Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Oolong
Where to Buy: The Mountain Tea Company
Tea Description:
Our Winter LiShan coats the palate with orchid, pineapple, and vanilla bean. “LiShan” means Pear Mountain and in the past, the most sought after pears came from this place. This highland climate with an altitude of more than 6600 feet above sea level produces especially superior teas. LiShan oolongs are the most fragrant, smoothest, butteriest oolongs, incredibly sweet with a taste of toasted fruit.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have only recently discovered tea from The Mountain Tea Company but I am so very glad that I have.
I have enjoyed every tea I have tried from them so far.
The aroma of this tea in dry form is amazing. Such a strong delicious scent yet so difficult to explain. There is something quite roasty and toasty about this tea yet it is a green oolong. There is a smokey aroma but that does not convey in the steeped cup.
Steeped it is fresh, grassy, vegetal, and crisp. Refreshingly delightful and just simply splendrous cold brewed!
There is such a sweet honey like flavor with a bright clear finish. The sweetness does not linger in a cloying manner but rather leaves behind the flavor of fresh cut grass.
There is a lightly floral note of orchid and some fruity notes mixed throughout the flavors on the palate and a lovely lilting vanilla note that drifts over the taste buds but dissipates quickly making me want more.
While the cup is fresh and bright there is a deep creamy mouthfeel before hand – so the initial taste is that of deeply creamy and buttery followed with the clear cleansing finish.
I know I am just not doing this tea any justice in my review but I am just so very excited to be sipping on this tea right now. I want to sit back and enjoy it yet my excitement to share information about this tea with everyone can’t wait. I just want to get it all out and written down right as the flavors and notes come dancing forward for me so that you can experience in its truest form – outside of having it for yourself. I want you to be in the moment with me while I have this spectacular tea!
I do hope to get more of this before I drink it all, and it won’t be difficult to justify as it is one of the more exquisite teas I could invest in.
As a reviewer I can drink upwards of 10 cups of tea a day, some days more, some less, and I don’t review them all. I only review those teas I would suggest to others. Be it a solid beginner tea, a tea for those who are looking only for the best, or something in the middle. Even though I may not particularly like every tea personally, due to simply perhaps not enjoying a flavor element for example, I try to be quite fair in my reviews. Regardless, this is a tea I would recommend to everyone. Beginners should use this tea as a baseline for all other teas, specifically Oolongs if you are finding you love Oolongs. For those who have been drinking tea for some time you won’t be disappointed in this tea, or The Mountain Tea Company. I certainly am not as experienced as some but thus far I have to say this is one of the most enjoyable oolongs I have had the honor of sipping.
Sometimes we just get so excited about a tea – after drinking one after another – one simply stands out above the others. As for Oolongs, I would stand behind this one hands down as supreme.
Black and White Vanilla Tea by Peter Asher Coffee & Tea
Tea Type:
Black Tea
Where To Buy:
Peter Asher Coffee & Tea
Product Description:
Some people may call vanilla boring, that banal bean for those people too afraid to step out with a real flavor. Well, one cup of this bold and unique vanilla black tea will be enough to show this confused group just how much flavor they’ve been missing.
Peter Asher’s traditional black tea serves as a solid base, a perfect palate to showcase just how complex vanilla can be. This is the tea for the drinker who wants something unexpected. This is the tea for the leaf enthusiast who will not be satisfied with the same old boring bag that the woman next to them is drinking. This is the tea for the drinker with an edge. They may look like a basic black tea person on the outside but if you take a second look you’ll realize they need a little something more, a little something extra that can only be provided by taking a classic and complex vanilla bean and using those crisp flavors to give their mug an little extra oomph.
Tasters Review:
One word summed up my feelings on this little gem the first time I tasted it…and that word was…WOW!
Here’s why…
First…the dry loose leaf aroma was absolutely AMAZING! It smelled like vanilla frosting and NOT the fake kind…the real deal! The aroma does diminish quite a bit once infused but it’s a lovely mellower aroma of vanilla and black tea.
I really like the black tea base in this flavored tea because it still shines thru the flavoring…it’s not out done by the flavoring…and I LOVE that! It’s a nice strong black tea with a neat yet natural (real tasting) vanilla flavor on the assist!
The vanilla is creamy and sweet. It’s a natural-tasting vanilla – more like a bean than faux flavoring – I appreciate that very much! It’s fairly juicy, too, which is different for most vanilla flavored teas I have tried and I’m totally digging that characteristic, too! This is one Vanilla flavored Black tea for the books that is for sure!
Some of you may know my past feelings about vanilla overall but this tea totally changed my mind! It proved to me that all vanilla flavored black teas are NOT created equal. This is a VERY memorable tea! This is a really nice flavored black! A nicely-done vanilla flavor! Two thumbs up and a great big smile from me!
Vanilla Bean from SpecialTea Brew
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: SpecialTea Brew
Company Description:
Black Tea, Flavor, Vanilla Pieces
Taster’s Review:
This tea is so smooth and delicious!
The vanilla flavor here is very nicely pronounced – it isn’t too subtle or underwhelming. It has a nice richness to it. It is sweet and tastes creamy and it tastes authentic, no artificial vanilla flavoring here!
The black tea base is strong enough to hold its own though, and is not overpowered by the strength of the vanilla. While it is not exceptionally brisk or malty, I don’t know that I would want it to be, because then I wouldn’t be enjoying the vanilla notes that I taste right now. That is to say that this tea is just so delicious just the way it is that I don’t think I’d want to change a single thing about it. It has a silky smooth – almost indulgent! – luxurious flavor to it that I am really enjoying.
While this tea would make an excellent candidate for a latte, complete with the warmed, frothed milk, I found it quite enjoyable plain. It is perfectly sweet without adding anything to it. It is also quite tasty chilled!
This is the first tea I’ve tried from SpecialTea Brew and based upon this very positive experience, it won’t be the last.
Calming Tea from Byron Bay Tea Company
Tea Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Byron Bay Tea Company
Production Description:
An exquisite, soothing evening tea combining Chamomile and Limeflower with Vanilla bean and Cinnamon. The perfect way to relax and unwind at the end of a long, stressful day. Pure bliss.
Ingredients: Chamomile* Lime blossoms Passionflower* Vanilla bean* Cinnamon*
- Certified Organic
Tasters Review:
I’ve said it before and I will say it again…YOU DON’T KNOW UNLESS YOU TRY. The reason I say that is generally speaking I am not a fan of most Herbals…unless they are minty.
When I tried this CALMING TEA from Byron Bay Tea Company I had several things running thru my mind…
1. WOW! I’m drinking a tea/tisane that traveled all the way from Australia! COOL!
2. The Labels are simple yet colorful and eye catching and I like that! The colors are vibrant and beautiful!
3. They have excellent customer service – I corresponded with them via email – and it was excellent!
4. This is surprisingly incredible! I was afraid it was going to be herbally and/or boring but it’s a delight!
5. It sort of smells like Adagio’s Foxtrot with a little lime and sweet flower and less chamomile. Well, to the eye, there is a lot of chamomile, but when you taste it – it’s just enough and everything else works well with it! The Cinnamon is barely there…but I think that is perfect- I think any more cinnamon and it would ruin what’s going on with the tisane!
6. This is a tisane I would have again. I am so glad I was able to try it!
7. CALMING by Byron Bay Tea Company just maybe my favorite non-minty herbal to date.