7 minute brew time with boiling water

Very pretty blend. Green and yellow “grass” like cuttings are sprinkled throughout this lemony blend.

Champagne colored brew.

Lemon grass is the dominant flavor. This blend would be great added to another tea for that just right lemon addition.

As I neared the end of my cup, I noticed the astringency of this herbal blend, which makes me really think that using this as a mix in with another tea would really be the best use for this one.

Overall, a good lemony cup of herbal tea.

You can purchase the Lemonade directly from the Shanti 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.

The name of this tea is somewhat misleading—it represents the accurately, but doesn’t convey its character well at all. With sugar and caramel as the leading adjectives, I expected a heavy, sweet tea with the flavor of Sugar Daddies that would be fine alongside a doughnut or work well as a dessert tea.

If that’s what you’re looking for, best move on.

With that said, this is a sweet and sophisticated tea. The dry leaves are rolled into nuggets and smell like heavenly butterscotch drops. The liquid itself is gorgeous, clear, and gold. The flavor is delicate and champagne-y (typical of really good oolongs). The sugar and caramel—they’re there, just in a “Where’s Waldo” sort of way—hit you as you swallow, not as you sip.

Even the spent leaves are huge and lovely. I made mine in a little tea-for-one pot so I could reserve the leaves for a second round. Steeped an extra minute, the second cup was as good as the first.

Golden Moon’s Sugar Caramel Oolong is not a casual tea for when you need a quick shot of caffeine and sugar. Reserve this one for an afternoon when you have time to drink from your best porcelain cup and ponder the complexities of a really fine oolong.

You can purchase the Sugar Caramel Oolong directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

The name of this tea is somewhat misleading—it represents the accurately, but doesn’t convey its character well at all. With sugar and caramel as the leading adjectives, I expected a heavy, sweet tea with the flavor of Sugar Daddies that would be fine alongside a doughnut or work well as a dessert tea.

If that’s what you’re looking for, best move on.

With that said, this is a sweet and sophisticated tea. The dry leaves are rolled into nuggets and smell like heavenly butterscotch drops. The liquid itself is gorgeous, clear, and gold. The flavor is delicate and champagne-y (typical of really good oolongs). The sugar and caramel—they’re there, just in a “Where’s Waldo” sort of way—hit you as you swallow, not as you sip.

Even the spent leaves are huge and lovely. I made mine in a little tea-for-one pot so I could reserve the leaves for a second round. Steeped an extra minute, the second cup was as good as the first.

Golden Moon’s Sugar Caramel Oolong is not a casual tea for when you need a quick shot of caffeine and sugar. Reserve this one for an afternoon when you have time to drink from your best porcelain cup and ponder the complexities of a really fine oolong.

You can purchase the Sugar Caramel Oolong directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

As I was sorting through samples that we have received over the past few months, I had a craving for green tea, and came across Chloe from The Simple Leaf. I don’t recall tasting it before, and decided that it would be as good as any to review today!

Chloe seemed unusual for me, as it is a Darjeeling tea from the Pussimbing Estate. Unusual because I have not tried a lot of Darjeeling greens, even tho I know that they are becoming more and more available. I am used to strong, grassy greens from China and Japan, and expected similar here.

The Simple Leaf website describes this tea as: “Light, smooth and refreshing, these gorgeous large leaves make a mellow liquor that is perfect for late afternoon sipping. Subtle hints of fruit and freshly cut grass give this tea a remarkable flavor.”

So, I heated up some water to about 75 deg C (approx. 170 deg F), steeped it for 3 mins, and prepared myself for a great tasting experience.

First of all, the liquor is a light, honey color, light enough that I wondered if I steeped it long enough. The scent was similarly subtle, slightly fruity with the classic grassy tones that I associate with green tea.

The taste, I have to say, is a bit too light for me. As described by The Simple leaf, it was mellow, and I get the hits of freshly cut grass, and was perhaps, a tad sweet, but I did not get any fruity notes at all. It was in the end, a bit bland, and did not have a lot of character. A good beginners green tea to ease you into the complexities, but for the more experienced green tea drinker, I think that this is neither subtle or complex enough to truly enjoy.

All in all, it was not a bad or offensive cup of tea at all, just not interesting enough for me personally to make a staple in by cupboard, and certainly not what I expected from the region known for the “Champagne” of teas!

You can purchase Chloe directly from the Simple Leaf website.

Ok, a warning up front that this review will be slightly more technical, and full of jargon that is not usually characteristic of my writing. So if you want to get to the juicy bit fast – bottom line – this tea gooooood.

Tea from the Darjeeling region of India is known as the “Champagne” of tea. Until now, I have never really understood why that is, but after drinking this TeaGschwender Darjeeling Phuguri FTGFOP1, I have a clearer idea of what it means.

First of all, the technical details. FTGFOP1 stands for Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1. Plainly put – it doesn’t get any better that this. It is important to note that tea gradings like this are based on the appearance of the tea only, not the taste, and are not standardized. However, in this case, given the reputation of the vendor and the estate (Phuguri) we are going to take it at face value, backed up with the white tips in the dry tea that is a character of the “Tippy Golden” part of that grading.

Along with the tea, TeaGschwender included their measuring device, the Teelamass, which is basically a plastic tea spoon. As well, a thick book with all of their teas and the appropriate measurements for brewing (based on the Teelamass) was also included. I could have figured it out, but for beginners, that would be a very much appreciated bonus I am sure.

Before I brewed up my “tasting” cup – I had brewed a couple of cups up just for drinking (trust me, there is a difference, mostly in the note taking…) and I have to say that I went into the tasting with much anticipation. I am not normally big on drinking blacks – I do enjoy them, but not as my “standard” teas. However, my drinking cups were so enjoyable, I could not wait to review this.

I brewed the tea using 2tsp in about 16oz of boiling water, 3 minutes. This produced a light amber liqueur, with a pleasant, almost, but not quite floral aroma. The leaves unfurled nicely, and the high quality of the leaf was again proven with the white tips and greener leaves as well as your standard oxidized leaf.

The brew is slightly astringent (drying in the mouth) with a sweet cooling finish that is again, indicative of a quality Darjeeling tea. The taste is smooth and light, with refreshing muscatel notes that are reminiscent of some muscat wines, but only slightly. Being a second flush, I expected a fuller bodied and bolder tea, and it delivered but not too much so, leaving an enjoyable cup of tea that I will go back to again and again.

There is no need for sugar or milk, and in fact I believe that it would ruin the nuance of the flavouring of this single estate tea. I am not one for milk or sugar in tea in any case, and prefer to drink it au-natural.

It is easy to see now why Darjeeling tea is known as the “Champagne” of teas, it is tea, but on a different level. At $39.90/100 grams I am not about to go and stock up on it, but it is certainly a wonderful treat, and it will become a permanent addition to my Christmas list for the relatives that just never know what to get me!

You can purchase TeaGschwendner Darjeeling Phuguri FTGFOP1 directly from their website.