Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Hugo Tea
Tea Description:
Behold friends! The pure black tea blend you’ve been seeking. Morning’s Journey is my private blend of three black teas from three countries. This loose blend holds unparalleled balance and flavor, ready to sustain your adventures—no compass or knapsack required. Keep it close and brew it often.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Okay so the description says they use three types of black leaf but if I had to place a bet on it I would swear there is puerh in this blend! Perhaps, perhaps not, but when these three black teas meld together – puerh is the resulting flavor in my opinion. This is not a bad thing at all. I happen to very much enjoy puerh but I also feel that those who have never tried a puerh or those who would like to but want to dip their toes in gently should give this tea a try! Granted there may not be even a smidgen of puerh in here and if not so be it but the resulting flavors are as such:
Sweet, earthy, deep, and woodsy.
There is a marked presence of a wood flavor here, much like sandalwood that is reminiscent of some of the incense I burn, without feeling like you just inhaled a mouthful of heavy incense smoke. Its not perfume-y, so don’t fear.
Sweet yet clear and crisp notes of berry surface on the initial sip with the woodsy flavor coming out in the after taste.
There is a nice cocoa note that is most noticeable on the tip of the tongue that blends with the earlier fruit notes bringing out almost a honeyesque flavor.
This tea has almost a creamy mouthfeel yet it is bright, not thick or full.
What may be even more interesting to you regarding this tea is not even so much in the flavor profile, but how the tea will make you feel! Before I decided to review this tea this morning, I was extremely groggy. I was no where near a place where I thought I could sit and write a review. However by the second cup, somewhere mid way through it, I found myself invigorated! My eyes were no longer heavy and my mind was firing once again on all cylinders! Now granted that is what a morning tea is usually geared for, but there is a clarity to my thoughts much earlier than normal on this day. This tea works with my energy much in the same way matcha does! I am excited to have tried this and am now going to scout out what other offerings Hugo Tea has!
Hugo Tea only has a small selection of teas however if they are all this good, that is all they really need!
Note: Hugo Tea has informed me that no pu-erh has been used in this blend, which makes it all the more interesting to me!
LiShan Oolong, Winter from The Mountain Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Oolong
Where to Buy: The Mountain Tea Company
Tea Description:
Our Winter LiShan coats the palate with orchid, pineapple, and vanilla bean. “LiShan” means Pear Mountain and in the past, the most sought after pears came from this place. This highland climate with an altitude of more than 6600 feet above sea level produces especially superior teas. LiShan oolongs are the most fragrant, smoothest, butteriest oolongs, incredibly sweet with a taste of toasted fruit.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have only recently discovered tea from The Mountain Tea Company but I am so very glad that I have.
I have enjoyed every tea I have tried from them so far.
The aroma of this tea in dry form is amazing. Such a strong delicious scent yet so difficult to explain. There is something quite roasty and toasty about this tea yet it is a green oolong. There is a smokey aroma but that does not convey in the steeped cup.
Steeped it is fresh, grassy, vegetal, and crisp. Refreshingly delightful and just simply splendrous cold brewed!
There is such a sweet honey like flavor with a bright clear finish. The sweetness does not linger in a cloying manner but rather leaves behind the flavor of fresh cut grass.
There is a lightly floral note of orchid and some fruity notes mixed throughout the flavors on the palate and a lovely lilting vanilla note that drifts over the taste buds but dissipates quickly making me want more.
While the cup is fresh and bright there is a deep creamy mouthfeel before hand – so the initial taste is that of deeply creamy and buttery followed with the clear cleansing finish.
I know I am just not doing this tea any justice in my review but I am just so very excited to be sipping on this tea right now. I want to sit back and enjoy it yet my excitement to share information about this tea with everyone can’t wait. I just want to get it all out and written down right as the flavors and notes come dancing forward for me so that you can experience in its truest form – outside of having it for yourself. I want you to be in the moment with me while I have this spectacular tea!
I do hope to get more of this before I drink it all, and it won’t be difficult to justify as it is one of the more exquisite teas I could invest in.
As a reviewer I can drink upwards of 10 cups of tea a day, some days more, some less, and I don’t review them all. I only review those teas I would suggest to others. Be it a solid beginner tea, a tea for those who are looking only for the best, or something in the middle. Even though I may not particularly like every tea personally, due to simply perhaps not enjoying a flavor element for example, I try to be quite fair in my reviews. Regardless, this is a tea I would recommend to everyone. Beginners should use this tea as a baseline for all other teas, specifically Oolongs if you are finding you love Oolongs. For those who have been drinking tea for some time you won’t be disappointed in this tea, or The Mountain Tea Company. I certainly am not as experienced as some but thus far I have to say this is one of the most enjoyable oolongs I have had the honor of sipping.
Sometimes we just get so excited about a tea – after drinking one after another – one simply stands out above the others. As for Oolongs, I would stand behind this one hands down as supreme.
Four Leaves Ripe Pu’er from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu’er
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
We are proud to offer our very own blend of ripe pu’er tea! We (and our customers) are very happy with the finished product. While we love this tea now, we can hardly wait to see what 2 or 3 more years of aging will bring to the flavor of this tea!
Also available in a 250gram cake!
The four leaves used in our ripe tea are from the Jinggu Tea Factory in Simao. The Jinggu tea factory used to be part of the CNNP state-owned tea factories. They started fermenting Pu’er in the mid-70’s and was the third factory ever to produce ripe pu’er!
The leaf used was spring picked and processed in 2009 and is quite ready for enjoying now. We chose the material and pressed the blend in April of 2010.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One thing I love about Mandala, other than their excellent quality of tea, is their 5.00 shipping! Its just something note worthy as I know when I am considering trying a new tea company their shipping rates do matter. Also Garret at Mandala is one of the most guanine people I have ever spoken with. He takes time with people. That is something we need more of these days.
Four Leaves Ripe Pu’er is a loose leaf pu’er which for those of you starting your pu’er journey may find a little less intimidating. However you can also get it in a cake as well, which is a condensed version of the tea. Steeping instructions are right on the packaging.
I always give my pu’er an initial rise, okay not always but most always anyway. With this tea I did do an initial rinse.
The initial aromas from this tea when steeped are fruity, and leather. There is a sweetness lurking behind these initial aroma notes.
This tea has a crisp bright mouthful, which surprised me as I was expecting something more rich and earthier from the aroma of leather. The flavor of leather is there but the sip is thinner than I anticipated, thin but not lacking flavor!
The sweet berry note is also noticeable.
One note that jumped out at me that took me completely by surprise was a buttered toast flavor! I swoon at anything buttery!
Now don’t get me wrong, this is absolutely an earthy tea, pu’er as a rule is earthy but the other notes bring forth a delightful cheery cup.
I really feel this would make for a good starer pu’er although maybe not a for your very first pu’er. This would be like a level 2 pu’er. Perhaps starting with something flavored first then working up to this.
On the flip side it is not as complex or mature as many pu’er so for the more advanced pu’er drinkers this may not be as exciting.
There is room for growth in this tea but it is young and as much time yet to develop. It does however have a wonderful starting point and if you are one to buy and store pu’er for later drinking I would absolutely recommend grabbing a cake of this!
Organic Kundaly from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Indian
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Organic Kundaly is sourced from the Kanan Devan Hills Plantation in Kerela, India. This extra special Pekoe grade tea has floral and roasted walnut notes. Organic Kundaly is an assertive lightly astringent black tea.
Ingredients: Organic Kundaly Black Tea
Recommended Brew Time: 4 minutes
Recommended Amount: 1 level teaspoon of tea for 8oz of water
Recommended Temperature: 210 F.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really respect Stacy from Butiki Teas and her dedication to organic and natural flavored teas! See more info on her here.
This is not as assertive as some morning blacks so you could also have this as an afternoon tea, heck you can have any tea you want at any time but for the sake of reviewing I would say this is a brunch tea!
It has malty notes but they are not “in your face” and it is a bit lighter and less bold than some Indian black teas. There is an earthy note to it which reminds me a bit of peat and tree bark. Next to no astringency.
The mouthfeel is rather bright, and crisp.
There is a light tanginess – more of a twang in this tea. If tea notes could be explained by musical notes this would make the sound of a person picking on a banjo. That may have made no sense at all but it just has this “pluck” to it which is delightful!
I pick up a very gentle spice note in the background of this tea slightly like black peppercorn but its so slight it could easily be missed!
This is a fairly straight forward tea, its not layered with complexities but it is in fact a very good example of a high quality Indian black with enough of a difference from most that it is quite unique and one that you should try!
Huo Shan Yellow Sprouting from Mark T. Wendell
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.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very lucky to be introduced to yellow tea early in my loose leaf tea drinking experience! It was the first time I had ever stepped foot into a real tea house, in St. Louis, Missouri. The London Tea Room. At that time they had a lovely yellow tea which was not on their regular tea menu as it was a special tea not normally sold in the store. They told me about yellow tea and gave me a good education on it. I was sold and bought it on the spot not even really knowing just how precious yellow tea was. So that was my introduction and how I fell in love with Yellow teas. Even still yellow teas seem to be quite rare, and while they can be found online and in tea shops, I find people are still not quite as aware of them as they could be. I was thrilled when I received a sample of this from my SororiTea Sister LiberTEAS.
I am finding this cup to be every bit as delightful as my first experience with yellow tea. As I do not currently have many yellow teas, perhaps one or two, in my own stash, having a new one to try is a lovely gift!
This tea, from Mark T. Wendell, is captivating! Its creamy and buttery, but also there is this really nice savory element to it as well and many know how much I love a savory tea! The mouthfeel is heavier than the color of the cup may indicate. Don’t let the beautiful, delicate, golden tone fool you, its quite rich. There is a natural sweetness just as the product description says, but the fresh floral and grassy notes make it pleasing and healthy tasting. I get a note that speaks towards wheat grass flavors.
It is not as buttery as many oolong or green teas, which of course it is a yellow tea and has its own voice. Yet, these elements are present. There is a juiciness and freshness to the cup making it quite bright, a “happy” tea. To me, this is not a tea you choose when wanting to sit down and get absorbed into a great novel, but more of a tea for when you want to have loose fun conversations, or enjoy a sunny day, or brighten up a dreary one. And again, being in a category of its own, you won’t find this tea as vegetal as some greens, yet in the under layer of this tea – toward the base of the flavor levels, does exist a slightly vegetal flavor, which learns more toward a salty seaweed like note.
Also, if you allow this tea to cool quite a while you will find a light candy like note, sort of like a meringue cookie flavor or perhaps the curst on a creme brulee although its not going to jump out at you that flavor is in there.
Yellow tea is such an interesting thing to me. I always love trying any yellow tea I can get my hands on and I hope that more people become aware of how wonderful yellow teas are. Why not start with this one? I am finding it to be my favorite so far.