The Tao of Tea

Backlog:

A very soothing tisane (although it feels weird to be calling something from the camellia sinensis plant a ‘tisane’) it’s very enjoyable. It has a honey-esque sort of taste, pollen-y, with nectar-like tones. It’s got a very smooth texture, it feels soft as I drink it, and it tastes soft and smooth as well.

A natural, light sweetness to it. A nice, late-night drink that is a little bit sweet and very relaxing. Here’s my full-length review of this one: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/06/03/organic-tea-flowers-from-the-tao-of-tea/

This is a really lovely mint tea. Both the mint and the gunpowder green tea flavours come out in this really well. The green tea isn’t bitter, but the little bit of astringency mixes with the sweetness of the mint and turns this into a very smooth drink that somehow manages to be both refreshing and relaxing.

The pearls have a very strong and nice jasmine scent, but the taste is more mild and not overpowering. A very pleasant and enjoyable jasmine tea. Not at all soapy. The jasmine seems to work with the tea rather than over it.

The pearls themselves are good, but not the greatest I have seen. They do break up into little pieces more than I would like with a tea such as this. I like to just add a few pearls to my cup, add water, drink, and add more water as needed with teas like this, but all the little broken leaf pieces make it more difficult than it is with more intact pearls. Still, most of the leaves are fairly whole.

The leaf awakens nicely with short steeps @ 180 F. Steeps begin @20 second steeps, thus allowing each subtle change in liquor character to be experienced. Colour is deep golden, almost honey like with a highly crystal reflective surface. Low dust, bright in character.

Enjoyable steeps, used small Gaiwan to allow clear observation as the remarkable leaves awakened. Flavour held throughout 6 to 7 steeps, slightly increasing time to keep golden colour.

Observation of leaves following final steep, revealed beautiful two leaf and a bud sections. Each whole and perfect, not crumbled or over processed.

I cold steeped this for about 24 hours, and liked it well enough there’s another thermos of it going now. I’m still perplexed how I like this as much as I do, as there are at least two components in here I don’t normally much care for (chamomile and hibiscus).

This brews up such a lovely raspberry color thanks to the hibiscus. It’s a bit tart, but the hibiscus is tempered quite a good deal by the mint and chamomile. The rose doesn’t come through much in the cold steep, but the chamomile does and becomes a bit apple-y. Then mint is the dominant note, and easily my favorite.

The whole thing tastes a bit like apple mint jelly, though. So that’s kind of neat.

I got this in a swap with wheezybee so thanks!

It’s also a backlog.

The hibiscus flavor comes through, but it’s surprisingly not terribly tart. The chamomile and mint are by far the most prominent flavors (Fiance went as far as saying it tasted like the mint tea his Grandma used to make him). I thought this was going to be more rose-y, because of the sheer amount of petals chilling in there, but the rose flavor is quite faint.

I can take or leave both hibiscus and chamomile, so I was surprised I enjoyed this as much as I did. It would also probably be pretty awesome iced (but really, most mint stuff is tasty iced).

I still don’t remember who sent me this in a swap but I still love it! It is one of the first “dark” oolongs I’ve really enjoyed. It is so floral and fruity! I only have one cup of it left which makes me sad…HOWEVER, I got an email from Angel at Teavivre this morning that I won the Oolong Sampler Assortment giveaway! YAY!!!! :D

I can’t believe I hadn’t tried this one yet. I got it from a generous Steepster in a swap. Apologies because I’ve forgotten who it was!

Anyway this is really excellent! I did a nice long steep on it just under boiling. I usually prefer green oolongs (this one has very dark, long twisty leaves), but MAN, this one tastes just like apricots to me! So sweet and juicy with some undertones of spice and maybe dried crunchy fall leaves. Wonderful! Looking forward to steeping it again and seeing if it transforms in any way :)

My experience with this tea doesn’t seem to coincide with the other reviews on here. This has been a summer full of Earl Greys, and this tea is one of the most disappointing. After all the promise in its description I was expecting something better than the burnt black tea aroma and flavor.

You can read my full review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/08/earl-grey-by-tao-of-tea.html

I actually struggled to write as much about this one as I did. It’s overwhelmingly smoky, and any other elements are incredibly difficult to identify. It doesn’t taste like Earl Grey to me, just smoke. Lots and lots of smoke.

If you do like their Pine Smoked Black tea, this tastes nearly identical.

You can read the full review (as short as it is) here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/07/smoked-earl-grey-by-tao-of-te.html

This one was difficult for me to write about, because I have such great memories associated with this brand that I didn’t want to dislike this tea. But I do. A lot.

I made several cups of this over the last two days – kept myself up half the night because I was so over-caffeinated! – but none of them hit the mark. It’s a solid Earl Grey, but the perfumey element of the cornflowers is just too much for me.

I have two more of their Earl Greys to try, and I’m hoping that they will be a lot more enjoyable. Right now I’m just happy I was able to use rewards points for this, and that I didn’t have to actually pay for it!

You can read the full review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/07/blue-flower-earl-grey-by-tao-of-tea.html

This was the first Pu-erh tea I ever tried, and I’ve come to absolutely love it. It’s very subtle and smooth, with an earthy aftertaste. It’s perfect for rainy days, and it reminds me of taking a relaxing walk through the Wadi Rum (which is contradictory and weird especially since I’ve never been to the Wadi Rum…). Usually, I like stronger teas, but this has become my go-to tea, and I drink it at least once a day. It really can hold up for a lot of steeps, and it’s complex enough that each steep is a little bit different and a little bit better :) Basically, this tea is awesome.

Definitely a favorite.

Drank this up on the rooftop grampa-style with a friend. Who needs beer to enjoy patio weather?

Another older one that’s lost a lot of its flavor. There’s still a decent amount of this left. At what point do I decide to throw a tea out vs. finishing it off? It feels weird throwing out tea but if it has no flavor it feels silly drinking it!

I have been craving a smoky tea all day and I finally got to make a cup of this! This is a really nice smoky tea, it’s not bitter, gross, or overwhelming. It actually seems to be pretty mild as far as smoke in teas go.

I received this in an exchange with wheezeybee, thanks! I really love smoky teas, which seem to be something that most people feel very strongly about, either love or hats. I needed something yesterday evening to keep me going through studying. This seemed perfect! I don’t remember much about it now, but I do know that I enjoyed it!

Jury’s still out. A very distinctive, charred sort of flavor. I don’t think this is a lazy man’s tea, so no cup+tea for this one.

I took about a tsp and steeped it for about 5 minutes per the container instructions. I’m not getting a very strong flavor, it’s very light. It has a definite peach flavor at the end. Perhaps I’ll steep it longer next time.