Today I thought I would take a moment and enjoy a tea. Like really enjoy. It seems sometimes life just goes by so fast that the art of taking the time for yourself gets set aside for another day. At least that is how my life seems with a house full of twin teenagers, a pre-teen boy and a 7 year old with a puppy nipping at the heels of all of us. I just feel like sometimes I don’t take the proper time to reflect. So today, that is exactly what I’m going to do.
Traditionally, I don’t find myself drinking straights teas and that is a shame. I always seem to gravitate towards those unusual flavored blends, and there is nothing wrong with that. I just feel that maybe I need to become more of a well rounded tea drinker and that starts with this oolong from Tea from Taiwan.
Oolongs and green teas are my favorite. Especially when they have that particular rich buttery undertone and a hint of a creamy finish. Those are my favorites. I was hoping this Cui Feng Oolong would deliver those notes for me. After my first cup of this brew, I have to say this tea definitely delivers.
The first infusion delivered a fresh slightly floral vegetal notes swirl around your tastebuds with a lingering astringent hint. There was a lovely
creamy finish to end each sip. So many different flavors that really work well.
With the second infusion, I noticed those vegetal notes lessened quite a bit and gave way to a buttery tone that helped make that creamy finish even more prominent. There are hints of a sweetness through each sip. Really lovely and soul warming.
Third infusion was very similar to the second infusion. Lovely buttery notes with a tender sweetness.
All in all, this tea is delicate yet robust at times. I loved the simple yet complex notes that came across with each infusion. Intriguing and extremely interesting. One of those teas that you never seem to set your cup down while you are drinking it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea from Taiwan
Description
Li Shan Cui Feng Oolong Tea
This is an exceptionally smooth, full flavored oolong tea from the Li Shan (Pear Mountain) tea region of Taiwan.
Cui Feng (翠峰) oolong tea is grown at an altitude of 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) in cool, moist conditions, producing some of the best oolong tea in the world.
Cui Feng brews to a rich, honey-colored liquor, highly fragrant and with a smooth, robust flavor, full in the mouth.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spring Harvest Laoshan White from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love Verdant Tea. I don’t know of anybody who doesn’t. Their love, passion, attention to detail, and most importantly, their tea is just simply amazing. Tea that you can steep again and again and enjoy for an afternoon. I have tried several of their teas and have loved the flavors of each one.
And this one is no exception! This Spring Harvest Laoshan White (which I’m not finding on their site) is a gorgeous white tea that has resounding notes of a green tea mingled within each glorious sip. Brewed up like a white tea, I allowed the tea to steep for about 4 minutes. Took my first sip and just took a moment to enjoy.
This tea has a gorgeous vegetal feel with notes of a floral touch here and there. Simple but so wonderful. Each infusion brought me a slightly different profile but for the most part, this tea really has a nice solid vegetal feel sweetened by a glorious floral note.
Another really well done tea from Verdant Tea! If you haven’t tried Verdant Tea, I highly recommend you do! They have a great starter pack for only $5. A great deal!
Thurbo Moonlight from The Tea Shelf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Shelf
Tea Description:
A signature spring harvest tea from the mystical hills of Darjeeling, the fluffy soft textured admixture of single leaves, both rolled and open, are complete with bright silver buds. The light golden liquid is a very clean tasting tea, with a subtle floral bouquet accompanied by notes of apple and honey. A remarkable tea which expresses itself beautifully.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea’s pouch was one of those teas that I happily found int he back of my tea stash. One of the problems with having a nice large stash of tea, teas seem to hide and almost get forgotten. I was excited to see I still had a few offerings from The Tea Shelf to try. So far, I’ve enjoyed checking out their selection.
From the very first looks of this tea, it looks just bright and happy. The tea leaves are a gorgeous light green with twinges of yellow popping thru here and there. Just a tea that screams for spring to come back to us here in the Midwest.
Brewed up per the package instructions, this tea’s brew has such a gorgeous color, a really lovely amber coloring. First sip in and this tea is just spot on. All of those gorgeous slightly vegetal notes combined with a subtle malty flavor with hints of a floral touch. A really nice complex cuppa that gives you a variety of different flavors in each sip. I would almost say this tea is a nice cross between a black, white, and green tea.
I’ll be sipping on this tea for some time. Just gorgeous and hitting on the right notes for me today! Yum!
Cinnamon Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong from Stylin’ Tea Blends
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Stylin’ Tea Blends
Tea Description:
Phoenix Dan Cong is a premium variety of china oolong teas, grown and processed in Mountain Phoenix, Chao Zhou, Guangdong. Dan Dong Teas are noted for their ability to naturally imitate the flavors and fragrances of various fruits and flowers, such as honey orchid, cinnamon, sweet-potato. According to history record, Dan Cong was served as an imperial tribute tea in Song Dynasty. This Tea is very popular in China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was in a mood today for oolong. Been drinking it all day actually. Today was just one of those days were you wanted something rich, comforting, and a bit more complex.
Digging thru my tea stash I stumbled upon this beauty. The leaves were gorgeous- dark and slightly twisted. They yearned to be brewed up!
Brewed these up with water prepped at 195 per the steeping parameters and I allowed them to steep for about 3 minutes. I was greeted with the most marvelous flavor! Rich, deep, well balanced, slightly vegetal, but so incredibly smooth. This is was of those lush silky teas that give you that whole mouth feel and leave you craving more as soon as you finish your first sip. A gorgeous blend for sure and one that I’ve now brewed up a few times-enjoying each cup.
I can’t say that I picked up any cinnamon like flavors but I did pick up the sweet potato like resemblance and oddly enough the honey orchid profile. Those two flavors mingled together so nicely. Sounds odd to say that they did but I finished off this tea in no time. A really fabulous tea for those days when you need a tea to comfort you all along your way!
Hunan Mao Jian from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
While looking for the best teas in Changsha, we found this organic green tea. Not every occasion demands the best tea, so this is a nice one to drink more often.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mao Jian has become one of my favourite green tea varieties over the last year or so, and I’m always pleased to try one that’s new to me. This Hunan Mao Jian from Harney and Sons looks pretty much as I’d expect – thin, wiry leaves that are a little curly and twisted, a fairly uniform dark green in colour, and pretty long (most around 2cm, but some more like 5-6cm). Dry, it doesn’t seem to have a great deal of scent. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 170 degrees.
