Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Beautiful Taiwan Tea
Tea Description:
The premium teas of Taiwan are known for their smoothness, the quality of their soup and their “Chaqi”. Only grown in the highest areas, theses leaves take their time to grow and soak up all the cool mist and the High Mountain air. You’ll feel calm and attentive with this Dayuling sourced High Mountain Oolong.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve heard great things about Dayuling Oolong; and I’m very happy to finally get the chance to try one! The high, high altitude at which this tea is grown (greater than 2500 meters) and limited quantity that can be produced because of the geographical location are a giant part of what makes this tea so special. At $20 an ounce, this isn’t the priciest tea in my cupboard but it’s certainly up there – I can’t help but cross my fingers and hope it’s worthy of the price tag.
I have to say, the leaf is very beautiful; dry the rolled up leaf gives off a very large, ‘thick’ appearance and has a weight in my hands. After the first infusion I could see why; the leaves are so giant – some of the biggest I’ve ever had the pleasure to brew up. Almost every single one is a completely full leaf, and I even picked out a stem that had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR completely intact leaves branching off it. Just stunning!
I certainly wasn’t going to squander this sample by Steeping it Western Style; so I enjoyed a lovely evening Gong Fu session. Sometimes I feel I can get a little stuck in my head when I’m drinking tea or doing Gong Fu in particular and I focus too much on the technical side of things while trying to pick apart flavour – and I didn’t want to do that with this tea so I just kept doing infusions without really taking physical notes; and I just kind of let the tea ‘speak to me’ while I drank it. It’s so delicate and fragile with very lovely, complex nuances! Teas grown at higher altitude tend to be more complex because, due to the altitude, they grow at a slower pace – and that comes through here for sure.
It’s quite a floral tea, that’s for sure – while the infusions I did blend together I remember the first couple had really lovely, pronounced floral notes of orchid, lily, and a bit of violet as well. Incredibly well balanced though; not ‘perfumey’, forced or over the top in the slightest. Other things I noticed were this very cool, crisp freshness. I kind of instinctively want to call that flavor ‘the smell before it rains’ but I don’t know if there’s a technical word for that. I know petrichor is defined as the smell of rainfall on dry soil/earth (and that’s my all time favourite smell) but this wasn’t quite that: it’s the smell of rain before any has actually fallen. No earthiness.
This was such a pleasant, relaxing tea though! I’m not sure how many infusions I got in total but it certainly lasted quite a while and made my evening magical. Probably well worth the price tag just to say I’d tried a Dayuling, but all in all a very delicious, serene taste experience too. I definitely felt a little tea drunk’buzzed afterwards.
Lord Grey from Do You Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Do You Tea
Tea Description:
A delicious, classic, full-bodied tea – perfect for breakfast or anytime.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Earl Grey teas and I don’t always see eye to eye. Sometimes these tea think they need an overwhelming amount of bergamot oil. I think a light touch of bergamot is the way to go. Or a peach tea with bergamot oil or even vanilla. Very few earl greys are staples in my cupboard.
Do You Tea has a nice selection of teas that are unique and catch your attention. Their Backyard Bliss, a mix of jasmine, orange and oolong tea is one of my favorites. From the limited experience I have with Do You Tea offerings, they are crisp and taste fresh and clean. While I was going thru my tea stash and organizing it a bit, I noticed I had this tea that I hadn’t tried yet.
Lord Grey is a mix of Assam & Darjeeling black tea with cold-pressed bergamot oil. I don’t think I’ve had an earl grey blend like this before. I brewed this up with my tea infusion bottle and 195F per the instructions on the package. Let this steep for about 3 minutes and was pleasantly pleased when I took my first sniff of the brewing tea that the bergamot oil wasn’t crazily swirling the air. I only got a subtle gentle note of bergamot.
Took my first sip and Huzzah! The same effect. This tea is perfect for those who like tea that has been lightly kissed with bergamot. The Assam and Darjeeling mix well together providing notes of a buttery texture with malty finishes. This would be a great tea served at afternoon tea with a few sweet treats!
So for all those out there that want to like an Earl Grey but find them a bit too “bergamoty” for your taste. . check out this tea. I think you’ll be glad that you did!
Black Tea from Naveya Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Naveya Tea
About Naveya Tea:
Our fitness tea select best 100% natural detox tea,using flowers and teas to heal your body and soul.We promise all of our ingredients are renowned for their positive effects on metabolism and detoxification.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I drank this tea the other day after having their Jasmine Tea which was very good and a solid green jasmine tea. I had high expectations for this one. This is a straight black tea. Their site that has recently been revamped to market their line of teas as Fitness Teas has quite a nice assortment of teas to choose from. I was glad they sent me this tea and the Jasmine Tea to try.
Brewed this up like a black tea but errored on the side of caution and went with a 2 min steeping time. I didn’t want to oversteep this one. The dry leaves of this tea had a very nice robust malty aroma that I didn’t want to turn bitter.
Let this cool for a few minutes and took my first sip. This tea was delicious and hit the spot. There is just the right amount of malty notes to company the full bodied taste that you get each and every sip. Even as this tea cooled in my traveler mug, I didn’t get any bitterness hitting me or even strong astringent notes. Each sip was a smooth refreshing almost silky like black tea that I found myself wanting more of.
Since my first experience with this tea, I’ve had it a few more times and each time this tea is spot on. So good! I really like this and I am one that likes to take a black tea with me along with my water bottle for my hour drive to take the kids to school and me to work.
My only issue is that they are marketing this as a fitness tea and that seems to be the new craze lately. I read in a Vogue article that we wold be seeing more and more of that this year. I don’t have a problem with companies marketing their teas as fitness teas at all. As long as there are disclaimers were they need to be. Like I said in my review of the jasmine tea. I just really liked the look of their older site with the beautiful floral arrangements and tea pots galore. Those kind of sites are what attract my attention. When I see the site now, it gives me two feelings. 1) I need to go work out and 2) Guilty for not working out. Again, no issue here with them marketing their teas however they want. I just think the tea enthusiasts out there would like the previous site just a bit better.
Regardless, they make some amazing teas!
Mandarin Doce et Noisette from Fauchon
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Fauchon
Tea Description:
Fruity tea with zesty sweet mandarin and warm hazelnut flavours.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The smell of these tea leaves is amazing! I want a candle made from this fragrance. This tea is a black tea with mandarin orange and hazelnut flavoring. I swear there is also dark chocolate in there somewhere but I’m not seeing it on the ingredient list. I hope this tea smells as good as it smells.
I brewed this up like a black tea (212F-3 min) and sat and inhaled the wonderful citrus hazelnut -chocolate aroma. I took my first sip and. . . .
Wow. I’ve heard people talk about Fauchon teas before, but this is my first experience. This tea is delicious. There is a definite mandarin orange flavor with notes of sweet hazelnut swirling around. I typically am not a fan of hazelnut but this one is an exception! The mandarin orange flavor is the more prominent of the two flavors so that may be way I’m really enjoying this. Orange flavors are hard to do just right without tasting like Tang or just artificial. The black tea base is nice because it is allowing the flavors to come thru without overshadowing them. There is a nice malty note in just about every other sip.
Really stellar tea. I only steeped this for 3 minutes but I feel like maybe another 30 seconds or so and the flavor would have even been more pronounced. I wish I had a bit more of this left to try this as a latte. Yum!
For this being my first experience with Fauchon, I’m impressed. Now to dig out other samples of Fauchon that I have. . .
Chamomile Creme from Yellowstone Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Yellowstone Tea Co
Tea Description:
Need a little time to unwind after a long day? Chamomile Creme is the perfect blend of vanilla bean, twig tea, lemongrass, licorice, toasted coconut, chicory, stevia leave, and of course, chamomile. A perfect nighttime tea that’s naturally caffeine free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Chamomile is one of those ingredients that people either love or hate. I am in the pool of tea drinkers that love it. I drink it all hours of the day, not just night time. Chamomile blends iced are delicious and I love drinking it after a larger lunch, like today. I ate just a bit too much so I reached for this tea, hoping it might help.
I brewed this up with boiling water and steeped it for 5 minutes. Then I allowed this to cool off so I could add ice for an iced tea treat.
How did it taste? This was quite good. This definitely isn’t an ordinary chamomile tea blend. I love the additions of the lemongrass and the coconut. The flavors give this blend a unique flavor. What I really take away from this tea is the creamy silk like texture that I’m getting. Very good. I don’t really pick up the stevia and the chicory gives the tea a hint of a roasted profile. The licorice adds in a hint of sweeetness. This is a keeper!