I’m not sure sure WHY but for some reason I thought Spring Hickory Oolong Tea from Plum Delux contained CHICORY in it but it DOESN’T. Which is ok because I’m not a HUGE fan of Chicory but I don’t necessarily hate it either. So at first when I Spring Hickory Oolong Tea from Plum Delux I was thinking to myself…’wow…the chicory in this isn’t that bad’ well that’s because there isn’t any in there that is why! Okay..crazy tangent over…on to the actual review of this tea…shall we?
Spring Hickory Oolong Tea from Plum Delux DOES contain oolong, orange peel, cinnamon, and pecan essence. I would say that the ratio or breakdown was ‘pretty even-steven’. So 25/25/25/25 split of flavors on my tongue!
I have enjoyed Spring Hickory Oolong Tea from Plum Delux both HOT and COLD. I cannot decide which I like better. Both have an extremely pleasing flavor which is flavored oolong with orange-cinnamon. The pecan flavors do seems to shine more when cold, however.
I’m not sure if this is a tea that would be enjoyed specifically in the spring months. I’m enjoying Spring Hickory Oolong Tea from Plum Delux months later and I think it’s pretty fabulous!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Plum Delux
Description: Relax into the unfolding of seasonal change as we go from winter to spring. Contains: Oolong Tea, Orange Peel, Cinnamon, Pecan Essence,
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Oolong Tea from Buddha Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Buddha Teas
Tea Description:
Over the years, many different varieties of oolong tea have been produced, each with their own style and flavor, however traditional oolong tea remains the most popular among these.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oolong has historically been my nemesis, although I have to say at this point that I’ve only ever tried loose leaf oolong with one exception (Teapigs Tung Ting Oolong, which is pyramid bagged). This oolong is also bagged, and in fairly small, square paper affairs that really don’t look like they’ll provide much room for leaf expansion. Even dry, the leaf fills up at least half of the space in the bag. One cute touch is that each paper tag has a different phrase – my current bag declares “love is ecstacy”, and my second “appreciate yourself and honor your soul”. Something to muse upon as you wait for your tea to brew? I added the bag to a cup of water cooled to around 180 degrees, and gave it 2.5 minutes. The resulting liquor is a medium golden brown.
Once wet, it’s clear that the leaf is shredded quite finely, and it becomes waterlogged and soggy quickly. The leaf expands to fill the bag, but not as much as I thought it might. I guess the fine shred means that there are no large leaves to really unfurl. Looking at the leaf, this would appear to be a dark or roasted oolong. It has the signature scent that’s often one of the things I like least about oolong – metallic and a little sweet.
To taste, I’m more impressed that I expected I would be. I’m not the world’s biggest Oolong fan, so when I find one that’s palatable and enjoyable to drink, a bit of a celebration ensues. This Oolong is initially very nutty, in the way of pecans or maybe walnuts. There’s a slightly bitter tang that I associate with walnuts especially, which only reinforces the comparison for me. The mid-sip contains a little of the metallic flavour I so dislike, but it’s not over-strong and I’m finding I can ignore it without too much trouble. There’s a note of slightly burnt toast as well, which puts me in mind of autumn and open fires. It’s a fitting flavour profile for this time of year! The aftertaste is smooth and a little sweet, with an almost honeyed texture. It’s a pleasant, flavourful cup, reminiscent of a Formosa Oolong. I’m not sure which variety it actually is as the packaging gives very little away, but that’s where I would peg it.
I enjoyed this cup, which seems a strange thing for me to say given my history with Oolong in general. The nutty, toasted notes pair well together and are very complementary, which probably has a lot to do with it. I’d drink this one again, and I’d happily recommend it either to those who are just beginning to explore oolong (as an accessible entry tea), and to Oolong-phobes who are looking to be proved wrong. It’s made me reevaluate my feelings about dark and roasted Oolongs, in any case!
Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Oolong/Mate Blend from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea & Yerba Mate Blend
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Sometimes necessity really is the mother of invention. We didn’t quite have enough of either roasted mate or Fujian oolong left to make a full batch of a new blend, so I decided maybe we should blend them together, and the toasty Fujian oolong is a great compliment to the roasted mate! Even better, we paired it with organic caramel, cheesecake and pecan flavors with real pecans. This is a yummy treat you’re not going to want to miss out on.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
This morning, I was in dire need of some caffeine. It may come as a complete shock to you – but I’m guessing it won’t! – but I am addicted to caffeine. And occasionally, I’ll go a little longer than I should without a cup of caffeinated tea and I’ll feel the withdrawal headache come on. This was the case this morning when I woke up: caffeine headache! Ack!
When I get a caffeine headache, I generally turn to one of three types of “tea” to help rid me of the headache quickly. I either whisk up a bowl of Matcha or I brew up a cup of Yerba Mate or Guayusa. Usually, I reach for Matcha, but I don’t like to drink Matcha on an empty stomach and since I haven’t yet eaten anything and I can’t even think about food until I rid myself of this nagging pain in my skull, I decided to go with either Yerba Mate or Guayusa.
Fortunately, I remembered that I had some Yerba Mate to try in the form of this Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Oolong/Mate blend from 52Teas! So I grabbed the pouch and measured out 1 1/2 bamboo scoops into the basket of my Kati Tumbler as the kettle was heating 12 ounces of water to 185°F.
My go-to temperature for an Oolong is 180°F and for Yerba Mate it’s 195°F. Since this blend contains both, I decided to heat the kettle to somewhere in the middle.
I steeped the tea for 3 minutes and waited about 3 minutes to let the tea cool. Mmm!
OK, let me just say that I really did have my doubts when I first read the description of this tea. Seriously? A blend of Oolong and Mate? It sounded very strange and I wasn’t sure how I’d like it. But this WORKS! The nutty notes of the Oolong work together fabulously with the roasted flavor of the Mate. This profile offers the perfect backdrop for the pecan flavor which is the star of this show.
Deliciously nutty, I love how the top notes of warm, roasty-toasty nutty flavors marry with the mid-notes of sweet, decadent caramel. By mid-sip, I start to pick up on the creamy notes of cheesecake with just a touch of tangy cream cheese flavor.
This tea is so much better than I ever anticipated it being and guess what? No more headache either! This tea gets two thumbs up for being a deliciously rocked-out combination of tea bases that I would have never imagined together before now. And if I had an extra thumb, I’d give the tea another thumbs up for helping me with my caffeine fix! Unfortunately, I don’t have another thumb, so I’ll just say: Bravo, 52Teas!
Date Nut Bread Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic honeybush is the perfect compliment to this melding of delicious and aromatic organic flavors, including date, orange, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and pecan. This might seem like a strange thing to flavor an iced tea like, but just wait til you try it!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I just ate some Spicy Sriracha Cosmos and let me tell you, my mouth is on fire! Acha-cha! Spicy!
So, I needed something cold and refreshing and easy to drink (read: gulp!) to help cool my palate. Since I brewed this Date Nut Bread Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas last night so it could chill in the fridge overnight, I figured it was the perfect thing to help me cool down my mouth.
And not only did it do just that, but I was happy to say that the flavors came through LOUD and CLEAR even though my palate might have been somewhat impaired after eating those spicy nuggets of fluffy goodness. (It’s the very good kind of burn!) After a tall glass of the tea, my mouth was feeling back to normal, but I wanted to wait a while before I finished the review so that my palate was back to a functioning level.
So now that my taste buds are refreshed and ready to taste things again – I’m really amazed at how much this actually tastes like date nut bread! I taste the dates – this is a strong flavor. The nutty flavor comes from a hint of pecan flavoring as well as the natural nutty flavor from the honeybush. I taste notes of a cake-y/bread-y type flavor, as well as notes of brown sugar and butter and just a dash of cinnamon.
There is a bright note to this that didn’t taste immediately like “orange” to me until I got to the aftertaste. The aftertaste has a sunny orange flavor. I like that while I can taste the orange and cinnamon here, these flavors were added carefully and offer more of a gentle note rather than overpower the tea.
It’s a surprisingly refreshing iced tea. Not flavors that I would normally think of when I think “Iced Tea” but it works and works very nicely!
Eggnog & Pralines Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Tea Description:
The mellow green teas in this blend are the perfect base for a light version of a glass of eggnog and praline cookies. This tea is creamy, sweet, light and refreshing all at the sametime. Lightly roasted pecans mingle with the vegetal note of the green tea that we are glad wasn’t covered up. Dare we say it – this tea tastes just fantastic sweetened up.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE that Amoda Tea treated their subscribers with three unique Butiki Teas for their Christmas tea box? Every month, Amoda Tea sends me an exciting collection of three tea samples, and I’m very happy to receive each and every box – some boxes are more thrilling than others! – but this box just may be my favorite thus far.
And that’s because all three teas in this box are not only from one of my favorite tea companies – Butiki Teas – but each of the teas have been created exclusively for Amoda Tea for this box. You can’t get these teas anywhere else! How seriously awesome is that?
This Eggnog & Pralines Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas is the second tea in my special Holiday box that I’m trying. And it’s amazingly good. That, of course, comes as no surprise, because Butiki Teas blends their teas to please the palate – and they succeed every time. I can’t recall a time when I’ve been really disappointed by a tea from them. Again, some teas are better than others, but even those that are not my favorites, I can usually find something worthwhile to enjoy about those teas.
The green teas used in this blend are organic Mao Jian and Glenburn Estate green teas. The flavor of the green tea shines through nicely here, with notes of sweetness and a slight vegetal tone. There is a buttery note that melds harmoniously with the eggnog notes. Very creamy!
The flavors add a hint of custard-y flavor that’s sweet and luscious. The praline notes are a little less distinct, but they’re there and just as the description suggests, it’s a little “cookie-ish.” I drank this tea with just a little bit of turbinado sugar to pump up the volume of the flavors. It’s delicious without the sweetener, but, with a half a teaspoon of raw sugar, the notes of praline really POP!
With this tea, you don’t need to leave milk and cookies out for Santa – just a cup of this tea! It’s a perfect treat!