alightningbug

I’m normally a fan of oolong, but find myself compelled to explore – especially Pu-erh. Oolongs can have such varied and complex flavors and from what I’ve tasted so far, so can Pu-erh.

I have several older cakes I’d purchased a couple of years ago. One tastes fishy and the other like mushrooms. I love the one that tastes like mushrooms! Is it dorky if it reminds me of sitting in a dewy forest under mushroom umbrellas! (Shhh …) In looking for more similar to that, I purchased some of this Pu-erh Tuo Cha by Rishi.

The Pu-erh Tuo Cha cakes are dark and fairly hard. If I score with a knife I can break one in half with my fingers. The brew is inky dark with a little red. The taste is smooth, deep and almost smokey with a few notes of mocha. Not bitter, but it gets strong quickly.

If I search with my taste buds I can find just a hint of that mushroom taste. Perhaps this batch has a lot more aging to do. I think this is fairly “fresh” as it was purchased in Rishi’s new boxes instead of their old tins. I rather miss the tins, but understand. The box is 3.21 oz (91g) and contained about 12 cakes.

I didn’t feel a need to rinse first, but I’ll try that next time. Good for multiple infusions. Steep times varied with second and third steeping. I want to explore more Pu-erh!

Teavana’s Silver Yin Zhen is a nice little white tea. Pearl teas are fun ’cause of the whole unfurling process — adds visual enjoyment and reminds me that I should relax like the little pearls in warm water.

The flavor here is fairly classic white tea. I’ll preface by saying that I tend to like white teas a little stronger and, in fact, enjoy a wee bit of bitter. I brewed for longer than the recommended time of 4 to 5 minutes, but at a slightly cooler temperature.

First steep: I let it go to about 6.5 minutes because it didn’t really look like the pearls had unfurled much, and I like the unfurling. 3 or 4 minutes would probably be nice for folks who like a lighter tea because there was some bitterness in that first brew. It was light in color with a pit-of-the-fruit type of flavor (not fruit flavor, but that slightly astringent, slightly woody flavor of the actual pit of a peach or cherry). I enjoy that. After tasting plain, I added a bit of sweetener and this brought out the light florals while minimizing the bitterness.

Second steep: About 5 minutes. Similar, without the bitterness, less astringent. A bit fruitier. I imagine it would have been stronger if I hadn’t steeped the first cup for so long. The leaves are nicely relaxed yet not limp — they’re dancing or doing yoga.

Third steep: Also nice, I let this one steep a looong time ‘cause I got distracted. It didn’t get bitter. Still a really nice cup of white tea. With sweetener, the floral notes are still present.

I’m not sure that there will be much flavor for a fourth steeping of these leaves. Folks who like a lighter tea who don’t steep as long can probably get a very nice fourth and even fifth cup out of Silver Yin Zhen Pearls. Instead of throwing away these leaves, I’ll make a flavorful blend by adding a fruity herbal or rooibos to what is left just to get a wee bit more out of the little dancers.

I purchased Silver Yin Zhen Pearls from Teavana during their after Christmas sale. I don’t know if I’d purchase again at full price. Love those pearls though!

After purchasing during the 75% off sale, I’m finally tasting this again. Generally, I’ve not been a big fan of black teas, but Darjeeling de Triomphe is one of a couple of greener black teas that have me rethinking tea colors. The leaves look really green and the brew is sparklingly light not unlike the color of champagne. One of my issues with black tea is that it stains my teeth so much. I drink a lot of tea! So that’s an issue for me. Darjeeling de Triomphe doesn’t taste like a run-of-the-mill black tea either. The aroma is muscatel, fruity and slightly floral. The taste is similar, but with a tad of bitterness if you over steep. “Muscatel” is an interesting flavor as far as I’m concerned. There is a fine line between an almost spicy musk and musty like socks. Second infusion was just as flavorful as the first. I want to try it iced.

This oolong is among my favorite teas. I love green oolongs! I had this one several years ago and was recently gifted with some more. It has a lovely “orchid” complex floral taste and aroma with a wee hint of fruitiness. The first steeping has somewhat of a green vegetal flavor. I don’t remember that from the last batch i had. This green vegetal taste is pretty much gone by the second steeping and this is where I most notice the rich, full mouth feel. It’s a tea devoid of bitterness. It reminds me of Rishi’s Jade Oolong, but the smooth mouthfeel is more pronounced in this Monkey Picked. I’ve read that Monkey Picked is the same as Tieguanyin. That may be, but i always thought Tieguanyin was more baked or lightly roasted and i taste no roasted flavor in this tea. The tea liquid is a delicate light jade green. Lovely for multiple infusions — which takes some of the edge off the hefty price. I could drink this all day (and some days I do).

Used up one last serving to make room in a tea tin. I forgot how nice this tea is. Even though this isn’t the freshest of teas, it’s still nicely fruity while still tasting like a quality white tea. I love the unfurling of the pearls. Sweet, light aroma propels me to higher places (or something like that). Might have to purchase again sometime.

Trying this one again and enjoying. I mixed it with some oolong and black tea. There is still an aroma that reminds me of bubble gum — fruity grapish bubble gum. Mixing it with the oolong and black tea brought some lovely tannins and florals to the fruit and gum flavors which pulled it out of the juice and candy realm for me. I could get used to this, but it’s still not my favorite.

I like the idea of this new tea from Teavana, but the actual tea is not my favorite. The “finest red wines” may have inspired this blend of fruit, vanilla and rooibos, and I get some notes of this kind with a few of the sips, but overall the aroma and taste reminds me more of grape bubble gum. If you get a craving for bubble gum or grape Kool-aid, then this may be the tea for you. I do get a fun blast-from-the-past while drinking it and I like grape, but I’m having a harder time with it in tea. I wonder if I could just add juice to some other tea to get a similar flavor. The color of this tea is really lovely, but to be truly wine-like, I think this blend would have benefitted from some of the more subtle, complex flavors found in wine like notes of chocolate, spices, florals and tannins. Opus Rouge Rooibos is mostly grape, so let’s just say it tastes like a very young wine. Maybe I’m being too hard on it because of the wine comparison. Hmm. I’ll see if my daughter likes it. Probably a good tea for kids. Maybe I’ll try it blended. Others may like it more than I do.

No notes yet.

Crisp, tart, sweet taste. Hot or iced, I really like this one. Even though the ingredient list is lengthy the flavor isn’t at all muddy. Clean and refreshing, it reminds me of a hibiscus and rosehip herbal tisane I had years ago. But this one is even nicer as it’s balanced with a veritable fruit salad of berries, citrus, apples, and pineapple along with a hint of minty cool finish. Think minty garnish on a fruit salad not full-on flavor like a Mojito. While it’s a listed as a mate, I don’t really taste any mate and I’m hard pressed to find even pieces of mate in with the beautiful, large chunks of fruit. They are there, though. I think I felt a little pick-me-up from the mate, but it could have just been the tart flavor giving me that little burst of energy. I actually found a second steeping was not bad. It is different — not as tart and bright, but still pleasantly fruity. I blended it with a couple of oolongs so far and it held up nicely. Yummy!

A refreshing, fruity green tea. The orange, lime and tangerine oils are quite evident in fragrance, but the ingredient I most taste is lemongrass. That’s not a bad thing. The lemongrass is well complimented with citrus aromas, flavors, lemon myrtle and the green tea itself. The tiny golden osthmanthus flowers are visually lovely and complement the taste with a hint of light floral apricot. Yummy hot or iced. I’m looking forward to more of this one as the days get warmer!

One of my favorites! This tea is very similar to Teavana’s discontinued Iron Buddha Oolong. A greener oolong which lacks the roasted nuances of Iron Goddess of Mercy or Tae Guan Yin, but instead shines with a clean, refreshingly mossy floral depth. I most enjoy it steeped longer than the directions suggest which increases the astringency. Large deep green leaves edged with golden red and brown unfurl beautifully to fill the cup or strainer. Mixes wonderfully with light fruit tisanes and white teas and can be steeped multiple times.

This tea is a bit of a puzzlement. It takes on very different character just by changing a few variables. Use water that isn’t as hot (195 degrees) and this chai has a fruitier, lighter flavor. Use hotter water (208) with added sweetener and the taste & aroma morph into the chai liquid equivalent of Red Hot candy. There are large pieces of Indonesian Cinnamon stick (the thicker kind of cinnamon as opposed to the thinner Ceylon), so I’m not surprised by that flavor. And even if you leave out the cinnamon stick there’s a nice amount of cinnamon and spice permeating the brew with the cloves, ginger, cardamom, tulsi herb and beautiful pink peppercorns—I love their almost floral, peppery taste. But I’m stumped by the fruit flavor that I taste because there isn’t anything fruity in the ingredients. “Flavoring” is, however, listed. Coconut rasps, coconut and coconut fat are all listed as ingredients, yet there is scant little coconut flavor whatsoever. In fact the coconut rasps taste more like fruit with citrusy tropical notes. Go figure! So while I really enjoy the taste (and even the potential health benefits of tulsi), I wish I knew more about what exactly I was tasting. Strange but yummy.

No notes yet.

I’d best describe the flavor of this tea as roasted earthiness with a hint of intriguing sweetness that tastes better than it smells (which is even more earthy). Brown rice similar to that found in Genmaicha along with soybeans and the subtle slow sweet flavor of natural licorice root (not to be confused with licorice candy) combine to create a brew reminiscent of a dish from my favorite Asian Take-out. Comfort food with sweet sauce! Added sweetener brings out additional toffee or caramel notes. I think this tisane has the potential to add depth to other teas and I’m looking forward to trying several combinations. The health benefits are compelling as dokudami is purported to have many. This is not a tea for everybody, but can be really enjoyable and deeply satisfying.

A really delicious combination of floral and fruit with neither overwhelming the other. Since actual orchids come in many fragrances—from oppressively floral to spicy or even no fragrance at all—it always irks me a bit when flavors or smells are described as “orchid.” I’ll forgive this one. I’m going to say that orchid in this case is floral without being specifically jasmine, rose or other easily recognized specific flower. It’s a lovely balance with a hint of tart sweetness from the fruit. There was a pleasant amount of astringency. Refreshing! Flavor was excellent through three infusions. I could definitely drink this on a regular basis.

A full-flavored tea (unless you don’t add enough tea per oz of water or if you don’t steep for long enough at proper temp).

I found the flavor, when hot, to be a bright combination of orange (like orange liquor), almonds (like almond extract or almond liquor) and a bit of cocoa. As it cooled, it tasted something more akin to actual Tiramisu (and therefore coffee). Definitely a dessert experience—especially with a bit of sugar or milk. I can’t help but think that a bit of vanilla and less orange would have pushed it further into the Tiramisu flavor realm. I haven’t had a lot of orange flavored Tiramisu, but perhaps they’re going for a bit of the bitters one might experience with espresso. Yummy as a treat, but not one that I’d want to drink daily.

Just a note, that indeed Teavana has discontinued this yummy tea. It was a greener Oolong with lovely drinkable perfume aroma and complex flavor. One of my favorites! Teavana claims their Monkey Picked Oolong is a good replacement, and while the flavor is very similar, Monkey Picked is more than twice the price. In searching for something similar (in taste and price) to Iron Buddha Oolong, I’ve found Jade Oolong from Taiwan is very close. My search of an acceptable replacement inspired me to write a blog. Yep, I liked Iron Buddha Oolong that much!