There are over 5 million ways to divide the world into two groups. Licorice is definitely one of them. People either adore black licorice or hate it. I personally fall into the “love it” camp – unless it’s salt licorice. Because it’s just.. odd. Blea.

There are a few ways to get licorice-like flavors. There is the traditional licorice root, but anise, star anise, and fennel all contain similar flavoring agents. All these plants contain the chemical compound anethole which provides that signature flavor. And while all are similar, there are subtle differences. Licorice root is sweeter, anise is more aromatic, fennel is milder, and star anise has a bit of a bite.

This tea uses star anise to get it’s licorice flavor. On first sniff, the leaf smells very much like standard licorice. But once it started to brew, the notes of star anise come out much more strongly. It develops into a very light yellow brew – likely due to the white tea. On first sip, the licorice is very mellow, soft. Almost more plant-y than standard licorice. The hay-like features of the white tea blend well with the plant-y features of the star anise to merge together into a nice mellow cup.

Of all the various plant anethole-delivery systems, star anise is my least favorite. I don’t like the small, strange bite it delivers. I like all the others (I even have this amazing bread dip recipe that uses fennel*) much more, but even with this mark against it, this tea does not disappoint. It’s mellow, smooth, and yummy. Because it’s not so strongly licorice-y, even those who fall into the camp of licorice hater may like this tea. Good blend.

*G’s amazing bread dip
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
4-5 turns of fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic
Olive Oil

Take the first four ingredients, grind in a spice grinder until they’re a fine powder. Blend with the chopped garlic in a mortar and pestle until you get a nice paste. Blop the paste into the center of a shallow bowl or deep plate. Pour olive oil over the paste, stir slightly. Serve with fresh bread. And drink with strong tea – because any other type will be overpowered by the dip.

You can purchase the White Licorice directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

A rose by any other name…  Oh, the lovely scent of roses.  As a child, many of the important older women in my life all seemed to use a particular brand of rose lotion, giving me a definite sense memory of strong older, rose scented women  who made me feel safe.  And this tea definitely tripped that trigger.  Highly scented, and very rose.  I was enveloped in comfort as I inhaled the steeping brew.

But I also had a slight worry.  I’ve had a few floral teas that taste like drinking perfume.  Would this one taste like rose perfume?  Smelling good is all fine and dandy, but the best memories can’t mitigate a cup of perfume. It would be downgraded to potpourri at that point.  Luckily – my fears were TOTALLY unfounded.  This tea tasted as lovely as it smelled.  Unsweetened, it carried with it flavors of honey and an underlying sweetness.  It also had a slight nuttiness to the brew.

I will definitely be purchasing some of this tea for myself.  It had good memories, good aromas and good flavors.  What could be better!

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

Morroccan Mint tea seems to be a staple for most tea drinkers that I know. A very traditional tea that is easy to find and is enjoyable steeped in the traditional way or iced. Today I’m reviewing one from Golden Moon Tea and it’s unique in that it has mint oil added to it, I’ve never seen that as an ingredient before.

The dry leaves are clean with shiney and tightly rolled Gunpowder pellets and a generous amount of mint. Steeped it according to the instructions on the packaging, watching the Gunpowder pellets unfurl after a few minutes. It brews up to a nice dark color, with the scents balancing out after a few minutes making the smell of mint less over-powering. The taste is smooth and rich, with a nice minty lingering aftertaste. The second steep brought out more of the gunpowder flavor and was a bit drier than the first steep but still really enjoyable. From the taste, I think that the mint oil made the mint leaves taste a lot fresher than blends I’ve had without the oil. This is one of the better Moroccan Mints that I’ve had, can’t wait to try it iced.

You can purchase the Moroccan Mint directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Product Description:
Golden Moon Tea delicately blends hand-plucked white loose leaf tea leaves and exquisite Yin Zhen buds with freshly dried ginger root to produce a sweet and enlivening cup. Ginger, treasured by traditional herbalists for its strengthening and digestive properties, lends a spicy and aromatic note to the clear infusion. White Ginger, delicate yet vibrant, serene yet sensuous, warming yet refreshing. Ingredients: White tea, ginger root

Tasters Review:
When I first sampled this I noticed many other reviews online from others that didn’t particularly like this. I, however, didn’t think it was all that bad. I don’t think I would purchase it for myself in large quantities but I gave it a little more credit than others seemed to have given it. This wasn’t very gingery – which is fine by me – I do know that White Ginger is supposed to be mellower than regular ginger – but I think this is regular ginger and it’s in white tea…so…perhaps the white tea toned down the heavier ginger flavor. Regardless – the ginger isn’t harsh. It’s a bit chewy for a white tea but the flavor overall isn’t very memorable. The taste of this flavored white is not bad…it’s just not what I would call stunning either! Perhaps people were looking for that stereotypical ginger taste – I guess I can understand their confusion because this flavor isn’t your typical ginger taste. I, however, am grateful it wasn’t overly gingery…that factor I will say I enjoyed about this offering.

You can purchase the White Ginger directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

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.

Product Description:
As the most gentle among green loose leaf tea, Snow Sprout delivers tender young buds that give a light infusion of serene clarity. Delicate herbal notes are followed by a lingering sweetness.

Tasters Review:
Snow Sprout from Golden Moon is just yummy and sweet and juicy and Delicious!  It’s very sweet and very refreshing…thirst quenching, even!  I would have to say this is one of my FAVORITES from Golden Moon so far!  It has almost a slight minty aftertaste to it to that I really like! 

You can purchase the Snow Sprout 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.

Irish breakfast tea should need no mollycoddlin’; it should be a tea that will allow you to stagger into the kitchen on a weekday morning with your eyes half closed and throw an indiscriminate amount of leaf into the cleanest cup you can find in the sink, dump in water at the first hint of a kettle whistle, and there! Bob’s yer uncle.

I’m not sure Golden Moon’s take on Irish Breakfast can handle that kind of mistreatment, but it’s definitely tasty. I made my first test cup on a leisurely weekend so I had time to fully open my eyes and give it a good look. The first thing I noticed was that, even at a full five minutes, the color was lighter than I expected. Taking a second look at the dry leaves, that’s not a surprise—there’s a generous amount of blonde golden tips in the mix.

While rolling around possible adjectives for this tea, stout and robust didn’t make the list at all. Golden Moon Irish Breakfast is more malty and fruity than one would expect, but still has enough character to stand up to the “breakfast” category. No milk needed, but a.m. additives don’t weaken its taste or personality.

According to Golden Moon’s website, the type of Irish Breakfast I described in the opening paragraph might be considered “too bitter for the faint of heart.” Thus, their blend, hand-picked from a market in Cork, England, has toned down the kick to make a cup that says “top o’the mornin’ to ya.”

You can purchase the Irish Breakfast directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Today I’m trying some Melon from Golden Moon Teas and I can’t wait. I love white tea and I love melons, sounds like a good match.

Opened the sample and was surprised by how little was in it. The directions only say how long to steep it and how hot the water should be, doesn’t tell me how many cups this sample is meant to make. Looks like about two teaspoons of tea in the packet. Going to try for two cups…

Opened the pouch and the dry white leaves are really full and long, mostly buds. Can’t see the melon in it though. Took a deep breathe and inhaled. The smell is nasty. It smells like an over ripe (rotten) honeydew melon. Ugh. Thinking the scent will lighten, I poured boiling water over it and steeped it for two minutes. Brew is a nice golden, honey color, smell is still horrid.

You can purchase the White Persian Melon directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Keemun, Assam, Ceylon, and Darjeeling teas each have their own personalities: grainy, stout, brisk, and wine-y. Thus, you’d expect a blending of these personalities to be the tea equivalent of a cheerful and intellectual morning conversation.

What you get, however, is the tea equivalent of morning senior-citizen buzz at the Branson hotel breakfast buffet—the kind you tune out because there’s really nothing worth eavesdropping on.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s good tea. It’s distinguished senior-citizen buzz. But to my highly uneducated palate, the blend tones down the character of the individual ingredients…the “brisk and complex” flavor and “subtle floral overtones” just aren’t there.

Prepped according to package directions and left a full four minutes, the tea is a nice, clear copper color.  Golden Moon ensures that the leaves are quality enough to take a second steep, no problems there.  A little milk with the second cup may have kicked up the Assam mojo a little bit, but still … just  murmuring white-haired tourists in embroidered autumn-leaf sweatshirts.

Golden Moon’s sample packs are nice (vacu-packed foil sleeves), but tiny (you’ll be lucky to squeeze two dry leaf-cups out of one). Perhaps if I had had a full tin to stick my nose in and experiment with, I could have gotten some real gossip out of the grannies.

You can purchase the English Breakfast directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.