thepuriTea

This is my first milk oolong and I can tell this will be the first of more to come. It is amazing and delicious. It is sweet, creamy but not in a rich sort of way, just smooth. I allowed it to cool and it just got sweeter and happier. I can tell this will be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Thank you, thepuriTea for this sample.

Steep Information:
Amount: 6.3 g (one of the two sample packs included in the pillow box)
Water: 500ml filtered water 180°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (custom, mild)
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strong sweet jasmine flowers
Steeped Tea Smell: lightly sweet and jasmine flower
Flavor: floral, slightly vegetal, sweet, refreshing
Body: Light
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: translucent yellow-green

Resteep: 4min, a bolder flavor but slightly astringent.

Not as strong a flavor as I would have preferred, perhaps a longer steep, the smell was amazing though.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea.html

This tea is quite forward. The dry leaves just say ever-so-matter-of-factly “hello. I’M Emerald Needle”. The leaves are strong and almost have a glazed finish. It’s savory and buttery and creamy. I even over infused and it’s still great. It’s a little sweet but I am thinking it wouldn’t have been sweet had I not over infused. It’s still a nice tasting cup!

Steep Information:
Amount: 7g / 2-3 tsp, one entire sample bag
Water: 22 ounces filtered boiling water
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, honey, melon
Steeped Tea Smell: honey and black tea
Flavor: honey, black tea, astringent, bake-y (like eating toast or a cracker), smooth
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, honey, black tea
Liquor: Translucent dark brown

This tea was one of 5 samples I received from thepuriTea. It arrived well packaged in pretty pillow boxes (see pictures for a side angle of the pillow box if you are unsure what I mean) with packing peanuts and business cards.

This is a smooth mellow black tea that tastes as though you already added honey. Very unique. It is not a strong cup, so I do not recommend as your wake up tea. However this would be a great during the day or while relaxing tea.

MilitiaJim is finding the peppery note when he looks for it at the end of the swallow. I just find astringency at the end of my swallow. Hmm if I chug instead of sip I am getting it as well, nice.

Resteep: 7 minutes, same taste and strength as first steep.

Iced: A strong iced tea, needed some sweetener or perhaps more water to be a sipping with meals iced tea.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-black-tea-golden.html

Backlogging…

I did two infusions on this one…here are my findings…

1st infusion:
Tastes alittle cocoa-ish, rich-semi sugary. Perhaps Raisin-tasting like the raisins in a sugar cookie??? CRISP.

Very nice scent!

2nd Infusion…
sweet potatoes, maybe? Interesting taste, indeed! Maybe sweet potatoes with brown sugar. Still quite crips and sweet!

After the 2nd infusion cools for a few minutes I can taste a slight woodsy yet sweet taste at the end of the sip and into the after taste.

Very unique cuppa! That gets some points in my book!

Like another reviewer said, this is a nifty tea. I need to spend more time with it, but I like its sweetness and its light body.

backlogging ICED…lovely…

Had an awful day…vet after vet issue for my almost 20 year old dog! Thoughts/Prayers appreciated everyone. Anyways, I finished up my large pitcher of this tonight and it was wonderful

Altho this was intensely flavored I found it to smell a little fake-ish. I decided to do a HUGE pitcher of iced and it was quite nice. There is just enough of the flavor in the tea to notice – not overpowering – and ideal for iced! I’ve tried this 4 times already and the first time I wanted to wait to rate but since then have found that I enjoy it. Perhaps it need to ‘breathe’ a bit…lol…

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp, one entire sample bag
Water: 500ml filtered boiling water 180°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 4 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: forgot to sniff
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal
Flavor: delicate, light, vegetal, smooth, a little nutty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: sweet, nutty
Liquor: opaque yellow-green

I placed a large order of mostly samples so I could experiment with more flavors from thepuriTea, it’s sort of like pokemon, I want to try them all (mostly).

It was a light and refreshing oolong, I think next time a bit longer steep is in order.

Post-Steep Additives: honey, which even though it was a mild honey over powered the tea, I think that I either needed less or an even milder honey or sweetener.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-dong.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 2-3 tsp, one entire sample bag
Water: 500ml filtered 212° water
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (black, strong)
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: French vanilla, which made me think coffee
Steeped Tea Smell: french vanilla, milky, coffee
Flavor: bitter, astringent, milky, french vanilla creamer, black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, black tea
Liquor: Opaque dark brown, like coffee

I placed a large order of mostly samples so I could experiment with more flavors from thepuriTea, it’s sort of like pokemon, I want to try them all (mostly).

I think the 3 was a bit long, perhaps 2 or even 1 minute would have left this tea less bitter and astringent.

The flavor though is a very milky smooth wawa french vanilla coffee and creamer. I am not sure if it is the fact french vanilla is permanently affixed to coffee in my head or there is really a coffee flavor to the tea. MilitiaJim agrees.

Post-Steep Additives: German rock sugar, sweeter, no longer bitter but still astringent. The sweetener brings out the sugar more.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-black-tea-french.html

I really MUST increase this rating!
SIPDOWN, btw!

This is incredibly smooth and creamy and at the same time makes my mouth water and make me crave more.

The texture is heavenly!

The end sip on to the aftertaste I can’t help but think COCONUT MILK…ahhhhh!

2nd Infusion
Smells more buttery – less sweet
More Earthy – not as smooth.

Still ok tasting, however.

I’ve only had a few milk oolongs so far and I have liked them but at the same time they are all quite different.

This one tastes like almond milk or coconut milk, almost. Sweet but nutty and creamy.

The leaves really puff out so not much loose leaf is needed to infuse! This is screaming 2nd infusion so I might try it…

This is a neat smell and neat…VERY different…and I’d agree MIND BLOGGLING! But FUN!

GOT BALLS!?

I do!

:P

I’m just finishing up the infusion of 3 of these balls or PEARLS and am REALLY excited to try this!!!!

At first I could smell – ever-so-slightly – something that smelled fruity but like cocoa. This completely intrigued me!

While infusing…it smells a little like cocoa…but very slight. The wet leaves smell like Assam.

The taste is very unique. They mention ‘chocolate’ in the description…I would say it would be a dark chocolate because it is really bold and – well – dark. It’s not really sweet. There is a tad of bitterness to it but I am comparing that to a dark chocolate type bitterness.

I can ‘find’ the apple comparison they spoke of. And I can taste a bit of oak or other like woodsy type taste.

This is VERY Malty! Even in the aftertaste.

What a FUN tea! Nifty!!!!

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp, one entire sample bag
Water: 2 Zarafina cups
Tool: Zarafina Oolong-Loose-Medium
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: milky (dairy), vegetal, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, vegetal, milky (dairy)
Flavor: smooth, silky, smooth, vegetal, astringent, sweet
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: a touch bitter and astringent
Liquor: Translucent light yellow-brown

This tea was one of 5 samples I received from thepuriTea. It arrived well packaged in pretty pillow boxes (see pictures for a side angle of the pillow box if you are unsure what I mean) with packing peanuts and business cards.

Resteep: Zarafina Oolong-Loose-Medium, a milder vegetal taste, still smooth and sweet

At first there were barely 2 tsp of tightly rolled leaf balls scattered across the steeping basket of the Zarafina. They were a little smaller than most jasmine pearls I have seen, but not by much. After steeping the basket was stuffed full of large, gorgeous, but a bit ragged, green leaves. The leaves expanded most impressively!

Oolongs and I have a hit or miss relationship, this one I did enjoy. I think I should have tried “Mild” on the first steep though. The second steep was more enjoyable than the first as it was a lighter vegetal taste with the same sweetness and smoothness of the first steep. Unfortunately I had to run so I did not get to try further steeps but the flavor was still very strong and I fully believe it would have easily supported another steep if not more.

This is not so impressive I am running out to buy it right now, but it is a sure addition to any thepuriTea order I place in the future. The flavor itself is a high quality enjoyable flavor but it’s the mouth-feel and body that make it memorable.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-milk.html

Still loving this. It is definitely going on my list of “teas to keep in stock AT ALL TIMES”

I followed a link from the Miscellaneous Sales thread, because who here is NOT interested in checking out new-to-them tea companies? And while browsing the black tea selection I found a word I never thought I would see associated with black tea outside of my own blendings: JASMINE. A BLACK TEA with JASMINE. I was amazed. I love blending my green jasmine teas with my black rose and chocolate teas but I never thought I’d see a TEA COMPANY blend JASMINE with a BLACK TEA. Can you tell how amazed I was? And then I got to TASTE it…..blissful sigh

1st infusion: 4 minutes, boiling water
The color of the steeped liquor is a brown-ish amber, nothing spectacular, but the FLAVOR…mellow, malty, jasmine. Actually, it reminds me of the Black Locust trees that are currently in bloom, the full, white, fragrant blossom clusters buzzing with bees and butterflies.

2nd infusion: 6 1/2 minutes, boiling water
The color is the same, the flavor just a bit mellower.

I think I can get another infusion from this. Will update later if I do.

Steep Time: not sure, too busy watching it unfurl
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell:
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, vegetal
Flavor: floral, vegetal, smooth, indistinct
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: nutty, astringent
Liquor: translucent green-yellow

This tea was one of 5 samples I received from thepuriTea. It arrived well packaged in pretty pillow boxes (see pictures for a side angle of the pillow box if you are unsure what I mean) with packing peanuts and business cards.

I’ll admit, I bought the IngenuiTEA specifically for this tea. I used to have a pretty glass De Chine teapot that was a gift from my boss, but I broke it one day while cleaning it.

Since then I have had enough teapots that I haven’t had the need to replace it. I could have used my Breville One-Touch, but I wanted to try an IngenuiTEA / gravity-teapot and this was a good excuse to try it.

I was a little sad it decided to be upside down, as it was fascinating to watch it unfurl. It was pretty to look at as well when I was done steeping.

Not a tea I think I’d want to have every day, but certainly a fun treat every now and then.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-white-tea-royal.html

had hot with breakfast, german rock sugar, in a breville, nommy juicy mango and black tea but also enough caffeine kick to be a breakfast drink

cold steep iced cup with dinner (seafood taco, dont’ ask) i think it steeped 2-3 days?
delicious! fresh juicy mango fruit followed by some smooth black tea

had a mug at my mom’s house for breakfast with a cinnamon bun – a half spoon of sugar, delicious! mom had hers with cream and sugar

I am hanging out in militiaJim’s office this afternoon
So we decided to have some tea
TEA FAIL
2tsp – 1 mug of water
the catch
he said “go flick the switch on the electric kettle it’ll give you hot water”
I walked into the kitchen, missed the electric kettle, saw the water filter, it had a flip switch on the spigot, i flipped it, steeped my tea (in warm filtered tap water) for 3 min
and got
nice mango juice ?
i mean wow, it was drinkable and yummy, not tea but juice
but yea i’m blind (give me credit i have 1 eye!)

so then since it wasn’t a hot steep, he added a touch of PG Tips and real hot water and steeped for 3 min+
and apparently the PG Tips kicked the mango teas a$!
it was bitter and icky and required cream

not to bad for the abuse we put that tea through!