Leaf Type: Black Tea, Oolong Tea,
Where to Buy: sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Description:
This is a smoky robust Tea is a blend of Organic Lapsang Souchong, Organic Se Chung Special Oolong, Organic Assam flowery Orange Pekoe. Each tea brings it’s own flavor profile and combined they create a smoky floral tea. With the addition of Chicory you will experience a coffee like tannins, Organic Cocoa Nibs & Organic Vanilla Bean introduce a smooth rich flavor and aroma and the Fenugreek seed helps bring all these unique flavors together as one with it’s milky sweet flavor.
This tea has a muted smokey flavor yet rich and creamy with coffee undertones.Learn more about this tea here
Taster’s Review:
WOW!! Okay for reference, I am not a huge Lapsang Souchong fan, at the same time I do not dislike it, I quite enjoy it every now and then but only every now and then. I am quite picky about my Lapsang Souchong teas, and I have to be “in the mood” for them. With that said … I absolutely feel I have been converted to being able to drink Lapsang Souchong daily!
Why? Because this tea, with the addition of oolong, and chicory, the cocoa nibs, the vanilla, ALL OF IT, just makes this such a delicious blend! I am not too familiar with sTEAp Shoppe or their teas, as a matter of fact I knew nothing of them until last week when they were offering some samples and of course I jumped on that bandwagon. This so far is my favorite from them and I have to admit I was hesitant to give this a try because I really am NOT that big into Lapsang Souchong, oh sorry I already said that. Seriously though, I reluctantly opened the package and the smells that came up into my wanting nostrils were AMAZING! I instantly knew this was no ordinary lapsang souchong! I can safely say that THIS tea should be their flagship tea! I feel they will be converting a lot of LS non believers into LS lovers very soon! Now all I want to do is go meander over to their site and see what else they have to offer because they clearly are working hard to get their blends perfect!
The smokiness in this tea is going to be a wonderful compliment to the vegetarian chili I am in the process of making, its smokiness is not over powering whatsoever, and the vanilla gives it just the right amount of creamy sweetness without being a sweet tea. It would hold up well to cream and sugar if you enjoy that in your tea. There is a quality chocolate undertone from the cocoa nibs but also I am very picky about chocolate flavored teas and absolutely hate any fakey artificial chocolate flavors, this has none of that nonsense! Did I mention that sTEAp Shoppe uses all natural and organic flavors? They do!
The chicory is pleasant and would also be something coffee drinkers could appreciate without making your tea taste like coffee! This has such a perfection of balance and all things wonderful I just can’t go on enough about it. You would think I had blended it myself I am so proud of this creation! Good work sTEAp Shoppe!
Thanks for allowing me to try this one!
Zin Hsuan Golden Daylily from Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong, Mei Shan, Taiwan, Winter 2011, Late November Harvest
Where to Buy: Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Description: A full bodied oolong famous for its soft crème aroma and light green infusion. A particularly nice large leaf High Mountain varietal. It is really quite smooth, crisp, and refreshing,
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Have you ever had one of those teas that simply puffed up so much that you didn’t have enough room in your gaiwan, cup, steeping basket, etc… for it?
This is one of those teas! As if given miracle growth water the tiny little nuggets just poofed up into this huge puffy cloud of tea leaves. Beautiful!
I did a quick rinse and then steeped my first sampling. In the dry form we have typical oolong nuggets that smelled of earthy soil but that was nothing of the taste in this tea.
The first aroma to hit my nostrils was corn, sweet corn. First sip was also that of a sweet ripe corn, but perhaps a white corn rather than yellow. The mouthfeel was of milk, cream, and butter. I do love a creamy buttery tea.
When I ordered this from Stone Leaf Teahouse I had called to have a few question regarding their teas and website clarified and John Wetzel, at Stone Leaf was so accommodating and helpful. Which we all know good customer service is key in any business. John explained some of the differences between teas and helped me choose teas that I would most enjoy and he hit my taste buds as if they had a target on them! I am loving the flavor profiles of this Zin Hsuan which John educated me the literal translation is Golden Daylily.
The color of the cup is such a faint golden color that at first I was suspicious that there would be any flavor in there! To my delight I am finding my cup to be full of rich wonderful flavors and aroma!
The leaves unfurl into long stems with three to four leaves attached.
I was able to get multiple steeps from the leaves though out the day and with each cup the flavors held strong and true.
This is a lip licking tea that keeps you wanting more but it is rich and decedent! Dare I say a dessert tea? Normally I use the words “dessert tea” for flavored teas however this creamy delight for me is one that says YUMMMM Dessert!
If you too love flavor profiles that scream creamy, milky, buttery, with a vegetal hint then you must get some Zin Hsuan Golden Daylily from Stone Leaf Teahouse!
Milky Oolong from Steenbergs Organic
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Steenbergs Organic
Tea Description:
Milky Oolong loose leaf tea from Steenbergs is delicious, refreshing and quite sweet in flavour. This Oolong tea comes from China. Drink without milk.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My first impression of this tea came with the opening of the package. The tea looked different from other Milk Oolong teas I’ve encountered. Usually, the leaves are all pretty uniform in size and shape, typically wound into a tight pellet. These leaves are less uniform, with some very tiny leaves, some pellets, and some leaves that appear to be in a twisted shape rather than a pellet shape. But the leaves are a pleasing, dark forest green color and possess a lovely fragrance that is floral and sweet, so I decided they definitely deserved to be tasted.
The flavor is delightful. It has a sweet, creamy flavor – quite what I’d expect from a Milk Oolong – but there’s more to it. It isn’t quite as creamy as some Milk Oolong teas I’ve come across. Whether this means that the leaves get their “Milky” status naturally or if they’ve been flavor enhanced, I don’t know, but, I believe it means that these is a naturally derived “Milky.”
It has a very pleasant floral note to the flavor, a little sharp and agreeably sweet. I like that while it is a sweet Oolong (I can’t recall ever tasting a Milk Oolong that wasn’t sweet), it isn’t overly so, and it isn’t saturating my palate with a creamy sweet taste. The flavor overall is quite light and smooth.
The earlier infusions tended to be creamier than the later infusions, and with each subsequent infusion, I notice a slight fruit note that begins to emerge. It’s a sour fruit – which seems to immediately evoke thoughts of sour apple. However, I don’t know that I would actually describe the note as a sour apple note. Whenever I think “sour fruit,” sour apple is what usually pops into my head. This is more of a juicy, stone fruit but with sour overtones. It is more like a sour mango to me.
The vegetal notes begin quite softly as well, with mere hints of vegetation appearing in the taste in the first couple of infusions, and more of a grassy/vegetal note presenting itself in the later infusions. It never really becomes overwhelmingly vegetative, and it mingles quite nicely with the other flavors of this cup.
This is quite a pleasant Oolong overall, one that is deliciously complex and refreshingly light. It is one that kind of “grows” on me, and I find that the more that I sip on it, the more I like it.
