Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Oolong’

The chief thing Blue Q’s line of tea has going for it is the cute and clever packaging: in this case “ooo-long” is punctuated by a retro Daschund and a pink box that reminds me of a 1960′s Dippity-Doo ad. Then again, Blue Q is not exactly a tea specialist—their site has all kinds of gifts, gags, and goodies as well as a really fun “About Us” page.

With that said, Today’s Special Oolong Plum is not quite as appealing as the box, but not an unpleasant cuppa, either. Following packaging directions, you’ll get a golden-colored liquid with a very pleasant floral smell. Flavor is plum-flowery rather than plum-fruity, and leaves a bit of a Juicy Fruit aftertaste. If you’re looking for any oolong personality, it’s overpowered by the plum blossom thing. Do be careful not to oversteep; it goes bitter pretty easily.

This wouldn’t be one you’d choose to impress a hard-core tea-ophile, but if you’re looking for a fun gift for a casual tea drinker or a surprise for a little girls’ tea party, Blue Q’s pretty-in-pink box of bagged tea will be just fine.

You can purchase the Today directly from the Blue Q 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.

Recently we received a bunch of samples from Tao Tea Leaf for reviewing. Taos is an online shop, but also has a physical presence in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada (for our US friends ).

I had been comtemplating the reviews of Taos teas for a while, when I got an invitation for a Pu-erh tasting with a bunch of other IAATL reviewers, and was surprised to hear that it was at Taos! Well, needless to say, I accepted, and was VERY glad that I did! Without going indepth, lets just say it was an amazing morning with much Pu-erh, from this years Sheng, to a 10 year old Sheng worth an estimated $300/100g – a real honour! All this motivated me to do a review for Tao myself.

I chose the Golden Monkey, because it is not a tea that I have ever had before. This required a bit of research, and I have found that Golden Monkey is generally considered a high grade black tea grown in the Fujian Province of China. It is from a special variety of the tea bush that, after withering, some leaves become golden in color, making the finished product a very beautiful mix of black and gold leaves.

The sample from Tao matches this description. I found the leaf to be tightly rolled, almost needle like in it’s delicacy. The golden leaves were beautifully mixed in with the black, and definately of higher volume that the black leaves. Typically, this tea is picked during the spring season (April to May), giving it a fresh scent and flavour.

The liquor brews up golden in color, lighter than an Assam black, but darker than a Da Hung Pao Oolong. It’s scent is that of a light Assam black, with honey like notes. It reminds me of the (now closed) Simple Leaf Honeybee Oolong, both in scent and with the color of the liquor – a favorite tea of mine, so I was very much looking forward to tasting!

The flavor is tough to describe, so I am going with complex It is light and smooth, cooling in the mouth, with malty, chocolate and honey tones. There is an underlying sweetness, but with an edge of astringincy to it, very slight, but coming forward as the tea cools. The most notable feeling I get is an icy after “taste” in my mouth! That leads me to believe this would also be a great iced tea.

I love the flavour of this tea. It is one that you will want to have cup after cup, as you explore the flavours in it. Each sip brings forth different feelings, and the flavours continue to unfold the more you drink. This tea is like a new friend, the more time you take with it (them) the more you will get to know it (them) and enjoy its (their) company .

This is what I expect from Tao. After the amazing Pu-erh’s, and an incredible Da Hung Pao (if I can tear myself away from just enjoying that one, I will review it!), this further confirms to me that Tao knows what he is doing with his tea selection. If you live in Toronto, go and see him! If you don’t, then check out his website, or even call him on the phone, I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

You can purchase the Golden Monkey directly from the Tao Tea Leaf website.

This is the second tea blend I have tried with Formosan and Indian teas. I am wondering about Formosa teas are. They are from Taiwan. From what I can gather, Formosa teas are oolongs. So, I am supposing that the one in this particular blend is on the black side of things. This does explain the flavor profile. I was not expecting an oolong to be in this tea. I think a shorter infusion in my smallest teapot would be a better brewing method for this tea.

I was right, less leaf and a different brewing vessel improved this tea. I treated the leaves as I would if I were brewing on oolong: less leaves, cooler water, small tea pot.

Ok, now to the review of this tea.

Amber colored liquid poured from my teapot to my cup. First smell is of a traditional tea smell. No fancy additives taking away from the tea leaves. The sip revealed an earthiness that is hard for me to pinpoint. If you could taste water running over smooth stones, that would be this tea. It is simple tea with many layers of flavor.

The astringency is there, but I expected that with this blend. All the teas are bold in their own right and then to have here all together in one blend, this is one tea that definitely says Good Morning in a BIG way.

This will have to be a weekend tea for me. Time is a factor for me during the week, this tea will cause you to ponder the story of the tea leaves and solve the problems of the world. With each new infusion, another dimension unfolds. The second infusion is milder. I don’t see this going over two infusions and still being viable. I suppose the reason for this is the other two black teas as I rarely think that black teas taste good after two infusions.

All in all, this tea is good. If you are curious about oolongs, this may be a good starting place. It tastes like an oolong but has all the characteristics of black tea.

You can purchase the Winey Keeman English Breakfast directly from the Grace Tea Company website.

What a beautiful tea!

The dark green dry leaves are tightly twisted. There are only whole leaves in the bag.

This is a green oolong, in case you were wondering.

I brewed the tea for 3 minutes, 1 tsp per 6 ounce cup.

The notes that I taste are Buttery flavors. Apricot undertones.

The smell is slightly vegetal.

Overall, a good green oolong.

You can purchase the Pouchong directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.