Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tea Flowers
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Tea Description:
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) flowers once a year in Fall. This is the time just before the plant produces seeds and goes into winter hibernation.
Yunnan Tea Flowers
These 100% organic tea flowers are from the southern Yunnan province of China and harvested from old growth tea trees indigenous to the area. The native peoples of this region are among the few tea-growing cultures with a history of tea flower harvesting.Jing Mai Tea Forest
Jing Mai Mountain is home to one of the largest Old Growth Tea Forests in southern Yunnan. The area has been called a Tea Forest Museum with trees ranging from 800 to 1200 years old.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though I’m categorizing these Organic Tea Flowers from The Tao of Tea as a “fruit/herbal tisane” … it’s actually a product from the Camellia Sinensis plant. And while I do not consider myself to be a caffeine expert when it comes to tea (or any food product, for that matter), I think that because it does come from the tea plant, the flower does have some caffeine in it … probably not very much, but some.
But, I’m not finding it to be very stimulating, which is good because I’m drinking it rather late at night. It’s actually quite soothing. I love the pollen-y taste of this, it is sweet, almost honey-esque with nectar-like tones. It has a smooth taste and feel to it. It has some earthy tones, and some delightful floral notes. It’s light and easy to drink.
I like that it has a natural sweetness to it, making it an enjoyable, sweet relaxing beverage to drink later in the day when I want something that tastes a little bit sweet but I don’t want something that will make me feel guilty later. With this, I can have something sweet without that guilt … and without too much caffeine to keep me awake all night!
At the time of this writing, I see that Tao of Tea is currently out of stock of this product … I hope they get it back in soon … because the flowers age well (like a pu-erh) it is something I’d like to keep on hand and I won’t have to worry about it becoming stale.
Yunnan Golden Strand Spring 2011 from Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Description:
Jinggu, Spring 2011
Smooth, velvety, nutty
The most delicate combined with the robust; a skilled harvest of just the tips of the tea plant, exposed to the outside world for one day, then processed as black tea. Features characteristic earthy tones of Dian Hong, yet yields an incredibly soft, sweet cup. Notes of grape, slight pepper, and olive.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Yunnan Golden Strand Spring 2011 from Stone Leaf Teahouse has the sweetest bready flavor. It reminds me of raisin bread, or fig cake. There is even a yeasty quality to the sip that makes it even more like a true gourmet baked good.
While it is sweet, very sweet, there is something interesting about this tea that brings it toward a savory note as well. I do get the olive note that is mentioned in the description, and just a light taste of black pepper, which is very nice, but I also taste bulgar wheat, and milo.
The mouthfeel of this tea is heavy but not thick. It fills the mouth and has a near creamy feel, but with all the sweetness it finds a way not to become syrupy. It has a clear finish.
The leaf itself is beautiful, one of the lightest colored Golden Strand teas I have encountered.
Other notes worthy of mention are caramel, cocoa, fruit, hay, cane sugar, indeed it is a strange brew, but quite delicious.
Stone Leaf Teahouse never fails to provide tea of the highest quality.
Master Han’s Wild Picked Yunnan Black Tea From Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Master Han is a remarkably talented crafter of wild picked pu’ers and black teas whose workshop and ancient plot of tea forest is an hour’s walk to the nearest gravel road in a national forest preserve. We were lucky enough to meet him at his first tea conference. Tucked away in a hidden corner behind slick modern displays with uniformed reps from Xiaguan and Menghai, Master Han and his young apprentice seemed apprehensive about the operation. We were on our way to a panel on gongfu brewing when the sheer beauty of a bag of his wild-picked black tea caught us in our tracks.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Verdant Tea is among a handful of tea purveyors that I consider to be the very best, and so when I see that they have a tea that I haven’t yet tried – like this Master Han’s Wild Picked Yunnan Black Tea – I am quickly putting that tea in my cart when I am tea shopping!
The tea brews up lighter in color than I expected … or perhaps the word I’m looking for is more transparent. It is a transparent copper color … not really “pale” … just not quite as dark looking as a typical Yunnan black. The aroma is rich and sweet.
On the website, the first taste mentioned under “notes” is grape, and indeed, that is the first taste I noticed when I took my first sip. Not really a “muscat” grape that you’d experience from a Darjeeling, this tastes more like the grapes that my grandparents used to grow in their backyard when I was young. They were the kind of grapes with seeds in them, and the flavor was less sweet than the seedless grapes you find in the grocery store this time of year. It was a more complex tasting grape … something that I wasn’t really able to appreciate a lot as a kid (back then, I just wanted the sweet, seedless grapes!) but, now I find myself missing that unique flavor that you simply don’t find in the grapes that are readily available today.
There is a pleasant sweetness to this cup, but it is not the caramel-y sweetness that I often associate with a black tea, nor is it a molasses-y or a honey-esque sweetness. This is more like a fruity sweetness, like a crisp, sweet apple. The tasting note on the website suggest a “linen” like flavor, and I get that too. What I’m really enjoying about this tea is that the more I sip, the more flavors I discover. There is a pleasant malty tone to this cup, but, without the strong sense of caramel-like flavor, it is a “thinner” kind of malty taste.
I found myself searching for the olive oil notes … and by mid-cup, I recognized a flavor in there that remind me of that taste. Sweet and slightly spicy.
This is seriously unlike any Yunnan I’ve ever tried. It has some familiar Yunnan qualities to it, like a malty, spicy tone, but … the best way I could explain this is that it has some of the dark qualities of a Yunnan, combined with the complexity and smooth, soft textures of a dark Oolong.
It’s really quite a lovely experience … one I’m really glad I decided to try when I found it on Verdant Tea’s website. And I notice that the supplies are limited of this tea – so if you’re interested in trying this truly unique Wild Picked Yunnan Tea from Master Han … you should order it quickly before it’s gone!
Yunnan Beauty Oolong Tea from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
This tea is a variation on a Taiwanese oolong named “Oriental Beauty”, utilizing large-leaf wild arbor Yunnan grown leaves. Nearly black leaves and silver tips impart a dark, sweet, wine-like flavor unto the water. Great no matter how you choose to brew it. This tea is quickly becoming a favorite in the tea thermos. It will keep well and develop new flavors over 2-3 years.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Yunnan Beauty Oolong Tea from Mandala Tea is a very forgiving tea! I accidentally brewed it at too high a temperature (boiling water!) because the sampling that I received said “Yunnan” and I saw leaves that were large and black and I thought … Alright, this is a black tea. So I brewed it the way I would normally brew a black Yunnan!
But the flavor is amazing, regardless of this oversight on my part. The flavor is sweet, rich, and has a lovely woody tone to it. The sweetness is fruity with notes of molasses. I also notice a toasty nutty taste to this as the tea starts to cool down a little bit … still warm, but, not quite as hot as it was when I started sipping. A hint of caramel also weaves its way through the sip every once in a while, too.
There is a very pleasing sweet wine-esque note, complete with a muscatel-ish taste that … had I tasted this without knowing what it was, I might have guessed a Darjeeling, or at least an Oolong that was grown in the Darjeeling region. After reading my Sister’s review (Azzrian!) of this tea, I see that she’s probably not going to agree with that last part, but, that’s OK. Since I brewed this tea “wrong” … perhaps the way I infused the tea brought out the flavors I’m experiencing.
The mouthfeel is silky smooth. This is one of those teas that I’d want to brew up a big pot of, and just keep sipping on all day long. The leaves will submit several infusions as well, so be sure to resteep!
A really delightful tea from Mandala, I’d recommend this to all Oolong enthusiasts out there – it’s a deliciously different Oolong that will delight your palate!
Blue of London (Yunnan Earl Grey) from Le Palais des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Le Palais des Thés
Tea Description:
Yunnan is one of the best black teas in the world and with a fresh and delicate bergamot from Calabria, it gives a particularly fine and well balanced blend. An exceptional Earl Grey.
Earl Grey is one of the best-loved English teas. It was first created when Charles Grey, 2nd Earl of Falloden and Foreign Secretary of Britain, received an old recipe from a Mandarin Chinese that called for flavoring tea with bergamot.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a tasty Earl Grey from Le Palais des Thés … this Blue of London – or Earl Grey Yunnan. Tasty … but I don’t know that I would call it exceptional as it is called in the above description.
But it is good. The Yunnan gives it a very rich flavor that is sweet with notes of caramel and spice, and the slightest hint of chocolate. It is a strong, invigorating black tea, and I like the way the Yunnan complements the bergamot flavor. The Yunnan tea is the strongest flavor of the cup, but there is a compelling balance between black tea notes and bergamot.
The bergamot here is a softer bergamot. Some teas go for a heady bergamot essence and some go for a more subtle approach. This bergamot is on the subtle side. It doesn’t whack me upside the head with the tangy citrus notes, nor is it so strong that it comes across as perfume-y. It is on the delicate side, but it isn’t so delicate that it is not tasted. I DEFINITELY taste the bergamot here, I just don’t taste a strong, pungent, soapy bergamot that overwhelms the palate with its presence.
And I like that. As much as I love bergamot – and for those of you that have been reading my reviews for a while probably are well aware of my love affair with the distinguished Mr. Earl Grey – sometimes a subtle, smooth approach is better than coming on strong. I like that the way the bergamot comes through here.
This is a really good Earl Grey … and the more I sip it, the more I like it. It isn’t my favorite Earl Grey, which is why I say I wouldn’t classify it as exceptional – I save exceptional for only those I consider my favorites. But, it IS good, and certainly worth a try, especially if you are a fan of Earl Grey. Just because it isn’t my favorite doesn’t mean that it won’t be yours!