Golden Moon Tea

I could just smell the open packet all day and be happy. I steeped the whole sample in 5 oz. water. My daughter and I are both smelling buttered popcorn? Right at the first I even taste popcorn with a coconut aftertaste which doesn’t sound nice at all but actually is…quite. It’s yummy…I’m bummed I can’t make another cup right away—definitely getting a tin of this. Off to re-steep!

Sampled this today, thanks to the traveling tea box! I realized as I was brewing it that I had no idea how long to steep it so I quickly got online and saw all of the 2 & 3 minute brewing times in the reviews. I was already at 4 minutes at that point, so I was worried I had oversteeped by a landslide, but honestly I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. The tea is a beautiful golden yellow colour, with a sugary, slightly caramel scent (that reminds me of the Creme Caramel blend by The Tea Spot). The taste is sweet with a vegetal aftertaste, but honestly I don’t get a blatant caramel flavour from it… it’s much more subtle. Overall, very pleasant and light. This would make a great afternoon or dessert tea in my opinion. I might just put this on my shopping list for future purchase (once I pare down my collection a little bit… I have way too much tea at this point)!

I taste the honey notes in this so well. It is feels cozy and sophisticated. This was one of my samples I received and have now added this one to my shopping list.

Well this was definitely better than the bagged Earl Grey I had at a conference this morning. Not as good as my Damn Fine Tea Earl Grey, although that could be because I was distracted and made it with a little too much water. So yeah, it seemed weak but could have been “brewer error” :)

Why hello, steepster! Long time no.. oh whatever.
I have no excuse for visiting, aside from the simple fact I haven’t tried any new teas lately. But I assure you I’m drinking the good stuff that’s already in my cupboard.
Tangent aside…
I’ve reviewed this one in the past, but I just made myself an iced version of it for the summer (I anticipate doing this a lot with the stuff I have). Like most of you, I’m sure, I received the GM newsletter about making iced tea, and I was all excited to try it out with my White Persian Melon when I realized I don’t own White Persian Melon (shameful). So I went with this one instead.

Excellent choice! The tea is naturally sweet and sugary, so there’s no need to add anything to it (That that I would of course, but you know how iced tea can get…). I still like the hot version better, but this makes an excellent iced tea. Luckily, no one in my house wants my real tea so I get the entire pitcher to myself :)

You may see more of me now over the summer as I try out some more teas!

This is amazing. Just everything about it. The fragrance, the taste, even the sugary sweetness of the leaves themselves.

I was hesitant to steep up anything this morning, seeing it’s steadily inching toward 80 degrees outside, so I was pleased when this was my random sample of the day (no, really. My GM sampler is too high on the shelf for me to see what I pull out). I love the caramely sugar taste. And I let it sit a little while in the teapot before consuming, so I’m not sweating bullets at the moment (like usual. I take “hot tea” literally).

I kind of love it. Can’t expand much upon that.

From my GM sampler—I used 5oz water to 2tsp tea (the whole packet). I’m not sure how to describe this, a hint of smoke with a sweet finish? I didn’t put anything in this I am just enjoying the flavor unadulterated :) It’s really good, smooth with a little tiny bit of tannin right before the sweetness at the end. Daughter does not like this one…called it weird :)

The second infusion sort of smells like smoked fish…

This one smells nice both before, during, and after infusion. It ‘brews’ dark brown and is quite mellow in taste. I’m drinking this as my first cup this morning and eventho it’s good – I’m looking for something more strong this morning.

I can’t quite place the taste in this that isn’t licorice….It totally reminds me of something…hay? It’s not bad but I won’t be sad that I can’t make more. I gave my daughter a taste and her words were “mmmm hot water”. I measured not quite 2 teaspoons and used the whole thing with 6 oz. water. By the way, although I don’t necessarily love licorice. the black jelly bellies are my favorite so I thought I’d like this more than I do.

I am trying to switch back and forth between the higher and lower rated samples from my GM sampler so as it’s the lower scores turn I am trying the Honey Pear. I used a little under a cup of boiling water with the whole sample which was 2 full teaspoons. Wow—this is definitely exactly what it claims…honey, then pear. I always take a little taste without sweetener before I add my usual agave nectar, I almost always sweeten. Not this one—it’s perfect as is. This is so different from anything I’ve tried so far in my tea drinking journey and I LOVE it!! It’s very layered, reminds of a good red wine in that way. It doesn’t taste like wine, just the layering of the flavors. I am so happy with this tea…I am definitely ordering more.

Today’s GM Grab Bag Extravaganza winner! and this one is one. Unlike yesterday’s “French Breakfast”, about which I had no preconceptions, today’s English Breakfast has a particular tradition to live up to; which this one does nicely! A full-bodied EB that is appropriately bold with a nice mellow finish. Not too tannic and no “bite” with 3 minutes of brewing. I think I could have gone longer, but I wanted to save a bit for a second steeping. I got two 12oz carafe’s worth and unlike the French variety, the second steeping held up just fine (a third would have been out of the question).

backlogging yesterday’s GM Grab Bag Extravaganza :-) “French Breakfast”…not a name or type that I’ve heard before..might as well call it “Queensland Extra”. Seriously, I think they made up the name. Nonetheless, this was a fine Ceylon with a nice bright and sparkly appearance in the carafe. A bit of an earthy undertone, but with the normal briskness I expect of a Ceylon tea. I’d put it in the good/average class for a Ceylon…which means I’d be happy to drink it any day. I got two 12 oz steepings from the sample, the second being a bit peaked.

Wow, quite an aroma when you open up the packet! Pungent – it’s the bergamot without a doubt, but the lavender is really prominent, making the whole thing much more aromatic. The leaves look nice; it’s gratifying that they seem to be using good quality tea as their black base.

After five minutes, the liquor is medium-dark brown, and is just about as fragrant as the dry leaf. Lavender is still muscling its way to the front of the room, with bergamot trying to get a word in edgewise. Taste, I’m getting the same dynamic – I’d probably call it lavender tea with the addition of bergamot rather than the other way around. Not sure if I’m a huge fant of lavender tea however – it’s an aroma I associate with perfumes and potpourris rather than consumable items, so this one is probably a bit too much for my taste. Interesting to try, though.

First of 31 :D
It’s my work tea for the day.

I intended to steep it for 3 minutes then forgot a bit – so it was probably like 5 minutes or so.
Color is well black tea typical – more brown than red. It’s bit bitter for me. Quite strong. I even taste a little earthiness that reminds me of pu-ehr’s.

Think it would be great with milk. Gonna try it in a bit.

Oh it got better colder. Nice flavor.
Note – yummy with milk.

Quite good this one is. Yeeeesssss :D

As iced tea: Took the remainder of yesterday’s brew and put it in the fridge in a covered glass carafe. Over ice today and a little still, cold water to thin it a bit. Despite my best effort, it has an “old” taste. The earthiness is overwhelming and its gone pretty tannic. Not recommended as iced.

Sinharaja was today’s GM sampler grab bag winner. And what a winner it is! I used slightly less than a teaspoon of leaves in my brew basket and a good 12 oz of boiling water. 3-4 minutes and I had a good steep. The flavor was fantastic! Slightly earthy and a little light, sweet. Has a brisk little tannin that gets stronger as it cools…recommend it hot. I put the last little bit of fresh leaves (not enough for a full brew) on top of the 1st steep’s leaves and had another go after 5 minutes. love it. I’ve got a cup or so sitting in the fridge to try iced…i suspect it wont’ be that good, as the the tannin’s will probably give it teeth.

Yumm, Yumm, very very nice tea, with an almost sweet finish and a nicefull body, with indeed, molasses or caamelized sugar overtones, not heavy , but full and rich.

Two of my favorite flavors – how well do they go together? I decided to try really hard not to steep the H-E-double hockey sticks out of this one, so that I could catch as much as possible out of both flavors without succumbing to bitterness. The dry leaf smells super!

Mmmm, came out just right. The aroma has both vanilla and jasmine, individually discernible but also combining to form one yummy whole. The tea itself is naturally very sweet, and I’m getting absolutely no bitterness. The liquor is medium brown with a hint of green. I actually got out my cream and sugar and have it waiting on the side, since I usually prefer vanilla teas with those additives, but this tastes so nice the way it is I’ll think I’ll leave well enough alone. The only thing that niggles at me is a slight, unusual aftertaste that I can’t quite identify. Guess I’ll just have to try more again sometime to try and suss it out…

GM sample #2. I looked around Steepster for some direction on how to brew this and thankfully found someone who suggested using just 3.5 oz. of water. I used 4oz and it was perfect. As soon as this hit my tongue it was like MELON!! And I mean that in a good way. I steeped it a second time and there was still some flavor but much weaker. I think I may be ordering a tin of this one. My daughter and I split this and she loved it too.

So this is my first sample from my Golden Moon Sampler box. I was bummed that it was so tiny…I usually use 4tsp. per mug and this was maybe 2? I used the whole thing with about 8 oz. water and I wish I would have used even less (water). It was good but I didn’t get everything out of it that most of the reviewers did. I’m chalking it up to being a newbie or maybe the tea water ratio. I still enjoyed it, just not as much as I was hoping to and since it’s gone there’s no “do-over”.

After my strong cup of French Breakfast this morning (the caffeine in there had me buzzing for quite a while!), I wanted something a little more mellow for this afternoon. I’m down to my last few Golden Moon samples, so this seemed like the right one. I had a feeling the tightly compacted chunklets would do a good job of expanding, and that was definitely the case. After two minutes of steeping, they looked to be about halfway undone, i.e. a good place to stop and take a first taste.

1st steep: 2.5 minutes, 190 degrees: There’s a pleasant buttered vegetables aroma, which is partially but not fully realized in the flavor. I also have some subtle floral and toasty notes, but they’re pretty far in the background.

2nd steep: 3 minutes, 190 degrees: I’m not getting as much toastiness this time, but a little more general vegetal flavor. Buttery notes have toned down too. Aroma is milder but still grassy and pleasant.

Overall not a bad Oolong, but I probably wouldn’t seek it out especially.

I wanted a strong one to start off the work week, and this seemed like a good bet. Nothing too out of the ordinary in the scent or appearance of the dry leaf. I’m going for five minutes of steeping time to make sure I get all the flavors.

Well, it certainly is black tea. Dark, dark brown liquor and a full-bodied aroma with hints of tobacco. The first sip lets me know that there are plenty of tannins – I’m getting that scritchy feeling on my teeth, like I’ve been eating spinach. There’s some sweetness there too. Okay, time for the cream and sugar. Mmm, that really mellows out the tannins, but it’s not bringing any other flavors strongly to the fore. Overall it’s a fine tea, but not spectacular.

This is just yummy and sweet and juicy and D-lish! Very sweet and very refreshing – thirst quenching! I would have to say this is one of my FAVES from GM so far! It has almost a slight minty aftertaste

When I first poured the water and smelt the leaves… wow! It reminded me of those mints you get after dinner that are soft and have a layer of chocolate. It is morning but still that smell made me smile and pepped me up. The mint taste isn’t as strong which I think is good (especially at this hour of the morning) It is the dominate taste for me though. I can also taste the vanilla blending in. Very faintly in the background is the tea taste where I really only taste the black.

So this tea was perfect for this morning although I don’t really see it becoming one of my staples. We’ll have to see if I start to crave it. Now off to work.