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This is an unusual, interesting blend from Mighty Leaf. Probably the first time I’ve seen a company pair mandarin and rose together, which I would think would be a lot more common, as it works so well.

This tea is visually pleasing, with whole rose buds in the blend. The roses are pretty, but I have to admit I was worried that that would be the only flavor coming through (what a shame that would be, with such a unique blend!). I fretted further when all I could detect in the scent was roses, as well. Surely they wouldn’t waste such a good idea.

Thankfully, they didn’t. The roses aren’t overwhelming (which they can easily be). I wouldn’t say I can taste mandarin specifically, but there are definitely citrus notes here. It pairs wonderfully with the roses, and the black tea is smooth and mild, giving the flavors a clean base to really come through. I wholly appreciate the depth of this tea, as I was afraid it wouldn’t have any.

The more Mighty Leaf teas I sample, the more I find that some are really worthwhile, and some are completely forgettable-especially with their black flavored blends. Sometimes their black tea is much too harsh for the blend it’s in. This isn’t the case with this one, all the ingredients work perfectly together. This blend is original, and definitely a repurchase for me. I imagine this would make an excellent iced tea during the warmer months of the year. I’ll be sure to make some when spring comes around.

This tea was one of the most interesting I’ve tried in a very long time. It wasn’t delicious, but it was deeply compelling.

From appearance alone, I wouldn’t have guessed this to be a black tea variety, particularly as my knowledge of black teas is virtually non existent. The leaves were large and open, green and brown predominantly, with an earthy smell that was strongly reminiscent of a green tea, to my nose. I knew from my first smell of the leaf, even dried, that it would be a cup with distinct flavor. This tea is grown at relatively high altitude, despite being of “Valley” origin. The Valley in question is located, Denver style, at an altitude of about a mile up. According to TeaGchwendner’s website, the particular plantation producing this tea was planted by the British over a century ago.

My own impressions of the tea were that it was very “green” in nature. What a curious taste! This tea brews up with a strong earthiness, and the taste of the tea is at once sweet, and somewhat salty in a seaweedy sense, with a distinct smokiness to it. The flavor is very strong, slightly bitter, vaguely astringent, but with a nice clarity that makes the bite compelling. I limited my steeping time of this tea based on the smell alone. I had four very strong infusions from a single serving of this tea, each well flavored.

TeaGschwendner’s website likens this tea to a darjeeling, which is outside my scope of reference, not being well versed in black teas. Based on my tasting of this tea, I would like to try some Darjeelings and learn more about them. Perhaps someone familiar with Darjeelings but not with green teas will find this brew opens up a previously unexplored interest in green tea. The earthy and somehow vegetal and salty overtones of this interesting, stand alone first flush were really reminiscent of a unique green to me.

I enjoyed this tea, but would note that its flavors are intense and bold. My only critique is that the tea tips a little too far in the bitter direction to me. I found the blend compelling enough to continue trying through four infusions, though, so I’ll let the reader be the judge of my overall opinion.

Drink the Leaf describes their Organic Selimbong Estate FTGFOP1 2nd Flush as such: “This organic Darjeeling has aromas of honey and roasted chestnuts that follow through to unique flavors intermingling of tobacco and muscatel grapes. A strong finish- nice everyday Darjeeling tea”. I have to say that I largely disagree with their evaluation. First, I detected no such aroma of honey and chestnuts; instead, for me the overwhelming aroma was rather unpleasant- like dirt and damp leaf litter, with perhaps just a hint of honey sweetness. I definitely did not detect any chestnut aroma to this tea. Unfortunately, I found the flavor of this tea to be along the same lines of the aroma. If I said I enjoyed this tea, I would be lying. As with the aroma, I found dirt, stale, and oh-too-earthy flavors to dominate. The dirt element doesn’t quite compare to the characteristic dirt/earth flavors of a Pu-erh tea, but even it muted form, I found the dirt essence off-putting. I do agree with Drink the Leaf’s reference to tobacco flavor; the flavor resembled what a pack of cigarettes smelled like, and there was a very subtle smoky character to this tea. I suppose if you enjoy chewing tobacco, then you might enjoy this tea. For me, however, this was probably one of the least appealing second flush Darjeelings that I have sampled. I do not intend to be overly harsh in my review, because when push comes to shove, I don’t think that this tea is downright undrinkable, and nor is it of low quality. While it’s just not my proverbial cup of tea, this earthy Darjeeling might just make someone else’s day.

I didn’t sleep well last night. I have no clue why I didn’t sleep well, but I didn’t. The day before was pretty light, I played on the computer, did some shopping, and a little laundry. I didn’t pull anything, I didn’t overwork myself, I didn’t eat anything nasty before bed. It was literally all lights green when I hit the bed, followed by couldn’t sleep, and couldn’t get comfortable all night. I woke up feeling exactly as if some giant Mr. Magoo had mistaken me for a Rubik’s Cube. Feeling like Troy the pretzel boy I hobbled my way to the kettle in hopes of regaining some semblance of basic manhood and humanity.

This deep roast Hojicha was exactly what I needed after a night like that. The roast imparted a great coffee like feel to it, but without the, in my opinion, offensive bitterness that usually follows. While it did have a slight grilled-salmon flavor, this was not as strong as in other Hojicha’s I’ve had. Despite my salmon love I was actually happy about this, because then I’d need some salmon. Like all Japanese teas it had a distinctly sweet and viscous finish.

This is perfect to get an otherwise hideous mourning off the scrap heap. It was rich, strong, but not offensive or overpowering. Its a great thing to toss down the hatch when you need something in your stomach, but just aren’t ready for food yet. One thing to keep in mind, is that it is, in truth, a green tea, so don’t expect much in the way of caffinated goodness. It will, however, ease you to a rolling start, and you can always follow it up with a good breakfast blend, or super-sugar-marshmallow-covered-sugar-O’s

This is a company that believes in helping their community to prosper and believes in preserving our environment - using biodegradable tea bags, for instance. I was intrigued when I saw holy basil was added to the tea, basil being on of my favorite herbs.
The bag did look different than the standard nylon pyramid tea bag and the material did look like it would decompose because when the hot water was added it had a softer appearance. The infused leaves had a red tint to them as well as the brewed tea in the cup. The aroma was great, though a little spicy. The taste was even better. There was a little sweetness that complimented the spiciness. It reminded me of a “Chai Tea.” The tea was refreshing and lingered after I swallowed. This tea is delicious hot and cold.

“Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world” - Tien Yheng; couldn’t agree more! That was the quote typed on the tea bag package itself.  On to the tea review:

I enjoyed this tea after a 2 minute steep with just boiled water, as the instructions suggested.  Color was a deep rich brown which gave the illusion of coffee (which was highly appropriate since this tea was essentially the tea equivalent of espresso). The strong aroma was defined by its prominent ale-like fragrance. The overall experience of just observing the visual and aromatic components of the tea was rather enticing.

I was far too impatient upon taking my first sip that I burnt my tongue! And while I barely got any tea in my mouth, I learned that there was definitely some truth to their advertising. “Full bodied” proved to not be a descriptive exaggeration. That dot of tea on my tongue was extremely flavorful-it actually surprised me! I could even pick out the rich taste of deep amber liquor. It was evident that I was dealing with a distinctive, rich and full-bodied tea, as promised. After finally waiting for it to cool to a more comfortable temperature, I was able to confirm that was the case.

This tea has a very strong, rich and powerful taste analogous to espresso. They both share the similar distinguishing component of slight bitterness. Definitely serves to wake up the senses. This would serve perfectly as a breakfast brew.

The experience is complimented by the long lasting flavor that lingers just long enough after swallowing to deem it enjoyable as it dwindles away to not leave any nasty aftertaste.

Sweetener works wonderfully with this tea, but it is not a requirement. Considering that this tea is much like an espresso, you can enjoy it in the same means: “black”, with sugar, milk or creamer of any flavor. Sweetener complements the complex flavor well while preserving its distinguishing attributes as well as preserving the overall experience. I have had some teas where adding sweetener completely changes the experience-that is not the case here.

A dash of milk brings out the caramel flavor and works wonderfully with the amber. This gives a remarkably different experience that is highly enjoyable. A fantastic “feel good” dessert; much like a dessert coffee which makes me curious as to how the richness of this tea would pair with flavored creamers.  Basically, this tea drinks like espresso while introducing complexity to
the flavor.

Oriental Beauty is an oolong tea, also called Bai Hao Oolong, organically grown. This was the first oolong tea I have ever tried and it was superb.

The dry leaves didn’t have much of an aroma, so I wasn’t sure what to expect brewing them up. Let’s just say I had no preconceptions about what the tea would be like brewed. I made a nice pot of it with breakfast this morning. I heated the tea to just over 200 degrees and let it cool naturally to about 195, which is just under Zhi’s recommendation of brewing at 200 degrees. I let it steep about 4 minutes for the first brewing, according to their suggestions. (To note, this tea can and should be steeped multiple times). What a surprise to taste. There was a light perfume to the tea. I am often a little skeptical about “perfumed” teas, as they can become, after a few sips or a couple of cups, permanently cloying. I’ve had this experience with jasmine teas, where I love the taste of them but have learned not to order too much at a time as it isn’t, for me, a daily cup with such a strong taste. However, I’m talking about Zhi Tea’s Oriental Beauty. This tea is interesting in that the light perfumy taste of the first sips never gets stronger, never becomes cloying…no horrors of teenage experimentation with cologne and eau de toilette will mar your morning (or afternoon, or evening) cup in this case! The taste mellows slightly, and the further into your cup you get, the more the perfumy taste becomes just a facet of the tea’s overall “simple complexity.”

I thought this was a fabulous tea. The flavors were light, aside from the slightly floral, slightly perfumy overall flavor of the tea (and neither, to my delight, was overwhelming in the least) it was a non bitter, extremely pleasant tasting tea. I never started to note any strange, bitter flavors in the background, it never became too strong tasting. It has a wonderful “ethic” to its taste, in that it remains what it is throughout your drinking. No surprises or strange changes along the way, this was a first rate tea, among any type of tea, in my opinion. I’m sorry I haven’t tried a few more oolongs at this point, as I would have some sort of scale to compare the teas…my paucity of information in this case leaves me unable to say at this point whether the strengths of Oriental Beauty are unique amongst the oolongs, or if they are characteristic of oolongs in general. My instinct leads me to believe that Oriental Beauty is a bit of a show off in the oolong category. Very sophisticated in taste, and yet entirely approachable and enjoyable. This tea wears its perfume well, and its attributes speak so easily for themselves that no additional hype is necessary.
If I have any archetypal image in my mind of a woman of great beauty and style, with the further compliment of being a truly gentle and loving individual as well, without arrogance or conceit, that archetype is exemplified in this wonderful tea! I think that the anecdote on Zhi’s website about this tea’s introduction to the then Queen of England is worth quoting from their website (www.zhitea.com) . “A little history, the origin of this name dates back to the early 20th century when a British tea merchant presented a sample of this tea to Queen Elizabeth II. From there, the Queen named this tea as Oriental Beauty.” Apparently, one Queen recognizes another.

I’ll be adding some of Zhi’s Oriental Beauty to my favorites shelf.

TeaGschwendner lists the ingredients as including black tea, pineapple and mango pieces, sunflower, rose and mallow blossoms, and natural flavor. I brewed this tea using my Zarafina tea maker, set on strong black. The dry leaves had a sweet, fruity aroma. The brightness of the fruit and flowers against the dark leaves was stunning. The liquor was a surprisingly pale for a black tea and the mango aroma was very apparent.

The taste was that of a classic black tea perfectly complimented by the tartness of the fruit. It was refreshing and light, a perfect desert tea. I always say that any good flavored tea has to start with a good quality base tea and it seems as though TeaGshwendner is one company who has gotten that right. I?ve had several of their teas and everyone made a very enjoyable cuppa. It is no wonder this tea was a top five finalist at the World Tea Championships. I would definitely recommend this tea.

Being that I’m the first to review one of David’s Teas i should probably introduce the company first. David’s Tea is a Tea retailer and Teahouse, located in Toronto Canada, with a soon to open shop in Montreal. David (as the blurb on the about us page tells) grew tired of never finding quite the teahouse he wanted, so he went ahead and created it. I’ve never been to the place. Being that I’m a Californian with no family or friends in Toronto, I’m not likely to ever wander by, so what caught my attention was their website. Go ahead, take a quick peak, I’ll wait. Mesmerizing isn’t it? Now bad Tea with a snazzy website is still bad tea, but good tea with poor marketing just rots in the warehouse.

Of course this isn’t a Tea to begin with, its sort-of, Kind-of, a-lil-bit, Coffee…

Please lower your torches and let me explain. Yes nestled among Yerba Mate, White Chocolate, Nuts, and bits of bark and root are the unmistakable forms of coffee beans. Now personally I’ve never taken to coffee, just not my thing, but this Tisane, while containing whole roasted coffee beans, only inherits a bit of a coffee tinge. This isn’t Coffee, this is Yerba Mate, and white chocolate, with a mild caramel-chocolate coffee finish. Its earthy, sweet, and seems to stretch the tongue across fields of Vanilla, Chocolate, and caramel.

A few words of warning. First, this Tisane contains just about every stimulant the jungles of South America can offer, legally. Second, don’t pre-steep as it washes away the chocolate. Depending on your tastes I would probably go with an extra teaspoon’s worth, and take a second to appreciate that special Folgers commercial moment when you open the bag. This is a great pick-me-up without the harsh smack in the face that is your average pre-ground coffee bag.

“Dark leaves, aged to perfection, produce a deep, russet-brown liquor. An exotic blend of rich, earthy notes enlivened by aromatic cinnamon bark and elegant green cardamom pods, highlighted with a smooth citrus bouquet. Sweet and full bodied. A mysterious adventure in every cup.” — Golden Moon’s website.

So let’s get real about pu erh. I am not really a fan. In fact, I kinda hate the stuff. I really don’t understand how anyone could actually like it. Oh yea, cuz its ‘earthy’ tasting. Yea, earthy if you mean like it was grown in the soil of a cattle farm lol. I have only had cheap pu erh and I keep some around for ‘health’ purposes–you know what I’m talking about. Unfortunately, the taste is so strong and distinct that it is hard to completely hide the taste or the smell. However, I’ve tried a number of samples from Golden Moon and since they have all been pretty good, I decided to request this one.

My sample package smells a little different than my other pu erh options do. It smells almost a little soapy in fact. I steeped this like a black tea and sweetened it as it is a chai. When I opened the tea maker while releasing the contents into my cup, I drew in a breath of the steam. There it is…the slightly sweet odd pu erh smell. Yuck! Before adding milk, I decided to allow this to cool so that I could taste it on its own. It’s weird…kinda sweet and kinda wrong. This is pretty smooth and much less offensive than some pu erh. There is a lot of cinnamon in it and it is a bit citrusy. It also has a kinda soapy after taste, which is better than the barnyard taste that I’ve experienced with some pu erhs. My suggestion is not to smell steam coming from the cup before you drink it. The steam actually smells a little worse than the drink tastes–seriously, plug your nose. I don’t know that I would really call this chai tasting, but its not bad—for pu erh. After consuming a small amount of this I counter-instinctively added a bit of milk to it. At least it made the stinky steam go away. However, it didn’t really make it any better because it dulled the cinnamon taste and just made it creamy soap tasting.

This didn’t turn me into a pu erh fan or anything like that. However, I do like to have some pu erh on hand and I think I actually like this a little better than Mighty Leaf’s Mocha Pu Erh. When I run out of that I will probably replace it with some of this. However, I will mix it with a strong chai or cinnamon tea so that I am not drinking a big glass of steaming stink alone. If you like pu erh and cinnamon chai, then you will probably like this. Best pu erh I’ve tasted to date.