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Today I have dental work done, and everyone knows that having dental work means I need to drink lots of tea, right? Actually I do not think they are at all related, but I wanted a nice Japanese Green to relax me before my inevitably unenjoyable experience. Something refreshing and evocative of spring, something from a store that is far, far away in Pennsylvania. Something like:

Wegman’s Ureshino Tomo Ryokucha. Sadly they do not have an order online function (if they did I would never have to bother my friends to mail me my favorites when I drink them all) but through research and rumors I believe their distributor is Ito En so in a way this is a review of both a Wegman’s tea and Ito En’s. Ureshino (meaning it is from Ureshino, Saga Prefecture, Japan) Tomo Ryokucha (or Guricha, curly tea) is a pan-fired tea with absolutely lovely leaves. The aroma is is very refreshing, a blend of vegetal and sweet mixing notes of spinach with scuppernongs. After these initial notes fade you are left with a gentle citrus aroma that just kind of tickles the nose. This tea is certainly sweeter than most Japanese greens, which I find very intriguing.

When I introduce the leaves to their new watery friend I am greeted with the aroma of freshly roasted chestnuts, how surprising! After the initial chestnutty surprise I was able to detect the sweet smell of fresh hay or, if you are into that kind of thing, the smell of woodruff. The liquid itself smells much more vegetal mixing nicely with tones of chestnut and fresh grass.

Ah, I wish I had any skill at writing Haiku, because truly this tea deserves poetry (in its traditional native form of course) but I don’t so I must make do with flowery speech. Sometimes a tea is mild and it is boring, a real let down, sometimes a tea’s mildness is so wonderfully perfect that you wonder why you would ever want anything stronger. This tea fits into the perfectly mild category (or the Haiku comment would be just sad) with the main note being roasted chestnuts leaving a very sweet aftertaste. After the initial chestnut sweetness the taste of mown hay and a tiny taste of spinach. I wanted a tea that tasted like spring time and refreshed me, and this one certainly works.

Photos and blog post: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/09/wegmans-ureshino-tomo-ryokucha-tea.html

Hey, big surprise! I am drinking an Oolong! Really though I do my best to have variety and not do all Oolong all the time, it is hard since I do have a lot of it. It would be sad if my blog became a one note tea horse, yes that is a bit of tea history humor for you. You have to forgive me since I am currently reading a book on tea history and culture so I am distracted by my Armchair Historian tendencies.

Jade Oolong (Four Seasons Spring) by Rishi Tea comes from the glorious land of Taiwan. I, however, did not travel to Taiwan to procure this tea, instead I found it on the wall of tea at Whole Foods who thankfully have a decent selection of teas when I need a fix. I do love getting packages in the mail, but being able to smell the fresh teas before buying is a wonderful experience. The aroma of this beautifully spring green Oolong is unsurprisingly quite green! Not very vegetal, more the aroma of fresh vegetation on a spring day mixed with new blooming flowers and a touch of freshly mown hay (or woodruff for the herbal types.) This might be the mildest Oolong I have yet sniffed!

Brewing the tea brings out a stronger aroma and lots of interesting notes. At first we notice the floral notes that are mild but very fresh, like lilacs, following that there is that delightful chestnut aroma that I love in Green Oolongs. As it steeps a little more the tea takes on an herbaceous tone mixing thyme with the floral notes and a hint of moss. The brewed liquid reminds me of lilac with a slight whisper of allspice.

The taste of this Oolong is exceptionally mild, an excellent palate cleansing tea. The tea has a vegetal taste, reminiscent of green beans and fresh grass. It finishes a tingly pine needle note and a mellow sweet aftertaste. This tea is very refreshing and cleansing, and pleasantly light if you are in the mood for that. Usually I prefer a stronger taste from my Oolong, but I will certainly keep this around for after a heavy meal to remove said heaviness.

Photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/09/rishi-tea-jade-oolong-tea-review.html

While the agony of the leaf is happening (does that still count with a tisane?) the aroma just fills up the room and makes me incredibly hungry. The steeping leaves manage to smell even more rich, creamy, and limey than the leaves and it is very distracting. The liquid smells very sweet and has a rich earthiness from the Rooibos that plays off the lime really well.

I have Lemongrass apprehension, I really dislike Lemongrass but I have the motto of ‘will try everything’ and have been pleasantly surprised more times than not. Steeling my nerve and taking a sip…and unsurprisingly it tastes exactly like it smells! So much lime dancing with sweet creaminess and a rich earthy undertone. No lemongrass at all, some might say that is bad, but I do not notice it at all (or it might blend so perfectly that it just not stand out.) This tea is very sweet, adding any sweetener to this tea would make it saccharine, it is a true dessert tea. If you close your eyes while drinking it, you can almost taste the crust.

Photos and Blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/09/della-terra-lime-chiffon-tea-review.html

While window shopping for new tea to try, yes it is a hobby that I partake in most evenings because either I am completely obsessed or…actually or nothing, I am completely obsessed with tea. It is a lifestyle. Anyway, while window shopping I discovered the website for Yezi Tea and their delightful ‘try before you buy’ promotion sending you three samples of their teas for the very reasonable price of shipping. Of course I chose three different Oolongs because they are my favorite tea to drink (maybe). They were kind enough to send me an extra sample and that is what I am reviewing today.

First off, you need to visit the website for the Li Shan Oolong because it is wonderfully informative! Not only is there really detailed steeping instructions, it also delights in telling me that this particular Oolong is from the Li Shan Mountain Range in the Nantou County of Taiwan, harvested at 6,600-7,800 feet above sea level. Those who follow my blog know how much I love this kind of information, I am such a collector of information that it makes me giddy! But I bet you are here for the actual review of the tea, so allow me to introduce this Oolong’s aroma! Why, hello delightfully floral Oolong, you are very light and reminiscent of a spring day. The main floral aroma is honeysuckles, not so much the heady summery aroma of honeysuckles but the late spring early bloom where the flowers are just starting to open their petals. Hiding beneath the freshly blooming honeysuckles are notes of sweet honey and a touch of rose.

As the tea steeps it first takes on the aroma of hay and strawflowers but very quickly turns into heady orchids. It fills the room up with the aroma of orchids and that mild chestnutty aroma I find in Oolongs, and it is lovely and sweet. The brewed liquid smells like honey and very mild orchids, surprisingly mild considering how heady the brewing leaves are.

The first steep is mellow and sweet! The initial taste is that of honey followed by the slight mix of fresh vegetation and mown hay. It gives a slightly tingly mouthfeel that is very refreshing and enjoyable. There are aftertastes of flowers that do not linger.

In the second steep we lose some of the sweetness and it is replaced with an intense richness. The taste becomes much more heady and floral, intoxicating, with a touch of vegetal green taste that blends well with the intense floral taste. The aftertaste is that of chestnuts and hay.

In the third steeping we get something that I absolutely adore in Oolongs (other than all the other tastes that have graced me with their presence) a mix of copper and minerals. That may not sound very tasty, but it is, every time I drink and Oolong that has these flavors it reminds me of a mountain spring, it is very clean but the undertones of minerals and copper are delightful. I should note that the mineral and copper taste are just hints, the main taste in this steeping is an even more intense floral with rich nutty notes.

In the final steep the sweetness from the first returns, delightfully mild with a touch of honey. The floral taste also is much more mellow and a sweet chestnutty aftertaste is present. A wonderful last cup!

Photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/09/yezi-tea-li-shan-oolong-tea-tea-review.html

While I am reviewing this tea a fancy Black and White Pirate movie is playing in the background, even though it takes place in British ruled Caribbean there is a serious lack of tea and a serious amount of period incorrect parasols. One of the tragic problems with movies at times that I can at least halfway correct, with tea. Luckily the kind people at Lurve Tea sent me a fine bag of tea of their tea to sample.

The aroma of Lurve Tea’s Original is deliciously mellow with a slight touch of maltiness. There is a note of the brightness you can find in ceylon teas that really blends well with the malt notes. A very standard black blend aroma with more of a mellow tone. Very refreshing!

Once steeping the tea takes on a rich nuttiness that mixes well with the underlying maltiness and brightness. I have to admit this tea smells delightful and I cannot wait to drink it!

I decided to brew this British style, meaning a touch of sugar and a splash of cream. A very rich taste with no bitterness or astringency. This is a wonderful tea to wake up with, so I feel a bit bad for drinking it late in the evening instead of first thing in the morning. This tea is exquisitely smooth and excellently blended, the taste is malty and mildly sweet. Delicious!

Today we are reviewing the other tea that I received from Yunomi, Blue Oolong by Masami Higuchi of the Kaneban Higuchi Tea Factory. Awesome fact, this tea comes from the Shiga Prefecture, home of the beautiful Lake Biwa, and I love knowing this because visualizing where the tea I am drinking comes from just makes the experience even more enjoyable. The aroma of the Blue Oolong is delightfully earthy and mild, it reminds me of the piney, earthy, mineral, aroma of mushrooming in the forest. I swear that is an incredible compliment! There is also a tanginess to the aroma that vaguely reminds me of chrysanthemum flowers which blends very well with the initial aroma of earthiness and pine resin. The finishing notes are green like freshly unfurled oak leaves. A very intriguing aroma for an Oolong.

The steeping brings out some very fascinating notes of sweetness which really accentuates the earthiness. While enjoying the steam wafting into my nose from the steeping leaves I get this wonderful feeling of brightness flicker through my whole body, I cannot help but sigh in contentment. The liquid still retains the pine aroma but has more of the pine needle than pine resin and is pleasantly sweet, there is an interesting undertone of kelp which just made my mouth water.

Something new and exciting! This Oolong is tart and refreshing, very surprising and new to me, which I like. It mixes the tartness with a smooth, creaminess that vaguely reminds me of Greek Yogurt. The aftertaste brings in notes of sweetness and a hint of floral that fades into kelp. I love how complex this tea’s flavor is, it is certainly unlike any Oolong I have ever had (possibly any tea) and I had to suppress a giggle at how enjoyably new this flavor is.

The second steep takes away some of the tart astringency and replaces it with a smooth floral taste with hints of vegetal green. I am surprised how much the second steep mellows the tea out to tasting more like a ‘traditional’ green Oolong with orchid notes, but there is still the aftertaste of kelp which I adore. Thank you Yunomi for giving me the chance to try some of your teas! I cannot wait to get my tea obsessed hands on some more.

I am delightfully full of smoked pork BBQ, so it makes sense that I would want a tea that is very proud of its smoky roast, it is the theme of the evening! Yunomi.us was kind enough to send me samples of two of their teas to review and this blog post will cover the first, Houjicha (Smoky Roast) by Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations. Before I actually start discussing the tea, I want to say a brief thank you to Yunomi for having some of the most informative packaging ever. This simple brown foil package states not only the typical name and type of tea, but also the plantation that produced it (and its address) a use by date, storage instructions, and where to get very detailed steeping information. Bravo, Yunomi, and thank you for giving the tea consumer more information!

These leaves captured Autumn!
Enough poetic waxing on packaging and on to the actual tea! Houjicha (Smoky Roast) is a tea that calls to any who love a roasted tea. In fact the Smoky Roast is Obubu Tea Plantation most heavily roasted of their Houjicha, and of course I had to try it because I love smoky and roasted teas, they might be one of my favorite type of tea treatments. The first thing to notice is of course, the aroma. This Houjicha manages to embody everything wonderful about late Autumn and early Winter and it is heavenly. The sweet earthiness mixed with the smoky roast gives that clean, smoky aroma that the air takes on that time of year. It mixes piney resin without the campfire smoke of teas like Lapsang Souchong. The sweetness is like burnt sugar which blends well with the woodsy aroma. A very complex aroma that my fancy tea books that I read would describe as ‘empyreumatic’ and you all know I am fond of using fancy jargon.

filter fail!
Once steeping the leaves take on a rich almost coffee like aroma, very rich and very roasted. This is a tea I could recommend to an avid coffee drinker to convert them to the tea brigade! I just love how rich and slightly nutty the aroma of the brewed leaves are. I do not, however, like how much fail my paper filters are made of. Note to everyone, Melitta coffee pot filters are not good. The liquid of the brewed leaves is also incredibly rich and pleasantly sweet! Notes of roasted nuts and pine resin with a finish of caramelized sugar.

First brew looks like Autumn leaves!
The first steeping is intensely complex! Certainly the most complex Houjicha I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. I had one of those actually audible, lip-smacking ‘aaaaah’ moments when I first sipped this tea, which I believe is actually frowned upon in my formal tea drinking occasions. The joys of being home alone when drinking tea! The tea is very rich and very bright, the mellow sweetness mixing with resinous smokiness again captures the joy of late Autumn. Along with these flavors there is a slight astringency that is just so slight that it is very pleasant and adds a slight surprise. There is a tiny, tiny after taste of umami which just made this complex tea perfectly well rounded.

delicious!
The next steeping is slightly milder but still manages to maintain its richness and adds just a touch of maltiness. I love the roasted taste of this Houjicha, it is such a perfect tea that just brings joy with every sip. I certainly plan on trying all the different levels of Obubu Plantation’s roasts (among other things from Yunomi) and cannot wait to try the other sample I got from them

Yesterday was chilly and rainy, today was hot and sunny. It is days like this that make me loathe the Midwest, I was so enjoying the rain that when I woke up to the blazing sun I snarled at the sky and hid under my pillow wishing it was November already. After braving the heat and sunlight and crawling out from under my mound of protective pillows, I decided I want a tea that evokes Autumn, and honey is one of those things. I am not entirely sure why honey evokes Autumn to me since its sunshine colors are more of a Summer thing, but here we are.

Leaves are beautiful!
Today we are reviewing Heritage Honey Oolong by Mountain Tea, an Oolong from Nantou, Taiwan that was picked at an altitude of 1,300 meters about sea level. The aroma of this beautiful green Oolong is first and foremost of honey, very rich and sweet. It reminds me more of raw wildflower honey than clover, but that just shows how much honey I tend to eat. Following the initial honey aroma is heady flowers, especially night blooming Angel Trumpets, blending the almost intoxicating floral with a tiny hint of citrus. Lastly there are notes of chestnuts with a slightly figgy afterthought.

Note to self: sticking face in hot tea cup will end in a burnt nose
While the tea is steeping I notice that it, like the Tie Guan Yin I reviewed earlier, is managing to fill the area with its aroma. Considering I am outside on a breezy day, that is no small feat. I think if I had to chose one word to describe the aroma of the steeping tea it would be hypnotic. The slight figginess has disappeared, but the remaining aroma is that of honey, chestnuts, and intensely floral. Orchids and orange blossoms swirl around in my nose and it is bliss. The liquid without the leaves takes on more of a roasted chestnut aroma with notes of sweet honey.

The taste is pleasantly and surprisingly mild. I was expecting with an aroma that was so intense that the flavor would knock me into some sort of trance, but instead the flavors are subtle and mild, they just creep up on you. The main flavor is floral, reminiscent of orchids with just slight tart notes of orange blossoms, it melts into sweet honey and finished with a whisper of creamy peach. This mild Oolong would be heavenly on a rainy day, but I actually think drinking this on a hot day was perfect. I have to get more of this Oolong, if I am not careful it may supplant Tie Guan Yin for the coveted spot of ‘favorite tea’.

I have seen Coconut Oolongs around at various places and I have been curious to try one, I admit I am apprehensive. Something just doesn’t seem to click in my head when it comes to mixing Oolong and Coconut, which is odd since both things are wonderful on their own. Well time to stop being a weeny and try a new tea!

Coconut Oolong by DAVIDsTEA mixes Pao Zhong Oolong, Coconut Flakes, and Coconut flavoring in this lovely looking tea. The aroma of this tea is fantastic! A wonderful mix of the buttery, nutty, coconut with the green and floral Oolong. It is very tropical and mellow, I can close my eyes and imagine myself on a tropical island sipping a wonderful Oolong out of a coconut. Note to self, I need to do that at some point.

Once brewed the aroma takes on a sweeter quality, reminding me of freshly baked coconut bread. After the initial sweetness there are notes of walnuts, orchids, and a mild vegetal finish. It very much so reminds me of a ‘sea’ themed hair spray I used when I was younger. No worries, it does not smell like a perfume, but it has that nostalgia factor for me. The liquid smells very creamy and coconutty, with a slight note of tropical flowers. I am really excited to taste this tea!

Hold on, I need a moment to process how delicious this is. That is an impressive level of yum, mixing the sweet nuttiness of the coconut with heady flavor of honeysuckles in what I consider a perfect blend. It manages to be rich and mild at the same time, a dessert tea that also feels cleansing and light. I feel a bit guilty for having apprehension and I am so glad I gave it a try. DAVIDsTEA, once again you do not disappoint.

What a pleasant smelling tea! The aroma is a wonderful mix of earthy and malty with a slight note of nuttiness. It is a very clean, pure tea smell which I think would be great to drink on its own but also a perfect base for blends.

Again the sweetness, I think I have found the source of that intoxicating sweet aroma in the other teas. The aroma is a wonderful mix of malt, marshmallows, cocoa nibs, and delicate earthiness. I almost feel the aroma of this tea can be a dessert all on its own.

My favorite of the three! I love this tea, it is a perfect blend of maltiness, richness, earthiness and sweetness. I am not sure why this black tea is so sweet but it is, it is not sugary sweet I should say, but very sweet for a tea. I stand by my original assumption that this tea would be great in blends. I feel like this tea has the best aspect of Assam, Keemun, and Kenyan blacks and blended it into a magical happy taste. I am certainly going to be getting more of the Kenyan Black for my collection.