Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Licious
Tea Description:
Wulong tea has become quite popular in recent years, owing mostly to its reputed weight reducing properties. In any case, Wulong offers a brisk, strong flavor and vibrant aftertaste that will make it a delicious choice even if you are not trying to lose weight. This particular blend has added fruity touches courtesy of the passion fruit and other assorted real fruit pieces for a tea that is exceptional in flavor and aroma. Ingredients: China green oolong, marigold and passionfruit.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This Passion Fruit Oolong Tea from Tea Licious has a delicious, sweet, fruity flavor with just enough tart notes to it to keep the taste interesting.
The aroma of the dry leaf is very fruity. Once the leaves are brewed, the sweet notes in the fragrance temper a little bit, and I notice more of a vibrant “tea” scent and not so much of the strong fruity tones.
The passion fruit notes really play to the fruit notes in the tea. Usually with a greener Oolong like this one, I tend to notice more of a “floral” tone than a fruity one, but, here I notice more of the fruity notes of the Oolong, with the flowery notes sitting off in the background to provide a little contrast and complexity.
The passion fruit flavor is really well defined in this tea. I’ve tried a few passion fruit teas where the flavor isn’t always as prominent as I would have liked it to be, but here, the flavor is definitely passion fruit. It doesn’t hide. It’s loud and proud, but even though it is a foreground note, it doesn’t overpower the sweet, lush notes of the Chinese Oolong.
The texture is soft and smooth. Subsequent infusions of these leaves allow the flavoring to subside just a little bit and allow for more enjoyment of the Oolong’s complex qualities.
A really delightful tea – this makes a FABULOUS iced tea!
Berry Flavored Oolong Tea from Tea Licious
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Licious
Tea Description:
China green oolong, safflower, blue flower and acai berry.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm … this Berry Flavored Oolong Tea from Tea Licious is pretty tasty. But, it took me a while to get to the point for me to determine that I liked it. After a quick rinse of the leaves, I really wasn’t all that crazy about the first infusion. I mean, it was OK. But, I don’t know that I’d actually say that I liked that first cup. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t like it. I was just kind ‘meh’ about it … kind of neutral.
Then I decided to give it another shot, and I re-steeped the leaves. The second infusion is quite tasty! And now that I’m tasting the second infusion, I think I’ve figured out what it was about that first cuppa … the acai flavor was just too bitter … that it threw off the natural sweetness of the Oolong tea. With this second infusion, the flavors have melded somewhat, and the bitterness of the acai has softened. Now I taste just a hint of that bitterness, but, now, because it’s a softer bitter tone, it actually contrasts the cup in a nice way … I like the way the sweet, creamy Oolong with its floral tones tastes with the tart berry.
This tea is best enjoyed when it’s hot, I think … and it’s one that you definitely want to infuse more than once. The second infusion was delightful, so I took it for a third infusion, and this cup was also quite pleasant. The flavors are softer, but it’s still a very flavorful cup. The third cup is the smoothest of the three, while I would say that the second cup had the roundest flavor … very palate pleasing. As for that first cup, I’d suggest trying it with just a little sugar (or perhaps a teeny pinch of salt!) to offset the bitterness of the acai.
Overall, an enjoyable Oolong … and one that proves to me once again that sometimes it’s a good idea to give a tea a second chance!
Assam Doomur Dullung from Tea Licious
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Licious
Tea Description:
A sweet, malty rich and aromatic black tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There are few teas that I find more rewarding first thing in the morning than a delicious, single estate Assam like this one. It is bold, rich and satisfying, and it has that certain strength to it that I look for when I am choosing my first-thing-in-the-morning tea.
This is sweet and malty, as the description states, although, I don’t find it as malty as some other Assam teas that I’ve tasted. Instead, this has an intriguing balance between malty and wine-like taste. Usually, I find that Assam teas are either malty or wine-like … but this one seems to bring both qualities to the cup.
It is also quite smooth and full-flavored, with a pleasing roundness to it. It does have a little astringency to it, but I find that the astringency here plays to the wine-like characteristics.
A very enjoyable Assam, one worth checking out!
Huckleberry from Tea Licious Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Licious Teas
Tea Description:
Black tea, huckleberry and blackberry leaves.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I may be wrong here, but I do believe that this is the first Huckleberry flavored tea that I’ve tried. I guess that’s because the humble huckleberry isn’t as popular as its cousin the blueberry … but it sure is tasty!
The black tea is pretty mild here, I suspect it is a Ceylon base. But, that’s OK, because the mellow flavor of the black tea allows for a strong berry flavor to shine through. The huckleberry flavor is a little tart and a little sweet … just slightly sweeter than a blueberry, but with that distinct berry tart note that delicately tickles the tongue in the finish.
Overall, this is a very tasty black tea. It tastes good hot, but I prefer it iced. A pinch of sugar enhances the berry flavors. This is the kind of tea that you’ll want to brew big pitchers of for your next picnic or BBQ with friends and family – everyone will love it.
Gyokuro from Tea Licious
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Licious
Tea Description:
“Precious Dew” Japan’s pampered child of green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Do you like green tea? Have you ever tried Gyokuro?
Gyokuro – which translates to “jewel dew” – is the gem in the Japanese green tea crown. It’s so sweet and delicious! It has a vegetative note, but, it is unlike a typical green tea “vegetative” taste. It doesn’t taste grassy, exactly, nor does it taste like vegetables – steamed or otherwise – but, it has hints that lean toward a sweet grassy taste and a vegetable broth without tasting quite like either one.
I know that I’ve probably said this before about another Gyokuro that I’ve tried (or maybe more than one other), but this is one of the nicest Gyokuro teas that I’ve tasted. I say that often, I think, because Gyokuro tea is one of those outstanding teas that taste so remarkable every time you try it, it is almost like nothing you’ve ever tried … even though you’ve tasted Gyokuro before … if that makes sense! (And by “you” … I mean me.)
The flavor is sweet with a lovely fruit note to it that is almost plum-like, but without the tartness of a plum. Instead, this is just juicy and sweet. The texture of the tea is broth-like (thick, smooth and almost even creamy!), which kind of gives it that vegetable broth essence that I mentioned earlier.
I do think it’s important to brew a Gyokuro correctly. The tea leaves are extremely delicate, and they should be brewed at a low temperature. The suggested parameters on the Tea Licious website are 185°F but I think that may be too hot. I prefer to steep Gyokuro at 160°F for just 1 minute and 30 seconds. This produces a clear, light jade colored liquid that is a pure delight to sip.
If you’ve not tried Gyokuro before (or even if you have), I highly recommend trying this one from Tea Licious! I think you might fall in love with it just like I have!