Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Ave
Tea Description:
Our Rose Oolong is a flower tea prepared using the ancient method, in which the tea absorbs the flower fragrance during the baking progress, producing a scented tea that’s aromatic and flavorful without using any additives or chemicals.
We blend our Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong with fresh Taiwanese roses to create an elegant flower tea that is both full-bodied and mellow, with rose petals lending delicate floral notes to a robust oolong body. Rose Oolong has a floral fragrance and a rich, sweet taste. Smooth and exhilarating. Dare we say a little bit like falling in love.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Rose Oolong from Tea Ave is a very ‘pretty’ oolong tea. I say PRETTY because it really DOES have rose petals IN the tea not just rose liquid flavoring. Another reason I’m impressed with the rose in this tea is because it’s incredibly FRESH. Many rose teas I have had in the past the actual rose petals go stale easily and quickly but Tea Ave must have something up their sleeves to keeping them prim and proper!
On to the leaves themselves, shall we? I must start off by saying the Tea Ave is very upfront about their tea profiles as it takes up a good amount of the packaging and product page on their online shop. I really like this about them and appreciate the time and transparency they show by doing so.
The Oolong they use in this rose flavored tea is an Ali Shan Jin Xuan originating from the Ali Shan Mountain Region of Nantou, Taiwan. These leaves are functional for about 4 sturdy infusions.
I found the flavor to be elegant, sweet, rich, and smooth all at the same time. The surprising feature was that it was thirst-quenching as opposed to other rose flavored teas. For this reason I continued with my ‘two thumbs up’ rating.
Thailand Sticky Rice ‘Khao Hom’ Oolong from What-Cha
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: What-Cha
Tea Description:
Has a creamy texture and sticky rice aroma, imparted unto the tea during processing by heating the sticky rice plant’s leaves along with the tea leaves.
Sticky rice scented tea is a specialty of northern Thailand, although traditionally green tea is used, Jin Xuan Oolong produces just as good if not better results.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been wanting to try a sticky rice scented tea for a while now; and when I made my most recent What-Cha order I noticed this one offered on their site so I ordered a sample size to satisfy that deep curiosity. What I didn’t expect was just how accurate or obvious the flavour of the sticky rice would be.
Even from the moment I cracked open the sample packet, the smell of fresh sticky rice was filling up my kitchen and getting me excited with how potent and dead on it was. In fact, my first few sips were so overwhelmingly close to real life sticky rice it was hard to taste or notice anything else. I ended up doing three very strong Western Style infusions before the flavour of the sticky rice started to deteriorate. 2 1/2 tsp. of leaf for a 16 oz. mug, with 85C water steeped for two minutes initially with an extra 30 seconds tacked on with each infusion after the first.
The mouthfeel of the liquor was very soft and creamy and it managed to find a way to creep into every crevice of my mouth. Even though I only needed small sips to get a good sense of the strong flavour with each infusion I found myself taking big hearty swigs just because I loved the feel and taste of the tea so much. But it wasn’t just the mouthfeel that was creamy; in addition to the super accurate flavour of good sticky rice this tastes rich and creamy with a lovely buttery quality as well! Some of the greener vegetal notes from the oolong base cut through as well, particular in the finish which provided some subtle contrast of flavour. One of my favourites about this tea, as well, is that it had a delicate taste but not a subtle flavour; and ever though it’s not particularly complex or nuanced it’s scary accurate and really tasty if sticky rice is your thing.
I actually can’t believe I haven’t heard more people talking about sticky rice scented teas; I feel like I just gained access to some sort of exclusive club! I like jasmine scented oolongs as much as the next tea drinker, but this is ten times as good as that – it’s only been a few hours since I finished that last infusion and I’m already salivating at the thought of another. My 10g sample will be gone before I know it, and I definitely intended to buy more of this once that happens.
Cape Jasmine Oolong from Tea Ave.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Ave.
Tea Description:
An elegant, luxurious tea, Cape Jasmine Oolong has a subtle fragrance of the fog and snow-covered mountains that it was grown on. Cape Jasmine Oolong has a clean, aromatic floral scent, and its flavor is slightly sweet with just a hint of spice. Classic vegetal oolong undertones. Breathe in the mountains.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I received this one as a free sample in my last Tea Ave. order; and while I have not tried this tea previously I did get a chance to try ‘Jasmine Oolong‘ prior to Tea Ave’s launch; initially I wasn’t 100% sure what the difference between the two blends was, but what I’m gathering from reading the descriptions for both is that Jasmine Oolong is meant to be a little more earthy with perhaps some stronger base tea notes while Cape Jasmine is naturally sweeter.
I steeped this one up hot, and drank half of the mug that way and then half after it had cooled down. Initially with the hot cup I thought that the jasmine was coming off fairly dominant, masking most of the creamier milk oolong-like notes of the base tea. The aroma was incredibly strong and lovely, with a plump sweetness to it – but monotone and without much nuance. I far prefer the taste of the cold half of the mug which tasted similarly but had an underlying fruitier sweetness to it, was less aromatic and ‘in your face’ overall, and which also floral notes like peony as well.
As far as the comparison between Tea Ave’s Jasmine blend and this one goes – I had to go back and reread my previous review to refresh myself but I do think there are differences; the former definitely had stronger flavours from the base and was more vegetal overall, the latter (this tea) was sweeter and fruitier and the natural flavours from the base that were present were more the floral/fruity aspects of an oolong rather than the vegetal ones. Think peach! Overall, both were good jasmine oolongs, though it’d be redundant to have both on hand because despite differences they are quite similar. I think I just SLIGHTLY might prefer this one more because of the extra sweetness though.
Peach vs. Bergamot ft. Formosa Oolong from Liquid Proust Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Liquid Proust Teas
Tea Description:
Ingredients: Formosa oolong, marigold, flavoring
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I probably would have never thought to pair Peach and Earl Grey/Bergamot, which is I guess why Andrew at Liquid Proust Teas is the blender and not myself. The idea is intriguing though; and I have to admit I’m incredibly happy to not see apricot or mango thrown in here as well; I get so tired of those flavour combinations. It’s been done time and time again, and it’s refreshing to see something else. The oolong base is really innovative as well; with it’s characteristic fruity flavour Formosa is a fantastic choice.
The dry leaf smells really incredible! You can get a sense of the bergamot as this grounded, lofty sort of flavour but then the ripe, plump aroma of fresh peaches seems to bounce off it! It smells juicy, and I can’t help but picture taking a bite of some sort of fantastic peach/orange hybrid and having the sugary juices running down my chin like some sort of gluttonous child gorging themselves on fresh picked fruit.
In traditional Earl Grey fashion I made sure this was my first tea of the day; however because I got the impression this was going to be more naturally sweet than a lot of EG I’m familiar with so I iced it instead of having it hot. True to my suspicions this was pretty sweet but in a very natural way that was realistic to the sweetness of fresh fruit. The bergamot was actually a lot milder than I would’ve guessed it to be base on the smell of the dry leaf. It ran like a citrusy current throughout each sip, consistently merged with the body of the sip. The peach left me breathless; there was something unnatural about it, but not in an artificial way or anything like that. It was more unnatural in a “how can this taste so plump, rich, and juicy!?” sort of way. I’m not really a fan of actual peaches, but if they all tasted like that I’d go through a crate of them a week. The bergamot and peach compliment each other to a tea; similar to what I was getting from the dry smell the bergamot is this lovely stable flavour and the peach seems to jump off it.
The formosa base was a great choice; while there’s a really faint but of astringency it doesn’t detract and the natural fruitiness of the oolong contributes even more lively fruit flavours. What I specifically observed was a really rich stonefruit like flavour in line with cherry, but a little more of a cocktail cherry type of note, which just goes incredibly well the peach. Plus, oolong means more solid steeps and so more bang for your buck.
As someone who is neither anti-Earl Grey or Peach but who doesn’t seek out those flavours I want to own this. I think I could drink it often; and with a growing list of Liquid Proust Teas that are blowing my mind Andrew is slowly wearing me down to the point where a LP order is probably in my near future despite the poor state of the Canadian dollar. Definitely a blend worth trying!
A final note though, in the battle of bergamot vs. peach I think peach wins…
Da Hong Pao from Cha Ceremony
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Cha Ceremony
Tea Description:
This tea is medium roasted with a subtle earthy, mineral taste, it possesses fruity notes along with a distinct crispness that is unique to rock grown tea such as this offering.
Depending on how you prepare it the tea will take on different notes, we urge you to experiment and take your time enjoying each infusion.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Cha Ceremony is a new company founded by one of our Steepster friends, Marcus Reed. Cha Ceremony specializes in rock grown oolong, also known as yancha. Marcus’s vision for Cha Ceremony is full what he calls a niche market by providing quality tea with great customer service. I think he is on the right track. .
My first tea I am trying from Cha Ceremony is a Da Hong Pao. This tea is beautiful to look at. The long leaves really give this tea a gorgeous presentation. I steeped this up in my teapot and sat down at the table to get to “business”.
This tea was fabulous and so giving. My first infusion was sweet with a mineral like finish. Very smooth and slightly roasted. Very rich and full bodied. I could have drank this tea all night if the flavors would have stayed in this vein. I really really liked it. The different flavor profiles contrasted with each other providing this gorgeous balanced flavor that I just can’t get over. I haven’t had a tea like this in a long time.
My second infusion so still just as gorgeous but there was more of an earthly flavor and -the roasted flavor a bit less. The contrasting flavors still there, all just a bit more subtle.
Third infusion, so fantastic. Earthly roasted goodness. Just heaven. Hints of sweetness creeping back in and this time there are more fruity notes instead of just being sweet.
After the third infusion, I decided to try this as a cold brew so we will see what I am greeted with in the morning. I’m sure this tea would have given more, but it was bedtime and I had my herbal tea still to drink for the night to help relax me.
For my first foray into the world of Cha Ceremony, I’m a happy camper. I want to dive more into what Marcus has to offer and really spend time with his teas.
