
On The Fifth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent Me This Tea …
Today is the fifth day of yummy teas from Della Terra Teas. I’ve really been enjoying this year’s countdown, and today’s tea is just entirely too yummy for words. But, since you’re here to read a review, I’ll do my best to come up with some words to describe this confectionery delight.
Cozy Caramel Oolong
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
On this, the fifth day, be cozy with this delicious caramel oolong.
As golden as the five golden rings, so is this delicious, warm caramel tea. Enjoy this Oolong, sip the creamy caramel and create a holiday memory.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Cozy Caramel Oolong from Della Terra Teas offers me two of my favorite tastes: Oolong tea and caramel. How could I resist?
Answer: I can’t. This is so yummy.
The Oolong tea is a darker Oolong, and it brings a sweet and toasted nut flavor to the cup. The roasty-toasty notes accentuate the delectable notes of caramel perfectly. I can taste a hint of burnt sugar like flavor in the background, and this elevates the caramel tones, giving them some dimension.
The Oolong has a rich, creamy texture but it isn’t overwhelming. That is to say, it doesn’t inundate the palate with that sort of creaminess that might otherwise obscure the nuanced flavors of the caramel. There is a lot of complexity to this cup, and you want to enjoy each and every layer of flavor!
When it come to Oolong teas, I generally prefer them to be “pure” or unadulterated with flavor because Oolong is such a flavorful experience on its own and no additional flavor is really necessary. However, I have enjoyed many different flavored Oolong teas, and of those that I’ve enjoyed, I’d have to say that this might be one of the very best.
This should be a must try for those of you who love caramel, or the Oolong enthusiast who is looking for something just a little different! This one resteeps really well too – the caramel flavor subdues somewhat, but the second infusion is still very flavorful!
Organic Sungma FTGFOP-1 Black Tea from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
Sungma – This is one of the most respected tea estates in Darjeeling. This black Darjeeling tea offering produces a wonderfully balanced liquor. This is what you come to expect from top tea estates in taste and aroma.
This grade of tea “FTGFOP-1” stands for “Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe #1”. This tea is hand processed, with one quarter of it consisting of tips.
A joke among tea aficionados is that “FTGFOP” stands for “Far Too Good For Ordinary People” so try this tea and welcome to the ranks of the privileged.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Of the information that is provided for this tea, the one thing that is missing is which flush Organic Sungma FTGFOP-1 Black Tea from Kally Tea was harvested. But the flavor suggests to me that this is most likely a first flush. In my experience, the second flush Darjeeling teas tend to possess more of that “muscatel” taste while the first flush tends to be a little more woodsy.
And this tea does have more of that woodsy kind of flavor to it. In the dry leaf aroma, that’s the first thing I picked up on was a woodsy kind of fragrance, reminding me of the scent one might experience while walking through a heavily wooded forest just after it rained, when the scent of the trees is really prolific. The brewed tea has some of this fragrance as well, but it isn’t as pronounced as it is in the dry leaf.
The flavor – as I’ve already mentioned – is also woodsy. It also does have some delightful floral notes in the distance, and some sweet fruity notes that seem to emerge as the tea cools slightly. The first couple of sips that I tasted, I didn’t really notice a lot of fruit or flower to this cup, but now that it’s had a few minutes to cool to a drinkable temperature, I notice more of the fruity tones and floral notes.
But mostly what I notice here is an earthy, woodsy tone. It is crisp and focused. The mouthfeel is pleasant, and the flavor is uplifting. The fruit notes provide more of a sweetness than a real distinct, identifiable fruit flavor, and it isn’t exactly a muscatel-ish note. This has some astringency toward the finish, but it isn’t as dry as some Darjeeling teas that I’ve tasted. It’s really quite enjoyable – a very good afternoon tea.
I don’t know that I’d say it’s Far Too Good For Ordinary People – mostly because I’m not in to arrogance like that – but it is certainly good, and I do appreciate that it’s part of Kally Tea’s organic line of teas, and it’s a good one to try if you’re looking for a good quality Darjeeling.
Jin Xuan Oolong Tea from Yezi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Yezi Tea
Tea Description:
Just as many people call Wimbledon tennis’s most important Grand Slam tournament, many a tea connoisseur likes to think of Jin Xuan as the most important oolong to come out of Taiwan. Jin Xuan is grown at 7,500 feet above sea level. At this altitude, the tea leaves are worked upon by hot days and extremely cold nights. These varying climatic conditions, along with a year-round fog, lend this tea a complex and diverse palette of flavors and sensations.
Like most Taiwanese oolongs, Jin Xuan has a naturally sweet flavor. After your first sip, you might find yourself thinking of sugarcane reeds swaying and glistening in the sunshine. However, after a few more brewings of this loose-leaf tea, its accompanying floral and tangerine scents will transport your imagination to a lush green orchard. Grown in the cool, high altitudes of Hualien County, Yezi’s Jin Xuan is brought to you from local tea farmer Gao Xiu Chen and is an ideal beverage for cooling you off on a hot summer day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been looking forward to my tea time with this Jin Xuan Oolong Tea from Yezi Tea all day! I drink tea daily, and I drink a LOT of tea daily. But the time that I spend with an Oolong is special for me, because I love the complexity of an Oolong. I love that I can keep steeping and steeping and explore so many different layers of flavors with an Oolong. It’s such a relaxing and wonderfully contemplative experience!
And this Jin Xuan from Yezi is top-notch! So sweet and creamy! This first cup of tea (infusions 1 and 2 following a 15 second rinse) is very smooth and has a lightness to it that I’m sure will probably be gone with subsequent infusions. The creamy texture is so delicate and really lovely. I taste notes of flower. Not sharp or perfume-y, these floral notes reside in the background at the moment, as if to let me know that they will soon be a bigger part of what I’ll be enjoying soon.
My second cup (infusions 3 and 4) is indeed creamier and richer than the first was. The floral tones are beginning to emerge now, but they remain pleasantly soft and sweet. The cup is sweet and creamy and the mouthfeel is somewhat milky.
The third cup (a combination of infusions 5 and 6) is my favorite of the three cups that I enjoyed of this tea. It is a delicious balance of silky creaminess and sweet floral tones. It still has that milky texture. And as the above description suggests, I do notice a hint of tangerine to the aroma when I inhale before a sip, and this influences the sip in a very delightful way, adding a hint of fruity finish to the sip.
A really FANTASTIC tea journey awaits you with this tea … I highly recommend it.
Jun Chiyabari Nepalese Black Tea from Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Description:
Jun Chiyabari is a luxury black tea (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) with ethereal notes of muscatel that whispers true himalayan beauty. Grown on mountainside elavations reaching 7000 feet above sea level in the Hile Hills Dhankuta district of Nepal. The exceptionally clean air, rich mountain soil and pure sunshine help Jun Chiyabari continually exceed the quality of many darjeeling teas. It is no surprise that Jun Chiyabari black tea ranks so high as a source for powerful antioxidants. With polyphenol levels of 10.7% by dry weight, this is truly a gourmet black tea for the connoisseur and those individuals that desire a healthy black tea alternative.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having tried a couple of Jun Chiyabari teas, I was only too happy to be in possession of another sampling of this Nepalese black tea. Imperial Tea Garden has the “touch” when it comes to selecting top notch teas, and this offering is an example of what I mean.
This is a delightful “Darjeeling-esque” black tea is very much like a second flush Darjeeling, with notes of muscatel, its compelling fruit notes, hints of earth and wood, and a dry finish that is reminiscent of wine. It has a fair amount of astringency that leaves the palate feeling clean after each sip. The aftertaste is sweet and grape-y!
This tea also has a slightly heavier texture to it than a typical Darjeeling, which I would ordinarily classify as a light or even sparkling sort of texture. This has a texture that is more like a Ceylon.
A really charming cup of hot tea in the afternoon, or if you are looking for iced refreshment, this tea tastes great chilled and served with a sprig of mint!