I did a bit of background research on this tea, revealing that it was indeed grown in New Zealand and that this is one of three different varieties being produced there at the moment (the others are Zealong Dark and Zealong Aromatic). Unlike the other two, this Zealong Pure features “sweet, fresh-tasting leaves” that are “unroasted, bringing out the pure, natural flavour of the tea” (zealong.com). Their website suggests 1 tsp of leaves per cup of water, infused for a minute (at least at first).

Opening the package, I take in the aroma of the dry leaves. Sweet, very clean-smelling. They are rolled into balls, reminiscent of a ti kawn yin oolong. I prepare the water, freshly boiled, but not still boiling. The first minute of infusion goes by. The steeped liquor smells fresh and slightly floral. The leaves have a very vegetal aroma and still smell quite sweet. Sipping this first cup is a joy. From the smell of the liquor, I expected a much weaker brew than what now dances around on my tongue. While not strong, this oolong does have a full body – floral, fresh, and with just a touch of that natural sweetness.

Eagerly, I go ahead and steep the leaves again, for the suggested one minute. The leaves now have taken on a fuller aroma, more “juicy,” but in a floral sense. The smell of the brewed tea is still subdued, but after the first cup, I know this subdued aroma could hold great flavour. I can tell that the flavour has gone, somewhat, from the leaves, in comparison to the first steeping. It is, however, still there with the sweetness becoming a bit more prominent and equal with the other flavours.

The third steep is for two minutes (as per the suggestions from zealong.com). The longer steep-time has brought the flavours and aromas back in line with the first steeping. Full bodied, perhaps even a bit stronger flavour-wise than the first infusion. Ah, it is still delicious, regardless. I go ahead and put this tea through several more steepings. The zealong.com website makes the claim that it will last six to eight infusions. I am satisfied, and gladly would rate this tea a 92/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Zealong Pure directly from the Tula Teas website.

Interesting name for this tea. I don’t know the reasons behind such a name, but I’ll take a stab at it. First of all, it is a white silver needle tea flavoured with Jasmine, so possibly this is where the “white” came from.

When we hear of tiger, we think of something that is fierce, strong, powerful; East Pacific’s White Tiger is none of these things, at least not at first; indeed the word “white” in front may bring ideas of calmness, clean, mellow, and softness. The jasmine flavour is natural tasting, not artificial. It is very fresh, things I would find synonymous with the word “white.”

Or perhaps the moniker “White Tiger” has more to do with the physical description of the tea – “white” or clear infusion, white pekoe on dark green buds creating a white tiger stripe-like image. It is a fitting name. Like a tiger waiting to pounce, the jasmine flavour does not come out straight away, but once it comes out, the taste lingers, and seems to get increasingly more intense. The jasmine flavour is not as “fierce” or “strong” as a lot of the jasmine teas available today that are just in-your-face overpowering but rather is a “white” :”fierce,” a tempered fierceness if that makes any sense. I like and prefer this to the former jasmines.

I steeped it according to the instructions on the website at a temperature of 175F for 1-2 minutes. I think they have these directions spot on as you get to taste the tea right at the moment where there is a pause if you will and then the jasmine flavour emerges out of the leaf and lingers sweetly in your mouth thereafter as it intensifies. For those of you looking for something different in the way of Jasmines, I would definitely recommend this. If steeped correctly it will taste unlike any other Jasmine you’ve ever tasted.

You can purchase the White Tiger directly from the East Pacific Tea Co website.

Another day, another interesting oolong to try. This Taiwanese oolong is purported to be incredibly flavoured, with evolutions of flavour at every steeping. I start off by rinsing, then steeping this tea first for two minutes in boiled, but not boiling water. This first infusion smells sweet, slightly tart, and, in general, fruity. I often find that the leaves, after steeping, have a different aroma than the liquor itself. In this case, the smell of the leaves is far more buttery and creamy, in contrast to the liquor’s fruity notes. This infusion is super smooth, tastes very clean and fresh, and is reminiscent of apples.

Infusion number two, steeped for another two minutes, leaves the leaves smelling more vegetal than before. The flavour of the tea has evolved. Still fruity, there are now spicier notes of cinnamon, as well as floral tones that I had not noticed before.

Steeping this tea for a third time, letting it infuse for two and a half minutes. Still containing notes of cinnamon, the mild fruitiness is quite delectable. Four Seasons is a great name for this tea, as it evolves and changes like the seasons of the year, with every infusion. I highly recommend this tea for lovers of oolong, and I would give it a 91/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Four Seasons directly from the Tula Teas website.

Ah, the pleasure of a good smelling tea. Often the dry leaves, as-of-yet un-infused, reveal a lot about the tea that is to come. The spicy and sweet notes of the dry leaves of this herbal tisane blend in an attractive melody that promises a deep and possibly heavy drink.

Utilising a Tea Forte Café Cup, I steeped this pyramid infuser for four minutes using just-boiled water. Smelling the infusion, it is clear that cinnamon is definitely what lends much of the spiciness to this tea’s aroma. However, with the first sip, it becomes immediately evident that cinnamon is not all that is in Tea Forte’s Flora. The sweetness of liquorice root melds with the explosion of flavour from the hibiscus in this blend. The hibiscus adds a lot of body to this tisane and sweeps through one’s mouth, filling it with flavour.

A re-steep of this herbal blend offers a much weaker version of the first cup, but with the same balance of flavours. This is one blend that is worth trying and might make a tasty chilled drink as well. I would give Flora an 83/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Flora directly from the Tea Forte website.

Steeped in a Tea Forte Café Cup, with the spent tea pyramid resting on a Tea Forte tea tray, all the pieces were set to provide an enjoyable tasting experience of this mango flavoured green tea. Impeccable as always, the packaging of this individual tea pyramid infuser bag was clean and sharply presented. After heating the water to the proper temperature, I proceeded to steep the tea for only two minutes before moving on to tasting it. The aroma is light, and the mango smell is lighter yet. My guess would be that the green tea base is a sencha or something akin to it.

The tea itself has light forward notes with a strong finish. The mango is present but not very prominent. Overall the tea is not very impressive in its taste. Not wanting to judge it by first try, I steeped a second cup. This time, I left the tea pyramid in the water for three minutes. The mango flavour is now a lot bolder and broader. It complements the green tea far more than during the first infusion.

Overall, I think this is not one of Tea Forte’s better blends. However, for lovers of fruit flavoured green teas, it may be worth giving this one a try. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 76/100.

You can purchase Tea Forte Green Tango directly from their website.

The dry tuo cha smells of a smooth, cooked pu-er, but after rinsing this mini tuo in my gaiwan, the aromas of rice start to come out. Using just-boiled water, I prepare the first steeping. Light, golden-brown, the liquor is a bit cloudy and mingles a faint hint of rice with tea. The taste of this first steeping is not a flavourful as the aroma would suggest.

The second steeping gives off a darker brown infusion. This time it is hard to distinguish whether the tea is just very smooth or whether it lacks a lot of flavour. I suspect this is on account of the intense rice flavour, which seems to camouflage a lot of the pu-er nuances. Hopefully the rice flavours will give way soon and let the tea itself shine through.

Finally, with this third steeping, I am getting more of the flavour of the shou pu on which this tea is built. It is good, though perhaps not as amazing as I had hoped. I go ahead and put this tea through a couple more infusions. It is good, but I am left with the impression that it is lacking something. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 75/100.

You can purchase the Rice Shou Pu-erh directly from the Tao Tea Leaf website.

Smell from the bag is sweet, ripe raspberries.

I followed the directions on the sample packet: empty entire contents of bag into 8 ounces of boiling water and steeped 5 minutes.

Ahh, isn’t that pretty? Pink tea with fruit notes. But where is the green tea? The raspberries seem to overpower the tea base.

This brew is tart and tangy. It makes me feel like I am drinking hot Kool Aid. I don’t understand how Rishi can call this green tea. I taste no tea at all.

I tried for a resteep and was forced to pour out the hot pink mess. All I could taste is hot water and even that was not very good.

This should have been tagged as an herbal tea, then I might have liked it better. But with the mention of green tea on the bag and then not being able to taste the green tea base, I am left to say that this tea is not very good.

You can purchase the Organic Fair Trade Raspberry directly from the Rishi Tea website.

The leaves are rich black with a sweet waft of vanilla.

Three minute infusion…first sip…ummm…the black base is not what I was expecting. It leaves me wanting a more robust black tea in its place. The vanilla while it had a sweet smell is not sweet on my tongue, the taste is unnatural. This tea does not take milk well. It is too mild for any additions.

I had high hopes for this tea, vanilla notes in a black tea. I pictured creaminess and robustness. What I got was a cup of tea that is ok to drink IF you have absolutely no other tea choices. The black base is mediocre. The vanilla flavoring will leave you wanting something else to drink.

You can purchase the Vanilla Bean directly from the SpecialTea Brew website.

My first attempts at this tea left me wishing that Ginger had not left the teabag. I was greatly disappointed that a tea with ginger in the name would not taste like ginger. Ginger is a flavor profile that is hard to forget once you have a good ginger tea, the bite on your tongue, the spiciness that fills your mouth like fireworks if you could have fireworks in your mouth. Ah, I am digressing from this review.

A few days ago, I accidentally let this tea brew for four minutes! Yikes! Bitter is what awaits me with this cup. I sipped “gingerly” (wait for it, the pun is upon us) and WHOA, I was blown away by the ginger blast that hit my mouth. I drank this cup and quickly brewed a second. Waited FOUR minutes and my mouth danced in excitement. Ginger had not left the teabag! She just needed more time to arrive in my cup.

This is an excellent tea. When you smell the dry teabag, you smell peaches, nice ripe peaches. A 2-3 minute infusion will leave you with a nice black peach tea. This is very tasty over ice on a hot day. A four minute infusion will give you a ginger blast that will knock your socks off and can cure a sore throat in just one cup.

You can purchase the Ginger, Peach and Apricot Black Tea directly from the Boston Tea Company website.

To be a white tea fan, one must generally appreciate tea that whispers, not shouts. Most white tea is subtle and only hints at having a flavor. Thus, Coconut Vanilla Flavored white is a pleasant surprise to a drinker of louder, bolder flavored teas. It doesn’t exactly shout but it speaks audibly, firmly, and pleasantly!

The dry tea is beautiful–big, long-legged leaves, complemented by white coconut shavings and tiny rosebuds—and would be lovely in an apothecary jar. Its aroma is smooth and sweet, not greenish or grassish.

But don’t spend too much time with your nose in the dry mix–get on with making yourself a cup, because you’re in for a treat. The steeped tea is pale, but don’t let the color fool you. It’s velvety-thick and every bit as coconutty sweet as “advertised” in by dry aroma: very, very similar in character to white chocolate cocoa.

The quality pai mu dan leaves take a second steep well. A good thing: you’ll want seconds!

You can purchase the Jasmine Green Tea directly from the TeaFrog website.