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Thank you, once again, TeaVivre and Angel, for this sample!

I’ve sampled more oolong teas this week than I have for the past two years. I have liked them all but have found the flavors to be consistently sub-robust.

I opened the sample package of dark little tea buds and the aroma was very much like peanuts roasted on burning grass. It was not an unpleasant smell at all.

I steeped the buds at 212 degrees for two minutes as recommended. The finished color was a moderately dark-tinted gold. The aroma was nondescript but it had a roasted characteristic.

I was surprised when the flavor of my first sip was quite well-defined. It was smooth and faintly floral with a dominant but not overpowering roasted taste. The thought of roasted cashews entered my mind. Each subsequent sip also produced the very distinct and enjoyable roasted/floral taste. No bitterness arrived. The aftertaste also had a moderate roasted quality.

This is my favorite oolong tea so far. The taste is excellent, fairly powerful, and extremely smooth. This selection was very easy to gulp down. If you like teas with a roasted flavor but find the Lapsang Souchong smoky varieties to be too overpowering, you will LOVE this oolong!

Thank you Angel and TeaVivre for this sample! I’m no expert on oolong teas but, thanks to TeaVivre, I’m getting plenty of exposure to them!

When I opened the sample package, the aroma that burst forth was like cinnamon. Another TeaVivre oolong that I sampled recently smelled like snickerdoodles and this one had a similar odor.

I steeped the dark green rolled tea buds for 2 minutes at 212 degrees as instructed on the package. The brewed color was pale gold. The aroma was again like cinnamon…or snickerdoodles! I may have to buy a box of snickerdoodle cookies for…uh…research…to verify that I am accurate with this comparison…yeah…that’s the purpose.

When I first tasted this tea, my taste buds didn’t immediately locate a flavor to identify. However, after about two or three sips, the sweet and slightly floral attributes began to seep through. This has consistently been my experience with oolong teas.

One half-cup of this tea later, I found the flavor to be quite mellow and sugary (just how I like it!) with a floral dash thrown in. There also was a faint and pleasant tea taste. No bitterness existed. The aftertaste was nice, sweet, and lingering.

Even though I prefer stronger and more robust teas, this selection is quite good when judged on its own merit. I would enjoy sipping it in the late afternoon or early evening when I’m ready to start winding things down.

Thanks again, Angel, for this sample!

I don’t have a handle yet on what makes a fine oolong tea. Until I do, I’ll continue to focus on taste.

When I opened the sample packet, the aroma was familiar. It took me a few seconds to identify it. And then I got it: snickerdoodles!

I steeped the twisted little dark leaves for two minutes at 212 degrees as recommended. The brewed color was a pale yellow. The smell was slightly syrupy and airy.

The flavor was light, a bit sweet, and extremely smooth. One thing I’ve noticed about all of the oolongs that I’ve tried so far is that this category seems to be devoid of the earthy and grassy flavor characteristics that I’ve grown accustomed to with black and green teas. This selection was no exception.

The flavor was not powerful but it was sweet, pleasing, and refreshing. No “tea taste” was present and not even a whisper of bitterness could be found.

This is an engaging oolong tea with a faintly sweet and pleasant aftertaste. I wouldn’t add it to your list of robust blends, but if you are looking for a light, sweet, and silky smooth brew, this one can’t be beat! Oh, and did I mention it is sweet?

Another thanks goes to Angel of TeaVivre for this sample!

I’m starting to enjoy green teas more in the morning than I once did. There are some mornings (although few) when I don’t need to blast off into my day fueled by the robust butt-kicking black teas.

I opened the sample package of Lu Shan Yun Wu green tea and instantly noticed a fresh to-the-ground flavor. I steeped the short dark leaves for two minutes at 175 degrees instead of the recommended 176 degrees (my tea maker can only deal with increments of five degrees).

The brewed color was a pale golden green. The aroma was fresh and grassy.

My taste buds are currently somewhat challenged by the attack of Fall allergies. That may be why it took several gulps of this tea before the flavor began to get my attention. The taste was fresh and green with just a twinge of sweet. There was also a smidgen of sweetness in the mild aftertaste. As with all of TeaVivre’s teas that I have sampled or purchased, this tea was totally free of bitterness.

This is a fine fresh-tasting and slightly sweet green offering from TeaVivre. The flavor is light and tender. It is also so smooth and easy to sip that I found myself gulping it down quickly. That is a positive attribute because I have tried other teas (that will remain nameless) where my eight-ounce cup seemed to hold eight gallons and I struggled to coax them down my throat.

Thanks go to Angel of TeaVivre for this tea sample!

I prefer robust teas and find oolong selections to be a little lighter in flavor and kick than I need, particularly in the mornings. However, I am starting to enjoy oolong and green teas at those times when I don’t need to be jolted out of my morning stupor.

I opened the sample of this tea and was greeted by an earthy aroma and little rolled green leaf pellets. I steeped the pellets at 212 degrees for two minutes as recommended by TeaVivre.

The brewed color was light gold with a greenish tint. The aroma was slightly floral and grassy.

My first taste of this tea produced a very faint sweet, earthy, and grassy flavor. In all fairness, this is the beginning of Fall and allergy season here at home, and my sinuses are already being assaulted.

After a few more sips, the sweet, floral, and slightly leafy flavors became more pronounced. The tea was smooth throughout without bitterness. A very gentle floral aftertaste seemed to remain. Even though I live in the Southeast, where Osmanthus is said to thrive, I don’t remember running into it in my neck of the woods. I therefore would not be a good judge of the authenticity of Osmanthus flavor in this tea.

Although I initially struggled to register the complete flavors of this blend (again, this could be due to my allergy-challenged sinuses this morning), once I did, I found them to be quite pleasant, peaceful, and polished. I would enjoy sipping this selection in a tea room with friends on a Saturday afternoon while watching THE USC (University of South Carolina) football.

This was another sample provided by the good folks at our local Provisions store. So far, I’ve enjoyed three other selections by this company and was anxious to see how this Pomegranate sencha (Japanese) green tea with rose petals matched up with the others. The word “sencha” means “simmered tea,” referring to the method that the tea beverage is made from the dried tea leaves (Wikipedia gets the credit for this definition).

When I opened the sample package, my nose was bombarded with a loud and very sweet fruity aroma. I didn’t detect any rose smells. Perhaps a rose by any other name WOULDN’T smell as sweet as this unbrewed tea.

I steeped the full green leaves and pink rose petals for four minutes at 175 degrees. The finished product was a light greenish yellow. A powerful fruity aroma burst up from the pot.

My first taste of this tea produced an extremely sweet and fruity flavor. I’m not a pomegranate connoisseur, but based on my limited experience with the fruit, the flavor of this tea was like the pomegranate that I remembered. I thought this was admirable since the ingredients listed on the package stated that it was “artificial pomegranate flavoring”. The fruity sweetness of this selection was too dominant for me to even notice any rose presence.

The very sweet fruity flavors remained strong and steady, but without bitterness, throughout my cup. If you like to add sweetener to your tea, I would recommend abstaining from it for this blend. I have a mouth full of sweet teeth and this tea tasted incredibly candy-coated straight-up.

The aftertaste was long-lasting but nicely subdued. I thought that was surprising considering the exceptionally robust flavors.

To sum it all up, this is another fine tea from Sandy Creek Herb Co. I enjoyed two cups of it very much. It even scratched my usual itch for something sugary like a donut or cookie to accompany my cups!

The folks at our local Provisions store kindly gave me some samples of Sandy Creek Herb Company’s teas to take for a spin. I had already purchased and reviewed two other tea products by this company. I was excited to try additional selections!

The unbrewed black tea leaves and yellowish calendula petals smelled both fruity and like tea. The combination produced a unique sweet smell.

I steeped the tea for five minutes at 212 degrees. The color was like honey. The aroma was fruity and recognizable as mango.

My first sip produced a sweet and faint mango taste. The tea flavor residing behind it appeared later and was largely overshadowed, but not regrettably so. I don’t know what calendula is supposed to taste like but I couldn’t distinguish any other familiar flavors.

All in all, the flavor was smooth, fruity, and medium-strength. I didn’t experience any bitterness. The aftertaste was light and pleasant.

Studies have shown that consumers wouldn’t buy quiet vacuum cleaners (even though the technology exists) because they equate loud noise with powerful cleaning power. Some tea drinkers may have a similar reaction to this tea and believe that a good black tea must have a strong and robust tea taste. I prefer the turbo-charged black teas in the morning myself, but this tea would be just fine for me in the afternoon.

You know you’re accumulating too many teas when you open your cabinet and find a big unopened package that was purchased almost two years ago. I can’t believe that I didn’t discover it before now, but better late than never. I’m not a big green tea drinker and prefer the blacks. That could be part of the reason why this tea was overlooked for so long.

Anyhow, I shook the cobwebs off of the package and opened the zip-locked seal. The olive green tea leaves still smelled very fresh. The aroma was sweet, grassy, and almost a little fruity.

I steeped the tea at 175 degrees for four minutes. The brewed color was a light gold with a slight greenish tint. The aroma was weak, grassy, and faintly sweet.

I don’t usually read other reviews about a tea before sampling it myself. I’m always concerned that I’ll let previous opinions influence my tasting note. I did read a few about this tea before brewing. Based on what others said, I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by this green selection.

Maybe I’m just an oddball with allergy-infused sinuses and taste buds, but I really liked this tea! I found the flavor to be fresh and grassy, with a tad of sweetness. The sweet attribute was almost like distant honeysuckle. I also thought the tea was smooth and very easy to drink. I wonder if I would have liked it even more if it hadn’t been sitting unopened in my cabinet for almost two years.

This selection had enough of a positive impact on me that I am now willing to re-examine my ambivalence toward the greens in general. I will be revisiting some more green teas in the near future!

When I was at the local Teavana store on Saturday, I let my nose pick the teas du jour. As the sales associate fanned this herbal blend my way, it immediately struck a nerve in my sweet tooth (teeth). I could be happy just snorting this one all day. It smelled like a delicious chocolate and caramel candy bar.

Several minutes after I opened the container to brew the tea this morning, I had to snap myself out of the aroma euphoria so I could steep it. I brewed the blend at 205 degrees (my tea maker doesn’t have a recommended 208 degrees setting) for six minutes.

The steeped aroma wasn’t nearly as impressive as the unbrewed odor but there was a faint caramel scent detectable in the cup when I plunged my nose into it. The color was a muddy gold.

I was initially disappointed after the first sip. The flavor did not have anything approaching the impact of the aroma. However, as I determinedly sipped more and more from my cup (I REALLY wanted to like this tea), a nice sweet caramel taste began to accumulate and linger on my taste buds.

After two cups of this herbal blend, I concluded that, although this tea is a slow starter, if you don’t give up on it, you will eventually be rewarded with a relatively full and defined sweet caramel flavor. The sea salt factor didn’t seem to identify itself for me.

This tea is smooth without bitterness. I enjoyed the second cup much more than the first, even though both cups were steeped in the same pot at the same time. If you are a patient tea drinker, you might like it too!

When my wife and I were out and about on Saturday, we couldn’t resist dropping in at the Teavana store in the mall. Some of our visits are spent by just partaking of the wonderful free tea samples, followed by running out of the store quickly, before we succumb to the great smells and tastes and spend a lot of money. However, every now and then they catch us at a weak moment and we open our wallets. Such was the case on Saturday.

After the Teavana sales associate fanned the aroma of dry Toasted Nut Brulee oolong tea up my nose, I was ready to buy that sucker just to smell if I couldn’t drink it. It had an incredible sweet and nutty odor.

I opened the container of tea this morning and snorted it for several minutes before I snapped out of it and remembered that my purpose of opening it was to drink it. I followed Teavana’s directions and steeped the tea at 195 degrees for three minutes. The brewed color was a bright gold. Although still very pleasant, I found it interesting that the brewed aroma of the tea was quite different from its unbrewed state. The smell was still slightly nutty, but it had a strong cinnamon and fruit accent, almost like apple cider.

My first sip tasted like the brewed smell: a little nutty and a lot fruity like apple cider. The brew passed through my gullet very smoothly. There was no bitterness and a very sweet yet subtle aftertaste floated on my palate. Subsequent sips retained all of the same qualities.

I did like this tea. The brewed flavor, in my mind (and palate), didn’t match the unbrewed aroma, but the taste was sweet, smooth, full, fruity, and nutty. Since I require stronger black teas to kick-start my brain in the morning, I won’t be adding this blend to my breakfast rotation. However, I will be pulling this nice oolong out when friends visit for lunch, dinner, or just dessert.