Yellow Dragon

So normally mint teas are just not my thing….but today I walked into my favourite DT location for my usual $1 tea-to-go and saw they had this new guy. One whiff and I was sold. The smell is very fresh and vibrant. But since I knew that the mint might turn me off I settled for the pre-packaged 35g pouch. Once at home I whipped up some okonomiyaki and steeped some of this tea.
Oolongs have always been my favourite to watch steep. The leaves do remind me of little dragons awakening! The colour; it’s gorgeous! The peppermint really makes it this fantastic yellow green. The smell of the lemongrass is divine. And now, time to taste! I haven’t had too many lemon teas or mint for that matter, so my palate is not too great….but for a person who doesn’t like mint teas, well…..this one changed me c:
It’s a lovely smooth blend of lemon and peppermint that really balance each other. But I can still taste the oolong, and it’s buttery awesome too ^^ The lemon oil is also sweet enough that you don’t need to add sweetener. I smelt the hot leaves after I poured and the fragrance gave me a calm mind. Like most oolongs it works very well for more infusions. I added some agave to my second and third steepings though.

I give this tea a thumbs up. The only thing I regret is not getting a tin instead.

PS: I think “Golden Dragon” would be way more a bad-ass name for this tea :D

After reading reviews on Steepster, I bought a 250g bag of this without ever trying it. First cup was this morning. “Here we go….” I thought.

I must admit, I’m kinda disappointed. Not enough not to finish the bag. But I saw one of the ingredients were mint leaves…and I LOVE MINT. I might be mildly obsessed, but it makes my tummy and my brain happy so leave me alone, dammit :) This tea didn’t taste much like mint, at least not in the first cup (maybe the leaves all settled to the bottom…I’ll try shaking the bag before the next cup). Sure, a bit of an after-taste of mint and a bit of the cooling feeling of mint, but not much mint FLAVOUR. The lemongrass flavour was very prominent but not over-powering. It was a nice balance. The actual tea had a really nice flavour.

So, my disappointment with the tea isn’t real disappointment, I guess. The tea is DARN GOOD. And I’m really happy I bought it. But…mint :( I’ll still gladly finish the bag, and if it’s ever on sale again I would definitely buy more.

my husband loves this tea. he’s a big fan of mint teas. it’s subtle but not overwhelming.

I can’t get this tea to taste like it did in the store when I tried a sample! Sure, that was a month ago, but I truly thought this one was amazing. Now, it just tastes like some kind of gasoline flavoured lozenge. I’m trying the second steep, but I didn’t finish the first steep and I think I’ll just have to throw this batch out. Also, it smells like chemicals in my infuser, which I guess is why it actually smells like gasoline in my cup. Why am I trying to even drink this? Maybe I made it wrong? Normally DTs are a little more forgiving than THIS, though. I’m disappointed. Honestly, gasoline. No, I’ve never drank gasoline, but we buy tea based on the smell.

I took a chance on this one and just bought 50g on a whim and I don’t regret it. Oolong, peppermint and lemongrass. Simple and wonderful. Such a comfort tea!

Day 48 of my 101 days of tea.

I feel like I might be rating this a little high, but it was JUST what I needed today, and is very good for its simplicity — sometimes less can really be more. The lemongrass and mint mix well together, creating a refreshing blend. The oolong isn’t strong, but its musk does come through the longer you let it steep, adding another level to the tea.

It was suggested that I keep the teabag in for this, and I’m glad I tried it that way — it didn’t get bitter at all, just muskier as time went on. Very good. Plus, it resteeps wonderfully — the flavour hardly seems diminished on the third steep.

Although I’m an earth dragon, and I suppose that would be green (not yellow), I still think this definitely did my kind proud!

My wife had a craving so we had a pot. I have a fondness for lemon oolongs, so I did not argue. The oolong here hides underneath the lemongrass and the zest, but it also cuts the tartness and the sweetness and keeps it from just tasting like an herbal. A very nice balanced cup.

I was excited about this tea – lemon, mint and oolong – my three favorite things :) I find the aroma while its steeping slightly floral which is weird. Before posting my thoughts on this tea I figured I should try it a few times as I found I was not getting much mint flavor but rather just lemon and a bit of oolong. I have tried different steeping times but it does not seem to matter as the tea is pretty consistent in the lack of mint taste. So my overall thought is the tea is okay but not exactly what I was expecting and likely when my 26g bag runs out I will not re-buy.

I am sipping on this hot right now and to be honest, I could really mistaken this tea to be a herbal instead of an oolong. This is mainly due to the ingredients of mint and lemongrass with little to no taste of the oolong tea—however, oolong is supposed to be a lighter tea anyway.

The mint and lemon come through really well in this tea. I was hoping more of an oolong tea with a hint of mint and lemon. Not entirely disappointed, but not one I would purchase a tin of.

TEA OF THE MONTH NOVEMBER 2011: Yellow Dragon

This is one of my favorite teas out there, because it is just so nice and simple!

The mint is so refreshing and gives your mouth a nice clean feeling. It is peppermint leaves, but it comes off as more of verbena mint. The lemongrass is very subtle in the background and it really compliments the beautiful mint. The oolong leaves create a nice base by calming down the mint and lemongrass. It just brings all the wonderful flavors together.

Have a wonderful November everyone!