Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
A perfect tea for afternoon enjoyment! This delightfully light tea brews to an ecru color and has the taste of baked goodies with an undertone of an earthy oolong. The rich, exotic aroma is accompanied by the smooth, delicious taste of coconut macaroon with vanilla accents. Great hot or cold.
Ingredients: Oolong tea, cacao nibs organic, vanilla beans, organic coconut pieces, flavorings and blue cornflower petals.
Brew tea at 195º – steep for 4 minutes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The other day I came home to an incredibly considerate package from Simpson & Vail. I just love this company and recommend them all the time. They have an amazing story, customer service, and a line of tea that just makes you drool.
This oolong has been one that I instantly grabbed out of the box and have been drinking ever since. I had just finished up my a delicious flavored oolong from Handmade Teas and was wanting another one. This one is completely satisfied that craving!
I scooped a few spoonfuls into my tea pot and prepared my water to 195. The lovely tea blend had a rich bright coconut aroma. I couldn’t wait to try it. I allowed the tea to steep for about 4 minutes and poured myself a huge cuppa. Sat down and took my first sip.
You ever have a day where you need a cuppa tea just to soothe your soul after a rough day? This tea is the answer! A lovely dose of roasted toasted coconut and oolong with a sweet creamy vanilla undertone and a very very slight chocolate note. Wow, this tea is one of those teas that reminds me why I drink tea. I can’t get enough of it. I’m typically not a fan of tea blends that feature coconut as the spotlight but this one has the perfect amount of coconut that mixes so well with the oolong. The flavors just go together perfectly. I’m literally on my fourth cuppa of the same infusion and I can’t get enough.
If you haven’t tried Simpson & Vail, I highly recommend taking a second and checking out their offerings. You’ll be glad you did! I’m off to brew up another cup!
Mountain Organic Indonesian Oolong Tea from Tea At Sea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Tea At Sea
Tea Description:
Organic grown in the Halimun Mountains of Indonesia at 800m above Sea-Level. Treated with natural spring water and fresh mountain air. These 35% oxidized tea leaves have a honey milk aroma, light creamy taste with a hint of marine. Wake up the tea leaves and steep around 100°C and watch how the leaves slowly unfold to extract their natural flavour. Enjoy!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mountain Organic Indonesian Oolong Tea from Tea At Sea has consistently high ratings over at Steepster. I tend to agree with those high ratings but here is my take on this specific tea.
Upon opening the package it looks and smells like your average oolong but the taste is what I will be focusing in this review! First impressions on this first sip were great! First and foremost I had a strong honeysuckle flavor smack my taste buds from the very beginning. Then there were other floral and semi-sweet grassy notes to follow. In follow-up sips and at shorter steeping times I noticed more buttery, creamy, and milky type flavors come into play. An interesting find with a lingering aftertaste was the hint of peach I could pick up on as well.
As long as you don’t over infuse this one you should have ‘smooth sailin’ with this one. Pardon the pun but seriously…Mountain Organic Indonesian Oolong Tea from Tea At Sea is a nice, solid yet smooth, greener tasting oolong that I enjoyed very much!
Nepal Oolong from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
Located 6000 feet above sea level, in the misty hills of Pashupatinagar, Ilam, is this family owned Organic (EU) and ISO certified garden. The teas grown here are of some of the most interesting and spectacular teas that will tempt your taste buds into new levels of enjoyment. This garden is the first one in Nepal to use the technology, machinery and expertise available from Japan. The Aarubotay tea bushes are a combination of Japanese, Chinese and clonal varieties that produce the best of Nepalese teas. Try some today and, from the first smell of the dry leaf to the taste of the brewed tea, you will be convinced that this family has achieved success!
An enchanting Oolong experience! The dark brown, twisted, tippy leaves brew into a pale amber cup with mild, mellow, well-balanced flavors and delicate peach/apricot undertones. (Note: This crop was picked earlier in the year and is lighter tasting than the 2014 Oolong.)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am a huge fan of Simpson & Vail. Their teas are delicious, fresh, and always ones that you can rely on. I had never tried any oolongs from them so I was excited to check out their oolong offerings.
This oolong was nothing less than exceptional. I brewed this up with fresh water at about 190 degrees or so for about 4 minutes. I sat and watched the gorgeous leaves swirl around in my steeper. I couldn’t wait to for the tea to finish brewing. The dry leaf had such a nice and refreshing note about them with a slight touch of being roasted.
And that is exactly what this tea tasted like! A slightly vegetal amazingly light and refreshing slightly roasted oolong. So many gorgeous flavors in each and every sip. There was a stonefruit sweetness that I could pick up here and there, but it wasn’t a solid note throughout the tea. So well balanced and such a great tea to keep you company all day. I’m on my third infusion and am devouring this tea like crazy.
Such a great tea from such a great company. If you haven’t checked out Simpson & Vail, I would encourage you too. They are wonderful to shop with. I just love a tea company that provides amazing teas and amazing customer service!
Orchid Oolong from Conundrum Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Conundrum Teas
Tea Description:
This semi-balled oolong was processed with medium oxidation it has a roasted chestnut and honey flavor with a refreshing mint finish. Balled Oolong’s are best enjoyed over multiple short infusions, as the ball unfurls throughout the steeps, different flavors are released along with the leaves. The brewed tea has an intense yellow color and it smells like a bamboo forest filled with orchids.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
So far every tea that I have tried from Conundrum has been simply amazing. Their teas are high quality and take you on an tea infused adventure with every sip. Recently I tried their Orchid Oolong and I have to say, the tea delivered on the flavors promised in the description!
Orchid Oolong is described as having a yellow color and a fragrance similar to a bamboo forest filled with orchids. I can’t say I know exactly what that smells like but it sounds amazing! The fragrance I was getting from this gorgeous dry leaf was one that I would compare to as being a roasted vegetal aroma with a twist of sweetness.
Brewed this up in my GROSCHE steeper (I just love that steeper!) and prepped my water at 190 degrees or so. I allowed the tea to steep for about 4 minutes before placing the steeper on my mug for the tea to be released. I loved watching the tea leaves uncurl and unfurl while dancing around in the water and steeping. Such a fun sight!
I allowed the tea to cool for a moment and took a huge sip. Oh my! This tea is just delicious. Gorgeous and romantic while being a bit mysterious as well. You have the lovely roasted tones as your backdrop for this tea while there is a sweetness towards the middle of the sip. Towards the end you almost get a buttery note that reminded me of a green tea and a simply to die for floral note. I could sit here and drink this all day and I think I will. This is just the first session with this tea. I can’t imagine what the flavor will transform into after a few more sittings.
Rhubarb Oolong from Stylin’ Tea Blends
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Stylin’ Tea Blends
Tea Description:
Unfortunately no longer available, but if you see this tea, you have to grab it!
Other Oolong offerings from Stylin’ Tea Blends. . . . . . .
Taster’s Review:
I know. A rhubarb tea.. . how odd, right? I thought so too. Probably why it took me so long to give it a go. Let’s start with how this tea looks. This tea had the most gorgeous oolongs intertwined with a few larger rose pieces. A really stunning blend.
The aroma this dry leaf gave off was sweet and slightly floral. I had always thought rhubarb was more of a tart flavor so I was very shocked and pleasantly surprised when my nose encountered this glorious aroma. This tea released an aroma that I want bottled in air fresheners and candles alike.
I brewed this up like I do my oolongs- about 190F or so and about 3 minutes to start. I still had my hesitations. My brain kept saying- This tea has RHUBARB in it!!! And I honestly couldn’t get past it. Finally the tea had cooled slightly so I could take my first sip.
Ever have a tea that made you hear glorious singing and just made you sigh? Well this tea did just that. I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever had rhubarb before but I’m seeking it out! This tea was brilliant, bright, and vibrant. The oolong was a mellower base allowing the flavors to really produce a solid feel. The flavorings were slight, but enough so there was this slightly sweet yet tart flavor with just a kiss of floral love. I can’t describe how amazingly light and refreshing this tea was. This is a tea that will make you dream about the next cuppa you get to have of the blend. It was that good and I still can’t get over how much I adore this oolong blend. I wish it was still available from Stylin’ Tea Blends because I want gobs of this tea. I actually felt like crying after the 6th steeping and I knew it was getting close to the time I would have to head home for the day. I knew I would have to say goodbye to this tea but I am hoping a quick google search will get me more of this gorgeous blend.