Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Republic of Tea (formerly Rare Tea Republic)
Tea Description:
This laboriously hand-plucked leaf yields a light yellow infusion and a sweet, refreshing liquor reminiscent of cucumber and honey. A whisper of woodsmoke in the finish completes this satisfying tea.
Steep Time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 180°F
Tea per 6 oz of Water: 2 teaspoons
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been saving this sample of Sandakphu White Orange Tea from Rare Tea Republic for a while now. I wanted to sample it when I could savor it as I have high expectations for this tea, even though I don’t know why. Rare Tea Republic has some amazing teas, and I have rarely been disappointed. When I went to the website today I was redirected to their sister company Republic of Tea. It seems they have decided to merge their two companies. So while I got my sample of this tea from Rare Tea Republic, you will need to go to Republic of Tea to get yours.
Sandakphu White Orange is truly a unique and delicious cup. For a white tea it is very full bodied, one of the most robust white teas I have ever sipped. There is a very delicate smokiness deep in the core of the taste, but mostly it is a yummy honey flavor that is not too sweet, and a light taste of cucumber and spice. Yes, it is an unusual flavor but I love it.
The color of the tea is orangish brown, and there is a very slight citrus flavor as well but I would not really say it is an orange tea. Granted this is not a flavored tea obviously but there is just a hint at an orange note regardless. Don’t be too concerned about the smokiness in the tea. It is not smoky like a Lapsang Souchong at all. The smoky note is more in the woody note itself and reminds me of the quality wood that would be used to smoke meat.
This is absolutely a white tea that I would recommend and is unique enough that everyone should try it at least once.
Lilac Blend from Strand Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Strand Tea Company
Tea Description:
Premium Black Teas from highland China blended with lilac flowers. This tea looks, smells, and tastes great.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Lilac Blend from Strand Tea Company has me just beaming with happiness. It is a beautiful sun shiny day outside, I am looking at my first flowers of the year, although they are daffodils, not lilacs, and dreamily sipping on such a delightful surprise! I love lilacs, they are so very fragrant and beautiful. This tea speaks to my sensibilities of summer, flowers, and yet there is a wonderful, surprising fruitiness as well. Mmmmm, so good!
I have to say I have never heard of Strand before a generous tea trade with a fellow Steepster but I am really glad to know of this company and am looking forward to exploring their site more throughly.
I have read on Steepster that this company sends a tea sample and a cookie with orders! WHAT? Okay this place may have me breaking my no order streak! Cookies and tea, YES PLEASE!
And then I saw the price of this tea. No its not a bad thing, rather shockingly good! 2 ounces for only 3.50 – are you kidding me? Wow what a bargain!
And the taste? Can it match up to all my self imposed hype? Why yes, it can! It is sweet – like honey, fruity, wonderful berry notes, almost a blueberry flavor but I get some deep red berry notes in here too. It tastes wine like, a bit like a blueberry mead tea.
The aroma is beautiful as well. This is a cup you just hold up under your nose and deeply inhale the aroma between sips. Gad this is good!
Lilac from Strand Tea Company has a full mouthfeel nearly creamy. Add a splash of milk and you have a dessert tea for sure, oh so creamy and delicious! The mouthfeel is surprisingly heavy for what one would think is a light dainty tea. This tea has some heft to it.
A perfect tea for younger ones too! I could easily see this being the hit at a tea party for young and old alike! I doubt the kids would even know this is tea and mistake it for some sugary drink if you didn’t tell them about it!
I can’t wait to try this tea iced!
I had to come back and add this to my review. My daughter tried this tea after it had become cold. She prefers cold tea to hot. Regardless she found a note in this tea that I had totally missed but should not have! I think my daughter is getting really good at detecting flavor notes in tea. Before long she may be better than I am at it because this note is SO obvious, yet I missed it! Walnut! Yes walnut, I can’t believe I missed it because as soon as she said it – it become so obvious! I made a second steep in addition to enjoying the rest of my cold cup and I am even more in love. You know how once you identify a flavor note it becomes even easier to pick out? Well now I am enjoying this sweet, honey kissed, blueberry, creamy, floral, WALNUT tasting tea. Yummm
Organic China Oolong from Whittard of Chelsea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Whittard of Chelsea
Tea Description:
A truly superb robust Oolong from the Fujian Province with a honeyed sweetness.
Delicate floral Oolongs are between a black and green tea. This long leafed organic tea comes from the Wu Yi gardens of the Fujian Province. It is stronger than most Oolong tea due to higher roasting and longer fermentation. The dark smoky taste of the tea balances perfectly with sweet honey notes. Served after a rich meal, traditionally one would exhale after each sip, savouring the ‘Hui Gan’; the teas lingering sweetness.
Great Taste Awards judges love it too – “This tea produces a liquor of good color and great clarity.”
Packed in an environment where nuts are handled.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yes, this is an oolong after my heart! Organic China Oolong from Whittard of Chelsea has every bit of that smokiness I adore in a dark oolong and a berry sweet note that drives me wild! The aroma alone is intoxicating, I would wear this as perfume, not that it tastes like perfume at all but it smells so dreamy!
The notes of woods, deep smokiness, sweet honeyed tones like caramelized berries, I could go on and on but I want to get to the way this tea tastes!
I have to say I am so pleased by SororiTea Sister LiberTeas sent me a nice baggie full of this stuff! Thank you Anne!
The cup steeps into an amber vision of beauty with a clear view to the bottom of the cup. The first note I pick up is a light honey note, with a backdrop of maple, and wood. This is a very sweet cup considering its dark smoked nature.
There is not much of a rock mineral note in this, some but not as much as I have experienced in other Wuyi tea, but there is a slight saltiness, which reminds me of salted caramel which I love.
Don’t think of the smoked note as you would a Lapsang Souchong though, its not smoky like that, its just a deep woodsy richness you would get from a toasted marshmallow, far sweeter than any smokiness from a Lapsang Souchong tea.
I also get a brandied candied flavor in the tea, a brothy sensation in the mouthfeel that is welcoming and warming.
This tea does not really conjure up feelings of sitting by a campfire as much as it does feelings of walking in the deep woods sipping a hardy grog from a chalice or a canteen perhaps. It makes me feel more like Robin Hood than Roy Rodgers!
This one goes on my shopping wish list but for now I have a generous sampling from my sister Anne!
Yay!
Samovar Op-A Blend from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
We created this selection specifically for use in samovars but it also works exceptionally well in traditional teapots. The tea has a dark cup, well-balanced character, and can be infused for a long period without becoming bitter. The flavor is of a classic medium-grown Ceylon with a smooth profile and hints of ripe apple.
Origin:
Sri Lanka
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Samovar Op-A Blend from Upton Tea Imports has a nicely sweet yet malty flavor that rests gently on the palate.
My immediate reaction is that the aroma was far more inciting them the flavor, at first I thought it rather bland, but as soon as that thought had left my mind I got those intensely sweet honeyed notes and a lovely blanket of malty goodness on my tongue!
As I spent more time with the tea shaking away that first impression I realized that the apple notes begin to sparkle and there is something of a sparkly sensation on the tongue.
I am not normally a big fan of Ceylon teas but this one has some elements that remind me of Darjeeling, and I like that a lot!
There is a very slight chocolate note to the tea, but very slight, it just has this backdrop which makes the taste more robust, thick even, and quite rich.
Then a raisin flavor comes forward as well.
I am glad I did not listen to that knee jerk reaction, as I would have been a jerk indeed had I dumped this cup!
This is one of the smoothes teas with absolutely not one bit of astringency or bitterness I have ever had!
I am glad now that I have enough for another steeping session for a later time, I expect to get many more steeps out of this leaf!
Jasmine Ancient Beauty from The Persimmon Tree
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.