Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yellow
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Product Description:
This rare yellow tea from China’s Anhui province is comprised of beautiful hand-crafted leaves and downy silver buds. This tea is notable for its rich, full and smooth tasting floral infusion. When brewed, our Yellow Sprouting produces a naturally sweet and refreshingly clean tasting cup of tea.
Taster’s Review:
This Yellow tea is one of the newest additions to the Mark T. Wendell collection of teas. And you know I’m excited about it; yellow Tea is my favorite!
There is just something about yellow tea that no other tea type can seem to duplicate. It has similarities of white tea, green tea and Oolong tea, but, it isn’t quite like any of them … if that makes sense. It has some of the delicate qualities of a white tea (and sometimes a green tea, depending upon the green), it has some of the light vegetative qualities of some green teas, and then it has a similar mouthfeel and smoothness of an Oolong.
This Huo Shan tastes incredibly fresh, and the sprouting buds are tiny. Very young leaves. After infusing, I ate a few of the leaves, and they are very tender to the tooth, and so sweet and gentle tasting.
The light colored liquor is sweet and possesses a grassy taste. It is sweet and refreshing. The mouthfeel is very soft and silky. And it is absolutely incredible.
If you haven’t yet tried yellow tea, you really should. And this Huo Shan Yellow Sprouting Tea is a good place to start!
Vanilla Flavored Black Tea from Mark T. Wendell
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Product Description:
A rich, whole-leaf Ceylon black tea with vanilla scent and flavoring. It is an exotic twist on your favorite beverage. Easy to make into your favorite iced tea.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Vanilla!
There’s no mistaking the vanilla flavor here!
After tasting this Vanilla Flavored Black Tea, I wouldn’t have guessed that it was a Ceylon tea used for the base of this tea. It is a rich tasting black tea, even a little hearty. Yes, I’ve tasted quite a few Ceylon teas that are indeed rich in flavor, but, this tastes richer. My guess would have been an Assam and Ceylon blend, because while this tea doesn’t have the malty tones of an Assam, it certainly has the solid flavor of an Assam.
But what impresses me even more about this blend from Mark T. Wendell is the vanilla essence. This tea possesses a very strong vanilla flavor – which is evident not only in the taste but also the aroma. It smells really yummy!
The flavor is sweet and creamy. It has a cozy, comforting kind of flavor to it, while at the same time, it tastes totally indulgent, like a sweet, decadent dessert.
If you’re fond of vanilla teas, you should definitely try this one. Or, if you’re just looking for a delicious, treat-like alternative to your standard breakfast tea, this one would certainly tickle your taste buds! It is so incredibly YUM!
Green Paradise from Mark T. Wendell
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Product Description:
Our newest flavored green tea offering is a blend of select sencha style China green tea leaves, pieces of strawberry, raspberry, rhubarb and cornflowers. Visually appealing with its red, white and blue pieces contrasting the dark green tea leaves, this blend has a fresh green tea taste with a delicate sweetness. This blend makes a refreshing iced tea with interesting fruit notes in each glass.
Taster’s Review:
To the eye, this blend is really beautiful with its many petals and fruit pieces tossed among the long spears of green tea leaves. This pretty, deliciously fragrant tea brews to a clear, light green color. Some of the strong aroma is lost in the brewing, but it still smells quite enticing.
With my first few sips, I tasted green tea. Not very much fruit flavor at all. But as I continued to sip, the flavors developed. Now that I’m about half-way through my first cup, I find that the fruit flavors are there, but this is still – first and foremost – a green tea.
And that’s just the way it should be. I like it when tea companies recognize that we’re drinking tea and they choose to not make their blends taste like a kid’s fruit drink. The green tea here is sweet and crisp. It is light and fresh, like the sweet air of summertime. And while the summertime slowly begins to fade as autumn approaches – I am happy to welcome the season of fall, but I find great enjoyment in this tea that seems to be a celebration of summer.
Of the fruit flavors, the strawberry is most prominent. It is lightly sweet and juicy. The raspberry adds a hint of tartness, as does the rhubarb. I like that these flavors are subtle, because normally, I would shy away from rhubarb flavored teas because they tend to be a little on the tart side. Not a bad thing, as I’ve really enjoyed the tart rhubarb blends I’ve tried thus far, but I seem to have a built-in, automatic response to the idea of tartness in a tea. But because these flavors are a little subdued, the tartness does not overwhelm my palate. The aftertaste is sweet with a berry tartness that tickles the tongue.
A really delicious tea. This is a tea that I’d recommend to those who like a little flavor with their tea … and not the other way around! This one is spectacular iced!
Triple Cup Green Tea from Mark T. Wendell
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Product Review:
This rich, green tea is grown in the mountains of China’s famous Zhejiang tea region. The small and tender curled leaves brew a golden colored cup that is full of classic green tea flavor. Due to its unique character, our Triple Cup green tea can be infused several times before the flavor fades.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened the package, I noticed how small the leaves seemed to be. They are greyish-green when dry and they almost look like gunpowder pellets and I had to check the product description to make sure this wasn’t, in fact, a gunpowder tea. Once infused, these leaves – while still tiny and almost frail-looking – turn a very vivid green color.
Those tiny, tender green leaves unfurl slowly to produce a pale, clear green liquor that smells a little grassy and pleasantly sweet. That description could equally describe the flavor of the tea – it is lightly vegetative (I don’t know that I would call this “grassy” because it tastes more like vegetables than grass to me) with a smooth sweetness that washes over the palate. The sweetness is slightly nutty – not so much a roasted kind of nutty taste, but more of a blanched-nuts-that-have-been-creamed-into-a-nut-butter kind of sweetness.
The leaves submit several flavorful infusions. I recommend infusing in a vessel that will allow you to watch the leaves unfurl – this is a fun tea to watch.
This is a delicious and mild green tea that I think would be enjoyable to the green tea novice as well as the green tea connoisseur.
MTW Formosa Keemun Tea from Mark T. Wendell
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Product Description:
This tea from the island of Formosa was one of Mr. Wendell’s personal favorites. Its long, silvery leaf gives an attractive appearance. He referred to it as “the burgundy of teas.” Its mellow brew is full-bodied with a superb bouquet.
Taster’s Review:
When I first tried this tea, I must admit that it confused me. It looked like a Formosa Oolong, it smelled like a Formosa Oolong. And even the taste is quite reminiscent of a fine quality Formosa Oolong tea.
But, it isn’t an Oolong. It also isn’t – technically – a Keemun, since it was grown in Taiwan and not in the Qimen County of China.
So, this is what led me to my state of confusion. But, that’s OK, because I like it when I find a tea that challenges me, and this one does. And you know what, sometimes its good to color outside the lines and to think outside the box. This tea is brilliant and daring, and I like that.
As I mentioned before, it does have a flavor that is quite similar to a Formosa Oolong – and it also does have some tastes that represent a fine Keemun as well. This tea is like the best of both worlds in one teacup.
This tea is considerably lighter than a typical Keemun. The mouthfeel is smooth and soft and quite like the mouthfeel I’d experience with a Formosa Oolong. It has a supple flavor that is woody with hints of smoke and a deep fruity undertone. There are intriguing spice notes to this cup as well, similar to that which I would taste with a Keemun. It has a wine-like finish to it, but without the bitter taste I would experience with a Keemun.
While this tea is a bit confusing – I am certainly not confused when I say that I really like this one. It’s delicious!