When I first started drinking tea, I avoided oolongs at all costs. They were too floral or too green and just not for me. However, over the years, I have found myself more and more curious when it comes to oolongs, particularly milk oolongs which are often so simple and yet amazingly creamy.
This particular milk oolong, Milky Oolong by TeaTaxi, boasts “a subtle taste and a delicate aroma”. I steeped it per the package directions, letting the leaves steep for 3 minutes in 190F water.
At first taste, I found myself worried that perhaps this is too subtle. It came off a touch weak and not all that milky. In fairness, the “milk” oolong I had most recently prior to trying this was Oolong Creme by Sloane Fine Teas and that set the bar quite high. The more I drink, the more flavors I find. There is a definite smoothness here but I don’t know if I would go as far as to say it is “creamy”. On the other hand, I suppose “milky” is an accurate description as it is a little on the thinner side in comparison to the other milk oolongs I’ve tried. There is also a lot of floral notes here which to me appear as almost a shadow of the orchid taste in DAVIDsTEA’s Vanilla Orchid.
All in all, this tea is not bad, but also does nothing to stand out among the sea of milk oolongs. It came to me as a sample in the Generation Tea monthly subscription and the one cup is leaving me satisfied though I probably won’t seek it out again.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
A subtle taste and a delicate aroma. This classic tea will make you feel as zen as a yoga session would! Namaste.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Timid Red from Tea Taxi. . . .
Tea Taxi is one of those tea companies I hear about all the time, but I’m not sure I’ve ever tried. They have a bunch of fun looking mixes, complete with sprinkles and cute names.
Today’s pick was Timid Red, which I mostly reached for because there are little red hearts in it. Cute! In addition to the tea, this mix rocks “Candy (sugar, cornstarch, cellulose gum), natural flavors, sunflower, safflower, [and] calendula.” CANDY AS THE FIRST INGREDIENT?
The flavor itself is mostly vanilla with a kick of grenadine and a very light floral note.
It’s a savory and sweet mix that’s pretty strong, which I love. (Watery tea is the bane of my existence.) I’m not sure why it’s called “Timid Red,” since it’s fairly bold. Maybe the vanilla is supposed to be sweet (ergo timid)?
I disagree with this assessment. I think that this red is a go-getter. It’s SASSY.
The only beef I have with this tea is the company’s slightly confusing branding system. On the sample-size bag, each type of tea comes with an animal symbol instead of one universal Tea Taxi symbol. So my sample came with a stag and “Rouge Timide” on the front, and I had to Google what it was and work my way backwards. I don’t think that the full-size bags have that issue, thankfully.
If you’re reading this, Tea Taxi friends: j’adore votre thé, mais votre emballage est confusant. Merci pour votre temps.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
The delicate aromas of vanilla and pomegranate in this black tea may well remind you of your first pangs of love. Close your eyes and let yourself go…
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange Dream from Tea Taxi. . . .
I don’t usually love orange teas but the smell of them are certainly mouthwatering regardless. This tea, TeaTaxi’s Orange Dream, is no exception. A simple mix of oolong, orange peel, and flavor, I steeped up my whole sample in 190F water for 3 minutes.
Maybe it’s the time of year. Maybe it’s changing tastebuds. Whatever it is, I am actually quite enjoying this tea today. The orange scent of the dry leaf carries over to the scent of the brewed tea which in turn carries through the taste of the tea itself. The oolong compliments the orange flavor by providing a solid base and a touch of floral and cream without being overbearing. Simple but lovely.
This tea is both rich and warming while also being bright from the orange. As neither an orange tea lover or an oolong lover, I’m surprisingly a fan and as such would recommend this to those who like these kinds of teas.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
This is orange at its best! The tanginess of the fruit is perfectly balanced with the creaminess of oolong tea. A perfect brew after lunch or in the morning to kick start your day!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Christmas Night from Tea Taxi. . . .
Christmas Night. What do you expect? Pine and orange and clove, right? Wrong. This is a black tea with chocolate and ice cream bits and strawberry pieces and it smells ah-may-zing. Like a strawberry milkshake and since I love strawberry milkshakes, this is alright in my book.
To be honest I was saving this and then forgot about it so this sample is old but still smelled great so I had high hopes and since I had about 25 grams to work with, I decided to make this a variety of ways: plain, latte, and a smoothie.
My fear was the ice cream and chocolate would make the plain cup oily. I am pleased to say that is not the case. Unfortunately, in addition to the lack of oil there is also a lack of taste. I wonder if age is the culprit here because as I drink it, there is a faint memory of that strawberry milkshake, one that is far off in the distance and only slightly hanging on.
The latte suffers from the same issue as the plain cup, lack of flavor. This is creamier, obviously thanks to the milk and that is either tricking me into getting more of a slight strawberry ice cream flavor (or that flavor is actually there and the milk brought it out). It also has a little more of a plain black base flavor which doesn’t add anything so I am not too impressed with that either.
Finally, the tea smoothie. Prepped with chocolate pudding, skim milk, frozen strawberries and bananas, and a strawberries and chocolate jam. So, this certainly does not lack flavor. I think the tea is adding a candy/syrup-like quality to the overall flavor. The other strawberry components are more true-to-the-fruit but this smoothie has more of a syrupy sweet strawberry note than others I have had in the past.
I wish I got to this sooner because I feel like it has potential. Alas, despite proper storage (vacuum-sealed bag in a tea tin in a drawer in a dark room), the flavor deteriorated (or there was never flavor at all). That seems to be the case though with these eccentrically flavored teas.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Iced Kiss from Tea Taxi . . . . .
I discovered TeaTaxi over a year ago while sitting in a class and scrolling through Instagram. Flavor after flavor popped up on various tea blog accounts and I was intrigued since, much like DAVIDsTEA, TeaTaxi offered a great deal of unique and exciting flavors. I explored their website and thanks to their sampler packs and discounted tea tins, I was able to try a large variety of their offerings for a relatively inexpensive cost. I bought about 25 different teas and could not be happier when my order arrived.
This tea, Iced Kiss, was the first tea I tried from that order. That means it was the first TeaTaxi tea I ever tried. I recall enjoying it a great deal but that could have been due to my excitement over something new, tricking me into thinking the tea was better than it was.
I continued to try the teas from that order and most were enjoyable enough. As a result, when TeaTaxi introduced their monthly subscription, I signed up immediately for a one-year subscription. Among the latest delivery was a sample of this tea again. I saw it as a chance to revisit an old friend and see if it was as good as I remembered, or if my first taste excitement tricked me into enjoying the tea more than I would have otherwise.
Given this is called ICED Kiss, I brewed this up as an iced tea. It steeps up a pretty light pink with a little bit of fruit dust floating in the mix. The flavor, though not the WOW drink I remember it being, is a pleasant balance of fruits. A little waxy at times but I get apple notes, pear notes, and strawberry all at once. The nice thing here is the hibiscus. I find all too often that it either takes over with its hibby tartness or that it gets omitted entirely and the resulting fruit tisane is over-the-top cloying. Here there is just enough hibiscus to temper the fruity sweetness without making this tart.
If I am being honest, this tea makes me think of a children’s juicebox – fruity and flavorful yet not entirely natural tasting. As far as fruit tisanes go, this is a middle-of-the-pack sort of beverage that I could either take or leave. I am not running to get more but I also would not turn away more if offered.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
A delectable infusion of apple pieces, pear pieces, freeze-dried strawberries and hibiscus blossoms. Its fruity and sensual fragrance will make your kisser irresistible!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
