Margaret's Fine Imports

tastes exactly like drinking tea after smoking, ending with a full grassy green flavor – quite a taste sensation

I had a Groupon for Margaret’s Fine Imports, so one day after work I stopped by. It was such a pleasant surprise! The first tea I purchased was Quangzhou Milk Oolong, and it has since become one of my favorites. It produces a very light infusion. I almost thought I hadn’t steeped long enough. I was wrong. It is so delightful on the tongue. It is light, refreshing and creamy! Absolutely delicious.

Finally getting to sample some of the teas I got from Bethany (thank you!!).

First up is Monk’s Blend. My packet wasn’t as fragrant as I was expecting, based on past comments, but I could get the floral overtones. They got stronger as I brewed it up.

I can taste the grenadine, but it almost tastes a little mediciney to me. (And I typically like grenadine). I can taste the vanilla and the cup has a lovely smooth mouthfeel because of it.

Overall, this one really isn’t my thing, but I’m glad I got to try it. Thanks Bethany!

Also finishing this one from my stash today…it’s more fruity than I remember it…to the nose…and even to the tongue. I think I am going to up the rating on this one, too, but its VERY tasty today!

Bethany was nice enough to send me some of this…Yes! Bethany!!! I got your package today! Thanks a million! This smells AWESOME prior to steep semi-sweet. After infusion – toasty and sweet as described. You can taste a black tea taste still but with highlights of sweetness, floral, and a little fruit-likeness! I agree with Bethany that the dominant flavor is the Grenadine and that works just fine!

Sweet, creamy goodness.

Looked out the window, saw the 3 inches of snow already on the ground, and the snow falling, and thought about the 7-9 inches to come.. and I needed tea before work. It’s pretty rare that I do that, for logistical reasons. I hate not being able to sit down and enjoy the tea, and I end up running around with it while I’m getting ready.

But I’m glad I did, because this is still super tasty and creamy and grenadine-y. And I was in a markedly good mood when I arrived at work. Coincedence?

Not getting the complexities of this that I did yesterday, probably because I’m now used to having a kettle that gives me water at the proper temperatures for each tea, and now I’m back to using hot water from the dispenser at work. Sad.

Mmm, this was so good. You can definitely taste both the grenadine (I’m a sucker for the stuff) and vanilla; the grenadine is more to the forefront, with the vanilla coming in toward the end. It makes the sip creamy and sweet. I’m not sure what black tea is used in this; whatever it is, it is very light and almost difficult to taste. It’s very, very strongly flavored. May have to order more once my 2oz. bag is gone.

Creamy, silky, sweet, and delicious.

Today was simultaneously terrific and awful. I got word that my organization received a $15,000 grant (from a proposal that I wrote) for a program that is near and dear to my heart. I also got a call from my doctor with some potentially very troubling news.

So to celebrate/pity myself, I brewed up one of my “special teas,” Milk Oolong. It’s not as sweet as I remembered. Definitely more grassy this time, but that’s alright. It’s still smooth as silk and hits the spot.

Resteep. The milk and cream flavor is definitely gone, which makes me sad. Tastes more like a regular old green oolong.

Resteep. Definitely weaker this time, and not quite as creamy. But still really, really good. This one is lodging into my tastebuds. It’s all I could think about as I was drinking that Pu-erh.

Milk oolong has been on my wish list for a long time now, but it’s so ridiculously expensive (especially because the most-reviewed e-tailer of it, David’s Tea, is in Canada) that I haven’t been able to try it. When I found it out that Margaret’s Fine Imports, a tea store in my hometown of Pittsburgh, carried it, I sent my dad to buy and send me some as a Christmas present.

It’s almost exactly like I imagined it – it has an extremely smooth mouthfeel that reminds me of good Silver Needle teas that I’ve tried, except instead of that delicious buttery taste, it has a delicious taste of sweet cream and milk. It reminds me of a less-sweet version of the cream that’s in the middle of one of my favorite candies as a kid, Cow Tails.

The one unexpected note is that it still does taste “green,” as it is a green oolong. This is a good thing, I think. Otherwise it would definitely be a bit overpoweringly creamy.

Since this is so expensive, I probably won’t be buying beyond my 2 oz. bag (which is already nearly half-gone with this pot!), but I’m so glad I got to try this!