The Tea Merchant
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Uh oh, this tea is AMAZING.
Reminds me a LOT of DavidsTea’s Vanilla Oolong, which I haven’t had a taste of since the Christmas sampler.
As soon as I smelled the dry leaves, I had a serious craving. Like an addiction. Ah!
Working on a longer review for the blog – will post ASAP but first – prepping a chicken for the slow cooker. And enjoying this tea with some homemade English Muffin bread and honey! Happy Hump day!
The Tea Merchant! You had me at the old timey wax seal on the paper around the tea envelopes! I discovered a couple weeks ago that I love love love creamy earl greys when I thought I wouldn’t like them at all. Now I want to try any and all creme earl grey and I was happy to try some samples from The Tea Merchant. This is GOOD stuff. The french vanilla, bergamot and black tea offers a triple threat of perfection. They work so so well together. The black tea has the perfect amount of flavor to showcase the bergamot and creme. It doesn’t get better than that except for the gorgeousness of the cornflowers. The second cup was just as delicious as the first. The best of the four creme earl greys I’ve had in the last few weeks. (I’m not sure how much alike the creme and the french vanilla are, but this tastes a lot like the Element Creme Earl Grey I have so I’m guessing it is pretty similar.)Creme Earl Grey is my new favorite type of tea and The Tea Merchant is my new favorite tea company! I can not wait to try anything else they make. (I LOVED the Silk Dragon they also sent in my sample package.) I will DEFINITELY be ordering this when I run out of all my creme earl greys!
WOW!
Thank you to The Tea Merchant for the generous samples!
This tea is out of this world! SOOO delicious!
Happily – it tastes JUST like it smells! Can you believe it? mmm, it’s liek biting into a fresh, still warm coconut macaroon. Not macaron, but maybe it tastes like one of those too. Amazing.
Sweet, coconutty and a hint of pastry. Beautiful white base – full leaves and bright green and white. Quality ingredients for a very high quality tea, what else can I say? Delicious!
This tea tricked and impressed me. I received it yesterday as one of four free samples from The Tea Merchant – thank you! It came wrapped up in brown tissue paper with a golden wax seal. LOVED that. I steeped up a cuppa this darjeeling this afternoon and must admit it’s my first darjeeling. While I love black teas, I have not experienced a darjeeling yet so I didn’t know what I was in for. The aroma was a bit musty and reminded me of barns and animals – not in a negative way, but in a hay-ish sort of way. No poo smell, I swear.
Steeped for three minutes, I have a surprisingly light orangeish liquor which shares the aroma of the dry leaf, but more refined somehow. It’s like the dry aroma was a fuzzy picture and the steeped liquor is it’s sharper cousin. The taste is impressive – again, it’s clearly a black tea but really good quality. It’s smooth and has a hint of astringency underneath the tea. I find it hard to describe, other than black tea. My words are failing me today.. EDIT: After reading other reviews, malty totally fits what I am getting here. It’s very malty – I don’t know what muscatel means, really, so I can’t speak to that but it reminds me of rich beer, almost.
I must say that I thought the leaves were a bit small for a pure tea and I expected that to translate into more bitterness, but it doesn’t seem to have. I expected fuller leaf, but this doesn’t suffer for the breakage that is there. Solid black tea – not my favourite, but certainly would make a good standard black in the cupboard.
Thank you to The Tea Merchant for the generous samples!
Today this tea was my muse, along with my new gaiwan!
http://www.daisychubb.com/review-plum-oolong-by-the-tea-merchant/
Yay for mail! It was a very happy day when the mail man buzzed the door instead of just leaving a slip to go pick up the packages from the post office the next day. The thing is – my boyfriend works from home. We should never have to go to the post office! Anyways…
This tea smelled SO good, but sadly it didn’t taste the way it smelled (the other Tea Merchant teas did, so this was my only non-favourite tea). The oolong came out loud and proud – with a hint of tartness/sourness that reminded me of hibiscus, but only in taste. It was quite gentle and did remind me of a plum. You know when you get a plum that isn’t overly juicy and has a sourness to it? Just like that!
I’m very happy to be able to try this unique flavour – thanks again TTM!
OH my!
This is really very good. The vanilla melds so beautifully with the Oolong to create a very creamy sensation for the palate. Sweet, creamy, rich vanilla flavor. I taste hints of orchid. A slight earthiness. And hints of citrus toward the tail. And even a hint of peach-like undertones. But mostly what I taste is vanilla. Smooth, creamy, decadent vanilla.
If you like vanilla – You’ve got to try this!
My second cup (3rd and 4th infusions) is even nicer. It isn’t quite as thick and creamy vanilla, but, it is a smoother vanilla tone that evens out with the Oolong – it becomes more of an Oolong with Vanilla rather than a Vanilla with Oolong if that makes sense.
Decadent. Good adjective. I really like this!
Sip down! go go gadget getting through teas! I’m going to miss this one and there’s a few from the tea merchant that I’d like to order someday but sadly it’ll have to go on my list of teas to purchase when i can ship them to the US for pick up. The shipping to canada is just a hassle sadly.
This is a relatively nice assam for what it’s worth :)
First cup of the morning! Once again thanks to the Tea Merchant for their generous sample! This is a nice cup for the morning. I was inspired by a comment made by kittena yesterday so I actually have a smoothie in a water bottle and two tea mugs full of tea lol. YAY for drinking it up in the morning! Especially nice since it’s a cool (but still nice) wet, rainy dark morning here in toronto.
This assam has a toasty warm flavourful taste this morning. A bit like a warm hug on a cold day, cuddled under the blankets listening to the rain patter on the windows.
YAY for samples of new tea in the mail! So yesterday my two samples from the Tea Merchant arrived – the perfect ending to a very long day! I love the wax seal on the packaging, honestly the simple things make the difference. I also have to say, I also really like the labels on the bags. The colours and information work well for me.
So, on to the tea! I chose this one and Yunnan’s Fable more because I haven’t yet had a golden assam and because my experience with Pu-erh has been limited. I suppose i could have gone with two teas I KNEW i would like but I wanted to try something new.
I have to say the colour of this tea is really nice. I was sad to have to put it in my travel mug to take it to work. This tea works for me. I’m managed to burn my tongue twice now (no I don’t learn) trying to drink it! I don’t have any other experience with “assams” to be able to offer a comparision but I’d order this one again and try other teas from the Tea Merchant if that’s an answer :)
Preparation
Thank you Tea Merchant for the hook up on the wave of samples you sent out. I obviously happen to be one of those people who got in on it before time ran out, and I’m glad I did. To be honest I have reservations and I ain’t talking about dinner. Generally I’m a straight up, unadulterated, give it to me as God intended( or mother earth if you prefer, or alah,or krishna,or whatever creator you believe in. I’m not here to discuss doctrine,another time and place maybe)kind of tea drinker. I haven’t strayed off of the oolong, pu’erh, black tea path too much so I have preconcieved notions about what to expect with blends/flavored tea. I missed the mark on this one.
For me added flavor equals bitter (there’s none) and cover up (the oolong is coming through just fine). In fact, I tried to screw this up by eating about a half dozen cookies worth of dough while it was steeping. In turn, I couldn’t taste it due to the tastebud overload with all of the sugar i just had so…I did what any clear thinking wise old tea drinker would do… I threw more fresh tea leaf in with what I had steeped already, microwaved the contents of the pot, and then resteeped it all together and assumed it would work splendidly, luckily for me it did.
Fruity is an understatement (not describing me, the tea you fools!). Not sure if it’s closest to plumbs or something else, but I can say that it’s very pleasant indeed. The oolong is light and smooth. There are floral notes in the flavor but not much in the way of aftertaste. The sweet is kinda here & gone. The friut part kinda reminds me of sugar cereal.
The second steep showed me just a little astringency and even more fruity (I told you already, not me the tea!). I would try to get a third batch goin but it’s getting to be that time. Thanks everyone for your comments yesterday about my wreck. There’s headaches o’ plenty and the great and terrible beaurocratic monster has reared it’s grotesquely ugly head so all prayers and encouragements are genuinely welcome. Thanks all for listening… speaking of listening…
tunes- thank you a bunch Charles Thomas Draper for exposing me to the amazing Townes van Zandt. I listened to Nothin’/Lungs/Mr Mudd & MR Gold/St.John The Gambler to name just a few. There’s a playlist on Youtube with 100 songs. Also, I’ve encouraged several people to list their tasting tune as well, after they complimented this idea. It aint my concept, I got no copyright. I’ld love it if others did likewise, just like Thomas’ suggestion. I want exposed to new stuff.
Preparation
Fellow cookie dough lover here. Sounds like you earned the right to polish off a whole batch! Praying that the headaches—both physical and paperwork—ease soon.
U R Funny! Charmingly though! I use spotify so if you do too, you could share in my playlists.
You listened to some of his finest….
Good to hear you are recovering thus far. I did not have as good of luck with this one but will try it again.
Glad you are feeling less achy. Keep plugging along soon it will all be over. :D
Azz you had no luck eh? Maybe the newbie has some insight for an old hatter. Just do like I did; steep once, microwave tea, add more leaf, re-steep. I’m sure there is some great proloific method to infuse in Europe that involves a microwave.
I would like to thank the Tea Merchant for sending me this sample of Yunnan’s Fable. I was so very excited to try Pu-erh for the first time, as I have been very intrigued about it since I’ve heard of it.
I brewed Yunnan’s Fable to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. I steeped it for approximately four to five minutes. The aroma was earthy and also had a richness from the cocoa bits. While I was drinking the tea, it was a smooth and very rich flavor from the cocoa,however I personally couldn’t taste the coconut. The liquor was a medium to dark brown color. It actually reminded me of the color of coffee. Once upon a time, I used to be a huge coffee drinker; oh how times have really changed. I think this is a great alternative to having hot chocolate, since I don’t drink it anymore.
I re-steeped the tea, and it was still a very rich and flavorful cup. It was just as good as the first steeped tea. I must say that I am amazed and delighted at how much I truly enjoyed this tea.
Preparation
Cold brewed this today for a few hours in the fridge. It came out a beautiful peachy\orange color. The flavor is pretty strong compared to hot brewing it. I can see apricot being the main flavor but there is something else there too. Maybe a light orange? It has a bit of tartness to it but it makes for a great iced “tea”. I may have to order more for summer.
Thank you to The Tea Merchant for this generous and delicious sample! When I smelled this tea for some reason I thought it was going to be tart. But it is actually quite mellow. The first sip I was wondering where the fruit was, but as it cools the apricot/pear taste shines! It reminds me of apricot jam. It makes such a lovely cup too with a peachy, pinkish color. It is just as delicious cold too :) I’m happy I got to try this! I will definitely be ordering more (Plus I LOVED the packaging. I felt bad opening it..).
Preparation
First and foremost, I would like to thank The Tea Merchant for their tea sample of White Coconut Blondie. Personally, I have a love for coconut, so it’s practically impossible to resist trying a tea blend that includes coconut.
I brewed the tea to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. I steeped it for approximately two to three minutes. As I looked at the tea leaves, it looked like it included toasted coconut flakes. This is my first experience drinking white tea and I very much enjoyed it. The aroma was wonderful; it had a wonderfully strong fragrance of coconut.
While I was drinking the tea, I noticed the flavor of a more subtle coconut flavor,very different from the aroma of the tea leaves that I expected. It was a smooth and delicate taste, which I very much enjoyed and savored. The liquor was a light, yellowish color.
The tea samples came packaged in a brown tissue paper with a sage green wax seal. I must say that I was very impressed at their presentation.
Although it was not what I originally expected, I would like to say that I enjoyed their White Coconut Blondie tea. I would like to say that I am glad that I have had the opportunity to try their tea samples and that I am excited to try my second sample, Yunnan’s Fable.
Preparation
I really wanted to like this tea. First this I noticed was that it had a solid foundation with a little bit of Iron Goddess character on the nose. 3 minutes in the yixing pot brewed a very pale creamy liquor. First brew was weak. Not much flavor at all. I resteeped it, and the second brew yields nothing. I experimented with different amounts of tea, different temps, and different times. Nothing could fix it. And that’s the biggest problem, a quality TiKuanYin shouldn’t take this much effort. One look at the steeped leaves and I could see part of the problem. They look terrible. Broken up and really torn up on the edges. They have no tensile strength and seemed to come apart just from picking them up. No nose on the steeped leaves, lack of flavor, no complexity and unappealing leaves make my :/ grade the only option I had.
Preparation
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2024 Tea #2 – Your oldest tea
This is definitely one of my oldest teas. It might be the oldest tea I have that a tea shop sent me as a freebie to try, so it was time to sip it down. And it’s still very good. It’s always better than I remember it being. I expect it to be cloying after not steeping it for a while, but then that first sip reminds me it’s a favorite. The unique flavors meld with the oolong base. Rich and creamy with a hint of citrus — though 1,000% different than an Earl Cream. I’m sad this shop has disappeared but I think the blend itself can be found elsewhere.
2024 sipdowns: 4
Additional notes : Had three steeps of this one this time and the flavor stayed consistently vanilla until the last drop. Unlike last time, when it was still very good but tasted less like vanilla by the third steep. I must have timed all three steeps just right, and you could probably get many many more steeps from the same leaves. This one is very divine and luxurious.
I’ve been so spoiled with amazing teas lately! The Tea Merchant sent me this free sample that sounded like a very unique & interesting blend. Also, I really love that it was packaged with an old-timey wax seal with the company logo!
First steep: 3 1/3 min.
The scent of the unsteeped leaves is intriguing and delicious! I don’t think I’ve heard of a vanilla flavored oolong before. Vanilla anything is my absolute favorite. The steep color is a light yellow. The flavor is very vanilla! Yum! There isn’t too much of an oolong flavor, however. I also can’t tell that there is lemon myrtle here. It is subtle — but I think it might be making the vanilla taste unusual!
Second steep: 5 min.
The vanilla flavor seems to have disappeared a bit but the oolong flavor has gotten stronger! It’s evolving… most oolongs seem to do that more than any other tea. I wonder why there aren’t more oolong teas with vanilla, since they seem to compliment each other well!
Third steep: 6 mins
The vanilla flavor is still disappearing but the oolong is getting even better. It has that lovely floral taste that the best oolongs have. The steep still has the same yellow color too.
Fourth steep: 9 mins
The oolong flavor seems to have become weaker now and there is a tangy flavor to it. But that may be because I had it steeping for 9 mins with just boiled water. I’d say the best steep for the vanilla flavor was the first and the best steep for the oolong flavor was the third.
On my new oolong flavor scale of one (lightest & floral) to five (stronger), I’d say this is a two. It was fun to see the oolong taste get better as the vanilla disappeared. Very unique! Another tea I’ll have to buy when my tea stash gets lower! Overall, a delicious blend from a great new company! I can’t wait to see what they do next!
Thank you to The Tea Merchant for sending out free samples!
So, I have to admit, the first steep of this did not at all impress me. The plum was a bit strong and overly sweet and I was fully prepared to be disappointed in this tea. However, this being an oolong blend, I decided to re-steep the leaves and see if the second time was any better…
It was! The “too sweet” edge of the plum was knocked out of it in the first steep, leaving a well rounded plum fruit flavor to the second round. The flavor of oolong was a good bit more pronounced in the second steep as well. The second go-around really made all the difference.
I think I am going to try cold brewing this and see what happens. If nothing else, I’ll pour out the first minutes tea and just drink the second batch.
I do the saaame thing. And I’m always mad at myself, but I do it all over again on my next shift :P
it’s a hard habit to break haha! A true addiction o_o
I so feel your pain. I work 9-10 hour shifts and usually take three travel mugs of tea with me. Well, my office has no washroom, so in order for me to dash out to use one, the office has to be clear of patients with none coming in in the near future. Guess how often that happens XD. It become a tricky line between staying hydrated and getting too hydrated >.<
How can your job not give you bathroom breaks? That’s seems kind of silly…and probably illegal.
Probably. Technically we’re supposed to be able to just interrupt the doctor in the middle of an exam to tell them we’re running to the washroom, but no one ever does that. Who has the time for it, anyway?
Yeah for us we have to phone security to watch the desk, but they’re usually doing good things like kicking bad people out of the mall, so I don’t like to bug them if I can’t help it! haha there are a lot of thing in job sthat I think should be illegal but probably aren’t, or are and no one cares enough to challenge them ha!