I steeped this tea in one cup of 175° water. It comes in a sweet little tea sachet that I somehow managed to rip a hole in. (Good job, me.) So I’m steeping this for about three minutes and the color of the water is not changing all that much, although it is taking on a greenish yellow tint.
The tea liquid is ever so slightly viscous, with teeny tiny specks dancing in it that I can barely even see. It’s not fragrant from across the room, but I can catch a whiff if I’m bending over the tea itself. I steeped for two minutes but then decided to put the tea sachet back in for another minute or two because it wasn’t strong enough for my taste yet. The thing about green tea is that you can’t see bit too hot or it will turn bitter; however, if you have cooler water it doesn’t steep as fast. (Plus of course steeping too long can induce bitterness as well.) Also I have no recommendations for this tea so I don’t know the best way to steep it and consequently I am just basically making an educated guess. As I’m looking at the tea leaves inside this teabag, I can see that they’re all chopped up, but they’re definitely not crushed into dust. In fact, they are not nearly as quick to jump out the hole in my sachet as I anticipated they would be.
After sitting for another minute, the tea liquid does look slightly yellower. It does not have a much stronger fragrance, however. But the flavor is quite nice now, with some astringency and quite strong vegetal overtones. I may have pushed it over the edge with my slightly longer steeping though because it is almost verging on bitterness at the end of the sip now. It’s still not what I really call bitter though. It has mostly bright flavors, seaweed and vegetal, with only a hint of buttery flavor. It’s very green flavored and I’m not catching many floral notes either, although perhaps a hint here and there.
I enjoyed this tea, and although I probably wouldn’t drink it on a daily basis, I would definitely consider it for a great travel option because of the convenience of the prepackaged sachet.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Tea Can Company
Description
This pan-fired Green Tea is simply the best. Savor this clean and robust flavor while you enjoy the many health benefits. High in antioxidants. Serve hot or cold.
Ingredients: Pan-Fired Green Tea, Contains Caffeine
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Style Dong Ding (oolong) by Fong Mong Tea
Steeping specs: 3 grams per half cup at 175° for five minutes
While steeping this tea, I didn’t observe much color change. The leaves unfurled quite a bit, having started out as small pills or pearls, but the tea liquid didn’t seem to change color all that much. However, after I removed the tea leaves, I could see that there was a gentle peach color to the liquid. It’s very light and transparent, not dark or strong-looking at all. What is remarkable, though, is the lovely roasted smell (disproportionately strong given how light the color is) and the high-quality leaves; after the leaves unfurled I could tell that they were highly intact and well preserved. And I could smell the wonderful roasted oolong fragrance long before tasting the tea itself.
At the first sip I’m detecting plenty of roast, plenty of nose, and a flavor that’s almost heading towards bitter but just barely managing to avoid it. Of course, I did steep the leaves about five degrees hotter than recommended, because my variable temperature kettle only has so many increments, so that could have something to do with it.
This turned out to be a tasty, toasty oolong with a very enjoyable balance between buttery and nutty flavors and a somewhat astringent feel. The liquid is not viscous or dark but still has plenty of flavor. This tea is also great with just a touch of sugar, which tames down the astringent effect a bit and brings out the floral aspect that was a bit buried under the roasted flavor before the sugar was added.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Description
The hand-plucked leaves of Dong Ding Oolong are grown in the Dong Ding region of Taiwan at the elevation of 740 meters. At this elevation, the leaves absorb moisture from the surrounding fog and clouds every morning and afternoon which is ideal for Oolong plants. Due to the unique geographic location and stringent selection of leaves, this is the finest Dong Ding Oolong from the Dong Ding estate.
Dong Ding is well known of producing fine tea-Dong Ding Oolong Tea. Traditional baking technique by artisans and proper fermentation and baking procedure create an unforgettable extremely perfect flavor. Firstly tasted mellow with strong fragrance and then a sweet aftertaste quickly rising from the throat makes it famous for decades to all over the world. Drinking Dong Ding Oolong Tea is definitely an enjoyable lifestyle and also the exclusive choice for all tea lovers
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tangerine Cupcake? With Marshmallow FROSTING? #52Teas
There’s just something about a well-named tea, you guys. I’ll be the first to admit that I TOTALLY judge literal books by their covers when I’m in a bookstore, or the library– and that same tendency seems to spill into the tea-loving parts of my life as well. So when I stumbled across this tea– TANGERINE cupcake? With MARSHMALLOW FROSTING? it immediately got bumped to the top of the list on name alone.
Like many other sisters reviewing here, I am a sucker for marshmallow in tea– particularly, the pillowy, creamy goodness that the marshmallow root herb adds to a tea. No disrespect to the (delicious) cute little mini marshmallows peppering so many of my favorite dessert teas, but I love how the root adds that flavor without the additives and sugary-sweetness. And this tea has it in spades! The dry leaf looks to be almost 60:40 black tea to marshmallow root, which is a fantastic ratio, if you’re asking my palate.
Brewed, however, this tea doesn’t quite hit the mark that I was hoping for. Is it a fantastic marshmallow black tea? YES. Did I maybe set my sights too high in hoping for something citrusy, sweet, cake-like AND marshmallow-y? Probably, yes. I’m not picking too much tangerine up in my cup, which is a little disappointing. But to be fair, if this tea hadn’t been named so spectacularly (thus, setting my expectations sky-high), I would’ve been super pleased by the pillow-y, vanilla goodness from this black tea blend.
Three takeaways from this experience: 1. 52 Teas can make a pretty spectacular marshmallow tea. 2. I should learn to temper my judge-a-book-by-its-cover tendencies. 3. I’ll take another cup, please and thanks.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for blends that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Energy Chai from Hampstead Tea. . . .
“Organic Energy Chai” by Hampstead Tea was originally “BIOCHAI” (all caps). The original bag (which I am sampling here) touted the ingredient “biodynamic black tea leaves.”
They’ve since changed their branding to a more delicate branding scheme that involves a white background and no more claims of things being “biodynamic.” Which is sort of a relief, because when I see “BIOCHAI” or “biodynamic,” I ironically don’t think of something being biological at all. I think about things that are biologically enhanced, like a Terminator/Borg situation. Like this tea got taken over by nanobots.
This delicate, sweet tea doesn’t seem like it’s going to “harness your inner energy and bring the diva out in you!” I actually find this to be more soothing than HYPE. It’s just a tasty blend that is helping nudge me into wakefulness on this cloudy Monday.
Speaking of which, I definitely have “a case of the Mondays” today. I went to the gym, but all of my usual companions slept through it, which was lonely. So I watched YouTube videos of people painting while walking slowly on an incline on the treadmill. It was the saddest workout you’ve ever seen.
Which is not to say my workouts are usually zesty, but at least if people I know are there, I half-ass it instead of no-ass it.
This lackadaisical attitude toward fitness means I am the slowest, pant-iest drag on the group’s speed of all time.
This is why I am the group’s Resident Black Tea Drinker. It’s the only thing that will nudge me into the next gear. I’d just rather be drinking tea than hustling.
I’m sure you gals understand.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea
Description
Chai comes from India where Darjeeling Black Tea is blended with exotic herbs and spices to make luxurious,aromatic drink. Let it harnessIngredients:Black Tea, Ginger, Lemongrass, Peppercorns, Cardamom seeds and Cloves
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Honey Pear from Nelson’s Tea. . . .
Holy murky waters, Batman! Seriously. Teas are normally translucent at the very least but this brews up unexpectedly opaque. My guess is the pollen is at play here. Well, here goes nothing…
Alright, so after my first sip, my thought was, for a tea that looks so dense, this tastes surprisingly thin. It smells like tea and pear and yet the taste is just slightly sweet/ slightly pear flavored water. No honey. Not much tea. Big sips, small sips, letting it sit on my tongue…maybe there is a touch of honey sweetness but I want MOAR!!! More pear. More honey. This sounds awesome but it is failing to deliver. Honestly, I don’t even know if I could identified the honey or pear if I had this in a blind taste test because it is very, very subtle.
If I am being honest, I think this may benefit from a different base. A green would be good actually since it is lighter which would allow for more of the light pear flavor to come through. Honey would also stand out more on a green base, though when I saw the base was black I hoped it would contribute additional honey notes that the flavoring could play off. Alas, it seems I am getting a whole lotta nothing.
Perhaps next time I will steep it stronger or maybe add something to coax out more flavor. However, steeped per the recommended time in 190F water, I am sad to say this fell short of my expectations.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Nelson’s Tea
Description
Just like biting into a sweet, succulent pear, this tea is sure to please. Enjoy it hot or iced!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
