Frontier Natural Products Co-op

it was fine

i didn’t like it

i’ll keep trying this tea, but I wasn’t a fan. I have other lapsang souchong variations i like better

A touch bitter, but still eminently drinkable. I poured boiling water over the leaves; I think I will experiment with lower temperatures or tea to water in the future.

I love any tea that blooms, and this Jasmine is quite beautiful as the flowers open. It was surprisingly bitter considering I did not steep it for long, but still retained a grassy flavor. I brewed mine for 3-4 minutes, and the color was a light golden-green. I would drink again, mostly to watch the flowers unfold.

Every now and then, while out and about, I stumble upon a great tea at an incredible value when I least expect it. Such was the case when we were shopping at Earth Fare.

I don’t know why, but I don’t find their loose leaf tea displays very appealing, and I usually don’t peruse the tea aisle at all anymore. It could be because they store the loose teas in plain, clear, long plastic chutes that remind me of the containers jammed with candy that you buy per pound in the malls.

However, while my wife was searching for great deals on fairly interesting plant-based food items (our current diet of two months) during this trip, I thought looking at the teas might distract me from dreaming and reminiscing about the wonderful sweet treats of old in the candy and cookie aisles. So, I decided to wander down to the calorie-free tea aisle.

All aesthetics aside, I did find the PRICE of this Frontier China black tea irresistible. It was just $17.99 a pound! I thought risking a little over four bucks for four ounces wouldn’t break the bank as I opened the trap door in the chute and let about four ounces drop into the provided plain brown paper bag with Earth Fare’s logo on it.

When I got home and opened the brown bag to see if I should have bought $4 worth of lottery tickets instead, I was quite taken by the rich and sweet-smelling aroma of the long dark tea leaves. This smell was similar to some of my favorite black China teas costing considerably more.

Since neither the clear plastic candy chute nor the plain brown paper bag had brewing instructions, I opted for my standard black tea brewing method: five minutes at 212 degrees.

The steeped result had a deep brownish orange color. The aroma was rich and sweet with hints of chocolate.

As I swirled the liquid around my palate during the first sip, I quickly realized that the taste of this tea was…TERRIFIC! From the first sip to the bottom of my cup, it had to be the smoothest orange pekoe that I had ever sampled! There wasn’t even a RUMOR of astringency. The flavor was also peppered with softly sweet cocoa accents that perfectly accompanied the mild black tea flavor as if both elements were grown and harvested together in one hybrid tree.

If I have any complaint at all (which I don’t), it would be to make the flavor just a tad stronger. However, I say this about almost all teas (due to my sinus challenges) so ignore it.

I just can’t say enough (or maybe I already have) about the great value of this tea. I found it an absolute joy to sip, from the first moment when it hit my tongue to the last when it gently evaporated on my palate. I firmly recommend this tea for everyone, from yacht owners to those of us on budgets.

Got this out the bulk bin. Was very disappointed…theres hardly any flavor to it. I’ve had way better Assam tea’s from those cheap loose leaf teas you can buy in the super market. Assam is one of my favorite teas but I wouldn’t buy this again!

Very drinkable everyday black. Second steep is OK but not nearly as good as the first.

After a long summer break when the evening cuppa had to have ice in it, I made some of this. Not as strong as I’d like (Ty-phoo remains the decaf black to beat for strength in my book), but was a nice gentle base for a little half and half with a black cat snoozing on my lap.

The search for a superlative decaffeinated black tea continues. This is fair-to-middlin’, but I’m beginning to think that middlin’ is as good as it’s going to get. This one gains a little strength as it cools and is a little astringent. I guess decaffeinating just sucks out flavor, no matter how conscientiously it’s done.

Nice almondy dark oolong with some smoke. Not smoked almonds, though(!), a woodsy smoke. Good, round flavor without being perfumey. About a 4 on the smoke meter… not dominating but still a smokey nose on the post-sip exhale :) A frank, lingering astringency has me rating this a couple of points lower than the flavor deserves.

My favorite thing about this tea was the smell of the bag I’d purchased it in, but that’s only because I’d stored it next to a delicious blueberry flavored blend. The tea itself was untainted but also less than memorable. For the price, purchased in bulk from a natural grocer, it’s a perfectly reasonable choice for daily sipping. This Special Oolong would make a nice, mild introduction for anyone tiptoeing out of a long-entrenched black tea rut. But with a cabinet of standout teas waiting for me, I’m not likely to be drinking this anytime soon. After initially waking up the leaves, I recommend steeping this tea a bit longer than you might be used to. I usually go by color, and a rich golden hue was insufficient for my buds.

Thank you Marcus Reed for this sample. This tea is quite interesting. It has an apple earthy note from the chamomile and a peppery note from the peppermint. Not sure if I taste the raspberry leaf here. This may be something I purchase simply because it is caffeine free and I can drink it after dinner when I avoid caffeine.

I brewed this one time in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for six minutes.

I was looking for an Almond Oolong that compared to one of the ones that I’ve had, and this one came pretty close to it. I tasted the wood, almond, and some smokiness with this one. Sweetness was there and I drank this without any sweetener usually, but I admit that it’s good with some stevia, agave, or sugar.

It’s pretty simple and I am glad I had some. I used to think this one was probably one of my favorites with the exception of Rishi’s Tie Guan Yin. Now, I’m starting to lean more towards Green Oolongs, but still, I really liked this one.

The demographic this tea might appeal to could be a newer tea drinker who likes almond or black teas since this is what this one resembles. There are better ones out there, yet this one is a good cheaper substitute.

First loose oolong ive bought…why did i buy a pound of this. Its pretty good. Lasts about 4 steeps (10ish seconds gongfu style) lota woods, little peach. Its not bad, but its not great

Extremely strong and at high risk of oversteeping. If you brew it perfectly it offers bright green notes you might not expect from gunpowder. Makes a great Moroccan Mint but still very enjoyable on its own.

Steepster doesn’t take decimals. I use 1.5 tsp per 16 oz

Cheap, malty, takes long, unsupervised steeping well. Adequate.

A good all-around tea…maybe not the most exciting, but good for when you want a cuppa and a good one to offer to people who are not “into tea.”

Thank you to carol who for my sample of this tea! And here’s where I get to reveal my weird side as a tea drinker… This is an herbal tea, but it has a lot of chicory root in it, so it gets really dark as it steeps (as in, darker than some black teas). This blend also has lemongrass and ginger. Once it’s steeped, the infusion smells really spicy and earthy, with a light lemon note. It pretty much tastes that way too: all dirt and ginger and grassy lemon.

And I’ll be honest: I like it. For some reason, I seem to enjoy earthiness in herbal teas, at least more than tartness. (I’m looking at you, hibiscus!) Plus, I love ginger, even when it’s showing its bitter, sharp, won’t-play-nice-with-others side… Which is exactly what it’s doing here. I can taste the ginger mid-sip, and the aftertaste is grainy and dry, with a dirt-like flavor. (The roasted chicory root, maybe?) There’s supposed to be hibiscus and cinnamon chips in here too, oddly enough, but I don’t notice them. I should also note that I tried to avoid scooping too much chicory root into this cup… It seems like a finicky ingredient, and I think if there had been more of it, this would have been a lot harder to drink.

So, yeah. I like this one! It remind me a lot of autumn. Roasty and earthy and dry, with a strong ginger bite… But I definitely understand why it’s not to everyone’s taste.

I have to say that I am in agreement with the others who have reviewed the tea. I like ginger, I like lemon but with this I’m not so sure they brought them together well. Can’t really find a positive except to say thanks to say “Thanks” to Ost for sending this my way. At least I know not to buy it.