Chinese Restaurant Tea

So this is hardly an epic, awesome tea (Dynasty teas simply aren’t ever going to appear with such words attached to them) but I just LOVE the name. Chinese Restaurant tea.

Many of the Chinese restaurants around here will serve jasmine tea or oolong tea with your meal…not wishing to take any chances, Dynasty blends a mix of oolong and jasmine with a bit of green tea tossed in for their teabags, and I would swear to you that at least half the restaurants around here (the ones on the cheaper end of the scale) use the Dynasty blend. This leaves me wondering which came first. Did the Dynasty brand base their ‘Chinese Restaurant’ flavor on what Chinese restaurants are serving, or are all these Chinese restaurants serving Dynasty’s tea because the name implies it’s exactly what they should be serving? Chicken or egg?

Anyway, I like it. This is the flavor of tea I was exposed to when I was a child. I grew up on it. It’s a good, strong tea that cuts the grease and tastes great with most kinds of food, so it makes me happy.

delicious! first off, the name is endearing….so unapologetic about what it is, but you know what? it’s helpful, because that ‘chinese restaurant’ or even ‘japanese restaurant’ flavor tea is something i enjoy & sometimes actively seek out. i find it very comforting. plus, i think there is something to be said for the fact that it has earned a spot in the hearts of restaurant-goers. anyway..

when i saw this today at Fairway, next to the Yamamotoyama Jasmine tea & Brown Rice green teas, i sincerely wanted to try it. i don’t know that i’ve had distinctly or even ‘stereotypically-tasting’ Chinese tea, so i was almost worried about this one. but worry not. it is a soothing & surprisingly, refreshing! blend of oolong and green tea scented with jasmine. yes, the jasmine is refreshing! no, it does not overpower the taste. this is not what i’d call a ‘floral tea’ per se.

come to think of it, this is actually the second jasmine-scented tea i’ve tried and thoroughly enjoyed. the first was Teavana’s Jasmine Silver Needle, which, much like this tea, seemed like more of an oolong than a white in terms of body & flavor. also, like this tea, there was that slight ‘nutty’ quality with a rice note.

as for this, oft picked upon ‘generic’ Chinese Restaurant infusion, this smells more like white rice than it does brown. steamed white rice (perhaps on the verge of being toasted), with a definite oolong quality moreso than green & might i add the jasmine is lovely! and i’m so surprised i’m saying that! i appreciate that its scent is present, but not overpowering. it is fresh, young, tender jasmine whose fragrance sits lightly over the ‘steamed rice’ toasted-ness. and here’s the even stranger part (at least to me): it tastes great! not perfumey, soapy or bitter; it is what it is but it’s good.

i’m giving a bagged restaurant tea a serious review. i’m a charlatan!

i regret nothing.

PS- definitely great with food, as someone else has said. it’s subtle, soothing and light. i had mine with lunch. it complements whatever you’re eating (IMO). i’m sure this would be great after a meal too, as i was craving another cup!

I love the name of this tea – it makes me chuckle whenever I pick up the box. It tastes exactly like what the name says, and that’s why I love it. It may not be high grade, top notch stuff, but it reminds me of enjoyable meals in my favorite Chinese restaurants. I usually have this with dinner – it’s very nice with food.

I like this one. It’s great unsweetened and tastes exactly like the tea served in Chinese Restaurants. Good flavor, not too bitter.

Tastes exactly as its name suggests, nothing too fancy but it definitely reminds me of the large pots of tea you get an Chinese restaurants… Think we’ll drink the rest of this with some homemade Kung Pao zoodles to give me the Chinese restaurant experience while snuggled up at home against this unusual cold snap.

I tried this awhile back when I was getting into teas. It’s very cheap tasting and leaves much to desire from it. I would save the $2 and avoid it. It isn’t the worst tea, but it’s nothing really good about it. Very weak and not very good at all.