Madison Bartholemew

Preliminary report… DO NOT OVER SWEETEN!
It’s really easy to because the blend by itself has so many sweet fruits in it. I really suggest brewing this plain and then adding sugar crystal by crystal.
THAT’s how sensitive it is

Plain and delicious.
Did I mention plain?

This is a well done standard green. The name chunmee sounds Chinese to me and they do not list in the tea description but this tea can be found on the Chinese category through the main menu… so I’m pretty sure I’m right. Which leads to the point of me pointing out that the name sounds Chinese… Picture if you will a Chinese Dragonwell type tea that mated with a Japanese Sencha and you can imagine the results I’m getting from the leaves.

The ‘green’ vegie flavor is totally there but it is not strong. That is amazingly pleasant cause the grassy teas are not my favorite. What is mellowing the flavor out is more of the toasty green tea flavor than the sweet end so you end up with a nutty follow up to the grassy and a present sweetness that kinda lasts through the whole flavor experience. (I need to turn that into an amusement park ride…)

The only thing that I need to clarify about the flavor is that the toasty has a smokey tinge to it… sometimes. Nope I can’t explain why…. and trust me I’ve fooled around with it a bunch and I will explain to you exactly what I mean.

I have gone through about 2 oz of this tea. The smell through the first half of the bag seemed smokier to me than the tea in the last half of the bag. The first couple of cups tasted smokier toasty… shifting into just normal toasty with the occasional hint of smoke. And the last weird thing is that the last scoop in the bag has an almost acidic (not bad like a lemon smells… and not like a orange… and not like the tea has gone bad but like ripe tomato/orange pepper kinda acidic) tinge to it. The best way I can succinctly describe it is ripe veggie and the last half of the bag has seemed more vegital to me.

I THINK this means one of two possibilities:
1. This tea is way more sensitive than normal to storing conditions… meaning in the cool dry closet… in the original bag placed in a tin by itself… where the tea has only been used on plain green teas IS NOT ENOUGH PROTECTION. And really that would be ridiculous as I have never ever even heard of a tea going bad or stale in 3 weeks anyways. Beyond me being anal with teas I’m trying. You get the point…. ridiculous.

2. This tea has a lot of nuance and character and you will discover more layers as you drink more of it and experience this tea.

I like the idea of number two and hope someone someday can discus this tea with me and compare notes.

I had the pleasure of trying this tea first in the Zoomdweebies shop in KS and it is delicious when they make it into a tea latte!

They have the tea latte recipe available so I don’t think I’m giving away anything when I say I went home and tried it on my own with sweetened condensed milk and that is the crux of their tea latte recipe.

With the full tea latte recipe the latte feels lighter than a normal Sbux tea latte and the flavor of the tea seems more developed too. Wow can Frank brew… trust me I had two!

At home making the full amount of latte mix is nice but then you feel the need to drink the whole thing… which ends up being a party type amount…. not I want a bit of tea now amount… so I tried this tea just adding the sweetened condensed milk and boy is that yummy. Actually I’ve discovered that sweetened condensed milk is FANTASTIC with a lot of different dessert type tea and I really suggest playing around with it as a tea modifier. The only flavor I don’t think it works well with so far is chocolate…. but I’ll be experimenting more with that later…

Using normal tea condiments I find that I am using more sugar than I usually do to try to mimick the tea latte flavor. Unfortunately I think I’m walking into this tea biased having had my first taste of it with the tea latte instead of my normal experimenting. I’m finding that three teaspoons of sugar in a two teaspoon of tea pot is the right ratio to about even up the flavor with what I was expecting and then of course some milk.

The tea base is a little astringent tasting if you don’t add enough sugar which is something I have not noticed with the other 52 teas blends so I’m probably again biased because of the tea latte.

Coconut is present and lightly awesome. Not over bearing or a punch in the face and it is accented well with the vanilla creamy flavor. This is a tea that I’m not enjoying with out milk as it seems to lose a depth without it and I also can’t enjoy this one with just milk and no sugar. Again it seems to lose a level without using both. Actually without sugar it almost has a woody black tea quality. Not smokey woody but that potato starchy woody round flavor. Interesting but I’m spoiled with this tea now and only want it light and sweet.

I’m happy this is a permanently available tea. I know that seems to go against the 52teas mantra but this one is that banging good… especially as a tea latte.

No notes yet.

mmmmmm
The dry leaves smell different to me than other dragon wells. I usually notice a papery smell but this particular blend smells vegital. I didn’t think that was possible because I didn’t think dried veggies could possibly retain the green smell and I still don’t think actual food can but these dry tea leaves do.
The vegital smell in the dry leaves disappears with steeping leaving toasty and sweet broth with no detectable spinach type flavors which I had been expecting because of the smell. This is an extremely light tea and I will experiment with longer steep times to see where the over steeping point is and how robust the flavor can become.
Mouth feel is more on the dry and airy side. This does not feel like a robust tea on this steep but again I will experiment with long steep times to try to pull the robustness out.

This tea feels so complex… let’s start at the beginning.
The leaves smell odd. It kinda reminds me of the mintiness of tooth paste and pinesol. Or a minty Christmas tree… But luckily the brew smells lighter and sweeter than that. Cause that wasn’t the most pleasant thing I’ve ever stuck my nose into.
The brew is a nice light amber. If you can’t tell I’m nervous about this one mostly cause I don’t like spearmint.
And taste… This is where they pull the rug out from under you. There is some kind of crazy undertone of vanilla or cream or something. I believe this is due to the champagne portion of the flavoring and champagne is an amorphous enough of a flavor that it has to be blamed for the creaminess and some kind of sparkly tingle flavor. Weird/NEAT!
On top of that is a light amount of lime. The lime seems like the binding flavor as it is there but everything else radiates around it. Really it’s like a lime cream soda. Delicious.
And somewhere sitting in its own little dark corner (yea! it’s not prominent!) is the spearmint. The rest of the flavors are very bright so I agree that a darker flavor in the blend is good and necessary to provide the bottom of the blend and let the other flavors spring board off of it. It’s not over powering but as my tea is cooling off it is masking the other flavors a little more. This is where the crazy interplay of flavors come in… mint and champagne must equal “sparkly”! I don’t know how they thought that up but it works with the spearmint flavor coming out so late in the game that you really register sparkles before mint.
After almost finishing my 2 oz. I feel that the interesting points in the blend are a little too much. Cup one is all about discovering and as you can see there is a lot to discover and experience… and then cup after cup you kinda get used to it and the excitement goes away and you’re left with a very complicated tea that you’ve picked a prodded at so it has lost its shine. I really wish each cup brought about the same excitement but… I guess it doesn’t have any staying power for me.
I think 2 oz. for a party where many people will get to experience something new in exciting is a great idea for this tea… but for personal everyday drinking it’s not staying wonderful.

First… this is the only black tea I can drink without milk and be completely happy while doing it. In addition this is the only tea that says it has a subtle honey like flavor and I can really taste it along with the promise of it being smooth actually being true. So this review is starting out pretty well…

But really… the second steep is the best with all of the tannin taste being absorbed by the first steeping. So for the first steeping I usually add just a teaspoon of sugar in the pot but in the subsequent steeps I don’t think the rest of the steeps need that.

Sugar fixes all of the bitterness and makes this blend extremely enjoyable. So if you are looking for a plain black tea I think this one is the best. If I find a better one I will be extremely surprised.

Taken Plain.
Usually Golden Moon never ever misses with me. I can open up anything they send and adore it absolutely. Not this one. It is a very nice scented green but I have had better. I’ve had a TON worse and this is in no way a bad tea… but Ive had better. I’m just disappointed that this isn’t as good as the vast majority of their other teas.

What I was looking for was a deep toasted green base to add depth paired with the bright floral notes extending down into the base to pull it up into the light. The green tea feels like it is living up to my expectations but the jasmine seems to be the part falling short. It seems almost two dimensional and weak next to the base. Not weak as if you couldn’t taste it but weak like brittle. It does not have depth into the lower notes of jasmine flavor that would add richness to the blend and a more full mouth feel.

It’s ok. It is what they promise but I know that they can do better because they usually do. If you are looking for a light, pleasant and unoffensive Jasmine blend definitely give this one a shot. If you are like me and you want to be dazzled by new, bold and exciting flavors you might think this one is too calm.

This tea is a light fermented Wuyi Oolong which means the leaves were grown in a specific area in the Fujian Provence of China. Even though this is a light Oolong it is remarkably toasty in the first infusion. Not toasty like a dark roasted Oolong but a lighter flavor version that retains the complexity without the strength.

The second infusion loses a lot of the toastiness and really showcases the floral undertones and sweetness. Don’t get me wrong it still tastes fermented. This is absolutely no where near a pouchong but it does have that kind of lightness to it.

Anyways light but complex flavor.

Brewed 3 minutes. Taken Plain. Sampling first and second infusions.

UPDATE:
Tried a longer steeping time because of going over the other reviews and wondering if I just got a weird batch… no I didn’t.
My initial steep was for about 3 minutes. Putting it up over 4 does bring out a darker side with a deep toasty flavor that could be considered bitter. I just think it’s heavier… but I can see why others would have called it bitter.

Taken plain with multiple infusions.
Awesome oolong. Buttered toasty start with a sweet toasty flower after taste. I know that sounds weird but that’s the best way I can think of to describe a straight down the middle oolong. There are traces of floral notes in the smell of the brewed tea but the dominant flavors are all of sweetness and toast and yummy.

Taken with milk and sugar.
Wow CHOCOLATE!
And only 3 components that usually go into chai which are cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.
This is pretty fantastic. sip
I tried this without milk first and found that the cardamom over powers a little bit when the milk isn’t there to chill it out. With milk though it has the same after taste as that Indian dessert that is a frozen yogurt and cardamom mixture which is kinda similar to egg nog without that weird nog texture. And the fact that the Indian dessert is frozen solid. sip
About half way through the glass you get “used” to the chocolate taste so the flavoring spices and the tea start to show up a little more. The tea flavor is a good base but there is absolutely nothing stand out about that at all.
Spice wise… at first I thought that the blend might have been a little cardamom heavy but the ginger and chocolate are evening the flavor out quite well.
My only wish would be to have a little more cinnamon in the mix cause I do like that little kick but if that’s my only complaint with a chai they are doing pretty good. And I can put that in myself. :)

Taken with sugar.
Light flavor profile with the white tea being followed by a blue berry after taste. The is a floral current running through out that adds depth but there is also a slightly medicinal quality lurking in there some where. It’s very faint though. Just enough to make me keep thinking about the fact that it’s there but it’s not strong enough for me to figure out what’s causing it.
It might be an after effect of the blueberry flavoring…
Anyways…
I’m not throwing it out but I’m not buying it again either.
meh

Taken out of the bottle…
How is black tea the first ingredient in this bottle? You can barely taste it… it’s there down at the bottom past the kitchen sink and everything else that isn’t tea…
Is the tea good? I don’t know… I can’t tell. I wanted caffeine. I chose poorly.
This is not going to wake me up at all.
And unfortunately I can’t hate it cause it’s absolutely DELICIOUS. It’s not tea though… it’s like fruit dipped in tea and then gnawed on.
It’s really good though.
But I’m going to fall asleep.

Taken plain.
This is my favored kind of green. Buttery toasty and calm. No spinach flavor in the cup just a calm green tea that I can eat anything with.

Taken Plain.
Mint and toasty goodness. That’s pretty much all you can say about this one. It is somehow both refreshing and smoothly savory at the same time and none of the flavors fight with one another.
Which is pretty neat.
Definitely worth a shot.

Taken plain.
Starting is a sweet smooth chrysanthemum taste with a floral over tone that fades quickly to sweet and toasty and then finally to the white tea base.
This tea is exactly what Golden Moon advertises and it is wonderfully smooth and calming.
Pairing chrysanthemum over the white tea adds interest to a very simple flavor and accents the mouth feel to make this a more full bodied tea.
The tea leaves prior to brewing show full chrysanthemum buds so if you have certain plant allergies you may want to check to make sure this wont bother you.
But if you can drink this it is wonderful.

Taken with a sprinkle of sugar.
As with the vast majority of Golden Moon teas this blend demonstrates a balance between flavoring agent and tea. Neither fight for dominance. Both can be tasted. Which is awesome and something I think more blending professionals should aspire to.
It seems that the rose is the balancing part of the tea. First hint is of an almost tin-ie (for all of you non-musicians out there tin-ie is a description for a sound that has no resonance… most commonly piccolos and trumpets… you know… the annoying instruments ;p ) black tea. After that the rose flavor develops over the black tea base.
Obviously this is extremely floral but the rose flavoring does not become a perfumed mess when chilled which is nice.
What makes this blend work though is a tertiary flavor that reminds me of teas that are defined as smoky. Think Lapsang super duper light. I honnestly don’t know if this is a quality in the leaves they chose to blend with or if they added a bit of oil or what-not but I’m pretty sure that’s what keeps the flavor in this blend together.
Anyways… pleasant treat!

Taken plain and with sugar.
While this tea is hot the vanilla flavoring is stronger than the flavorings in most black teas that include vanilla which is nice because I like vanilla and when I have to try to find the hint of vanilla in a cup it is frustrating.
On the other hand when this tea cools off it does take on that same woody kinda quality as the peach oolong blend but it is much worse in this tea.
I agree with some of the other reviewers in that it takes on a tobacco like flavor that is pretty gross. It is clear that they used the same kind of oolong to mix this flavor as they used for their peach oolong, as indicated by the distinct presence of a wood brick, and I’m wondering if they always use this kind of mixer. Cause it’s not very good.
Good extremely hot…
and then terrible as it cools.

Taken plain and with a little bit of sugar.
Without sugar the flavor is a deep woody peachy… thing. I was expecting more or a bright oolong to be pared with the peach flavor from a alishan to a monkey picked whatever but this is different. When you take it very hot the peach flavor is full and sweet with the underlying tea flavors giving a base to round the palate.
Very nice. Not was I was expecting but very pleasant.
And then the tea cools off a little… DON’T let the tea cool off too much! It starts getting woody… and the peach starts to fade… and then more wood and more wood and wood and wood wood wood wood.
All it ends up tasting like wood! And not good wood either… old musty wood.
With Sugar?
Add a pinch of sugar and it makes the peach sparkle when taken hot.
And as it cools… still woody… it takes longer to get to brick of wood but it still heads off down that path of why didn’t they pick a different mixing oolong.
… meh
Great at the beginning…

Taken with a little sugar.
The first time I made this I followed the instructions on the box thinking that even if it was a green Disney might have had a reason for saying bring the water to a boil… They don’t know what they are talking about so for trying the remainder of their teas I’m going to use my own know how and make them the way that it will taste good.
So… the tea really smells like fake blueberry! And it tastes fake like blueberry candy too! So if you like artificial blueberry candy (like I do oddly enough) you’ll love this.
And in case you were wondering about the ‘tea’ part of it… Disney took the vast majority of green tea flavor out the equation so you don’t have to worry about it mucking with your fake blueberries!
I know the only reason I like this is because it’s an Alice tea… there is no real merit to this tea what-so-ever… but I’m ok with that.
*This review is TOTALLY biased by my Disney nostalgia. But honnestly it’s not bad… and I have told the truth about what it tastes like. But if it were any other company I would have ripped it apart and not told you of my love of blueberry candies.

Taken Plain and with sugar.
Refreshing yes!
Tropical? ehhh… maybe?
The dominant flavors are hibiscus and lemon which is fine with me and there is a distinctly odd cooling feeling accompanying those flavors that I find minutely disconcerting. After you take a sip if you breathe in you feel a nice cool breath of ‘fresh’ air. It’s actually pretty neat considering you don’t taste whatever is doing that.
So this tea gets an automatic rating of super neato with magic and science!
And the hibiscus and lemon go great together with neither of them being over powering. With ‘tropical’ in the title I expected a bit more… I don’t know coconut or something that reminded me of the Caribbean and I’m not finding anything like that at all.
But it is yummy and refreshing.
And it has some kind of neat cooling science!
Yea Science!

Taken with sugar.
Good flavor. I feel like it needs sugar to make the jasmine pop and to smooth out the astringency in the black tea but it definitely doesn’t need milk which is nice. Not needing milk seems to be a sign of quality so good marks there.
The jasmine seems to over run the black tea on flavor though. It is not a balanced tea where you can taste both equally. Instead the jasmine is in the absolute spot light and the black tea doesn’t feel as developed as it could have been. Which is also a mark of quality so bad marks there.
The weirdest thing though is that lack of mouth feel from the black tea. I can feel the jasmine but the black under flavor seems washed out and without texture.
So this is a light tea with strong jasmine flavor.
Not over powering.
But in a sense not all there.

Taken Plain.
Flavorful for a lightly fermented Oolong.
The interesting thing about this tea is the mix of buttery and floral tones. Usually I think of those two kinds of flavors fighting for dominance but in this blend they compliment each other nicely.
That’s why I keep coming back to this Oolong. Great Flavor and balance while remaining light.