With rain pelting down since before dawn and the forecast predicting more of the same for the whole day, I decided to try something new. This sample was sent to me by the Sisters a while back and it seems a good day to try it!
I always try to look up a new company and read about the tea I am going to drink if it is new to me. I wasn’t sure if this was puerh, dark tea, or black tea. When I went to the puerh tea heading this wasn’t listed. I checked under black tea and again, not listed. There was a heading for floral teas and there it was, but the description still didn’t tell me for sure what my base was. Let the nose decide!
I took the tiny pressed heart out of the package and sniffed. Based on the sniff test, I would have guessed it was puerh. Tea that is processed more or less like puerh but is not from Yunnan is called dark tea in China, so perhaps that is what I have here, and that is how it was labeled, but I wanted to be sure. (Black is called red tea or hong cha in China which is confusing to some because red tea in the west is what a lot of people called red rooibos.)
I placed the heart in a large infuser basket from my Curve teapot and set it in a large mug. I pouring boiling water over it and watched as the heart softened quickly and lost shape. The water was rapidly turning a deep shade so puerh or dark tea is still my guess.
The rose is nice but not overwhelming if you are not into florals. The tea base is dusty/musty and earthy with a gentle scrape of unsweetened cocoa on the tongue – the sensation of cocoa but not the flavor.
This doesn’t have the oily body of my favorite shu puerh teas but will do for breakfast. There is a hint of dry cedar, especially in the aftertase. The rose is a peppery rose flavor and may add a slight sweetness, but not much. I am finding it slightly medicinal somehow.
Although grateful to try it, this is not one that I would re-order. There are other rose puerh teas that I would prefer.
They have an adorable tea for two set on their site and some nice accessories and other interesting things to browse.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Little Woods Herbal
Description
This dark tea is medium to full-bodied and smooth.It has a delicious sweet, dusty rose flavor and aroma.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Creamsicle Oolong/Little Woods Herbs & Teas -VariaTEA-
Advent season 2020 sort of got away from me. My original intention was to make my own advent calendar using teas I already owned so that it would force me to drink my own stash. I did that. I also bought 6 other advent calendars. Oops.
This particular tea, Creamsicle Oolong by Little Woods, was part of my DIY advent calendar. It is a tea that was shared with me by one of the sisters, Nichole/CuppaGeek, that I had not tried by the time I was making my own calendar. As such, it found its way into the calendar and was a pleasant surprise the day I pulled it out.
Citrus is not actually one of my favorite flavors in teas. It’s one of those flavors that my reaction will depend on my mood. Sometimes I crave citrus and other times I am just tired of it. As far as citrus goes, however, creamsicle tends to be one I like. I think that is because its not just citrus but instead citrus and vanilla/cream. These flavors combined are dessert-like and anyone who knows me knows that I like dessert teas.
When I steeped this up, I was taken aback by an almost-roasted scent that was coming from the tea. I know there are roasted oolongs or oolongs that have that flavor, but I did not expect that in a creamsicle tea. Creamsicles are frozen and sweet and bright and “roasted” doesn’t fit into that picture. Plus, this uses a milk oolong which are typically creamy, not roasted. With that said, my nose did not deceive me because there is definitely a roasted flavor in this tea.
I would describe the flavor as orange and roasted oolong with an aftertaste of vanilla creaminess. I want to like it but the roasted quality really takes me out of the idea of creamsicle. It’s also more tart and savory than it is sweet and that seems off for me. Perhaps if it were branded differently I would be less disappointed and more accepting of the overall flavor. While personally I am more likely to purchase a creamsicle blend, I find it a lot worse when I expect creamsicle and instead get roasted orange, than if I were just given a blend called roasted orange and that’s what is delivered. As it is, I am disappointed with this blend – which is not a bad blend, but also not creamsicle.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Little Woods Herbs & Teas
Description
A special blend using a Taiwanese Milk Oolong as the tea base. It is creamy, tart, and great with milk and honey.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
