Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Black Moon’

Product Description:
Madagascar mixes rich black tea with slices of real vanilla bean to produce a deep flavor that incorporates notes of dark rum, sweet earth and tropical flowers. Both smooth and exotic, this loose leaf tea is great served with buttered toast as a special morning treat.

Tasters Review:
Although this one isn’t my favorite offering from Golden Moon I didn’t think Madagascar Vanilla was bad either. I did find some interesting traits and characteristics that I would like to share! First…the aroma! It smells nice both before, during, and after infusion. It ‘brews’ dark brown and is quite mellow in taste. I’m more of a “In Your Face” Bold and Black Tea Drinker for the first cup of the day and when I first sampled this it was my first cup of the day. I didn’t think it was overly strong but it makes a nice mid morning or afternoon flavored Black Tea. Overall it was an ‘alright cup’ but I was looking for something stronger for first thing in the morning. If you like a mellower black tea…this one might be right up your alley!

You can purchase the Madagascar directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Dry appearance: leaves are large and coal black in color, smell is sweet like honey (hence the name)

Boiling water and 3:30 minute infusion yields a champagne colored tea. This is hard to believe that this is an unflavored black tea! The taste is more of oolong than black. The meatiness of an oolong comes to mind as I silently sip this delicate tea. This reminds me of my very first oolong…plum oolong to be exact. A woody flavor profile that lingers on your palette long after the tea has disappeared from your cup.

This tea does not need sweeteners added. The honey presence makes this perfect. I personally I am not detecting the orchid, which is fine by me. Flowers and tea is not always a tasty combination.

Overall, this tea is good. A second infusion is expected with this one since the leaves have not fully unfurled from the first infusion. If you are looking for a robust black tea, keep looking. Honey Orchid is a light tea with a dual personality: black or oolong? I will let you decide, that is if you are lucky enough or thoughtful enough to have joined the Single Leaf Club. If not, then you will just have to take my word that this is one impressive bloolackong tea!

You can purchase the Honey Orchid Black directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

I’ve had a long and pleasurable relationship with Earl Grey so I was excited to taste this tea.   I opened the package and was initially enchanted by the aroma.    As I waited for the tea to cool, I looked at Golden Moon’s very attractive web site and learned that their Tippy Earl Grey is a :  ”High-quality black tea with subtle essences of bergamot and lavender.”  What fun!  I knew that the  bergamot with its citrusy aroma was present and accounted for most nicely but the lavender was the delightful surprise here.  The floral, slightly spicy, aromatic scent of the lavender added a delightful supporting role to the bergamot which should always be the star of Earl Grey.

The brew was an excellent Earl Grey and the select leaves and the flavoring made it a distinctive cup.  I realized how many Earl Grey teas I have sampled that only hinted slightly at the flavor.  Golden Moon always makes an effort to provide a much higher than standard experience and they did not fail here.   The lavender does not overwhelm the taste and aroma but does seem to make the bergamot a stronger, more distinctive presence than occurs in many other Earl Greys.  If you are shopping for a special Earl Grey treat, I recommend this.  I don’t know if this would be everyone’s choice for a daily Earl Grey to keep in stock always, but if you love the bergamot and want it strong and sturdy, then this might be the very best choice for you.

Congratulations to Golden Moon for getting the right assemblage of leaves and flavors together to make a delightful tea worthy of its title:  Tippy Earl Grey.

You can purchase the Tippy Earl Grey directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

From the label: Top quality black tea with the sweet flavor of ripe fruit, and rich, smooth honey.

The smell of the tea leaves (dry and wet) is musty. Oh, I see pollen pieces on the ingredient list. That would explain the slight musty smell.

The taste is of pear. Greenish Pears that may have not been ready to pick The amber liquid does not need sweeteners. It is fine all by itself. This reminds me more of white tea than black. The pollen is probably responsible for the “flowery” taste emitting from my cup. As this cools, the taste is unforgiving for me. I cannot bear to finish this tea, the flowers, the pollen, the mustiness all came together in a bitter mess of a tea. I hope to have better luck on my next Golden Moon sample, but it is a wrap for this one.

You can purchase the Honey Pear directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.