Chocolate Cherry Latte Oolong by A Quarter to Tea

by Sensiblyscript
Steeping at 190 degrees for 4.5 minutes as recommended, I prepared this tea with one tablespoon of leaves and around 10 ounces of water.

The high-quality oolong leaves swell and uncurl while steeping–something I always find fascinating (in addition to comforting because I know it means I’m about to drink some excellent tea!)

Once the steeping gets going it smells strongly of chocolate and cherry, which I take as a good sign! Actually it smells almost overwhelmingly of cherry while steeping, but after steeping that abates somewhat. The cherry flavor still hits your nose first but as you keep inhaling you can dig down and find the grounding, comforting chocolate smell too. It’s rounder and creamier. and the oolong lends butteriness and a floral note to the scent.

First sip: The butteriness from the oolong and the sharper floral, also from the oolong, and the fruity cherry notes hit all at once. The chocolate flavor seems to have melded with (and mostly been superseded by) the oolong butteriness. The chocolate itself is more of an aftertaste now. And yet sometimes you can detect it mingled with one of the other flavors.
Color: the tea is dark, but brown-tinted. Mahogany, perhaps; not really chocolate-colored though.

 

With milk: the cherry and the creamy oolong flavor come to the front along with a green-tea flavor (possibly from the houjicha?), the combination of which really reminds me of a matcha latte (not a bad thing at all). It’s not too astringent this way and not at all bitter.
A Quarter to Tea has come up with a great flavored blend here, and the company has great values too; not only do they use vegan ingredients but they also avoid using gluten, and try to avoid using potential allergens as well. While this blend is fun and satisfying, chocolate is not necessarily the dominant flavor here, so it’s important to be aware of that and enjoy this tea for itself rather than feeling like you’ve been tricked into drinking a not-chocolatey-enough tea. <3

 

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Oolong
Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea
Description

Roasty enough to appease the coffee lover in you! The blend of hojicha and oolong makes a robust, coffee like base without the jitters. Mellowed out with chicory, chocolate, and cherries.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sensiblyscript

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel. My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

This post was posted in A Quarter To Tea, Oolong

Golden Monkey from Tea N Joy. . . .

by Sensiblyscript
Today’s tea sample is from a company called Tea N Joy. I’ve never tried teas from this tea company before, so I’m excited to see how it goes! This should be fun!
So I steeped this tea for around 2.5 minutes, using a heaping 1/2 tbsp and 10 oz of near-boiling water. It started to give off a nice malty smell right away.
I should describe the tea leaves, too; they’re big, well-defined, long twisty thin leaves with gold tips! Wonderful. They look very high-quality. I love it when my tea has entire tea leaves in it, especially when they’re this beautiful! According to Tea ‘N Joy’s website, it’s because only the very tip of each growing sprig is used in this tea; only the bud and one adjacent leaf.
As the tea steeps, it gains a rich, full fragrance with a slight edge to it and lovely chocolate notes.The tea liquid itself is a darkish copper-amber color.
First sip: Sweet, malty, and pleasant. In fact, it’s so sweet that I’d say it almost has a honey-like flavor. And, as the fragrance implied, it also has strong cocoa notes, not just while steeping but also while sipping.

 

Tea ‘N Joy’s website claims that this is a super-high-quality tea, and I tend to totally agree with that assessment. In fact, I’m tempted to place an order right now just so I can continue enjoying a premium-quality cup of this tea on a regular basis. <3

 

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  Tea N Joy
Description

Golden Monkey Tea is hand-processed each spring with a careful plucking of only one leaf and one bud. It is among the finest Chinese Black Teas available today. A rich, full-bodied Tea. The name comes from its unique appearance: the leaves resemble monkey claws. Sweet and very ‘nosy’ with the aromas of: savory roasted apples, cocoa and spice notes that linger as you sip. Rich, coating texture and very smooth, soft mouth-feel. Delicate, almost indistinguishable astringency.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sensiblyscript

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel. My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Tea N Joy

Cream Flavored Black by Adagio Teas

by Sensiblyscript
I steeped 1.5 tsp of this tea in 10oz. of water (just about boiling) for three minutes.
Adagio is a fantastic way to get into the loose leaf tea world! Also, I love their loyalty program, which pays me several cents’ worth of “points” every time I submit a tea review! I mean, my day job pays more, but still. Plus, Adagio is super user-friendly, so much so that I’ve gotten one or two of my (less-tea-nerd-ish) family members ordering from them as well!
Anyway, back to the cream-flavored black tea. The tea is fragrant while steeping, and after steeping it’s become a darkish cedar color. It smells of black tea (excellent-just as it should) and vanilla-like sweetness.

The first sip tastes of vanilla/cream flavor. It isn’t the same as having actual cream in your tea but it is very nice, kind of floral and sweet. The black tea base is great too; it’s quite solid, not bitter, but somewhat astringent and very flavorful. It’s good for mornings or afternoons, I’d say, but afternoons especially, in my opinion. Also it would probably be great for adding your own flavors (for example, some would consider this sacrilege, but I personally sometimes add a few drops of Ghirardelli chocolate syrup to my tea in place of sugar).

It turns out to be lovely with milk, as well; it makes the milk taste extra-creamy but still has a bit of vanilla-like flavor, or maybe that’s the tea base’s floral notes I’m catching now? Either way, it’s very pleasant, satisfying and comforting, and a flavor that I’m sure I’ll savor on many afternoons to come. <3

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  Adagio Teas
Description

Which comes first, the cream or the tea? If you’re not sure, don’t worry… neither are the English. However, its unanimously agreed that, whether you prefer your tea first, or cream first, this dairy-free cream flavored Ceylon black tea is a treat for your teacup! Sweet, inviting and warm, with a delicate creamy consistency and aroma of fresh black tea. Pleasantly brisk and very refreshing. Teatime calls…

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sensiblyscript

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel. My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

This post was posted in Adagio Teas, Black Tea

Kukicha Green Tea by Aiya America

by Sensiblyscript

Steeping specs: 3 g 1 cup 175° 1.5 minutes

This one was a tea that I could not find on the company’s website, so please forgive me if I don’t steep it according to the ideal specifications. I kind of guessed a bit and I hope I didn’t steep it too hot. It turned out pretty well with the steeping specs I tried, but who knows what would happen with different steeping specs? (I didn’t have a large enough sample to really experiment.)

As it steeps I’m catching buttery, seaweedy fragrances. After steeping, the liquid isn’t nearly as clear as I would’ve expected. It’s cloudy and has what look like tiny T specks throughout the liquid, similar to matcha specks (?) and much smaller than the type of tea specks that normally escape from my tea strainer. So I’m thinking maybe this is an intentional feature of this tea and not a bug. It doesn’t seem to detract from the drinking experience at all and does enhance the tea’s strength.

The flavor is rich and full, with vegetal savory notes, not bitter, and only a little astringent. And it’s very fragrant, but not really floral– it’s more on the grassy side. Its flavor is not just vegetal, but savory in a smooth and buttery kind of way which creates a cohesive flavor profile.

This seems to be quite a strong green tea with plenty of flavor, yet without any unpleasant bitterness. It goes well with sugar too, but seems to be a somewhat less immersive experience somehow once the sugar has been added. Also, I notice the seaweedy notes more once sugar has been added.

This tea is great for when you want a strong, unflavored and non-floral green tea that’s more on the savory side and yet has a very strong presence of its own without any bitterness. (If you don’t like the tiny specks floating around your tea, I would recommend using a very fine steeping mesh or strainer.)

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy:  Aiya 
Description

Kukicha literally means “stem tea” and is made from different varieties of tea stems. Aiya’s Kukicha is a blend of stems from Gyokuro and Sencha. Most of Kukicha available in the market is made by stems from 100% Sencha, however, Aiya’s Kukicha is adding more than 50% of Gyokuro stems for more natural sweetness and rich aroma

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sensiblyscript

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel. My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

This post was posted in Aiya, Green Tea

Monkey King Jasmine Green Tea from Numi. . . . .

by Sensiblyscript

Steeping specs: 170° with one teabag in one cup of water for about 2 to 3 minutes

This green tea is a great responsible option for travelers who need the convenience of a teabag but don’t want to go with a low-quality commercialized option. This one has fair trade certified ingredients (tea leaves infused with jasmine that is also certified organic) and a biodegradable teabag. So there’s some social responsibility for you.

The tea water while steeping turns a yellowish color and immediately gives off a very very floral scent from all that jasmine. Jasmine is actually quite a piercing sent, unlike the green tea flavor in the tea (which I can’t smell at all due to the heady flower fragrance). This particular batch of jasmine flavor, though, is actually much more approachable than some that I’ve tried recently. It’s not so penetrating that you want to run and hide, and it doesn’t make you feel like a perfume shop. It just lingers around the tea and makes everything sweeter.

I should probably also mention that I am almost unable to taste any green tea flavor over the jasmine once I start drinking it. Not quite unable, though. I am finding a bit of astringency that could only come from the tea itself, and there are a couple of other notes that may be tea-related, although it’s a little hard to tell this point. In addition, the Jasmine actually makes this tea really really sweet, which means it doesn’t need sugar (making it even healthier to drink and even more convenient for traveling).

Overall I’d say this is a very exceptional option considering that it came from a tea bag (I try not to be too much of a loose leaf snob, but some teabags make it so easy). The leaves in the teabag are chopped up pretty finely but still manage to deliver excellent flavor, especially excellent Jasmine flavor.

I would be careful with the directions given on the packet though, since they’re a little unspecific. It says to boil your water and then allow to cool slightly before steeping. What you really need to do is allow to cool significantly to about 170-180° or you’re likely to end up with bitter tea. My tea was steeped at about 170F and is almost verging on bitter already. Of course you can always add sugar if it starts to get bitter too.

So as mentioned above, I think this is a great option for traveling, what with its socially responsible packaging and convenience of use (and higher-quality ingredients than other conveniently packaged teas), or you could even keep it around the house for a great flowery-tasting option when you’re in a hurry or don’t want to bother with loose leaves.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green Tea
Where to Buy:  Numi Tea
Description

This tea is not currently on the website but click below for teas that are.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sensiblyscript

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel. My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

This post was posted in Numi Organic Tea