Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Kiosque
Tea Description:
Hand picked spring growth offers exquisite green notes. Sweetish with light layers of astringency.
History: Lung Ching Tea – also known as Dragonwell is produced by hand through a 10-part process. The side of West Lake in Zhejiang Province grows the tea used to produce Dragonwell. Dragonwell is distinguished by its beautiful shape, emerald colour, scented smell and tending sweet floral character. Legend has it that in 250 AD a Taoist monk affirmed that there must be a dragon lurking in a certain spring not far from Hangchow. The monk implored the well dragon to come to the rescue of the poor farmers suffering a crippling drought. Instantly, the clouds came rushing in from every side and poured forth a timely rain. One account of this, an old temple adjoining the spring is known as Dragon’s Well Monastery, and this tea derives its name from the same legend.
Tea facts
Country: China
Region: Zhejiang
Ingredients: Luxury Green Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Dragonwell Lung Ching as far as I can recollect is the first tea I have sampled from The Kiosque. Thanks to a Steepster friend I am getting to try this light, lovely, green tea, and a new tea company. The leaves look much greener in person than in the photo.
The flavor is that of a very light and refreshing, and somewhat sweet brew.
This truly is not like any green tea I have had before. There is really no remarkable vegetative flavor, nor any buttery or nuttiness. It has my interest.
The sweetness I had mentioned tends to learn toward the side of caramel but its not a heavy note.
I think this would be a great green for those who want the health benefits but don’t particularly like green teas. For me, its a bit simplistic, and lack luster. Its not bad, please don’t get me wrong. It is good enough that I do want to try more teas by The Kiosque and I will, its not a turn off, just not something that is making me want to purchase a tin.
What I do want to mention though is that the person who gave me this sample seems to love it and that says a lot as she has very good taste in tea! That is the beauty of tea though, there are so many kinds we can all find the ones we adore.
Now I will note that the mouthfeel of this tea is creamy, very creamy, and I like that – a lot. Yet I do miss the buttery, nutty nature that many greens have that this one is lacking.
Overall a very nice tea, and it does offer something different from other green teas, whats not to love, variety is the spice of life!
Royal Golden Safari from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Orthodox Tippy Kenyan Tea
Where to Buy: Butiki
Tea Description:
Our truly exceptional Royal Golden Safari originates from a small scale farm in Kenya and has long golden leaves that mingle with milk chocolate and cacao colored leaves. Toasted walnut and oaky notes are prominent with a light pear undertone. Cocoa notes are also present. This orthodox tea does not contain any pesticides.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was making breakfast when I decided to brew this tea today. I had just got an order in from Stacy and this was one of the samples I requested. I was really not even thinking of doing a review on this one as I was simply wanting to wake up and just enjoy a new tea but I decided not only does this tea deserve a review, Stacy deserves my review, but there is also a review contest going haha. So I decided what the heck. Now again, when I took my initial sips I was not thinking about the tea so much in order to review it – as just wanted to get some tea into my system. Yet what hit me was an intense and lovely flavor of Sweet Potato and Brown Sugar! I instantly thought of another very fine tea that I love that is highly prized and difficult to get ahold of! How lovely to have another option for this flavor profile!
When a tea is so easy to pick flavor notes out of its a real pleasure because it makes it so much easier to review, to enjoy, and to feel joy from. The tea surprised me with flavor note after flavor note!
This tea has a nice sweet aroma and flavor with a creamy texture in the mouthfeel. It gave up notes of honey, nuts and chocolate, and as I have already mentioned, sweet potato, and brown sugar! Just YUM! No wonder it is called Royal Golden “Safari” it felt like being on a safari and discovering one new surprise after another!
There is a malty element to this tea yet its not as malty as one may expect – it is rather mellow and soothing. In a manner more like a Darjeeling in its lighter feel and flavors yet very much the flavor profile of Assam without the heaviness.
The second steep was a bit light in the flavors but steep three brought them back out. It was also in steep three that cinnamon and pear began to peek through.
I forgot to mention that I just love the way the leaves look in dry form. They are truly quite beautiful! The cup itself is pretty as well ranging from steep one a deep crimson color to later steepings being a lighter amber.
I of course love that this tea is pesticide free!
Unfortunately I did not get a fourth steeping from the leaves but I was very pleased with the three I did get! No need to be greedy with such a fine tea.
Overall I really quite like this one. Royal Garden Safari offers delicious flavors and while I don’t know if I would say it could hold up well to milk, being on the lighter spectrum, it would hold up well to sweetener but I would not muddle such a lovely naturally sweet cup with additives.
Temi First Flush from The Tea Horse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Orange Pekoe
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
Temi 1st Flush is officially a black tea, but is less oxidised and much lighter than usual blacks – to drink, somewhere between a black and a green tea. Its grade is SFTGFOP1 (standing for Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe grade 1). A bit of a mouthful but it makes for a lovely tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love a good Temi First Flush. I recently sipped down the last of my favorite first flush from another company so I was excited to dig this sample out of a box of teas from my SororiTea Sister Anne.
I was waiting with anticipation to fully immerse myself in this cup. The first thing I picked up was the astringency which was not unpleasant but more prominent than what I am used to in this style of tea.
Then the notes develop into a background flavor of straw that has been sitting in the sun light which is a note I personally enjoy, added to that a slightly vegetal flavor but not as one expects in greens, not that prominent. More of the flavor of fresh straw blade that you picked out of a field to stick in your mouth to chew on like country folk. The tea is in fact quite “sunny” in its flavor and has a bright mouthfeel.
This is a light tea and I don’t think I would try adding any milk or cream to it however it could go quite well with a little sugar, or honey.
As for spicy notes, they are present but they are not very intense and while I appreciate subtle notes in teas this tea somewhat leaves me wanting just a little bit more. Its not a bad tea by any means and I would not dump it out so I don’t want to give the impression that it is unpalatable but it does seem to lack some of the complexities and fruity notes I appreciate in my regular Temi First Flush. Now with that said, while I do not pick up the fruit notes I was desiring, it is a “juicy” tea. The tea does tend to have a burst like sensation in the mouth that is quite lovely.
So there are some high notes and low notes to this tea in my opinion however for me, ordering this tea may be more trouble than it is worth due to it being a U.K. company, and I am in the U.S.A. I would love to try some of their other blends though as they have a couple that caught my eye. I would say that if ordering were a tad easier this tea was a good introduction to their company and would indeed make me want to order from them again.
Its just that sometimes we love another tea of the same type and that love can be difficult to beat. That is the case with this specific tea.
It is however light, bright, and quite thirst quenching, and there is nothing wrong with any of those things.
Black Tea from Gorreana
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Gorreana Tea
Tea Description:
Our second leaf pekoe black tea is a premium grade European grown tea that cannot be matched in flavor anywhere in the world.
Grown in the mineral rich hills of the Azores islands, hundreds of miles away from industrial pollution comes this fantastic full bodied luxurious black tea.
A smooth black tea prized for its beautiful full flavored leaves, mouthwatering fresh taste and distinctive rich aroma.
Harvested fresh annually during the summer months then processed and packaged directly at our eco-friendly tea estate to ensure only the finest organic black tea leaves make its way to your cup since 1883.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very smooth, almost velvety tea, that has a light fruity sip to it. I like the peachy notes I am picking up and quite enjoy its lighter black tea taste. I can’t say this would kick me into high gear first thing in the morning but for an early evening tea when I need that subtle pick me up without making me feel I am being jarred awake – this fits the bill!
I adore peach notes in tea as a general rule and this one is quite refreshing indeed.
The tea steeps into a lovely rusty color and gives off only the slightest aroma of cinnamon.
This tea has absolutely no astringency or bitterness within it and is an excellent tea to have daily as a regular stash tea! I could easily see serving this tea to anyone even if they are not tea drinkers. It is so easy to sip, pleasing, and enjoyable.
From Eurpoe’s oldest remaining tea company the estate is quite impressive. You can find more information about that here.
I am not saying this is by any means the most complex tea I have ever had, but sometimes all we want is a good solid dependable tea we can count on to deliver a quality brew without all the frills.
Personally I would enjoy this tea in the morning when I have a “day off” and can ease into my day or anytime in the early evenings when I just want to kick back and enjoy the moment. Its easy and pleasing. I am enjoying it now and it is soothing me into my evening quite well.
Although it is light in flavor, bright and cherry in its ways, the mouthfeel is thicker, richer, and as I said earlier – velvety almost creamy.
I think that is what makes this tea so very interesting! When you sip you expect something heavier, maltier perhaps, but its light juicy flavor makes you do a double take!
And while this is a black tea, I am detecting some almost vegetal notes within it. For a tea that is not ULTRA complex it does have its curious notes within it!
I will have to figure out how to get more of this in my stash soon and will be sad to see my little sample go.