Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Buddha Teas
Tea Description:
Over the years, many different varieties of oolong tea have been produced, each with their own style and flavor, however traditional oolong tea remains the most popular among these.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oolong has historically been my nemesis, although I have to say at this point that I’ve only ever tried loose leaf oolong with one exception (Teapigs Tung Ting Oolong, which is pyramid bagged). This oolong is also bagged, and in fairly small, square paper affairs that really don’t look like they’ll provide much room for leaf expansion. Even dry, the leaf fills up at least half of the space in the bag. One cute touch is that each paper tag has a different phrase – my current bag declares “love is ecstacy”, and my second “appreciate yourself and honor your soul”. Something to muse upon as you wait for your tea to brew? I added the bag to a cup of water cooled to around 180 degrees, and gave it 2.5 minutes. The resulting liquor is a medium golden brown.
Once wet, it’s clear that the leaf is shredded quite finely, and it becomes waterlogged and soggy quickly. The leaf expands to fill the bag, but not as much as I thought it might. I guess the fine shred means that there are no large leaves to really unfurl. Looking at the leaf, this would appear to be a dark or roasted oolong. It has the signature scent that’s often one of the things I like least about oolong – metallic and a little sweet.
To taste, I’m more impressed that I expected I would be. I’m not the world’s biggest Oolong fan, so when I find one that’s palatable and enjoyable to drink, a bit of a celebration ensues. This Oolong is initially very nutty, in the way of pecans or maybe walnuts. There’s a slightly bitter tang that I associate with walnuts especially, which only reinforces the comparison for me. The mid-sip contains a little of the metallic flavour I so dislike, but it’s not over-strong and I’m finding I can ignore it without too much trouble. There’s a note of slightly burnt toast as well, which puts me in mind of autumn and open fires. It’s a fitting flavour profile for this time of year! The aftertaste is smooth and a little sweet, with an almost honeyed texture. It’s a pleasant, flavourful cup, reminiscent of a Formosa Oolong. I’m not sure which variety it actually is as the packaging gives very little away, but that’s where I would peg it.
I enjoyed this cup, which seems a strange thing for me to say given my history with Oolong in general. The nutty, toasted notes pair well together and are very complementary, which probably has a lot to do with it. I’d drink this one again, and I’d happily recommend it either to those who are just beginning to explore oolong (as an accessible entry tea), and to Oolong-phobes who are looking to be proved wrong. It’s made me reevaluate my feelings about dark and roasted Oolongs, in any case!
Feverfew Lemongrass Herbal Tea from Buddha’s Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Buddha’s Teas
Tea Description:
Feverfew & lemongrass tea brings together two well-known herbs to provide a brew of complementary flavors that is delightfully citrusy and refreshing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Buddha’s teas has the most extensive collection of single-herb tisane that I have seen on the internet. I use a lot of those herbs for my own personal functional herbal blends, and it’s nice to see such a wide selection and knowledge base out there. This tea was provided to me for review.
Before I begin, I must give a little bit of a disclaimer. I have been dealing with migraines for quite some time. I almost always have a headache and the stupidest things can trigger intense brain pain at any moment, causing me to be mentally and physically crippled for hours on end. Even scrolling on my phone too fast will set it off. My type of headache is typically tension related.
That being said, I have a few tips and tricks that I do to help me ride the wave. I have read recently that feverfew is really effective in easing migraines. I was super stoked to be able to try this tea out from Buddha Teas.
The packaging is pretty slick, the feel of the box is much nicer than the usual store bought cardboard. Although I didn’t think it was necessary for the little glue strip keeping the lid on, I thought the package was fine without it. (actually, I thought it was some kind of booger at first! Lol)
The teabags are wrapped in the same color black velvety-textured material. The teabag is your average paper teabag, although I liked that this was made from eco-friendly items. There is also a cute little quote on each of the teabag labels.
Now on to the steeping! I used boiling water and tested steeping at 4 minutes and at 8 minutes. I believe the 8 minute mark is best for this type of tea because it allowed the subtle flavors to become more prominent.
The flavor of this tea is very fresh and herbaceous. The lemony tang of the lemongrass shines through as the main flavor. If the lemongrass wasn’t there, I may be able to tell what feverfew tastes like. I’m glad it is not an unpleasant addition. Rather, it is the most crucial.
I took this at the first sign of an oncoming migraine. I forgot to take any kind of painkiller, like I usually do. I put a heat wrap on my neck and sipped on this tea instead. I noticed that the coupling of these two factors help keep my migraine at bay. It felt pretty effective and it worked pretty quickly. I think almost any trace of my headache was gone in about 20 minutes. Which is a life saver for me!
Thanks Buddha Teas for letting me review your selection!
Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
A present from the loving Bodhisattva of Compassion. Tightly rolled, the full leaves unfurl to emit pleasant stone fruit and wild honey notes with a hint of roasted nuts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As these last few days as a tea reviewer have been winding down, I’ve had the opportunity to try some really fabulous teas! This Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea certainly belongs with that fabulous group. It’s absolutely lovely!
I brewed this in my new gaiwan which has gotten quite a workout this past week or so. My much utilized gaiwan broke so I needed to replace it and since I didn’t want to wait around for a new easy gaiwan to arrive, I decided to – for the meantime – use one of the smaller gaiwans that I happened to have on my tea shelf but have never used. I have to admit that the thin porcelain China does get very hot and it’s more difficult to pour so I’ll be glad when my new gaiwan arrives.
It takes three infusions to fill my little teacup (my old gaiwan filled it with two infusions), so this first cup is the combination of the first three infusions after a 15 second rinse.
The above description pretty much nails this tea – it’s sweet with notes of honey, nutty and toasty with a very pleasant peach-like flavor. It’s very smooth with a silky mouthfeel. Such a delicious drink – it disappeared almost instantly.
My second cup was even sweeter because the peach notes began to emerge. Still honeyed, nutty and toasty, these flavors merged with the peach notes to create a flavor medley that tasted a bit like a peach dessert.
With my third cup, I started to notice flavors waning so I decided to stop there – but I still got 9 amazing infusions out of this tea! Delicious!
No. 23 Kandy Black Tea from Steven Smith Teamaker
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Steven Smith Teamaker
Tea Description:
Named after one of the most beautiful cities in Sri Lanka, Kandy brings together full and flavory Dimbulla with highly aromatic and intense Uva and lightly scented high-grown Nuwara Eliya. A tea made for sipping with pleasure all day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I got Kandy no.23 black tea from a friend recently, and with the recent news of Steven Smith himself passing I wanted to pay homage to him by drinking one of his creations. He had many successful companies, one you might have heard of too. If anyone has had any of Tazo’s teas while they were still at Starbucks, raise you hand. If you want to read more about his legacy, there is a great article here.
Kandy is a blend of three different Ceylon teas. I’m going to disappoint anyone who thinks that this tea is going to tastes like actual candy; this tea is named after a city in Sri Lanka, not after a sweet treat. However, I am convinced that there is something sweet about this tea. In the large square sachet, smells of malted milk balls and raisinets waft into my nose. Smells like classic movie theater candy. Yum. Let’s get this started!
Now, I am not one to follow directions on packages, but reading the one on the outside of the sachet I just had to pay attention. The directions are as follows:
“Bring filtered water to a roiling boil. Steep 5 minutes, while googling the ornate Palace of the Sacred Tooth.”
Now you have my attention.
So google I did. According to Wikipedia, The Temple of the Tooth is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. In that temple is contained the sacred tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because whoever holds the tooth holds the governing power of the country. Kandy was the last capital of Sri Lanka, so it gets the tooth. Huh. Quite a history lesson for my daily cuppa.
Whilst ruminating on this, I sipped this tea in silence. I got the classic malt notes, as well as bright citrus and raisin notes. It’s smooth without having any trace of astringency. While this is not the most interesting and unique blend on the market today, there is something just so nostalgic about black tea from India and Sri Lanka. It tastes like a hot summer day with a refreshing cup of sweetened sun tea with lemon. It’s a cool rainy morning with a dash of milk. This would make for a great daily drinker for anyone who loves the mellow yet rich profiles of Ceylon teas.
The thing I like the most about this tea is the history that this company wants you to know about this tea. I really enjoy getting to know everything I can about the leaves in my cup. What are it’s hobbies? What music is it into? Is it named after a city who is famous for owning a tooth? This tea demands to be understood. And Steven Smith Tea maker is sure to get it’s point across.
Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
This classic Tie Guan Yin produces a delicious, light-coloured, medium-bodied liquor. The first infusion combines toasty, floral notes with a touch of honey and becomes more fruity with successive infusions.
The dark, lightly oxidised green leaves are rolled into small tight fists. The liquor is amber-green with a smooth, heavy texture on the tongue. The flowery and fruity profile of this tea has a touch of honey and at first releases the pleasant orchid notes – after a couple of brews it yields the soft fruitier notes and has a sweet long lasting after taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Tonight’s Oolong is this lovely Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Canton Tea Co.!
My first cup (infusions 1 and 2) is very much like the above description suggests: a medium-bodied tea with a soft, silky texture. Warm, toasty notes with hints of nutty flavors and beautiful floral tones that hint at a honey-like sweetness. The cup is sweet and flowery. Delightful!
My second cup (infusions 3 and 4) is where I begin to notice some fruit notes emerging. I taste notes of apricot. The honey notes that I picked up on in the first cup are still here and I love the way the apricot and honey play together on the palate. Sweet and delectable. The nutty flavors I noticed in the first cup have waned somewhat, this cup is less ‘toasty’ and more about the notes of fruit and flower. The body of this cup is a little creamier than the first cup.
My third cup (infusions 5 and 6) is a marriage of most of the flavors that I mentioned previously. The flavors of honey and apricot have melded together to create a unified flavor. The floral notes are a little sharper now because this cup isn’t quite as creamy as the second cup was, which seems to allow the floral notes to come into focus. I taste very little of the toasty notes of the first cup now, this cup is much more floral than either of the two previous cups were.
I really enjoyed how the flavors transitioned as I sipped on each cup. It was a lovely tea journey, one I was very happy to take!