Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu’erh
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
The Honeysuckle pu-erh tea delivers a deep red infusion with a sweet woodsy, floral aroma. The finished brew is mild and earthy, with a lingering hint of honeysuckle. This honeysuckle tea can be steeped multiple times in a sitting without becoming bitter. This particular pu-erh is cooked and has been aged for about 4-6 years.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The urge to drink Pu’erh comes and goes with me, perhaps largely because I initially found it a very acquired taste. Even though I’ve now tried a significant variety of different Pu’erhs, I still feel that I’m learning about the variety and discovering new things. This tea, for instance. I’ve never tried a floral Pu’erh before, or any variety flavoured with honeysuckle, come to that. It’s a real first! I treated this one as I would generally treat a loose-leaf Pu’erh, using 1 tsp of leaf in boiling water. I tend to vary the brew time based on the individual tea and the strength/scent/liquor colour, but went with a fairly standard (for me) 1 minute this time. The resulting liquor is a medium red-brown. The scent once brewed, and while brewing, is very evidently a Pu’erh – it has quite pungent manure notes!
To taste, this has to be one of the most unique Pu’erhs I’ve tried so far. I was expecting a fairly standard earthy/manure flavour based purely on the scent, but it’s actually nothing like that. Instead, there’s an initial almost-sharpness, which blossoms into a heavy, sweet, nectar like floral. Honeysuckle! There are virtually no earth or manure flavours to be found, which is a big surprise. The sweetness seems very natural, and isn’t at all overpowering. I think it’s helped by a sort of yogurt-like note which contributes a cool, tangy freshness to the overall cup.
I really like this one. I’m definitely the kind of person that objects to strong manure flavours in their tea, although I don’t mind earthiness at all. This one is pretty unique amongst those I’ve tried in that it has no earth or manure notes (despite the scent). The flavouring is sufficiently strong that the honeysuckle is front and centre pretty much the whole time, although as it cools this does dissipate a little to reveal just a hint of what lurks beneath. I’m pretty sure a fairly conservative brew time helped here – a longer one might herald more of a “traditional” Pu’erh flavour. I personally like the honeysuckle, though, so I’ll always err on the side of caution when brewing this one. It’s an outstandingly flavourful cup!
Golden Dragon Yellow Tea from Teavana
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yellow
Where to Buy: Teavana
Tea Description:
We are proud to offer one of the rarest teas in the world; our limited edition yellow tea direct from China. The name ‘yellow’ tea refers not only to the unique processing and the lovely, bright golden infusion color, but due to its rarity it is also associated with the imperial yellow worn exclusively by emperors for centuries. Unlike any tea you have tasted before, at first sip it evokes the exquisite pleasure of everyday luxuries. Captivating high floral notes mingle with a smooth honeyed body and a subtle creamy, buttery finish. A perfectly balanced tea curated just for you.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
First a brief disclaimer of sorts;
I am NOT a fan of Teavana. I have never purchased a blend from them and likely never will. However, this has absolutely nothing to do with the blends they sell themselves.While the store serves it’s purpose of acting as an introductory loose leaf tea shop, for which I am grateful (as I’m sure they’ve turned many people on to drinking loose leaf tea) I cannot personally support their business model nor will I give money to a company with such consistently reported poor customer service.
Any of their teas that I’ve ever tried has been received as a sample, and not purchased out of my own pockets. That said, I’ve never let my personal views of the company’s business model affect the way I perceive their teas. This has meant occasionally finding a great blend but not pursuing a revisit, which can be disappointing, but is something I can live with. As for this tea, I’m going to review it as if I didn’t know the company from which it was sourced and give my opinion PURELY about the tea itself.
And so carrying on…
Visually, the dry leaf of this blend looked like somewhat tarnished, lightly browned Yin Zhen (Silver Needle tea) but a little more twisty. Steeped up, the liquor is a very flat, dull golden yellow. It’s very beautiful, even if it’s not a more lively looking liquor. Personally, I’ve only had three or four other plain yellow teas and they’ve been prepared in blue teaware, so I can’t really use my personal experiences to say whether this colour is normal for steeped up yellow tea though. The aroma is interesting; it’s soft with a bit of a buttery vegetal smell and some malt and sweeter notes as well.
Drinking this, it was really apparent to me that the nuances of flavor take after traditional Yin Zhen and Green Tea pretty equally; of course that makes sense given that yellow tea is halfway between white and green tea. I could actually tell it was produced in China without reading the description though; China’s green teas tend to have a more distinct smokey and nutty flavor to them while Japanese greens lean more heavily on the marine side of this (seaweed) and the flavors here weren’t an exception to that. On the greener end of the spectrum, I noticed very gentle smokey notes, buttery vegetal notes, a bit of a peppery flavor leaning towards lemon pepper more so than black pepper (or the actual vegetable; bell pepper, etc.), and some less distinct herbaceous notes as well. That lovely peppery quality definitely falls in line with other yellow teas I’ve been lucky enough to sample.
On the whiter side of things; there was a lovely supple sweetness that reminded me of honey or, combined with the weaker floral tones present, honeysuckle. A more vague hay-like flavour was present, and a flavor that kind of crossed over between malt and cream with a soft fruity edge; very similar to some of the Kenyan white teas I’ve gotten to try. I like to describe that flavor as kind of tasting like a Hot Cross Bun/Easter bun, in a way.
This was a super interesting tea, and I loved all the flavors present that bounced off one another; I’ve only gotten to try a few different yellow teas, and this isn’t my least favourite but it’s not my favourite either: so far Camellia Sinensis’ Meng Ding Huang Ya is my favourite. Both this tea and CS’s heavy big price tags; but with the quality difference I’d go with CS’s yellow tea. However, I think this is definitely worth trying if you get the chance because it WAS lovely.
Honeysuckle Pu-erh Tea from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
The Honeysuckle pu-erh tea delivers a deep red infusion with a sweet woodsy, floral aroma. The finished brew is mild and earthy, with a lingering hint of honeysuckle. This honeysuckle tea can be steeped multiple times in a sitting without becoming bitter. This particular pu-erh is cooked and has been aged for about 4-6 years.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened the tin of this Honeysuckle Pu-erh Tea from The Persimmon Tree, I got worried. The earthy aroma was STRONG and this is the kind of earthy that I find very unappealing when it comes to pu-erh tea. But, I tried to keep an open mind. So I brewed the tea.
To brew it, I grabbed my gaiwan. I measured a bamboo scoop of tea into the bowl of the gaiwan and heated the kettle to 190°F. I poured just enough of the hot water to cover the leaves and I let that steep for 15 seconds and then poured off the liquid and discarded it. (The rinse!) Then I filled the gaiwan with water and let it steep for 30 seconds. Usually, I let my first infusion steep for 45 seconds, but the tea had gotten really dark by 30 seconds, so I decided to stop at 30 seconds. I strained the tea into a teacup.
The fragrance of the brewed tea is softer than the dry leaf. It still has some of that unpleasant earthiness to it. I’m not getting a “sweet woodsy, floral aroma” as the description above suggests. I’m getting a damp wood and earth aroma. So, the worry that I felt before when I first opened the tin, it was returning.
But I took a sip and hoped for the best.
And fortunately, this tastes far less earthy than it smells. I’m getting those sweet, woodsy elements and hints of flower that I’m missing in the brewed aroma in the flavor. It’s a mellow tasting pu-erh with notes of earth but not overwhelmingly so. Mostly what I taste is a nice, sweet caramel-y undertone with a top note of flower. I don’t know if it’s honeysuckle that I taste during the sip, but I do taste a distinct floral note. And the aftertaste, yes, I do taste the honeysuckle there.
The aftertaste is my favorite part of this tea because I am really enjoying that lingering flavor of honeysuckle. It’s sweet, floral and really quite pleasant.
I only steeped my second infusion for 30 seconds as well, because it had already become even darker than the first cup was at 30 seconds. This is a tea that I recommend keeping an eye on while it’s brewing!
This infusion was deeper in flavor. The earthy qualities were a little stronger but not so strong that I found it off-putting. In this cup, I noted flavors of leather, mushroom and raw cacao. I still got that honeysuckle note in the aftertaste. I’m tasting a little less of a caramel-y taste and a little more of a molasses flavor, instead. Very deep flavor, very mellow and pleasant to sip.
Later infusions got deeper in flavor until they weren’t. When I started to realize that the flavors were becoming lighter, I stopped steeping. I lost count after six, but if I had to guess, I’d say I got nine infusions out of one measurement of leaves.
So this tea started out questionably with a rather unpleasant dry leaf aroma and even a slightly uncertain brewed tea scent, but the flavor is quite enjoyable. I’m happy that there wasn’t a briny, fishy or overpowering earthy flavor to this pu-erh. Nice.
Honeysuckle Oolong Tea from Dachi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Dachi Tea
Tea Description:
With tea making methods borrowed from the Sun Moon Lake style, the Honeysuckle Oolong’s deep cocoa and plum aroma eases you into a baked fruit flavor with a lasting honey nectar finish. With its natural sweetness and full-bodied flavor, this is one of those teas which has you constantly sipping and subconsciously craving more.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the time when I could review this Honeysuckle Oolong Tea from Dachi Tea! This company was launched thanks to a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign that ended at the beginning of January. I managed to do one review of their four teas from their inaugural collection before their Kickstarter campaign reached it’s deadline. Once the campaign had come to a successful close, I held off on doing a review until they launched their new website so that people could get their hands on some of these fantastic teas!
And this Honeysuckle Oolong Tea is amazing. It’s reminiscent of a Sun Moon Lake black tea – in fact, given that this says that it’s fully oxidized, I think this might actually BE a black tea. It’s a little lighter than a typical black tea though, it doesn’t have a really strong, robust, kick your butt into gear type of flavor that say an Assam or even a high quality Ceylon would have. It’s lighter, sweeter and more reminiscent of an Oolong in that way.
The flavor is sweet with notes of flower, so I think that the name “honeysuckle” is quite appropriate. Those sweet, honeyed flavors mingle beautifully with a deep, stone fruit flavor. The description above suggests plum and I would agree with that assessment. I even get a slight ‘sour’ note that arrives about mid sip – similar to what I might experience if I were to bite into a fresh, tree-ripened, juicy plum.
The description above also suggests a chocolate/cocoa flavor and I do get hints of that. The hints of cocoa are hardly something that this chocoholic would call ‘chocolate’ but I do understand the comparison. It’s a subtle insinuation of chocolate and makes me hope that subsequent infusions would lead me to a stronger chocolate-y taste.
Yes! My second cup (infusions three and four) was certainly more chocolate-y than the first. I also noticed, though, that the texture was a bit thinner than the first cup which lead me to surmise that while this tea is certainly a spectacular tea – it’s not quite as ‘go the long haul’ as a typical Oolong. This is more ‘black tea’ in that respect. You’ll get a really lovely cuppa for the early infusions but the flavors begin to wane pretty quickly with this one.
Don’t let that sway you from trying this tea – it’s a lovely Sun Moon Lake type black tea and I’d recommend steeping it as such so that you can get that rich, amazing flavor as a Sun Moon Lake type black, rather than steeping this like an Oolong (in a gaiwan). Next time, I’ll be reaching for either my Kati Tumbler or brewing it in my Breville One-Touch instead. The gaiwan efforts – while absolutely LOVELY – seem a bit more intensive than necessary for a wonderful cuppa when the flavors aren’t going to go for more than a few infusions.
Yet another lovely tea from Dachi – I look forward to exploring the other two with you!
Malibu Beach Beauty Tea from Newport Skinny Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Newport Skinny Tea
Tea Description:
Malibu Beach Beauty Tea has ingredients that soothe inflammation in your body, especially your tissues, and regulate the hormones that cause acne and skin irritation to show up on the surface. Ingredients in it strengthen collagen production, eliminate excess water trapped in your tissues and reduce the look of cellulite. After using the tea bags, you can place them on your external skin to reduce redness and inflammation of acne, keep away from your eye area.
Learn more about this tea blend here.
Enter to win a Newport Skinny Tea 21 Day “TeaTox” Pack!
Taster’s Review:
Before I even brewed this tea, I read through the description card that came with my sample of this Malibu Beach Beauty Tea and browsed the ingredient list and this tea has a lot going on! Check it out:
Ingredients: Earl Grey Tea, Young Hysson Green Tea, White Tea, Calendula, Lavender Flowers, Red Clover Blossoms, Peppermint Leaves, Rose Flowers & Hips, Linden Leaf & Flower, Elder Flower, Chamomile, Lemon Peel & Oil, Gota Cola, Honeysuckle Flower, Blackberry Leaf, Privet Fruit, Stevia Leaf, Mangosteen Peel, Natural Flavors.
See what I mean? There’s a lot going on. I hope that it’s not too much going on! But I won’t know until I try it. So, I’m off to go brew it in my Kati Tumbler. I’ll use 2 teaspoons of tea in the Kati basket and add 12 ounces of hot water (but not boiling). The parameters on this description card suggest boiling water but with that many herbs plus green and white teas, I feel that boiling water is going to be too hot. I’ll opt for a lower temperature: 180°F, and steep it for 4 minutes. Let’s see how it goes!
Hmm … interesting. It’s an interesting flavor – in a good way! And as I said, there IS a lot going on. Because of that, the result is a flavor that’s a bit more like an herbal tisane than a tea. But that isn’t a bad thing. I like that I’m tasting the lavender and lemon and honeysuckle! I like that I am picking up on the flavors of peppermint and elder flower and rose! And I can still taste notes of bergamot (which are highlighted by the lemon notes) and the black, green and white teas.
I like that there is a lot going on but it all seems to work together in a way that pleases my palate. When I take a sip, my palate is intrigued and interested in what its experiencing. I find myself wanting to sip more rather than push the cup aside – which is, quite frankly, what I feared! I thought I’d take one sip of this and say NO! No like! But that’s not what’s happening. Yeah, it’s different. Yeah it’s a busy tea. But I like it!
The prevailing note here is floral. The lavender and honeysuckle and rose and linden and elder flowers give this a very floral flavor, but it doesn’t cross the line into perfume-y. It doesn’t even really toe the line because there’s other flavors going on to help it take a couple of steps back and keep it tasting floral/herbaceous without going into the icky area of floral/perfume-ish.
This is something I can see myself wanting to drink on a regular basis. It’s a got a really interesting flavor that compels me to continue drinking.
If the idea of beauty from the inside out interests you, check out Newport Skinny Tea’s complete line of teas. You can even enter their raffle – they’re currently giving away a 21 Day TeaTox package!