Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Tea Description:
Plucking from Taiwan peculiar Four Seasons Spring oolong tea leaves, in addition to stringent management of planting, Taiwan fruity oolong tea (Sijichun) was handcrafted to refine into circumspect & traditional oolong tea. This Four Seasons Spring oolong was strictly selected as a higher grade oolong tea, possesses particularly pure and strong fresh flower fragrance plus smooth taste which you, tea lovers, won’t miss it out.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely Oolong experience awaits when you try this Taiwan Four Seasons Fruity Sijichun Oolong Tea from Fong Mong Tea! It is a very refreshing, pleasantly sweet Oolong that provides many wonderful infusions!
The dry leaf is comprised of tiny, tiny pellets … almost as small as gunpowder green tea … in fact, when I first opened this package, I had to do a double check to make sure I was opening an Oolong and not a green tea by mistake.
The aroma of the dry leaf is more floral than fruity and based upon the name of the tea I guess I was expecting a stronger fruity essence to it. I do take in some fruit notes, but, largely, what I smell is a strong floral note. Brewed, the aroma is slightly softer than the dry leaf, but it is still more floral than fruity.
I brewed this the same way I’d brew most Oolong teas: in my gaiwan! After a quick fifteen second rinse, I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds for the first infusion, and then each subsequent infusion had a 15 second increase. I combine two infusions in one cup … in other words, the first cup is infusions 1 and 2, while the second cup is infusions 3 and 4 … and so on. The tightly wound pellets were slow to unfurl and release their flavor … making for an extended enjoyment of this tea!
The first cup was light, refreshing and crisp. Similar to the fragrance of the dry leaf, I am tasting a stronger floral presence than a fruity taste. There is a crisp … almost apple-y kind of taste to the background, but that is the only fruit notes I’m picking up on at this point. The floral tones are sharp yet sweet. A very clean tasting cup.
The second cup was a stronger tasting cup, where the fruit notes became a little better defined, as did the floral tones. This is not quite as “light” or “crisp” or even “sharp” … this is more smooth and it has a soft texture that washes over the palate. Of the three cups that I enjoyed of this tea, the second cup is my favorite … but that doesn’t mean that the first and third cups were not enjoyable. They were certainly lovely as well!
The third cup was more of a unified flavor … I noticed that the fruit notes emerged strongest here, and the floral tones softened and became almost a part of the fruit notes. There is more of a vegetative tone to this cup as well … that is to say, I taste more of a “grassy” or “vegetable” taste to this cup than I did the first two. It is not quite as creamy or smooth as the second cup … but, richer than the first.
Like I said … all three cups are very enjoyable and what I liked best is that each cup was a new adventure. This is really a lovely cup, bravo to Fong Mong Tea for delivering yet another fantastic tea experience!
Curled Dragon Silver Tip from Zen Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zen Tea
Tea Description:
A most amazing tea – even just to look at. The name refers to the unusual and striking shape and color of the leaves, which are rolled into complex, tightly-curled dragon-like shapes with a silvery color. Curled Dragon Silver Tips is an extremely well-made tea, and a good example of the high level of hand-work. Even before infusion, the aroma of this tea is heavenly! Infused, it produces a complex, sweet and somewhat floral liquor. There are no edges and no astringency. Entirely handmade, it is a must have for green tea lovers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This has to be one of the most beautiful teas I’ve ever seen. The leaves are so tiny and frail looking, and have been shaped into itty-bitty dragon-like curls. Each tiny leaf is an absolutely stunning work of art! These leaves look as though they could be a white tea because of their pale green color and the tiniest little silvery fuzz that covers them.
The color of the liquid is almost as beautiful as the dry leaf. It is the palest shade of green, mixed with a translucent, golden alabaster. So breathtakingly gorgeous! Again, this tea looks as though it could be the highest quality white tea, rather than a green.
And all of this would mean very little if the tea was not also stunning. But it is, indeed, amazingly good. The texture reminds me just a bit of champagne, how it dances lightly over the tongue in an almost effervescent way until it settles in and offers a soft, smooth mouthfeel that lightly coats the palate.
The overall delicateness of this tea is also rather reminiscent of a fine white tea. The flavor is light and crisp with a sweet taste. It doesn’t taste strongly vegetative at all, in fact, this tea is one of the lighter, more delicate tasting green teas I’ve encountered. It features flavors that are sweeter and mellower than the typical vegetative tones that I notice with green teas that can be somewhat sharp. This is softer … like a very mild tasting, young artichoke heart. Not the ones that have been processed and pickled in a brine. But the fresh artichoke that has been steamed until tender and smooth like butter, with a flavor to match. Yeah, that’s what I taste now.
By mid-cup, I find that the vegetative notes have developed somewhat. They are still remarkably smooth and buttery, as there is not a sharp edge to this cup whatsoever. But, it has become much more green tea-like now that the tea has cooled slightly and I’ve been drinking it a little while. But it remains delicate. There is no astringency, no bitterness… nothing at all that might be construed as off-putting. It is just simply delicious.
Golden Stars from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Golden Stars are handcrafted and tied into the shape of a star. This tea originates from China and is a smooth full-bodied tea that is juicy, buttery, and vegetal. Notes of sweet fresh spinach and artichokes can be detected as well as light lingering lemon notes. This delicate tea is delightful and refreshing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
These clusters – these stars – are interesting. They appear to be hand-sewn, I can even see the thread. They form a little star shape, and as they infuse they do not “open up” really, they just sort of plump up, still retaining a vague, now swollen, star shape.
They don’t possess a strong aroma. The fragrance of the brewed tea is equally as faint. And… even the first couple of sips are very faint. But don’t let that stop you from sipping on this tea. The flavors develop. Trust me!
The tea never really becomes a strong tasting tea. But I like the gentleness of this tea. The liquor has a thin, brothy texture. The flavor is slightly buttery and there is a hint of citrus-like flavor that hits the palate toward the tail and lingers well into the aftertaste. After the flavors have developed (I’d say, at about the mid-cup point), it really tastes lemony. It is a sharp, bright lemony taste that is especially apparent in the aftertaste.
The tea tastes primarily vegetative – not grassy though. It isn’t a sharp or even a sweet grass taste. Instead, it is more like a mild, sweet vegetable taste that falls somewhere between steamed spinach and artichoke, leaning more toward the artichoke than the spinach … especially with the lemon notes, because I like to steam my artichokes with lemon slices in the steam water.
It’s a lighter tea, nice for a weekend afternoon when you want to just relax and kick up your feet a bit. Really nice!
Dragon Feelers from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Dragon Feelers is a handcrafted green tea that originates from China. The soft green leaves resemble the belly of a dragon. This full-bodied smooth tea is buttery and sweet with artichoke, pea and marine notes. Dragon Feelers is a delicate, yet refreshing tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the most unusual green teas I’ve ever seen. The leaves do indeed look like the scaly belly of a dragon. Or perhaps like they’ve been crimped in a hair crimping tool. But, I know that isn’t how these were prepared, because I think that a crimping tool would have been too hot for these leaves, and would have damaged all the silvery white, fuzzy down that covers the leaves.
At first glance, had I not known these were indeed green tea leaves, I would have guessed they were white tea. The leaves look much more like a silver needle leaf than a green leaf with their pale, silvery green color.
And that’s not where the similarities end, either. This tea is much more delicate than a typical green tea – it’s got the delicate nature of a white tea. The flavor is very soft and subtle and smooth … again, very reminiscent of a silver needle.
However, this tea has a stronger vegetative tone than any silver needle I’ve ever tasted. I find this tea fascinating, because it is so delicate, and yet, it manages to have a nicely round, full flavor. The vegetable notes are somewhere between kelp and freshly cooked peas that have been lightly buttered. I have a soft, sweet, buttery note that I taste, but mostly what I taste is a strong vegetative note. Well, strong in the context of this cup … which is delicate. While the overall taste is very soft, the strongest flavor I taste – by far – is that of the vegetative notes. Sweet and soothing, it has a gentle quality about it. It calms while it refreshes and rejuvenates.
Another amazing tea from Butiki Teas. This is one I’d recommend to those who are looking for a softer, smoother green tea.
Raspberry & Apricot Green Tea Delight from iHeartTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: iHeartTeas
Tea Description:
A light and fruity handcrafted green tea blend with pieces of sweet raspberries and delicate bits of apricot. Wonderful both hot and cold.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, iHeartTeas rescued from retirement one of my favorite Chai blends from 52Teas – Gingerbread Chai! – and as this is a blend that I’ve missed since finishing off the last a few months ago, I decided to order some. With my order, Rachel (proprietor of iHearTeas) sent along some of her tea creations for me to try. And, I’ll never say no to the opportunity to try a new tea.
Well, allow me to retract that and rephrase it – I will seldom say no to the opportunity to try a new tea, as there are some teas that I really have no interest in trying. For example, I won’t be trying this tea, at least, not willingly, any time soon. But this review isn’t about that tea… it’s about Raspberry & Apricot Green Tea Delight from iHeartTeas!
The dry leaf looks and smells very appealing. Tiny bits of raspberry and apricot, as well as rose petals and marigolds tossed with green spears of tea leaves, offering a deliciously sweet, fruity aroma. Once brewed, the pale green colored infusion has a much softer fragrance, more vegetal, although I can still smell hints of the fruit in the background.
The flavor took a little while to develop for me. The first few sips, I tasted the slightly grassy tones of the green tea and little else. I then allowed it to cool slightly, and I’m not sure if it was the lower temperature or the fact that the flavors just needed a few sips to come to life, but now I REALLY taste the raspberry. It is sweet and just a little tart – tasting very much like a fresh, ripe berry. The apricot comes through nicely too, although I find the apricot to be much more distinguished in the aftertaste. The rose comes through too, but only very subtly, offering a delicate floral note to contrast with the fruit flavors.
Overall, a very tasty cup of tea. One that is delicious hot, but even better when it is allowed to cool – which means it would make a fabulous glass of iced tea!