Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This quality Lishan Hong Xiang milk oolong tea is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Jinxuan varietal. This milk oolong is naturally processed with no artificial flavoring. The aroma of this tea is very floral and milky, and the taste is intensively and naturally sweet, and delightful milky. The aftertaste is very sweet and long lasting. This tea stands up well to multiple infusions, and it is smooth and delectable with almost no bitterness. A healthy and pleasant milk oolong we recommend.
Lishan Hong Xiang Milk Oolong, also known as Pear Mountain Oolong, is one of Taiwan’s highest mountain oolong teas. Li Shan Mountain is located in Taichung County of central Taiwan, and it is renowned for producing the highest quality high mountain oolongs. The tea plantations of Li Shan range in altitude from approximately 1600 meters. The loose tea leaves are thick and juicy with a rich fragrance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this Lishan Hong Xiang Milk Oolong from T-Oolong Tea has a very strong aroma that is vegetal with notes of flower. Once brewed, the vegetative notes soften significantly, allowing the floral notes to be expressed more fully.
Ah … this is NICE! I’ve often touted my love for Lishan and Alishan Oolong teas. This one is a perfect example of why I love these teas so much. It’s so sweet and creamy.
Now, granted, sweet and creamy are two generalized tasting notes that you would expect from any Oolong touting a “Milk Oolong” identification. But, let’s face it, some Milk Oolong teas are better than others! And this is one of the very best that I’ve tried. And it’s milkiness is natural, this is not an Oolong that has been flavored to taste milky or creamy.
I combined the first five infusions in one cup, and this cup is absolutely divine. There is a lovely complexity to the tea, with a smooth, creamy taste and texture, an exotic floral sweetness (orchid perhaps?) and mere whispers of vegetal notes.
Currently this tea is not in stock, but this is one of those teas that it’s well worth the effort to check in occasionally with the company to see when it is restocked. It’s so good!
In The Mood Herbal Tisane from Hari Tea (Shoti Maa)
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Hari Tea
Tisane Description:
We appreciate the magic of the moment and celebrate that what is gives us and the world.
This tea stimulates your senses from the first sip and awakens your awareness of how nice it is to be alive: Orange treats with sweet, Hibiscus promises romance, pepper makes you awake for the adventure of the moment.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
So, hibiscus is supposed to be an aphrodisiac? That’s what I’m getting from the above description (taken from the Hari Tea website). If so, this is something I did not know about the herb.
It doesn’t make me like hibiscus any better.
This In the Mood Herbal Tisane from Hari Tea (Shoti Maa) has a bit too much hibiscus for my liking. What saves it for me is the notes of orange and the spice. The spicy notes, especially, help keep the cup interesting and detracts the palate from feeling inundated by the thickness of the hibiscus infusion. The spice also keeps the cup from being too tart. As it is, it’s drinkable for me, but, I can’t say that this is my favorite beverage.
It’s alright though. The orange gives it a little bit of sweetness, and a juicy taste – it tastes almost like there’s a couple of drops of freshly squeezed orange in this. I like that. I am wishing I could taste more of the other spices that are in this blend, particularly, I’d love to taste more of the licorice (or liquorice) and the cardamom. Every once in a while, I’ll notice a note pass my palate that I’ll think … “oh there it is!” but, then it disappears as quickly as it appears.
Overall, this wasn’t horrible. But, I don’t think it put me in the mood for anything other than a desire for some black licorice.
Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Description:
This is truly a classic tea! It makes a great hot or iced tea. We have finally found the perfect lemon tea. This one has a mild and smooth lemon flavor with a hint of creaminess, reminiscent of lemon meringue pie. It is naturally caffeine free. Ingredients: Rooibos, Green Rooibos, Honeybush, Lemon Bits, Calendula and Cornflower Petals, and Flavoring.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Teas is easily one of the better Lemon Meringue Pie teas/tisanes that I’ve tasted. It’s totally YUM!
The base is a combination of red (or oxidized) rooibos, green (or non-oxidized) rooibos, and honeybush. I think that this is a winning combination. I’m not big on rooibos, but, when they’re combined with the honeybush, this seems to soften that sometimes “funky” taste that goes along with rooibos. And since green rooibos is much better tasting than red rooibos … this brings out the fruity character to the rooibos rather than that woodsy/nutty flavor. Nice! The honeybush still offers some of that sweet honey-esque tone and just a hint of nutty taste that accentuates the “pie-like” quality of this tisane.
The lemon is a softer, sweeter lemon, much like the creamy curd filling of a lemon meringue pie. I taste notes of vanilla too, and this brings a meringue-like quality to the cup. And every once in a while, I could swear I taste just a hint of butter that seems to imitate a pie crust like flavor together with the nutty tones of the honeybush.
This blend works together so well. Sweet, lemon-y goodness! A nice dessert-y treat that you can enjoy any time of the day … you can even make it a late night snack since it’s naturally caffeine free!
Organic Silk Dragon Jasmine Green Tea from David’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Tea Description:
Made from premium green tea, our Silk Dragon is a limited-edition treasure. To create it, night-blooming jasmine is gathered in the morning and kept cool all day. In the evening, when the flowers burst open and release their scent, they are placed with the tea until midnight. This is repeated with fresh flowers over the course of five nights, infusing the tea with a most magical flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ahh, Jasmine. The last jasmine tea I had (a day or two ago) was made using a jasmine scented oil … and I know I’ve told you how much I detest that kind of jasmine tea. This Jasmine tea though … this Organic Silk Dragon Jasmine Green Tea from David’s Tea – it was scented properly. And when I have a jasmine tea that was properly scented like this one on the heels of a jasmine tea that has been flavored with jasmine oil … it makes me appreciate the efforts that go in to a properly scented jasmine tea all the more.
The jasmine here is sweet and soft … and absolutely LOVELY!
The green tea is earthy, sweet, and has a nice vegetative tone to it. It tastes slightly more on the “earthy” side than on the vegetative side … which is a bit unusual for green teas, but, I’m not finding it to be too earthy for me. It is smooth and has a very silky texture. It isn’t bitter, and there is very little astringency.
The jasmine is really pleasant. It isn’t an overly strong jasmine – those of you who don’t like an overly strong jasmine flavor would probably find this jasmine to be right up your alley. The jasmine notes are evident but not overwhelming.
This tea isn’t anything fancy … but then … sometimes, there’s nothing quite like a pleasant, simple cup of tea and that’s what I’m liking about this tea. It’s jasmine … and it’s a very enjoyable cuppa. I also like that this is an organic and fair trade certified tea. It’s good hot or cold, but, since the weather has been warm lately, I’ve really been liking this one iced!
Black Raspberry Tea Blend from Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
This is one of our own tea blends. Green and white tea is combined with black raspberries.The combination of China green and white tea brews up to a light and sweet liquid that combines perfectly with black raspberries. Ingredients: Fair Trade Certified TM Organic China Green Tea, Fair Trade CertifiedTM Organic Pai Mu Tan, and dried black raspberries,and Organic Natural Flavoring
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
YUM! OK, first of all, I have to admit that I found the name a little confusing. I form a lot of pre-tasting conclusions and/or opinions about a tea just by reading the name of the tea, which is probably something I shouldn’t do. But I can’t help it. And when I read “Black Raspberry,” I jumped to the conclusion that this would be a flavored black tea blend. So imagine my surprise when I opened the pouch of this Black Raspberry Tea Blend from Trail Lodge Tea and immediately recognized the Pai Mu Tan and Green Tea leaves! Not so surprising were the big, whole, dried black raspberries … but I expected to find black tea leaves, not white and green tea leaves!
The aroma is positively delicious. It’s one of those fragrant teas that just got my taste buds excited by taking a whiff and taking in the amazing black raspberry notes. My mouth was watering, and I could hardly wait for the three minutes infusion time to pass. (I infused this tea using a low temperature water – just 170°F and steeped the leaves for three minutes, and I’m very pleased with the results!)
This is YUMMY! The green and white teas pair up to create a delicious base that is smooth and slightly creamy. The creamy notes accentuated the raspberry tones very well. The tea tastes a little vegetative, a little earthy, and very crisp and refreshing! It has a light taste that sort of dances over the palate; it’s invigorating … but not in the same way that a black tea invigorates and energizes… this is more of a gentle, inspiring invigoration. Like a sweet cleansing of the palate.
The raspberry is the star of this show, but, even though it is the “key note” here, it does not overwhelm the base of green and white teas. Trail Lodge Tea has achieved a delightful balance with this tea. This is one of the nicest raspberry teas I’ve tasted in a while. The raspberry is sweet yet tart, and there is that tingly, tart note that rests on the palate in the aftertaste … but, it isn’t as powerful as *other* raspberry teas tend to be. And as one who is not typically a big fan of tartness, I find this gentle tingly sensation to be quite refreshing and enjoyable.
My only complaint? This tea disappeared way too quickly from my teacup! It is one of those teas that I just can’t seem to stop sipping until it’s gone! Delicious!