Golden Orchid

I sip it slowly — savoring the delicate color and aroma. It is especially great when I am stressed and need to slow down

Oh my… with milk added to the cup, this tastes exactly like chocolate malted milk candy.

Smooth, rich and creamy and velvety – so good!

A super delicious vanilla tea!!

I just got my first order of Golden Orchid in the mail today. I was dying to see what the highest rated tea on Steepster was like. My first impression is that it is very complex. I got more of a chocolate aroma and a lingering vanilla aftertaste. This is a tea that I don’t think I could get tired of, unlike so many others.

Can I get this by the pound without breaking the bank? What lovely flavors of chocolate and vanilla. There is also a melange of other flavors but I can’t really pick out the individual flavors. The dry scent is lovely, almost better than the flavor but the flavor is awesome. I can picture this in a daily rotation of favorite teas. Unfortunately, I don’t have more :-(

Thanks to The Cookie Lady!

This is quite possibly one of the tastiest teas, if not the tastiest tea I’ve ever had. The grade A Madagascar vanilla beans in the tea really help bring out and complement the malt flavor that the tea has. Drinking this morning, day, or night this tea always brings a smile to my face and is perfect for enjoying on a nice fall day outside. The tea has flavor notes that are malty, fruity, and an almost sweet vanilla that isn’t so strong that you lose the taste of the black tea, just complements it. I can’t wait to buy more!

Really delicious black tea. Loved the vanilla and chocolate notes in it. When I smell the dry leaves it smells like vanilla. When I smell the brewed tea it smells strongly of chocolate. Goes down really smooth. I taste no astringency. This would be a perfect tea to sip around the fireplace on a cold winter night.

smooth, naturally sweet and delicious, with a heavenly aroma. I also love that I can get a few cups (resteep) out of the same leaves.

This tea is exquisite. I’ve had it several times since I first received it in the mail a few weeks ago. And I keep returning to it, which is pretty astonishing, considering the amount of teas in my cupboard. The black tea in Golden Orchid is rich and smooth and chocolatey. Even the aftertaste reminds me of cocoa powder. Add the indulgence of sweet vanilla on top of that (and not vanilla flavoring, but hand-cut vanilla beans!) and this tea is practically a dessert. Actually, it’s better than dessert, because it’s tea! It lives up to the hype of the reviews here, which is probably the highest compliment I can give.

I recently purchased a set of samples from Whispering Pines which included North Wind and this one. I wanted to compare the base tea to the vanilla version. I have to say, this tea is pretty fantastic with vanilla beans added. You can’t go wrong with vanilla. Not getting the decadent fudge people are describing but it is good.

I feel inspired to add vanilla beans to all my teas. I had requested a pound of beans for a birthday 2 years ago and I still haven’t used them all even though I made a half gallon of vanilla extract. I’ve cut down on dessert foods lately so I guess tea is the best place for these beans now. It doesn’t take much vanilla bean to flavor a tea. I could probably do a bean or two for a pound worth of North Wind. :D Or add some to Laoshan Black. :D Plus cocoa nibs. :D Or I could play around with WP’s Fujian Black since it’s a tasty cheaper tea that would take well to vanilla and cocoa.

Smell this tea before you brew it because it’s amazing. The aroma is what sets up your palette’s expectations. The actual taste is not quite as amazing as it smells, but is still pretty good. It has a smooth, general good black tea feel to it, with nothing that jumps out and surprises you. Good for drinking when you don’t know what kind of tea you feel like and just want something good. Add sugar to make it a wonderful dessert tea and bring out the amazing vanilla taste.