Oriental Beauty Tea (Dong Fang Mei Ren) from Driftwood Tea

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Driftwood Tea

Tea Description:

Oriental Beauty is also know by several other names including: Dong Fang Mei Ren; White Tip Oolong; and Champagne Oolong. Whatever name it goes by this is perhaps Taiwan’s most special tea and cited by many connoisseur as one of the world’s finest.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This is a rather unusual Oriental Beauty – and I mean that in a very good way.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Oriental Beauty Oolong teas, they are one of my favorite Oolong varieties, but, I have come to expect certain things with Oriental Beauty and this one surprised me with some of the flavors I’m tasting here.

Normally, I expect a strong essence of a fuzzy, ripe peach, and I do detect some peach-y notes here, but I’m also tasting a strong muscatel note – so much so that it’s almost Darjeeling-esque!  It tastes of fermented grapes, with a hint of wood and musk, and a sweet, apricot/peach note.

The aroma of the brewed tea offers a floral note as well as a woody tone, but I don’t taste a strong floral essence.  There are some flowery notes to the flavor, but, the majority of the floral tones remain in the fragrance, and do not translate so much into the flavor.

But that’s alright, because I’m loving the way the flavors come together in this cup, with its strong fruity presence and background notes of wood and musk, hints of spice and whispers of flower.  It’s a beautifully complex cup, and offers some surprises to what I expected might be an ordinary cup of Oriental Beauty tea.  And while there’s nothing wrong with the typical cup of Oriental Beauty – I love Oriental Beauty Oolong! – it’s nice to have a tea challenge me and question what I thought I knew about this tea!

I love this!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Oolong

Raspberry Champagne from Octavia Tea

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  White

Where to Buy:  Octavia Tea

Product Description:

Elegant and inviting, Raspberry Champagne blends the luscious, juicy taste of ripe raspberries with the delicate floral and honey-like notes of champagne. Known for its detoxifying, stress-relieving properties, white tea is said to be the healthiest of all teas and is harvested only a few days each year.

Taster’s Review:

I’ve tried a few Raspberry Champagne blends, but I think this one is my favorite!  And the biggest surprise for me with this tea is that this blend has hibiscus and stevia in it, two ingredients I don’t like in tea blends … and I’m still loving it!

Even though the flavors are delicate, they are well-defined.  The raspberry flavor is sweet with hints of tart.  There is a beautiful floral tone to this.  The jasmine and osmanthus give it such a delightful flowery note.  The champagne is crisp.  And the nicest surprise of them all, a sweet undertone of honey.  It is a fantastic and surprising combination of flavors.

The hibiscus is a very light addition, and I think that makes a big difference here.  It adds the faintest hint of pink color to the cup, but, next to no flavor or texture.  The stevia adds a gentle sweetness without any of the weird aftertaste that I get from stevia.

This is delicious hot, but, as the weather is still rather warm, I prefer it iced.  It is very cool and refreshing.  If you’ve liked other raspberry champagne blends you’ve tried, I suggest trying this one – it may just become a new favorite like it has for me.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in White Tea

Champagne Mojito Green Tea from 52Teas available from iHeartTeas

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  iHeartTeas

Product Description:

Fresh cut spearmint in a blend with sweet Chinese Sencha green tea infused with the essence of key lime and champagne.

Taster’s Review:

Recently, 52Teas announced their “Rescued from Retirement” program which enables other companies to bring back some of their blends.  I was thrilled with the prospect of being able to try some of 52Teas blends that were released before I “discovered” the company.  This Champagne Mojito is the perfect example.  Released the week of April 5, 2009 – about seven months before my first order with 52Teas – this was a tea I probably would not have been able to try if it were not for the Rescued from Retirement program.

And I’m really glad I got to try it, because it is yummy.  The green tea base is a Chinese Sencha that is sweet and a little creamy/buttery.  It has a fresh taste but not very vegetative, and in the case with this particular tea, I think that is a good thing.  I think that a more vegetative tasting green tea would interfere with the delicate taste of the champagne.

These ingredients compliment each other very well.  I find that the crisp, clean taste of the spearmint brings out some of the sweeter notes of the lime, complimenting the sweet, delicate features of the champagne.  The lime is zesty with just enough tart flavor to cut through some of the mintier tones of the spearmint. It doesn’t taste too minty, it doesn’t taste too tart, and it doesn’t taste too sweet.  It is a very pleasing harmony of flavors.  This is delicious served hot, but, it is even better when iced.  It is incredibly refreshing and thirst-quenching.

Many thanks to Rachel from iHeartTeas for bringing this one out of retirement.  This tea appears to be sold out at her Tea Trade store, but, she has many other excellent teas from 52Teas available.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in 52Teas, Green Tea, Tea Company, Type Of Tea

Raspberry Champagne Tea from Octavia Tea

by teaequalsbliss

Tea Type: White Tea

Where To Buy: Octavia Tea

Product Description:

Lush and inviting, Raspberry Champagne blends the floral, honey-like notes of champagne with fresh, blushing berries. White tea is said to be the healthiest of all teas and is picked only a few days each year.

Tasters Review:

Raspberry Champagne from Octavia Tea smells like Raspberry and Flowers!   The taste is Raspberry and floral but very champagne-like and juicy.  The aftertaste is a sweet floral taste. The berry notes are wonderful!  I can even taste a bit of honey as well!

I tend to over infuse my loose leaf teas.  I infuse more of the actual loose leaf but for a little less time to avoid bitterness or overly grassy or mossy tastes in other teas.

When I over infused the amount of this specific tea here is what I found different from the original infusion…

The aroma was of Honey, Berries, White Tea…it was very nice!  The taste was pretty much the same as before but even more so.  The Raspberry really came out when I attempted this!

I also tried a 2nd infusion when I over infused the amount of loose leaf and the taste is a bit on the lighter-side…but still very tasty and satisfying.  I really enjoyed each attempt!  And I really thought this was a great flavored white tea!

 

teaequalsbliss

Co-Founder/Co-Creator of Sororitea Sisters at Sororitea Sisters Jennifer (TeaEqualsBliss) is in her upper 30s and lives in the eastern snowbelt area of the US with her husband, 3 dogs, and cat (however the number of furkids can change at anytime as she LOVES providing a forever home for many shelter animals. Her several interests include music, movies, veganism, sports, traveling, collecting Baseball Cards and Unicorns, Radio, Computers, Crafting, and of course…TEA. She started drinking tea at the tender age of 3 thanks to her Grandmother and her love for tea has gotten stronger with each year! In addition to being a co-founder/co-creator of Sororitea Sisters - her main site is MyBlissfulJourney.com. Find out more about Jennifer on MyBlissfulJourney.com.

This post was posted in White Tea

Champagne Rose from Lupicia

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Lupicia

Product Description:

Black tea flavored with sweet strawberries and champagne. Perfect as a festive gift.

Taster’s Review:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am very pleasantly surprised by this tea.  Until now, most of the champagne flavored teas I’ve tasted has been with a white tea base and because white tea is so light and delicate in flavor, I thought it was a perfect match with the sparklingly light taste of champagne.  I was skeptical about how well the champagne flavor would translate in a black tea.

But, I am very impressed!  Not only does the champagne flavor sparkle through but it is so nicely infused with the strawberry flavor.  This is so delicious – like a New Year’s celebration in a teacup!

The black tea base is robust and bright.  There is a slight (very slight) bitterness at the tail end of the sip, but I find that it is a very intriguing contrast to the sweetness of the strawberry and champagne flavor and lends a certain savory element to this otherwise sweet tea.

The strawberry tastes sweet and offers a hint of tartness, while the champagne tastes like … well, champagne!  This is tea and not a sparkling wine, so it doesn’t have the bubbly aspect of champagne, but it does have a certain grape-like taste to it with a clean, almost tannic quality that is very representative of my limited experience with tasting champagne.  (err… that is to say, I don’t drink champagne very often!)  It is not strongly astringent, but there is a hint of that wine-like characteristic that expresses itself as champagne-like.  This is also really good iced!

This is one of the best teas that I’ve tasted from Lupicia – and I’ve tasted quite a few.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say this one is my favorite from Lupicia, but it is probably in the top 5.  VERY GOOD!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea