Golden Moon Tea

Several pots of this tea with a tiny pinch of sugar added is really helping to calm down my overactive sweet tooth today. Good and smooth as always with a delightfully rich caramel sweetness.

I’m just beginning my extended session with this tea and it is delicious so far. Looking forward to more infusions!

Continuing on my St. Patrick’s Day tea celebration, I am now drinking a GREEN oolong! I haven’t had this in quite awhile and I am really enjoying the buttery, smooth caramel flavor of this tea. I know that the subsequent infusions of this tea are the best, so I’ll soon be trying out infusion #2.

I’m having a quiet, relaxing Saturday night with the help of this Sugar Caramel Oolong. I only have about half a tin left and I’m not sure this will be restocked, but I am really enjoying it while it lasts. The smooth and sweet caramel flavor is nicely paired with the buttery finish of the green oolong. There is a bit of a nutty taste that I recognize as being the chestnuts described by the company. Mmm….the best part about oolongs is the various infusions. Off to brew another cup!

I have been on such a black tea kick lately that I have been neglecting the rest of my cupboard. I pulled this one out this afternoon for a nice change of pace and let me tell you, a VERY nice change it is! I’ve missed this one.
Today the buttery oolong is dominant with the caramel sweetness hitting the end of the sip. The aftertaste is both sweet and kind of nutty which is a bit different from what I remember.
I had forgotten how light and sweet this tea is and how much I enjoy sipping on multiple infusions throughout a lazy afternoon.

Perfect.

This tea has been calling my name today but I had originally picked out the Coconut Pouchong instead. Don’t get me wrong, both teas are awesome but I think this one is my favorite. Several delightful infusions to come.

This tea is delightfully creamy and slightly sweet. This tea is the one that opened my eyes to the potential of a tasty green oolong…this doesn’t taste vegetal or anything although it is a bit buttery. After a few cups of this tea, my entire outlook changes for the better.

I have really missed this tea! This tea can really create a sense of peace and tranquility which is very much welcomed. I love the buttery taste of the oolong paired with the burnt caramel which is not overly sweet. This tea is amazing!

I’m finishing up the last of my sample, unfortunately. I really love this tea and I know I’m going to be craving it now that I’m out. My next tea order will be from Golden Moon – this tea and the Coconut Pouchong are calling my name!
I have a lot of bits of tea right now though so I’m feeling a temporary lock-down and possibly a tea giveaway in the coming month so I’ll be able to fit new tea in my cupboard.

On to this tea – wow, it is just amazing. Perfectly caramel without being too sweet, such a great tea for sipping in the afternoon.

Yea, I’m drinking this one again today…don’t judge me. As much as I seem to crave this tea, I think it is pretty safe to say that my next tea order will be from Golden Moon.

I’m feeling quite anxious and stressed today so I think some comforting and calming tea is in order. This tea is slightly buttery, sweet, and partially burnt caramel in flavor. The tea seems to become sweeter as you progress through infusions. After several infusions, I hope that I won’t remember being anxious at all.

I think it is very telling that I’ve been drinking this tea so often even though I have many other great teas and other oolongs….I will definitely have to order more of this. I really have to raise this rating, I obviously like it more than I originally thought.

You know a tea is good when you continually reach for it despite having plenty of other untried teas in your cupboard. I think I need to raise the rating just because of how much I’ve been grabbing this tea the past few days. When I run out of my sample I will be getting more, this is comfort tea at its best.

I have been craving this tea all day. Last time I made this I think my water was a bit too hot and that I steeped for too long because almost all of the leaves opened up on the first infusion. Today I used cooler water and a shorter time resulting in most of the leaves still being curled up nicely – just asking for more infusions. There is a slight vegetal quality to the first infusion that somehow blends quite nicely with the sweetness. This infusion boasts just a general sweetness where later infusions will turn into sweet caramel. Time to go make another pot!

TTB 1.2

As some of you may have noticed, I used the TTB as a chance to try teas that I wouldn’t have otherwise bought for myself. So far this leap of faith has been a successful – including with this tea. I have a horrible track record with green oolongs so I had pretty much written this one of but since the reviews are so great I picked a bit out.

The dry leaves smell extremely sweet with only a slight vegetal quality and are small, tightly rolled green leaves. After brewing, the tea is a medium golden color and has a strong caramel scent. The first sip was quite sweet, smooth, and not vegetal. Really great and once again it makes me crave more after each sip (just like the Silver Needle from yesterday).

I was able to get 4 deliciously sweet and smooth infusions from this tea and I’m definitely going to put this one on my shopping list for when I run out of my sample. I’m also very interested in the Coconut Pouchong (another greener oolong that I had written off) because this one is so great.

I was preparing for something hideous with this because of all the reviews – mostly in the 30s and 50s range. But…

Where as I wouldn’t put it in my 70 percentile – I’m pondering the 60s. I don’t love it but…

This isn’t very gingery – which is fine by me – I do know that White Ginger is supposed to be mellower than regular ginger – but I think this is regular ginger and it’s in white tea…so…not sure. Regardless – the ginger isn’t harsh. It’s a bit chewy for a white tea but the flavor overall isn’t very memorable. It’s not bad, just not stunning!

It’s an OK tea, I suppose…

I don’t know about candied pineapple, but this is a sweet and mild green tea. I’m getting hints of smoke, but I might have just been storing this too close to the GM Gunpowder. I’m drinking steeps 1 and 2 simultaneously, and while the color is nigh identical, the first steep has a stronger, sweeter flavor. I’ll update with number 3 in a bit.

As of now, this is nice and I wouldn’t turn down a cup, but I’m not planning to buy more; this is a bit weak for my taste.

2.2g, 6oz

This tea is an excellent example of what Escoffier discovered, regarding how scent impacts our sense of taste. He served all of his food piping hot because he knew his diners would smell the food. Since smell comprises most of our actual ability to taste, voilà! Hot, this tea smells delicious, and subsequently tastes accordingly — vanilla without the artificial flavoring, though I found no tropical notes. Take away the heat, however, and you are left with a thin vanilla taste that requires sweetening. Kind of like when you see a guy who you thought was attractive — until he takes off his shirt and you aren’t squinting at him anymore because he is less than 20 feet away.

(Not that this happened recently to me or anything. Nope. Although, there was a Scottish bagpiper tonight in the park, and it was the best part of my day.)

How fresh! Added a teensy bit of agave nectar for sweetness, and this makes me feel oddly… French? This tea is sophisticated and classy, almost amber in color, with a creamy soft complexion, but can easily wear four inch heels the entire day. And possibly slash your tire with the heel. (Elegantly. Without you noticing.)

This is the blonde wearing dashing red lipstick that your mother warned you about, who pouts her lips and goes, “Oops.” None of the flavors are overpowering, and even on the second steep, I find this tea holds up decently.

But methinks that the complexity of this tea may ultimately be its downfall and its strength — black tea and green tea and mint and vanilla and a little bit of this and that. After all, everyone likes a classy affair. A woman is like a tea bag — you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.

Drank this last night, following the White Licorice sampler — for ginger is where I reign supreme! Alas, I found this much too weak for me, and barely tasted the spicy snap of ginger. It is perfectly serene, as they say in the description, but I wanted the ginger to see a little more action. Onwards!

(Might have been a combination of too much water and not a high enough steep temperature, but I find that rawther doubtful.)

yesterday’s grab bag special…and my first official “gunpowder” tea. I had no idea what to expect, but from the looks, I guessed green tea. I ended up a little over steeped, so tea had that sharp, astringent bite that they all get when overdone. Immediately thinned with some hot water and it was a pleasant tea to drink. I think I got what I suspected; the tea had massive green leafy vegetables taste, like spinach or kale. Not a problem, as I like greens, but not expected to be that “in your face” bold.
The tea was a greenish amber in the carafe (I have a clear pyrex carafe for tea) with little fines floating around. I did not get a smokey flavor as suggested by GM writeup. Finished a full 12 oz mug, but declined to resteep. I’d drink this again, but not one that I’ll likely go out of my way to get more of.

I’ve been remiss in logging my teas…so going back a couple of days. This tea was a puzzle. When I opened the sample, I got a strong smell of spearmint…like Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum. I was astonished by it so much that I called over a fellow tea drinker and asked him what he smelled! “Mint”, he said, looking at the lable askance. I/We have no idea whats up with that. Brewed the tea up, water just at boiling. Lots of floral notes and a little citrus…but not what I would identify as bergamot. The florals were present when drinking the tea, and again, not what I could call “Earl Grey”. In fact, it was more like “Lady Earl Grey” from Twinnings than anything else. As it cooled, the flavors got odd. Not such that you couldn’t drink it odd, but rather the florals receded and more of a citrusy mint something was left. I could drink this again, but there are much better teas to be had and its not something to please the Bergamot! Earl Grey crowd.

I AM BACK — WITH A VENGEANCE, STEEPSTERITES!
(Read: my life is finally basically under control. Ish.)

Full disclosure: I abhor licorice. When I opened the tin sampler, and smelt (through my already-unable-to-smell sick nose) a punch of herbs and licorice, I felt a little nauseous and considered opening another pack. But to my pleasant surprise, this tea is delightful — almost flower nectar sweet, and very light! The coloring is very pale, and the tea is soothingly smooth, like butter. Definitely more grassy than I anticipated, but I’m thankful the licorice taste isn’t overpowering, for one.

If this is the worst tea Golden Moon has in its sampler, I’m in for a treat! Definitely could see ordering this again for myself or for my mum, who loves peppermint tea. To be honest, I’d rather just hold it in my mouth than swallow it. This leaves my mouth a little dry, but there’s no bitterness. (Now now, no dirty jokes, kids.)