Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pouchong
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Tea Description:
This South Pacific delicacy is composed of long, green leaves of rare elegance that produce a serene, light Cocount Pouchong tea. The subtle nectar of young coconut instills a tropical sweetness in this exquisite bouquet. Because of its simple sweetness, you will enjoy this delicious loose leaf Coconut Pouchong tea hot or iced.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I have already tasted and reviewed this tea previously, you might think that I was less than enthused to have received it as part of this month’s Steepster Select box. But, truth be told, I was actually quite happy to have more of this tea! It’s one of my favorites from Golden Moon Tea and I’m very pleased to be able to revisit it.
The theme for this month’s Steepster Select is “Perfect Pairs.” On the theme card, Steepster wrote this about the theme:
Some things just go better together. Like wine, the complexity and range of flavors in tea make it a perfect complement to many meals. Pairing these not only accentuate the taste of both but helps train your palate to identify and relate flavors.
I was very happy with this theme, mostly because tea pairings is something that interests me as well. With most of the food reviews on my foodie blog, I try to include a tea suggestion on each post, and while I do not consider myself an expert on what flavor profiles go best with what types of foods, I know what tastes good to me. I thought it would be interesting to explore the idea of “Perfect Pairs” with Steepster’s recommendations. Here is what they recommended with this tea:
Pair with: Chocolate. The sweet nuttiness of coconut is a classic dessert pairing that blends smoothly with a hearty chocolate flavor. The light flowery oolong notes soften the richness of chocolate for an ideal balance. We have Marcus from Golden Moon Tea to thank for our Coconut Pouchong. A childhood visit to Hong Kong and a quick stop at a parisian tea house after culinary school cemented his love for unique flavors which carries through to his many offerings today.
So, I rummaged through my stash to find an appropriate piece of chocolate… unfortunately (well, not unfortunately for me, but unfortunate for the purposes of this review) most of the chocolate that I have on hand at the moment are confection type of chocolates … however, I did come across a bit of raw dark chocolate from Stirs the SOUL that I happened to have on hand.
Raw chocolate lacks the richness that the roasting process imparts on the chocolate … and I really noticed that with this pairing. However, I also noticed how the flavors of the Coconut Pouchong really came into focus with this simple pairing. The Coconut Pouchong really brought out some of the fruitier aspects of the chocolate, which really appealed to me. While the chocolate is not quite as rich with the roasted flavor, the pairing brought out the deeper flavors of the raw chocolate that I did not notice before, and I love how the fresh coconut really POPS when chocolate becomes part of the tasting.
I can’t wait to try this coconut Pouchong with the Hot Chocolate On A Stick that I have coming later this month!
Vanilla Mint Tea from Golden Moon Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Tea Description:
Vanilla Mint is a smooth and refreshing blend of both green and black tea with fragrant mint leaves and rich vanilla bean pieces. Delicious hot or iced, serve by the pitcher or in tall glasses with a sprig of fresh mint for a naturally sweet refreshment.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ahhh! This is really refreshing.
When I first opened the sample pouch, it smelled like a peppermint patty. Not the chocolate part of the patty, but that creamy smooth center. My mouth started watering, I could hardly wait to taste it.
The tea base is a blend of black and green tea, so I brewed this at a lower temperature (185°F) for 3 minutes. This was a sufficient time and temperature to allow the flavor of the black tea to develop enough (not fully, but enough), and still keep the tender green leaves from scorching and becoming bitter.
The tea base has a fresh, earthy flavor that melds quite nicely with the crisp, cool flavor of the mint, and still allows the creamy, sweet flavor of the vanilla to shine through.
What actually inspired me to order a sample of this tea (Golden Moon Tea offers samples of their teas for just 99 cents!) was a recent newsletter post from Marcus at Golden Moon Tea called “Tea Infused Hot Cocoa” where he explained that he uses tea to make his hot cocoa rather than milk or water. It is rather brilliant, because, it’s been my experience that preparing hot cocoa with water makes it too thin, and preparing it with milk makes it too thick and rich.
Anyway, this was one of the teas that he recommended using to prepare “Tea Infused Hot Cocoa,” and I was intrigued. Of course, I had forgotten all about using this sample to prepare a cup of hot cocoa and tried it as a tea instead. So I guess I’m going to have to order more!
But that’s alright, because this is a really good!
English Breakfast Tea from Golden Moon Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Tea Description:
From the world’s finest gardens, we blend Keemun, Assam, and Ceylon leaves with a touch of refined Darjeeling. Coppery liquor awakens the palate with a brisk and complex flavor. Toasty, with subtle floral undertones. Invigorating accompaniment with breakfast, or at any time of the day. As with all traditional English Breakfast teas, excellent with a spot of milk and a spoonful of sugar.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I received this tea a month or so ago but after reading the latest newsletter from Golden Moon Tea yesterday I was inspired to try this tea today.
This is a really good English Breakfast blend: full-flavored and well-rounded, and with a very pleasing roasted overtone to it. While it is nicely balanced, I like that I can pick out the different qualities from the different teas that have contributed to this full-bodied blend.
I can taste that certain briskness from the Ceylon: bright and tasting faintly of citrus. I can taste the malty tones of the Assam, and there is a certain boldness to the cup as well that is very Assam-like. I can also taste a bit of earthiness to the cup, as well as a hint of warm spice from the Keemun. And I taste the light crispness that comes from the Darjeeling.
It’s a wonderful combination of teas that seems to capture the best qualities of each without being overpowered by any particular tea, and without succumbing to any bitterness or harshness from them. Even the astringency here is not overwhelming. The aftertaste is sweet – almost like caramel – and lightly floral.
A very satisfying English Breakfast, one of the best that I’ve tried.
White Persian Melon from Golden Moon Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Product Description:
First in the world to find flavored white tea, Golden Moon Tea presents rare white tea enlivened with the nectar of succulent melon. This luxurious delicacy is light, refreshing and exotic.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:My first couple of sips of this tea, I noticed an almost wine-like taste to this tea, and I thought maybe my taste buds were acting up (they do that just before I am about to get sick, and I am hoping I am not about to get sick!) But then I visited Steepster and I noticed that other tasters have indicated a wine-like taste to this tea. It’s very intriguing!
The white tea has a delicate flavor – crisp, sweet and almost effervescent. The melon notes are beautifully balanced with the lightness of the white tea – creating a gentle flavor that is mild and sweet and delicious.
As we are experiencing some mighty cool weather, I chose to drink this hot, and it’s delicious. However, as tasty as it is hot, I am thinking it is even better iced as it has such a refreshing quality to it. This is one to add to your shopping list because when the weather gets warmer, you’ll want to keep a supply of this tea on hand!
White Ginger from Golden Moon Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Product Description:
White tea leaves and Yin Zhen buds blended with freshly dried ginger root.
When you fell ill in my family, my mother applied her version of an ancient Chinese remedy. It didn’t matter if it was a stomach ache, sore throat or cold or flu symptoms – she would serve ginger tea. She probably knew that ginger tea was said to be healing and cleansing, though I doubt she knew that the white tea it was mixed with was high in anti-oxidants. Nevertheless, it worked, especially served in traditional Chinese fashion – with lemon and honey. I recommend you drink yours similarly.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! What a surprise! I expected this tea to be a strong, ginger-y cup, but, nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, there’s ginger in there, but, it isn’t an overpoweringly ginger-y taste. Here, the ginger is light and ever so pleasant.
Don’t get me wrong, I love ginger, and I love it good and strong. But, it is really nice to sometimes have something that catches me off-guard, like this tea has. It tastes warm and peppery, as I would expect from ginger, but, it is so subtle. Subtle enough to not overpower the soft flavor of the white tea leaves and buds.
And that is what makes this tea so special. The white tea tastes so amazing! It is crisp and refreshing. The flavor is so gentle and soothing and delicious. It reminds me a bit of the ginger ale I used to be given as a child when I was feeling under the weather … it was always given to me a little bit flat and warm, because I was told that it would help settle my stomach. I enjoyed it like that (is that weird?), because it was still sweet and spiced, and I wasn’t really very fond of carbonation anyway.
Golden Moon Tea is one of my favorite companies (I have several favorites!) and the reason is not only their fantastic selection of high quality teas but also their commitment to providing the best customer service. I placed an order with them very recently, just a small order containing several samples that were not just for me, but also for a friend of mine, as I was putting together a gift package for her and wanted to include some tea. I was a little concerned about getting my order on time, because I had a deadline that I needed to get my package mailed, and the order was a last minute “afterthought.” I contacted Marcus from Golden Moon, and he made sure that I got my order in record time – even though this IS the holiday season and the postal service’s busiest time of the year. I can’t thank them enough for helping me make my package all the more special! Golden Moon Tea rocks!