Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: White Lion
Tea Description:
Natural Italian oil of Bergamot gives this tea its crisp citrusy bouquet. An all time classic, this tea is Sir Aubrey’s favorite.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yay! Earl Grey!
The dry leaf aroma is intensely bergamot with notes of bold top citrus notes and and undertone of a slightly floral note. The aroma of an Earl Grey tea is one of the things I love most about this traditional favorite, and so I was eager to taste this new-to-me Earl Grey!
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch tea maker and poured 500ml of water into the jug. Then I measured out two bamboo scoops of the tea into the basket and set the controls for 205°F and 2 1/2 minutes. The brewed tea is dark in color with a considerably softer fragrance than the dry leaf, but I can still detect the bergamot very clearly.
The bergamot flavor is much more subtle than I usually desire from an Earl Grey tea, but I can still taste the distinct notes of bergamot. Sharp, tangy notes of citrus that are much more focused if I slurp the cup to aerate the tea as it hits the palate. The aftertaste has a clear citrus note. This tea gets bonus points for a low astringency, as I find that many Earl Grey (or other citrus teas, for that matter) tend to have astringency. Here, the astringency is mild.
The black tea has a pleasing robustness to it. It’s very smooth in flavor from start to finish. It’s a little bit earthy and a little bit malty, and the malty notes meld with the bergamot in a very favorable way. The tea is strong and rich in flavor. It’s a medium to full bodied tea that would make a good late morning cuppa or early afternoon cuppa.
This would be a good Earl Grey for those who are timid when it comes to their bergamot. The bergamot is flavorful but not overdone. It is mellow enough for those who find a strong bergamot flavor to be too overpowering for them, but there is enough bergamot here to know that you’re drinking an Earl Grey.
Personally speaking, I prefer my Earl Grey to have a stronger bergamot essence, but I am enjoying this cup. I like that the tea is organic and it has a very satisfying flavor. It’s a good Earl Grey and it’s of good quality.
That said … this tea is best iced! I usually prefer my Earl Grey the same way that Captain Picard does … hot. But, this particular Earl Grey tastes best iced. The bergamot really pops as the tea cools!
White Calypso Tea from White Lion Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: White Lion Tea
Tea Description:
Exotic white tea leaves with tropical temptations! Mango, sweet guava, and a splash of grapefruit gave this tea its island soul.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh, YUM! This White Calypso Tea from White Lion Tea is really tasty.
The Mango and guava are sweet and luscious, while the grapefruit notes are bright and uplifting. It’s tropical, it’s sweet and a little bit tart, and it’s well-balanced. It’s a taste of the tropics in a teacup.
I like that while the fruit flavors are strong, the white tea is not overpowered. I’m not sure what type of white tea is used for this blend, but based on the color of the leaf, I suspect it’s a Shou Mei, or perhaps a blend of Shou Mei and White Peony. The flavor tastes a bit more like a Shou Mei than a White Peony to me.
The mango and guava meld together seamlessly. It’s a very unified flavor. The grapefruit is the star of this fruit medley, in my opinion, because it shines bright. The mango and guava tastes sweet and juicy, but the tartness (and that hint of bitterness) from the grapefruit bring this flavored tea to life. The grapefruit seems to dance on my palate!
I steeped this tea for 4 minutes in 170°F water. When it comes to white teas, I usually I use 1 1/2 to 2 bamboo scoops of tea to 12 ounces of water (I have a bamboo scoop similar to this one), however, with this tea, the leaves are cut to a smaller size so I only used 1 scoop of tea to 12 ounces of hot water, and this worked out perfectly. A very flavorful cup!
This tea would be an excellent choice for mid-day, when you’re looking for a tea on the lighter side but one that will give you a little energy boost to keep you going.
Quilan Oolong from White Lion Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: White Lion Tea
Tea Description:
Quilan Oolong Organic Tea is a traditional oolong with a full, round, satisfying finish that connoisseurs will surely appreciate.
Canister, 9oz $37.00Glass Jar, 2oz $15.95 Sample Tin, 0.7oz $4.75
25 Sachets In Bulk $16.80Silver Keepsake Tin with 18 Sachets $15.50Sample Tin with 5 Sachets $4.75
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Quilan Oolong from White Lion Tea is scrumptious, and its organic! I love this oolong! I too am not always fond of Wuyi – I like it but this is the first one I can recall that has really WOWd me!!
The aroma – wow – when I had that first whiff of this tea before sipping I instantly thought of Burnt Marshmallows! Now I indeed do love my marshmallows burnt till they are pitch black as long as there is still yummy melting marshmallow inside. This was the aroma! There was that smokiness to it that really had me.
I have to say, anytime I get a sample sized tin of any White Lion Tea I end up ordering more of it. I have learned my lesson and from now on I will always just go ahead and order a glass jar of their teas! So far I have sampled six White Lion teas and each one of them is above stellar!
This tea truly does hold up to multiple steeps without losing any of its flavor. In addition I experience the same flavor from the first two steeps before I get any change to the notes. Even once the notes begin to change they evolve more than dissipate which is indicative of an excellent tea.
I rated this tea a 100 on Steepster it is so good.
There are notes of caramel, vanilla, burnt sugar, rock mineral, toasty, roasty, and smoke to name a few.
The cup is a dark but clear amber color.
The flavor left on the palate is Wuyi all the way, with that clean rock mineral and fresh water taste, granted I am using good quality water to brew my tea, but this flavor comes more from the tea itself.
The tea is full but not so robust. The mouthfeel more light than heavy, yet its not a thin feel either. This is one of the more difficult to explain mouth-feels for me.
This tea is also perfection iced and I will be sipping a lot of this Quilian Oolong iced this summer!
Ginger Peach Black from White Lion Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: White Lion Tea
Tea Description:
This tea combines the succulent flavor of peaches with a hint of ginger. One of our most popular blends, this tea is fabulous over ice!
Loose Tea
Canister 14oz $31.00
Glass Jar 3oz $15.95
Sample Tin 1oz $4.75
Sachet Tea
25 Sachets In Bulk $16.80
Silver Keepsake Tin with 18 Sachets $15.50
Sample Tin with 5 Sachets $4.75
Wrapped Sachet Tea
10ct Black Keepsake Tin $14.50
40ct Case $35.70
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ginger Peach Black from White Lion Tea is juicy, succulent, delicate, and joyful. There is just the right level of ginger in this tea so that it allows the gorgeous sweet peach to shine through. The peach flavor in this tea tastes very natural, as if fresh picked right off the tree in an orchard. This is not a fakey flavored peach tea, so it won’t be as in your face as some peach teas you have tried before, but it is so well blended that you taste the peach flavor lingering on your taste buds long after each sip, if you can wait long enough to find out that is, because all you want to do is take another sip!
The aroma has a nice spicy note to it from the ginger but again, that amazing peach note really springs forward!
It reminds me of spiced peaches I used to make for the kids around the holidays. This makes me want to make some right now!
White Lion Teas says this is excellent over ice so I had to try it this way as well and I must agree that the flavors totally popped! I also found that adding a little rock sugar made another wonderful twist on this tea too! Either hot or cold I really enjoyed this tea just slightly sweet. I do not normally add sugar to my teas but in this case I just wanted this to be a little more on the dessert side after thinking of the spiced peaches I used to make the kids.
My son was visiting – which is rare these days as he is always on the go. He tried it and really loved it even though he is not a tea drinker. I would have had my daughter enjoy some as well but sadly she is allergic to ginger.
I also found that adding rock sugar makes the ginger flavor more prominent.
I won’t say this is my all time favorite from White Lion Tea as their Lemon Souffle really owns that spot in my heart, followed by about three others I prefer over this one, but this would make it to my reorder list for sure!
The wonderful thing is that so far I have yet to meet a White Lion (tea) that I do not like. Stellar teas from this company!
Lemon Souffle from White Lion
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: White Lion Tea
Tea Description:
White tea leaves, tart juicy lemons, vanilla and caramel essence.
Available in loose leaf, and sachets.
Sample size also available.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have searched high and low for a tea like Lemon Souffle from White Lion. This tea is exceptional. I knew I wanted something creamy, because I am a big fan of lemon desserts, and I knew I wanted something some what sweet for that reason. I also knew I did not want the tea so sweet that it was cloying or unnatural flavored. I wanted to taste the lemon but I didn’t want it to make me pucker. Even though the description does say “tart juicy lemons”, it is not a puckering sour lemon. I wanted to be able to taste the base tea, and therefor I really did not search out white bases too often because I was concerned that the base would get lost among the flavorings. With the exception of a handful of companies, blended teas are not often accompanied by quality base teas, rather the companies defer to the flavoring components to make up for the base. Not in this case! What we have here, is a perfect creamy lemon tea in a flavorful white base.
The vanilla and caramel essence do not take over the cup, but rather play supporting roles, helping the tea taste like a lemon creme brulee or lemon cream tart.
I had ordered only two sampler sized teas from White Lion and the box I received was simply awe inspiring! Now I admit, I am a sucker for a pretty package, but for ordering only a mere two samples, which arrived in such lovely tins, the box that it arrived in was nothing sort of complete elegance! You can see photos of the packaging here. Forgive my iPhone photos please. My photos truly do not do the package justice.
After sampling the Lemon Souffle I knew I had to make a larger order right away because this is THE lemon tea that I have been looking for!
Customer Service from White Lion has been excellent thus far. They were out of the glass jar containers I so desired and offered me an option to wait for more to be in stock or to have my tea shipped in their plastic containers. I opted to wait, as I really do love those corked topped glass jars.
For the record, the other tea that I bought a sample of was also amazing and I ordered a larger jar of that as well.
If you want a tea, in a tasty white base, that reminds you of a gourmet lemon cream dessert, then don’t hesitate to try Lemon Souffle from White Lion. You will feel like royalty when you open your box, and be quite pleased with yourself for placing an order when you sip their teas!