Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Deep in the forests of Southern China, tea leaves are still harvested by hand from wild tea trees. These are considered to be gourmet, premium teas among the Chinese, and there is always a light body, a delicate clarity, and an earthy nature to the brews of these leaves that is never found elsewhere. At one time, tradition says, the monks of a certain temple, desirous of harvesting more of these wild tree leaves at a quicker pace, trained dozens of monkeys to climb to the tops of the tea trees and pick the youngest leaves and pekoe buds up there! These monkey-picked leaves were then converted into oolong tea, the monk’s favored beverage. Today, Chinese tea drinkers call the very best oolong teas made from wild tree leaves, “Monkey-Picked,” even though more reliable methods of harvesting are now employed. Premium “Monkey-Picked” Oolong is rare, labor-intensive, and extremely delicate in flavor. It can be brewed for multiple infusions, with many declaring that the second steeping is the best! “Monkey-Picked” Ooloong has an extremely complex bouquet, with an earthiness in the brew usually found only in aged Pu Erh tea! Known to the Chinese as Ti Kuan Yin tea, or Goddess Tea, this ultimate oolong is a rare treasure for our Red Leaf customers! Try some today!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am a huge fan of oolong tea. Money Picked Oolong from Red Leaf Tea is a great one! The price is more than fair for this quality tea. At 7.99 per ounce it is robust with fruity juicy flavors and deep earthiness. The aroma is intoxicating and inviting. You can taste and smell ripely sweetened berries, and a caramelized sugar flavor that is just outstanding!
There is a slight rock mineral flavor that is not drying at all, rather quenching which I find interesting because mineral flavors are generally drying on my palate. This is a welcome and unique experience .
The flavors linger on the palate for quite a long time, beckoning me to take another sip, yet as I am generally one to drink my teas rather quickly, there is something that makes me just want to sit back and allow the flavors to meld over my palate, and just enjoy the after taste.
The color of the cup is delightful, deep golden orange almost verging on an amber color. Very cheerful to look at, and even more joyful to savor.
Red Leaf Tea is my “go to” place for straight and flavored matcha, but don’t overlook their abundant selection of straight and flavored teas!
I tend to be a big fan of Dong Ding Oolong, but this Monkey Picked Oolong from Red Leaf Tea my just be winning my top spot for oolong love!
Mother of Pearl from Della Terra Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Della Terra
Tea Description:
Pu-erh is a type of tea that has been fermented after the black tea leaves are dried and rolled, giving it a very unique, sweet and woodsy taste. Our Mother of Pearl Pu-erh is blended with strawberry and mango flavoring and pieces, along with rose hips and faux pearl pieces. The flavor you will have in your cup after brewing is a perfectly fruity and sweet tea with a slight smoky undertone.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mother of Pearl from Della Terra Teas is lovely yet intense. I love this tea. Purists may cringe but this is a wonderful puerh blend!
Now I truly do love a good puerh so I am not one that needs a blend or starter puerh to get through the cup but this tea here, I feel will appeal to just about anyone for various reasons. For beginners it is a great way to get introduced to puerh. For your kids, if you want them to have the health benefits of puerh but know they won’t go for a pure puerh, this has all the fruity goodness and sweet vanilla notes they will love. For the purists, okay maybe you won’t enjoy this as much as I do, but trust me, the base is lovely even if not from an aged cake that has been stored correctly for the last 10 years. Hey even purists need a little sinful delight now and then!
To make the purists cringe even a little more, if you add just a touch of rock sugar, the flavors in this tea really pop, not that they need the boost, they are so excellent on their own.
I had eaten some mexican food earlier today and it was sitting heavily on my tummy. I was getting to that food coma stage and knew I was about to drift off. So I made a cup of this. It had been a while since I had reached for it. I am so glad I did. Not only is it so delicious but the aroma wafting from my cup was igniting all of my senses. I had taken a few sips and my cup was sitting about two feet away from me on my tea table (okay coffee table but whatever), I was almost asleep on the sofa but the aromas beckoned me to take another sip, and another, this tea will fill your home with such succulent smells.
Vanilla, Strawberry, Mango, Roses, Sugar, and Aromatic Woodsy scents. It smelled like a cake made out in the woods in a log cabin. Something very reminiscent of the holidays in a way. I drifted of to sleep with a relaxed tummy, happy taste buds, and visions of an old log cabin in the wintery woods, with smoke coming out of the chimney drifting over the tops of hundred year old tress.
A lovely tea that evokes lovely imagery!
When I woke, I immediately reached for my cup to make a second steep. Yes this does re-steep wonderfully.
You really must try some!
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent to Me …
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope your day is happy and filled with all the things you love most: family, friends and of course TEA! (Actually, I don’t know if you love tea most, but, it’s one of the things I love most in the world, and since you’re sitting here, reading this with me, I have to think that maybe you at least ENJOY tea a little bit!)
Anyway, today’s shiny, bright green envie/box brought me this EXCLUSIVE tea from Della Terra Teas:
Sugar Plum Perfection
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: Della Terra Teas
Note: this tea is one of three exclusive teas to this 12 Days of Christmas collection
Tea Description:
Merry Christmas!!! Today is the big day! Now, open up this amazing sugar plum tea and sip away. You’ve earned it!
This black tea will bring more magic to this already magical day with the taste of sweet sugar plums and spice. Enjoy and relax!
A Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Taster’s Review:
I was so excited when I opened today’s little package from Della Terra Teas! I love Sugar Plums! Well, actually, I’ve never tried the traditional type of Sugar Plum. But, when I lived in Ridgefield (Washington), the little antique store in town sold some old time candy and during this time of year, they’d sell the Jelly Belly version of the Sugar Plum, and I loved those. Well, to be honest, I love just about anything Jelly Belly … but I digress.
After tasting this, I suspect that this Sugar Plum Perfection is a bit more like the traditional Sugar Plum rather than the Jelly Belly version … but, that’s alright, because I’m enjoying this! It’s a bit more spiced than it is a fruity tasting tea, but I do taste the notes of plum in there too … and I especially smell the plum when I lift my cup up to my lips to take a sip. That smell is quite plum-y (and of course, spice)! YUM!
The black tea is a fairly mellow tea here as it is not particularly prominent in the cup. I mean, it’s obviously there, and I can taste it, but, it’s not a strong, distinct flavor. I find that the tea notes develop on the palate a little as I continue to sip … but the spice and the fruit notes are the strongest flavors of this cup. Normally, this would give me cause to take issue with the tea, but, this tastes so yummy that I find it difficult to complain about anything. I like this a lot.
The spices (the most noteable of which is cinnamon) are pleasant and warming. The plum flavor is sweet, and there is additional sweetness in this from little sparkly sugar crystals that have been added to the blend. I also taste a floral note to this, and I find this to be quite appealing if for no other reason than it adds an interesting dimension to the overall cup.
What a perfect way to end this wonderful countdown to Christmas – the Della Terra Teas way!
Sugar Plum Cinnamon Spice from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Our Sugar Plum Cinnamon Spice tea has a rounded sweet plum flavor fused with a blast of cinnamon spice!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Several years ago, I tried my very first sugar plum. It was a delicious confection that I found in an old time candy shop, reminding me vaguely of the sweet jelly candies that are covered in sugar … only tasting of plum instead of orange or lemon. Only a few days ago, I had learned that maybe that sugar plum I tasted back then wasn’t actually a real sugar plum, at least, not a traditional sugar plum. So, I’m back to the point I was before … I’ve never actually tried a sugar plum.
So, I can’t tell you from experience that this tea does or does not taste like sugar plums. But what I can tell you is that it is YUMMY!
The black tea base is a delicious black tea, fairly strong … I’d actually describe it as brisk. It isn’t an overpowering flavor but it manages to make its presence known along with the other flavors without attempting to overwhelm them. It tastes smooth, it isn’t bitter, and it has a moderate amount of astringency to it. A very pleasant black tea providing a solid background of flavor.
The cinnamon is really interesting in this cup, because even though it would appear to be the strongest note in the cup, it isn’t really what I would consider a strong cinnamon flavor. Yes, it’s there, it’s gently spiced, but, it isn’t a powerful amount of spice. It’s more like the flavor of cinnamon you might experience from cinnamon-sugar toast: sweet yet warm, and quite delicious.
I think it is the way that the cinnamon mingles with the plum in this particular tea that makes it so interesting. The plum is sweet, but it doesn’t taste like a fresh plum. It doesn’t taste like a dried plum (or prune). It tastes… actually, it kind of tastes like the candy that I told you about at the start of this review – what I believed at the time to be a sugar plum. It has a fruit candy-like taste to it rather than a fresh fruit or even a dried fruit flavor. There is also a distinct tangy note that lingers in the aftertaste that is definitely plum flavor … it tastes quite a bit like my gramma’s homemade plum jam. Delicious!
What I like best about this particular tea – aside from the memories of my gramma’s delicious plum jam – is that it is incredibly warm and inviting. I found myself shivering a bit this morning, as the temperature has dropped … and this is the tea I reached for. It warmed me from the inside out. This tea is a very comforting experience, like happy moments from childhood warming my very soul.
Almond Sugar Cookie from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Heavenly! That’s the best word to describe this black tea blend. You’ll think you’re in a bakery when you open the bag and the aroma of nutty goodness wafts out. The brewed tea is divine – with no calories!
Ingredients: Black teas, almonds, flavoring and safflower blossoms.
Taster’s Review:
Wowza! As I sit here, preparing to write this review, my favorite tea mug is filled to the brim with this tea. The aroma is almost too much to take. It smells like freshly baked cookies, and it’s making my stomach growl! My tummy thinks that cookies are sitting in front of me, not tea!
So, finally, I must cave in and take a sip. YUM!
There are several “almond cookie” type teas out there, but I can’t recall any that I’ve tried that were better than this one. The flavor is sweet – but not too sweet – and there is a baked cookie kind of taste to it too. It’s slightly buttery. The black tea base is strong without overpowering the sweet almond flavor.
And it is the almond that is the star of this cup. From the aroma that is experienced before even taking that first sip, right down to the last sip and the aftertaste, the almond is front and center. It is sweet, nutty and has a pleasant roasted/toasted kind of taste to it.
I think that the perfect temperature for this tea is hot, but not freshly-brewed, still piping-hot hot. Allowing this tea to cool ever so slightly will allow some of the cookie taste to emerge without losing any of the almond or black tea flavors. The slightly cooled tea tastes like a bit like my favorite almond biscotti that has just been dunked in black tea. Delicious!