Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Oolong Teas’

This being the first Tea Forte tea that I have tried in quite some time, I decided to go all out. I am using my Tea Forte Cafe Cup, Tea Forte Tea Tray, and the Tea Forte Tea Timer app for iPhone. The instructions, acquired from the application itself recommend 2-4 minutes of steep time. For a happy medium, I choose three, using just-under-boil filtered water.

I have a decent amount of experience with oolong teas. As this tea is steeping, I cannot help but wonder if the tea is being restricted from expansion by the pyramid in which it rests, as most oolongs like this one do a decent amount of unfurling while steeping.

The colour of the tea is a brownish yellow; the smells wafting from the cup are smooth, mellow, with perhaps a faint hint of spice. After a couple of small sips, I determine to put the pyramid back into the cup for another minute. The strength is okay but not quite as strong as I like. (If you like your oolongs light and mellow, three minutes will probably suffice.) Another minute, and it is back to tasting. Pleasantly, I can still taste the buttery aftertaste of those couple sips, with hints of vegetal flavour. The taste of this tea reminds me a lot of a Ti Kwan Yin.

In my opinion, four minutes was a prime amount of time for this tea. The flavours are much more full-bodied and literally burst in the mouth. There is a bit of vegetal bite on the sides of the tongue, as with a slightly-oversteeped green tea (like a gunpowder), but this is hardly noticeable, and probably due to my long steep time.

Overall I really enjoyed this tea. It was a very pleasant cuppa, and I do not think I have any complaints with it, other than a bit of lacking in the flavour department. I would perhaps be interested to know if this was due to the pyramid or the tea itself. 85/100 is what I would rate this tea on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase Tea Forte Silk Oolong directly from their website.

Canton Tea’s Alishan Oolong is absolutely fantastic! I haven’t tasted an oolong so flavourful in a long time. Alishan Oolong is one of Taiwan’s finest high-grown oolong teas. According to the Canton website, their Alishan won 2010′s Great Taste award and I can see why!

Dried leaf is in tightly rolled clumps that open up into medium long leaves with hot water. Liquor is an attractive clear, bright, green infusion. The scent is just heavenly, floral with apricot scents and most importantly the taste is just yummy. Smooth with very floral and fruity notes, not to the extent of being too perfumy or chemical but I would say a little goes a long way. I used about 9.5g in 1.6L of water which is on the more diluted side but it was still packed full of flavour. I think I would still prefer it to be even more diluted. My taste buds were on overdrive it seemed. Hey, this didn’t win the great taste award for nothing! For those of you who love quality, classic, flavourful oolong taste this is perfect for you but if you are looking for something more subtle or light then I would suggest you look elsewhere, probably not in the oolong category. This tea like many oolongs has many nuances and complexities and yet still has a bit of a vegetal base. One thing I found interesting was you get an aftertaste in your mouth like you’ve been chewing on some flower petals and have just eaten an apple after drinking this tea. My co-worker has been hinting at me to order this for the office and I have no hesitation to do so.

You can purchase the Ali Shan Oolong Tea directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a number of the Canton Tea Company’s teas, and have been very pleased with their products. Their teas have been very flavorful and enjoyable to drink. Therefore, I’m finding the current cup of tea I’m trying a disappointment. On opening the packet, the scent of the tea was very light – almost non-existent. As I always look forward to that first scent of a new tea, I was disappointed. The aromas did increase upon adding hot water, but were still not strong.

Watching the leaves dance was lovely. I always enjoy how the teaspoon or two of rolled oolong teas can turn into a cup bursting with soft tea leaves.

Drinking the brew, the flavors were very subtle. A light sweetness greets the tongue on first sip, followed by a much stronger aromatic floral note in the mouth long after the liquid had left. For me, the floral tones overpowered any other flavors in the brew, and once the cup cooled, were the only flavors I could taste. And I’m not really fond of strong floral flavors, so didn’t really appeal to me.

However, the tea does have good features. It maintained these floral flavors throughout multiple steepings. I got three from each of my attempts, and I’m sure they could have gone for more cups. I also did find this tea was forgiving in brewing, I lost track of time in one steeping and the resultant brew was only slightly bitter.

Yellow Gold Oolong was not one of my favorite oolongs. I found it floral and a little boring. I much preferred their Ali Shan. Unless you really like floral, I’d recommend that one instead.

You can purchase the Yellow Gold Oolong Tea | Huang Jin Gui Wu Long directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

Product Description: Orange Blossom is a blend of oolong teas from Taiwan, Sri Lanka and India. This loose leaf tea is combined with jasmine petals, fruit peel and natural flavors giving it a light, airy character with delicate orange flavor. This is an excellent beverage with morning toast and marmalade. The aroma will leave others wondering what’s in your cup, so make enough to share. Orange Blossom oolong tea also makes a refreshing and exotic iced tea.

Recently I was introduced to Imperial Tea Garden Teas. I LOVE trying teas from companies I have never tried from before. One of the teas I tried this week was their Orange Blossom Oolong. The dry leaves reminded me of a home that has recently been cleaned with Orange Glo and Lemon Pledge… I could smell the fresh, clean orange smell but also a little woodsy as well! Post infusion the aroma is more of an orange and a blossom. The scent is very ‘pretty’, pleasant, and uplifting!

As for taste this is a fairly full-bodied Oolong! It has some kick to it! There is more of a blossom than an orange taste but it seems to all even out at the end. I must say I am a fan of the Imperial Tea Garden teas I have tried so far and will be reviewing more of them very soon… so stay tuned!

You can purchase the Orange Blossom Oolong Tea directly from the Imperial Tea Garden website.

I love this tea.

Enough said? Not even close. Honeybee Oolong from The Simple Leaf is, simply put, affordable heaven in a cup! Harvested in the mountains of Nepal, this traditionally made Oolong tea is produced only in tiny quantities, according to the Simple Leaf website. It is worth a trip to the Simple Leaf website to learn more about the background of this tea, in an interview with the producer of the Honeybee Oolong (click here to read the interview).

When I first opened the sample bag (The Simple Leaf provides MASSIVE 1oz sample packs, x3 for our reviewers), the scent immediately reminded me of a high quality Darjeeling. I even opened up some (very expensive) Single Estate Darjeeling to compare, and they are remarkably similar. The leaf is dark in color, full leafed, and clearly hand picked and rolled.

I brewed the first cup at 90 deg C, 1 tsp (approx. 2 grams) in my cup, and steeped it for about 3 minutes. The result was bang on. It seems to hold the characteristics of again, a Darjeeling tea, but not as malty, in fact, it is extremely pleasant. I would call it, subtle, but flavorful. Not at all what I have come to associate Oolong teas with! The aftertaste lingers on my tongue, slightly sweet, with a light peachy taste.

At only $13.95 for 4oz of this beauty, it is extremly affordable. I would rate this tea equivilent to some $40/3.5 oz tea that I have had the pleasure of sampling (but don’t tell The Simple Leaf, they may be tempted to raise the price!).

Absoultely fantastic. The balance of this sample is going in my cupboard, and when it is gone, going on my shopping list! Congratulations Simple Leaf, you have found a beautifully crafted and produced tea in this Oolong, thank you for sharing it with us!

Did I mention that I really like it?

You can purchase Honeybee Oolong directly from the Simple Leaf website.