Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Le Palais des Thés
Tea Description:
Pure Indulgences Lavender is an exceptional new flavored tea featuring a single natural ingredient.
This magnificent green Oolong tea from China is combined with fresh lavender, whose powerful fragrance spices up the tea’s plant notes.
Semi-oxidized Oolong is a specialty of China and Taiwan, this tea comes in many varieties depending on the growing region, tea plant variety, and manufacturing process.
Pure Indulgences are the result of a lengthy process of selection and development, motivated by the quest to find the perfect balance between the tea leaves, which have their own gustatory characteristics, and the finest ingredients (delicate pieces of fruit and flowers and only all-natural extracts).
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A really nice blended Oolong, this Pure Indulgences Lavender Oolong Tea from Le Palais des Thés! When I first opened the package, I wasn’t too sure, because the lavender aroma is rather jarring! I can’t recall another tea experience when the fragrance of lavender was more abundant.
And although the flavor of the lavender is prominent, it doesn’t overwhelm the Chinese Oolong tea used in this blend, nor does it come off tasting perfume-y. Instead, the lavender marries beautifully with the natural floral notes of the Oolong, creating a bold flowery note that is sweet and feminine without tasting TOO floral.
The Oolong tastes light and buttery with a delicious creamy undertone and notes of vegetation. These flavors weave their way in and out while the dominating floral flavor present throughout the sip. My favorite part about this tea is the way that the natural sweetness of the Oolong and the sweet notes of the lavender intertwine and create this really delicious, delectable sweetness.
Later infusions become a little less lavender-y, a little less floral, and allow for the other notes to surface. The lavender is always there, though.
I get why Le Palais des Thés has chosen to add this tea to their “Pure Indulgences” line of teas. It has a very indulgent flavor to it. As I sip it, it evokes thoughts of relaxing in a warm bubble bath. And while the flavors are strong, there is a soft, calming essence to the tea because the lavender is … just a soft and calming herb.
A really nice tea – this is one I’d recommend to those who love lavender teas … or Oolong enthusiasts who are looking for something a little different.
Green Tea Jasmine Orange from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tea Description:
Since ancient times freshly brewed tea pot was considered a part of luxury living. Today, “Tea of Life®” offer you the same luxury in its Green tea with Jasmine & Orange flavors.
Taster’s Review:
Before opening the package and sampling this Green Tea Jasmine Orange from Tea of Life, I had my reservations. One of the only teas that I do happen to enjoy from the seemingly most popular *grocery* store brand (you know which one I’m talking about, don’t you?) is a green tea jasmine orange tea, so, I hoped that I’d have a similar experience with this tea.
However, I was worried because it appears (by what I’m reading on the packaging) that this is a jasmine flavored tea rather than a jasmine scented tea, and I don’t usually have positive experiences with jasmine flavored teas. (Although I’m over the moon for jasmine teas that have been properly scented rather than flavored with oils.)
But I’m actually quite satisfied with this tea. The flavors are well balanced with the tea – I taste tea and jasmine and orange in every sip. The jasmine doesn’t taste funky or off. It tastes light and sweet. The orange adds a sunny note to the cup and that’s something that’s very welcome on a gray day like today. (It’s cold and drizzly!)
The green tea has a pleasant grassy note to it – but it isn’t a bitter grass taste. It’s light and invigorating and sweet. The orange is also sweet, but there is just a hint of tartness to the citrus note that really gives the cup some ZING.
A nice tea to relax to on a cold winter day … and it would also be a very refreshing iced tea to cool off with when the weather gets warm.
Rose Oolong Tea from Zi Chun Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Zi Chun Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Our tea master produces our popular Rose oolong by scenting oolong tea repeatedly with fresh rose petals. The outcome is a fresh tasting oolong with a pleasant rose aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Rose Oolong Tea from Zi Chun Tea Co. is absolutely lovely! Rose scenting is not normally something I associate with Oolong teas, usually, I can find rose scented black teas with no problem but rose scented Oolong teas are less common.
But I love the sweetness and slight sharpness that the rose imparts on the soft, silky Oolong tea leaf. This Rose Oolong does not have an overpowering rose essence, it’s delicate and allows for the beautiful complexity of the Oolong to emerge.
This Oolong is a greener Oolong, so the flavor is buttery and floral, and the floral notes of the Oolong marry well with the rose tones, making this an obviously floral Oolong but, I like that I’m not overwhelmed by floral notes as I sip this. I don’t feel like I’m being beaten over the head with flower bouquets!
I brewed this the way I would normally approach an Oolong – in my gaiwan. After a quick rinse, I infused the leaves twice (first infusion was 45 seconds, and the second was 60 seconds), and combined the strained liquid from both infusions into one cup. My second cup was produced similarly, using infusions 3 and 4, and the third cup was comprised of infusions 5 and 6.
The first cup was the most delicate tasting of the three cups. It had a soft, silky, buttery texture and a soft buttery taste to go with it. There were distinct floral notes. There is a barely-there note of vegetation in the background. Mostly with the first cup, what I taste is sweet floral notes that are a little sharp around the edges but not in a perfume-ish way, buttery notes and an undertone of honey-like sweetness.
The second cup had a much creamier undertone than the first cup, the soft and silky notes turned into a very rich and creamy taste and texture. The rose remained the top note, but, it is somewhat softer now, offering a very pleasant, subtle rose note that is much more subdued in this tea than you might experience from a black Rose Congou. I like the rose like this … I like it a lot! There are hints of nutty background notes, and a very enjoyable sweetness that rounds out this cup.
With my third cup, I noticed the flavors starting to meld. The nutty background notes previously mentioned are a little more prominent, but, the rose still remains the top note. A sweetness that reminds me of honey. There is less creaminess now, more floral notes, and a hint of what tastes almost like a tart apple in the distance.
This tea is a must try for the rose tea fans out there. I really like how different rose tastes with Oolong tea as the base!
Lapsang Souchong Black Tea from Tea Forté
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Tea Description:
Exceptional, large leaves delicately smoked over smoldering embers of local pine for a tea with strong, smoky character. The burnished liquor delivers a teasing crisp quality in harmony with hazel-sweet notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though the photo above shows Tea Forte’s “signature” pyramid sachet, this Lapsang Souchong Black Tea actually came to me in loose leaf form, which I prefer over the sachets. Sure, the sachets are fancy and elegant, but, I’ll take the superior flavor of a loose leaf tea over fancy elegance any day.
Not a bad Lapsang Souchong. I brewed this with a quick rinse (15 seconds in boiling water and then strain the liquid and discard) and then for 3 minutes. The flavor is robust and smoky, with notes of caramel and a sweet nutty note.
I think that it’s the underlying sweetness of a Lapsang Souchong that actually won me over to the smoky side. I wasn’t always a big fan of smoky teas and Lapsang Souchong seems to be the smokiest of them all, so it was usually on my “least wanted” list. And while I can’t say that I LOVE Lapsang Souchong now, I don’t dislike it the way I used to.
Because once you get past that heavy smokiness, you find all these wonderful layers of sweet caramel and even a sweet nutty tone that melds beautifully with the toasty notes of the smoky essence. It becomes less like a “campfire” (or other, less appealing descriptives) and more like a sweet, toasty, cozy cuppa that I enjoy curling up to now and then.
It would seem that some Lapsang Souchong teas are more smoky than others and I would say that this one from Tea Forté is not quite as smoky as some that I’ve encountered … it’s what I’d categorize as a medium smoky quality as compared to some of the heavier smoked Lapsang Souchong teas. Sure, it’s still SMOKY but it’s less intense as some I’ve tried, making this an excellent choice for those who are looking for a good, middle-ground sort of Lapsang Souchong. An enjoyable cuppa.
Sacher Blend Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
Inspired by the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, this is a traditional blend of Darjeeling with a hint of Ceylon. The blend is then lightly scented with oil of Bergamot and a hint of genuine Bourbon vanilla. The result is a floral Darjeeling surrounded by soft, fruity, citrus notes. A new formula which we find especially pleasing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I came across this Sacher Blend Tea from Upton Tea Imports in my stash, the thought that immediately came to mind is one of my favorite television shows: Grimm. Most of the show is filmed in Portland, Oregon, which is what drew me to start watching it in the first place and one of the reasons I still love the show. Portland is almost like one of the “characters” of the show, and I feel like I “know” Portland … or at least am somewhat familiar with my odd neighboring city.
Anyway, the reason this tea reminds me of Grimm is because some of the scenes over the last couple of seasons have been filmed in Vienna and the main location in Vienna is the Hotel Sacher. So when I found this tea in my stash, I was excited to try it. Is that nerdy of me?
I was even more excited when I opened the package and I realized that this was an Earl Grey blend! I could smell the bergamot – one of my favorite scents when it comes to tea! The bergamot aroma is softer in this blend than in some other Earl Grey teas that I’ve sampled, and even though I do love a good, strong bergamot (so long as it’s a good quality bergamot!) I also have an appreciation for the more subtle approach when it comes to bergamot.
And Upton took the subtle approach with this blend. The bergamot is not just a softer fragrance, but it is also represented in a more delicate way in the taste. Oh, it’s still there, definitely! But the flavor is not in your face. This Earl moves in on you slowly but surely, enveloping you in its flavor. I think that this could be an Earl Grey that those who are typically put off by the strong, perfume-y taste of some Earl Grey blends, this is not perfume-y at all. This is sweet, tangy, and uplifting.
The black tea base is a blend of Ceylon and Darjeeling teas, and this provides a mild, light-to-medium bodied tea that seems to glide over the palate. There is nothing heavy to this cup, making it a perfect choice for an afternoon tea. It is a mellow, gently invigorating cup of tea. One of the better Earl Grey teas that utilizes Darjeeling in the base that I’ve come across.
This is something I could definitely see myself sipping in Vienna at the Hotel Sacher, and hopefully avoiding any unfortunate encounters with Wesen.