Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Jasmine Ancient Beauty tea features fragrant jasmine blossoms permeated with pure hand-harvested oolong loose-leaf tea, giving an amber peach color with a fresh aromatic bouquet and sweet refreshing taste.
This beautiful oolong jasmine tea comes from thousand year-old trees on the Jing Mai Mountain in China. The protected forest reserve is enshrouded in mist and located approximately 5,000 feet above sea level. The best buds and leaves are hand plucked by scaling the tall trees and then oxidized using a traditional oxidation process to reach a specific maturation point. They are then crafted with traditional scenting techniques using whole jasmine blossoms. Drink the Jasmine Ancient Beauty Tea and experience a real one-of-a-kind treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Jasmine Ancient Beauty from The Persimmon Tree is a cup that is full of flavors. It is by no means your typical oolong!
As a lover of oolong teas I can see how some people could be disappointed in this tea if they go into with expectations of it tasting like any other oolong they have ever had before.
Or if you are one who loves jasmine teas, I could see some disappointment there as well as this is not your typical jasmine tea either.
What this tea IS however is a tea with some amazing depth to it. The flavors are heady, hearty, and full, yet there are these berry like notes that give the cup a lightness that is just so cheery.
This is not robust like a morning black tea, yet there is an earthiness to the tea that makes it very full, almost thick.
Honestly, if no one told me, or I had not read the label before hand, I would have thought this to be a puerh. The leaves do come from a tree that is over a thousand years old according to The Persimmon Tree’s description and I believe it as this tea does have an aged flavor to it for sure.
Other notes I pick up on aside from honey, berry, jasmine, and oolong, are mushroom, earth, woods, brown sugar, toasted oat bread, to name a few. You really need to discover this tea for yourself.
The other thing I love about this tea, other than the wonderful flavor, is the look and feel of the leaves. They are quite stunning!
I really respect a company that gives back. You can read more about The Persimmon Tree and how it is working toward bettering our earth here.
Morning Tea from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Assam
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Tea Description:
Rich-bodied Assam tea with a faint sweetness of vanilla is perfect for morning wake-up tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Morning Tea from Lupicia is quite soothing and deep. The vanilla is only a mere hint at the flavor note, so don’t expect this to be a typical vanilla tea. Also if you wait for the tea to cool a bit the vanilla peeks out a tad more, but not a lot. I get more of the vanilla note on the aftertaste which is a lovely little surprise.
Okay I know I always say this when doing a Lupicia review tea, review, but the review would just feel empty to me if I left it out: I LOVE Lupicia Teas! Okay I got that off my chest.
I got this tea in my 2013 Lupicia Happy Bag which contained the following teas in this photo:
I was super stoked about this Happy Bag! I opted for the 60.00 dollar bag and it was worth every penny!
However, back to this tea… There is a slight smokiness in the tea but nothing like a Lapsang Souchong whatsoever. Just a very faint hint at what may remain from a campfire that has been smoldering out slowly. The tea does remind me somewhat of the early fall months, when it is still quite lovely out and not too cold but you can feel the air changing around you, there is a crispness, a slight bite to the air, yet the sun is still shining and all is well with the world. That is the feeling this tea evokes for me! Then when the vanilla note sneaks up on you it brings back the memories of the marshmallows you used to make smores with the night before at the campsite. There is even a mellow chocolate note to the base of this tea which helps that recollection as well.
Also what I love about Morning Tea is that it is heavier in the mouthfeel and requires only a short steep. On one hand that gets me sipping on a morning tea right away which is absolutely needed and desired. On another note if you have non tea drinking friends I really feel they would or at least could appreciate this tea in replacement of their coffee, if it were the only option. We know coffee folk love their coffee in the morning the same way we love our tea. Still I feel if you were to serve this they would not choke and spit it out! It has a robust flavor to it so you could steep it a bit longer for your coffee friends!
Trust me though – if you want to appreciate the tea don’t over steep – 1 to 2 minutes really is all it needs!
Now if you desired, you could absolutely add milk and or sugar to this tea. It is hearty enough to handle it and I think would make it quite yummy, however I prefer teas on their own merit without additives usually. I may give it a go with this one though as I really think it would be delicious and maybe pull out the vanilla note more.
Overall another winner from Lupicia! I am so happy I received this in my Happy Bag because I did not even know of its existence and is probably not one I would have ordered even had I know of it. Now I will be keeping this in my morning rotation for sure. Mmmm, more vanilla just peeked through! I love that sneaky vanilla!