Unknown Samples

It was supposed to be a caffeine free day, but I indulged in an oolong around noon because I only had caffeinated teas with me at the time. I couldn’t just /not/ have tea, as I would not be home for at least an hour or two. Other tea drinkers understand.

I made a tea called “Taiwan oolong” that I received in a sample trade through reddit. I don’t know who they bought it from, but it tastes like a very high quality one.

I brewed this grandpa style because all I had was the looseleaf. It gave the leaves lots of room to unfurl. It didn’t overbrew, which I appreciated. As with most jade oolongs, this was smooth, buttery, and very floral. I wish I knew what company it was from so I could buy more. The orchid notes and the tulip and the butter…it was a delightful cup. Luckily I have about 5-8 cups of this left in the pouch.

I’m on my second short steep of this (30 seconds first steep, 1 minute second steep). This has that mineral-y taste I can pick up from some oolongs. The mineral-y isn’t my favourite, but I can appreciate it. It’s about mid-way oxidized, solely judging from the colour. Not too close to green, not too roasty. Overall a nice, but not extraordinary oolong.

So this review is for POM’s Pomegranate Honey Green Tea; I didn’t want to add it to the database because even though there is tea in this it’s kinda more like a juice, and I don’t know if it counts?

I needed cashback at work on Saturday so I had bus fare ($3.10) so I bought one of those “impulse items” they keep near till/check out from work, and we have a display or “health drinks” there and I saw this one and thought, “why not”. It’s no worse than buying a pack of gum or a chocolate bar to get cashback…

I was a little surprised by how this one tastes; I expected the “honey” to just kind of be a general sweetness or not even noticeable but I think it was the most prominent flavour overall? Distinct, sweet honey with that natural rawness to it. Mmm! And then, surprisingly, the green tea was also pretty present which I was not expecting. A mild vegetalness – but sweetened. Pomegranate was also, obviously, a “check” but given I expected this to be the most forefront flavour it was pretty damn toned down.

All in all, I enjoyed it – and probably more than I would’ve a chocolate bar, and I’d try the different “flavours” from this company, but I don’t know if I’d buy this particular flavour again. It certainly wasn’t bad though!

Grapefruit black tea from some company I can’t remember the name of (sample is at work), from the Tea and Cards TTB. Horrible. Black tea and grapefruit is just a terrible TERRIBLE combination that should never exist. I love grapefruit. I love black tea. I hate them together. The grapefruit flavour was spot on but the combination was just a sad, sad waste of black tea. Very blech.

Red Leaf Tea – Sample #2
30 May 2014, side-by-side comparison with Sample #1

Dry: Nice vibrant green colour. Slightly more aromatic than Sample #1

Straight: A really nice matcha! Great green colour, and tastes… like grass. Which is how it should taste haha.

Latte: Oh this is wonderful! I really like this matcha. At first I was slightly afraid when I saw the package. I’ve only ever had just a couple matchas before, and I definitely thought that all these teas were going to taste the exact same, but I really do see a difference between Sample #1 and #2. This one was much more flavourful from start to finish. I find myself reaching for this cup more often, so sample #2 wins this round!

Colour: 86
Flavour: 88
Bitterness: 89
Suggested Price: $15