Silk Dragon

My second sample from The Tea Merchant! The name of this tea is so lovely, I didn’t even need to know what flavors were in it before I immediately wanted it. Once you smell it, the name makes sense: the vanilla is silky smooth and I suppose the long, elegant oolong leaves are similar to a dragon. And man, is this vanilla-y smelling, almost like pudding! It smells soooo good, I could barely pull my nose out of the bag. In fact, once I let my dad sniff it he immediately wanted some too!

Thankfully, the vanilla is a bit toned down when you steep it. It’s lighter, airier, but still rich and creamy. Less dessert, more “afternoon treat” if that makes sense! The oolong flavors were pretty prominent for me, maybe because I started with the second steep (my dad got the first!), but there are floral and fruity elements popping up as well. The citrus is mild and really only in the very end of the sip, a finishing note. It’s a bit lemony, but very toned-down and not overpowering. For some reason, the vanilla + citrus are reading a bit cupcake-y to me, like a fluffy vanilla one without any frosting. Very nice!

Opening this for the first time tonight, sniffing the dry leaves I was a little nervous I wouldn’t like it—the scent is STRONG, like potpourri strong, and while I love the creamy soothing quality vanilla often brings to tea I have a feeling a tea that screams vanilla full stop, even when done naturally and well, isn’t my thing just because of too many associations with one-note cheap vanilla perfumes and extracts. On the other hand, this is on the green side of the oolong spectrum, and god knows that base has saved many flavors for me I’d just about written off in black tea.

And yes, this is no exception to that rule of thumb! It steeps up a surprisingly light blonde color, pale gold (I’ve been more focused lately on the myriad colors tea can be, so this pleased me greatly), and the smell is stronger and richer than the taste, which is warming but thanks to the oolong base cleanly sweet. This is a wonderfully comforting cup of tea. Man, I love me some sweet creamy oolong in a cup after dinner, especially in rainy thundering weather like this. My first foray into The Tea Merchant’s stuff (they’ve been on my to try list forever as this and the French Earl Grey were Steepster faves a year or more ago) and I’m very happy!

I had this tea once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away. This one was shared with me by boychik, via terri :)
I’m happy for the chance to try this nearly 2 years later in case my tastes have changed. Again, this is a cup of coconut, vanilla oolong. Is it bad? Nope. But is is a tea for me that would conquer my general dislike of oolongs? hells. no. I enjoyed this cup, but as a non fan of oolongs, there are other teas that i’d rather have :) appreciate the share though as you never know how your tastes can change!

Yikes, THIS is vanilla! oh yes it is. SO much ‘nilla.
Reminds me of David’s tea Vanilla Oolong, only much better. Smooth like butter, but not exactly buttery… in the first steep anyhow. Second infusion, there is a teeny bit less vanilla and a little more creamy oolong goodness.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of vanilla flavoured things in general so I spent most sips thinking “oh this is awful” OR “wow this is realllllly good”. Looks like I have a split opinion about this tea. Seriously. Ha!
Anyhow, if you enjoy vanilla, then I guarantee you will love this tea. It’s very well made. As much as it isn’t for me, I know quality when I see it. Big thanks to The Tea Merchant for sending me the sample!!
Rating… undecided!

Thank you for the samples, The Tea Merchant! I planned to start with Trinitea but saw “iced tea recommended” on the page on here, so while it cools in the fridge, I figured I’d try this.

This is everything I wished the vanilla oolong from DavidsTea would be. It’s in your face vanilla, but you can still taste the the oolong underneath it. It has a lingering, green aftertaste from both the oolong and the lemon myrtle. I get more of an herb taste rather than a citrus taste, though I can smell lemon.

Steeped, it smells like a mix of spice cake and sugar cookies. The dry leaf straight up just smells like cake, and the oolong is so pretty, green and twisty.

So much vanilla. I love it. So sweet, creamy, and smooth. I still get a lot of oolong, some nice green and floral notes, and I imagine it comes out a bit more on subsequent steeps that I probably won’t do today because I have to wake up at 8 for the first time in I don’t even know how long.

I will definitely consider purchasing this one!

Well, first things first. The rave reviews of this tea are absolutely warranted, in my opinion.

What this is: a smooth, delicate yet somehow very full and round vanilla-flavoured tea. This is what I’d hoped vanilla comoro would be but ultimately wasn’t. They are both lightly flavoured, but vanilla comoro fell flat whereas this one retained a very true vanilla bean fullness.

What this isn’t: an intensely flavoured tea. This is a lighter, more delicate oolong. But the gentle, unadulterated pure vanilla caress that slips over your tongue and down your throat makes it feel so worthwhile. I added a touch of cream and just a few pieces of rock sugar, because I suspected the lightness of the tea might be overwhelmed by too much in the way of additions. In my opinion, it definitely needs some additions, although i feel that way about virtually all tea I’ve tried, and I don’t think that says anything negative about the teas at all—just that I like my teas thick and flavourful.

I’d spent most of the morning reading and napping (as much as you can nap while people are obnoxiously doing construction downstairs, at any rate) and this was a perfect, gentle way to ease myself into the afternoon.

Tea & Cards TTB #8
I spent a good part of my day at a brewery today, so suffice it to say, I had a lot of non-tea beverages today. Anyway, when I finally got home, I wanted a nice pot of tea to wind down with a bit, and this one looked so pretty in the bag that I just went for it. I goofed a bit and underleafed, so it was a bit watery, but I still got a very strong vanilla flavor. I don’t think I’ve ever had vanilla oolong (as opposed to vanilla black), but I found the combination quite nice. I’m glad to have this tea to cozy up with at the end of a long, cold day!

Perfect just perfect. Had 2 steeps and I’m going to cold steep in fridge. When i looked at my previous note I mention coconut. No coconut, it’s shouldn’t even be there, but it smelled so incredible yummy I wanted coconut in there. Probably oolong itself has some coconut notes ( at least to me).

TTB #19

It is a nice dessert oolong smelling and tasting strongly of vanilla, but also of some undefined milky candy sweetness. Not bad for a flavored green oolong (its dry leaf looked pretty awesome too).

Now that I have the last few sips of it cold, it actually reminds me a little of Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong.

Uh oh. I think I killed this poor tea. I was talking to my roommate and wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing with this tea. I accidentally poured boiling water in, and didn’t realize until afterwards. I was hoping it wouldn’t affect the tea too much, but I’m getting hardly any taste at all! Of course, it could be my taste being off because I’m sick, but I didn’t really have trouble with the others I’ve had today. Definitely trying this again once I’m not sick, and with proper brewing conditions, as the reviews for this are wonderful.