Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Sweet Tones’

Da.u.de samples always come in lovely tins with beautiful labels. Opening this tin an AMAZING scent washes over you. Dark fruit, sweet berries, and lovely sweet tones and floral high tones. I would wear this scent daily this scent as a perfume if I could. However, teas with amazing aromas such as this one always make me nervous – will the flavor live up to the aroma? Or will your tongue call your nose a liar?

I am happy to report that for this tea, your tongue will congratulate your nose on its taste and discretion.

Brewed up, the aroma continues and the deep ruby red tea looks rich and inviting. The flavors are sweet, fruity, and juicy with a base level of tartness. This is likely due to the hibiscus. I tend to detest hibiscus in herbal teas, but here it adds just the right base note for the other lighter flavors to use as a springboard, launching the entire blend into balance and harmony. I realize I’m likely mixing metaphors here, but the tea is just darned good.

I did slightly sweeten the brew, as I tend to like my herbals sweet, but this could be enjoyed unsweetened – it is sweet without needing to add anything.

This is a great blend. This would be perfect for evening drinking, or iced on a hot sunny afternoon.

When I opened the package on this tea, I noticed that the smell was wonderful. It was light and sweet in harmony with a flowery oolong smell.

The tightly rolled leaves ranged in colour from mid-green to dark greenish brown. I steeped two cups of this tea first, and as it steeped, this tea smelled just as sweet, if not sweeter, than when the leaves were yet dry. In my small teapot, they began to quickly open and expand. The aroma became a bit deeper as it steeped longer, and after a few minutes, I poured the first cup.

The liquor was a lot lighter green than most oolongs I have had recently, which surprised me. Also, there was something now unique about the aroma. It smelled a bit like green tea mochi ice cream to me. The taste of the first cup was full, not very heavy, and definitely still carried those sweet tones with it. There was a playful deliciousness to this tea that made it somehow fun to drink and very enjoyable.

The second pot was just as delicious as the first, and the flavours began to mellow out the longer I drank this tea.

I would rate this tea an 80/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

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