Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Tea Category’

I argued with myself for a few hours about this tea. I really, really wanted to like it. I grew up in Washington State, and had this tea growing up – as it’s blended in Seattle. And I’m a fan of the more “in your face” teas, which this tea has a reputation of being. But it just wasn’t sitting right with me. For starters, there’s been so much essential oil placed into the leaf that it looks greasy as you spoon it into your cup. Intellectually, I know that more essential oil = more flavoring, but the visual was a little… off-putting. On the other side of the scale, the aroma is lovely. A nice blend of spice and orange. I can’t smell any actual tea aroma, but it does smell mouthwatering.

Once brewed up, all those essential oils left a film on the top of the tea. Again, a visual deterrent. And the flavor just wasn’t up to the expected impact of the aroma and all that essential oil. I would take a sip, make a funny face, wander off, then come back and do it again. It both felt like there was too much in the cup, too many side flavors competing for your attention, as well as that there wasn’t enough TEA in the cup of tea.

So, I sipped, and wandered off, sipped and wandered off, for a few cups worth, trying to find the place where this tea was wonderful. I tried it sweetened and I tried it unsweetened. I made stronger brews and I made lighter brews. And I just couldn’t find it. So I left and did something silly, like pay bills or watch TV.

And then it happened.

I came back to a cold cup, but with a dry mouth. “Eh,” I thought “I’ll drink this while I brew a fresh cup of this other tea.” And wow! There it was. This is the ultimate iced tea. Slightly sweetened, and iced, I could drink this all summer long. The spiced orange isn’t stomping all over the tea flavor, but rather melding with it for a fragrant and flavorful cup of cold brown joy. It’s lovely.

You can purchase the Cinnamon-Orange directly from the Market Spice Tea website.

As the attention-deficient progeny of Depression-era parents, I tend to want to be chintzy on the amount of dry leaf I allot to a cup, and far too impatient to wait six…whole…minutes for my tea. As an exercise in liberality (tea-wise) and self-control (timewise), I made myself give my test cup the full measure. And, boy, was it worth the wait!

The bits of flower and flavor in my sample were small rather than chunky.. The scent of the dry roobos-and-goodie mix is light, but once it was steeped the coconut sweetness was strong and very pleasant. Pineapple presence was a little hard to detect; it was more of a light aftertaste rather than a leading flavor. (May have just been the sample; with tiny packs, sometimes it’s a little difficult to scoop up a uniform bundle of ingredients.)

I opted not to mess with milk. This is plenty thick, a little opaque, and perfectly sweet on its own. But a splash certainly wouldn’t hurt this creamy, island-y dessert in a cup.

You can purchase the Tahiti Cream directly from the TeaFrog website.

This tea is made of contractions. Lovely, lovely contradictions. It’s both mild and brash. Untamed and civilized. Light yet strong.

The leaves are big and twisty and unruly with the typical white tea fluffiness. Darker than I expected. They’ve got a sweet, hay-like aroma, similar to other white teas.

Brewed up, it’s a pale yellow color. And the flavor is very strong for a white tea. Very bold. But it’s still a white tea, so while strong and bold, it’s still delicate and light. It’s a hay flavor, with some fruit overtones. Other tasters mention citrus or melon tones which I don’t really get. I do get a generic fruity flowery bright tone. But, it’s lovely. This is my perfect type of white tea I like stronger flavored teas, and this has the best of both worlds. White tea flavor turned up to 11.

This may be for you if: you think white tea is interesting, but too wussy for your tastes

You can purchase the Ye Sheng Wild White Tea directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

The aromas of this white tea’s dry leaves are quite sweet and grassy. Fuzzy, short, white twists intermix with small green leaves for an enjoyable looking tea.  Canton Tea Co’s packaging suggests using 2 teaspoons of leaf per cup of water and infusing the tea for 2-3 minutes. Accordingly, 2 teaspoons of the tiny leaves went into my cup for a little over 2 minutes. The resulting aroma of this tea was somewhat different than the dry leaves suggested.

My cup of tea still maintained its grassy aromas, yet felt deeper and stronger with a light, roasted smell. I was further surprised when, upon tasting it for the first time, the flavour burst in my mouth, both sweet and fruity and without a lot of the formerly smelled grassiness. Impressed by the full flavour, I continue drinking.

This is one complex white tea…the flavour is not, in any way, straightforward. Slightly reminiscent of half a dozen different white teas, this is a must-try for white tea lovers. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 91/100.

You can purchase the Ye Sheng Wild White Tea directly from the Canton 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.