Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.
Tea Description:
Enjoyed for centuries in China, Jasmine tea is an extremely popular scented tea. Special Grade Jasmine is a quality green tea with long, dark twisted leaves and sweet jasmine buds that produces a blonde liquor and delicate jasmine flavor. A delicious tea for any occasion.
Ingredients: Jasmine Special Grade Green Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
I think that August’s Selection Club box from Simple Loose Leaf is my favorite box yet! Take a look at the selections that came with this box: Lady Earl Grey (I mean … hey, if you’ve read very many of my reviews at all, you know that I’m all about the bergamot, right?), Blueberry White (I absolutely LOVED this and it’s phenomenal served iced!), Milk Oolong (Um … YUM!) and even the honeybush was really nice. And now, I’m drinking Jasmine! Yep, I love August’s box!
And I’m loving this Jasmine Green tea. I steeped it in my gaiwan, starting with a 15 second rinse, and then I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds using 180°F water, and then I strained the liquid into my special Jasmine Yi Xing Mug. I steeped the leaves four more times, adding 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion, until my mug was full with yummy Jasmine goodness.
The flavor is sweet and delicate. The jasmine notes are not aggressive, they are soft and exotic and sweetly floral. These notes marry beautifully with the lush, lightly vegetative taste of the Chinese green tea.
The tea has a pleasant mouthfeel. It’s smooth throughout the sip and dry toward the finish. The aftertaste is sweet and lightly floral. A really enjoyable Jasmine tea.
To learn how you can join the Selection Club, click here. And don’t forget the coupon code for 25% savings. Just type in SISTERSELECTION25 in the coupon field and save 25%! This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.
Jungpana Imperial Autumn Flush (2013) from Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Darjeeling Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
JUNGPANA IMPERIAL is another wonderful tea in offering this season from the vintage Junpana Tea Garden.
This tea has very high “Autumnal tea flavours”. After drinking this tea, you will feel the whole mouth is full of sweetness and the orchid aroma is lingering between your teeth.
Normally for tea from JUNGPANA, you will easily smell the delicate and sharp aroma after brewing. This tea is no different. A perfect specimen for what AUTUMNAL BLACK TEA should be.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Awesome! This Jungpana Imperial Autumn Flush from Darjeeling Tea Lovers is a seriously good tea! I actually found myself questioning whether I’d be happy with it, because when my tea maker finished the brewing of this tea, the liquor seemed rather “light.” And while I’ve had plenty of amazing teas with a lighter liquor like this one, I still have that response, I judge a tea based on its color and this delightful tea just goes to prove that! Don’t pre-judge a tea … let the proof be in the tasting!
I agree with the above description, this tea does have high autumnal flavors. I taste intriguing notes of spice that are contrasted by notes of sweetness. Notes of fruit, earth, wood and flower are also present. It’s a lovely, complex, nicely round cuppa!
Although the color of the liquid is light, there is a pleasing, thick texture to it. Not “heavy” but a rich thickness that gently coats the palate with a delicious sweetness that has notes of fruit (I taste notes of grape, plum, currant and even hints of apple), flower (I don’t know if I’m tasting orchid, but, it’s a lovely floral essence) as well as notes of rustic wood and subtle earth notes that lie beneath the overtones of spice and an almost sugary sweetness.
This is a truly lovely offering from Darjeeling Tea Lovers. If you haven’t yet tried their teas, I highly recommend doing so! Put them at the top of your must try list!
Frances Bissell’s Special Blend from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
The Times Cook (The Times, London) has suggested this insightful blend of Ceylon teas from the Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Dimbula regions. An exemplary Ceylon experience.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened this pouch, I was surprised at how floral it smelled! I generally expect a black tea to have a somewhat earthy aroma, and sometimes a hint of flower will be tucked in there amongst the other scents. But the floral aroma of this Frances Bissell’s Special Blend from Upton Tea Imports is so distinct! It’s quite delightful!
The flavor is also pleasantly floral. But don’t take that the wrong way … this is not an overly flowery tasting tea like, perhaps a jasmine scented green tea might be. But there are some sharp floral notes to this cup. I taste hints of honeysuckle! I also taste a sweet and sour note that reminds me of a just under-ripe plum … or perhaps … now that I continue to sip, it reminds me of a juicy citrus. It is more sweet than sour, and it is quite a delightful contrast to the aforementioned floral notes.
There are also hints of earth, wood and a crisp briskness that is invigorating. It has a very bright flavor – it’s very refreshing. This would make an excellent iced tea, and would be really nice served with a thin slice of citrus to accentuate the natural fruit notes of the tea. I found it quite delightful served hot too. A really nice afternoon pick-me-up.
Organic Se Chung Special Oolong from Frontier Co-Op
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Frontier Co-Op
Tea Description:
Oolong (English) or Wu Long (Chinese pinyin translation) tea is a partially oxidized tea and has flavor characteristics of both green and black teas. The fresh leaves are withered for one to two days and the leaves are then rolled to release enzymes (needed for the next step). Then the tea leaves are allowed to oxidize, although for a shorter period than for black tea, and the process is stopped before it is completed. The tea is fired (heated) to prevent further oxidation and to dry the tea. Oolong teas can vary significantly in flavor depending on when the oxidization process is interrupted having more of a green tea character if interrupted early in the process and more black tea character the longer oxidation continues.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is nice. It reminds me a bit of an Oolong that might be served at a Chinese restaurant – nothing too fancy, just pure, delicious Oolong goodness.
Se Chung Oolong is a darker Oolong, which means that it has been oxidized for a longer period of time. What I typically notice with the darker Oolong teas is that they tend to have a fruitier profile, while the greener Oolong teas tend to have more of a floral note to them. This is true of this Oolong as well. I taste a hint of sweet, fuzzy peaches in the background.
There is also a roasted, nutty kind of taste to this, as well as a warm earthy tone. Because of this toasty kind of flavor, it gives the peach note an almost caramelized kind of sweetness.
Overall, I find this tea to be light and smooth, not too heavy or overwhelming, which is why I think it makes a good accompaniment to a meal – no powerful taste that will interfere with the flavor of the food. This also makes a delicious iced tea because of its agreeable, amenable kind of taste.
A very pleasant tea, not as fancy as some, but, certainly nice to have on hand for times when you want to just sit and enjoy some refreshing Oolong tea.
McNulty’s Special Mixed Blend from McNulty’s Tea & Coffee
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Oolong & Green Teas
Where to Buy: McNulty’s Tea & Coffee
Tea Description:
Our Special Mixed Tea is a blend of Formosa Oolong, Japanese Sencha, and China Black. This formula has been with the store since the 1940’s.
Taster’s Review:
When I first received this tea, I was a bit unsure about its contents. The tea looked black, but it smelled a bit like Oolong and green tea. So, I wrote to McNulty’s to find out more about this blend, which is categorized on their website as only a black tea blend, hoping to gain a little more insight about this tasty tea. They wrote back promptly, and the above description is their response.
This is indeed a tasty blend. The black tea tastes a bit lighter than a typical China black tea, and I suspect that has a lot to do with the fact that it was sharing the brewing space with an Oolong and Sencha.
I taste a toasty flavor to this – nutty – which could be from the Sencha, or it could be from the Oolong. There is some earthiness to the cup as well as some light fruit tones. Light peachy tones, and hints of flower.
Overall, a very pleasant tea. I brewed this before knowing what teas were inside, and again, I brewed it thinking it was a black blend. So I used boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville. However, the high temperature did not seem to scorch the Sencha, as I did not taste a hint of bitterness nor an indication of scorching. Just delicious tea with a pleasant sweetness all its own; no need to sweeten! This is really quite delightful!