I was elated to be able to try this tea! Thanks so much for sending some, Annie! I think I might have been one of the people to suggest a fig tea to Anne? I love the idea behind this one, however, not sure if it works for me in the resulting tea. I used slightly less than a teaspoon, as that is what the package suggested. I see some definite fig pieces which I appreciate! The oolong is roasted, dark and very tightly rolled. Normally I would think a roasted oolong might overpower these flavors, but the oolong used here isn’t too overpowering, just roasty enough. However, reading the description there are three types of oolongs here: Ruanzhi, Wuyi and Qingxin cultivars. The three must me very very similar! The cinnamon somehow didn’t impart much to the flavor — I’d probably rather it be a fig/honey type of flavor anyway. Sadly there wasn’t much fig or honey flavor either, so this mostly tasted like a better yet light roasted oolong. That’s good because I usually don’t like roasted oolong too much. But I can see figs working with this type of oolong best. A little disappointing, but I would love more fig experiments. I won’t say no to more fig teas, there just needs to be more fig in them!
Steep #1 // less than one teaspoon for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3 min
2019 Sipdowns: 31 (This and David’s Jasmine Black Dragon Pearls)
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And dates! I’m so close to finishing off my one date tea, it’s been discontinued and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them used in any other teas…
YES and more teas with dates. If Tealyra’s ‘Date Shake’ is the one date tea you mean, I really miss that one! (Thanks again for the sample of it!)
Yup. It actually was sourced from Dethlefsen & Balk (as many of Tealyra’s teas come from them) so I was looking for that blend elsewhere, but D&B no longer produce it so it isn’t around anywhere anymore. Booooooo.
date shake is the bomb
Well, looks like there are three fans of Date Shake… what the heck tea sourcers..
mebbe politics we are unaware of
Well, as I mentioned, the wholesale source of that tea was German tea blenders Dethlefsen & Balk. They are a major blend wholesaler for many tea sites (one of the majors like International Tea Importers, Metropolitan Tea Company, East Indies Coffee and Tea, etc.) Tealyra was sourcing that blend from them, and many of the herbals still on Tealyra’s site are still D&B blends. Since Dethlefsen & Balk don’t make it anymore, that’s why it is gone. I have no idea why they discontinued it, but I’d guess either they either ran into trouble sourcing the ingredients or not enough shops were buying the blend to offset the cost of producing the tea (just my guess…) They’ve pulled a lot of my favorite blends, another Dethlefsen & Balk blend I loved was Caramel Chai Pu-erh (which Fusion Tea wholesaled from them) which was also discontinued. I remember sampling a spicy chocolate rooibos from Angry Tea Room before that is gone now that I’m fairly certain is also a discontinued D&B blend since most of their teas are wholesaled from D&B as well.
@Mastress Alita – Your knowledge about tea wholesaling is fascinating and eye-opening! :)
Nooooo not Caramel Chai Pu-erh! I loved that one.
Thanks, Mastress Alita, for your insights.
So while it is true that the blend that Tealyra called “Date Shake” has been discontinued by Dethlefsen & Balk, I have found that they have one other date blend right now, but they consider it a “holiday blend” so availability of it could be limited. It is a date/pistachio blend and Fava Tea wholesales it as “Candied Pistachio Herbal Tea” and Tin Roof Teas wholesales it as “Pistachio-Vanilla Praline”. (Some other tea shops sourcing it can be hunted up searching by the D&B ingredient list: Date pieces (date, rice flour), pistachios, slivered almonds, rose petals, natural flavour. ) That’s the only other date tea I’ve still found out in the wild, though!
Thanks for the info!
And dates! I’m so close to finishing off my one date tea, it’s been discontinued and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them used in any other teas…
YES and more teas with dates. If Tealyra’s ‘Date Shake’ is the one date tea you mean, I really miss that one! (Thanks again for the sample of it!)
Yup. It actually was sourced from Dethlefsen & Balk (as many of Tealyra’s teas come from them) so I was looking for that blend elsewhere, but D&B no longer produce it so it isn’t around anywhere anymore. Booooooo.
date shake is the bomb
Well, looks like there are three fans of Date Shake… what the heck tea sourcers..
mebbe politics we are unaware of
Well, as I mentioned, the wholesale source of that tea was German tea blenders Dethlefsen & Balk. They are a major blend wholesaler for many tea sites (one of the majors like International Tea Importers, Metropolitan Tea Company, East Indies Coffee and Tea, etc.) Tealyra was sourcing that blend from them, and many of the herbals still on Tealyra’s site are still D&B blends. Since Dethlefsen & Balk don’t make it anymore, that’s why it is gone. I have no idea why they discontinued it, but I’d guess either they either ran into trouble sourcing the ingredients or not enough shops were buying the blend to offset the cost of producing the tea (just my guess…) They’ve pulled a lot of my favorite blends, another Dethlefsen & Balk blend I loved was Caramel Chai Pu-erh (which Fusion Tea wholesaled from them) which was also discontinued. I remember sampling a spicy chocolate rooibos from Angry Tea Room before that is gone now that I’m fairly certain is also a discontinued D&B blend since most of their teas are wholesaled from D&B as well.
@Mastress Alita – Your knowledge about tea wholesaling is fascinating and eye-opening! :)
Nooooo not Caramel Chai Pu-erh! I loved that one.
Thanks, Mastress Alita, for your insights.
So while it is true that the blend that Tealyra called “Date Shake” has been discontinued by Dethlefsen & Balk, I have found that they have one other date blend right now, but they consider it a “holiday blend” so availability of it could be limited. It is a date/pistachio blend and Fava Tea wholesales it as “Candied Pistachio Herbal Tea” and Tin Roof Teas wholesales it as “Pistachio-Vanilla Praline”. (Some other tea shops sourcing it can be hunted up searching by the D&B ingredient list: Date pieces (date, rice flour), pistachios, slivered almonds, rose petals, natural flavour. ) That’s the only other date tea I’ve still found out in the wild, though!
Thanks for the info!