Bossa Nova

Whew, sip down. I’m happy I was able to finish my 1 oz. in two weeks. Now to maybe try a couple samples throughout the day.

After drinking nearly 2 litres of cold brew, two cups of this, and two cups of cookies ‘n’ cream milk, though, I should cool it for a while.

Had a pot of this lovely oolong. I forgot how creamy and smooth it is. Mmmm :-)

Sipdown!

Had this with my BFF today. So delicious. Really sweet and desserty, so good with a splash of milk or cream. If you like hazelnut and creamy vanilla, check this tea out.

(2.5 tsp in 18 oz)

I have loved everything from Zen Tea thus far but this one is not one of the loves.
The flavoring is too artificial tasting to me.
It leaves this almost oily feeling in my mouth and reminds me of what I dislike about many of David’s Teas.

So there I was lying in bed this morning, wishing for a nice breakfast tea to begin my day that I wasn’t committed to having a long gongfu session with so that I could move on to Mrs. Li’s Dragonwell from Verdant. I was actually hoping for something fun like hazelnut, though I had already tried Adagio’s the other day. When lo and behold there was a clank below my window. The mail man had come by early and when I made my way downstairs I found my prayers had been answered in the form of a package of samples from Zen Tea! Thank you Zen Tea

Not only that but when I opened the package I found that I had indeed order a hazelnut tea! And to top it all off I had seen this tea on the menu yesterday at the tea studio and had wondered why it sounded so familiar, I knew I hadn’t drank it before, but felt like I had ordered it. This is the same description and ingredients as the Bossa Nova hazelnut oolong from TeaGschwender so I can only imagine they get it from the same source.

This has a much nicer base than Adagio’s Hazelnut, no bitter ceylon, just a nice roasted oolong, good looking leaves as well, though it is hard to differentiate where the natural nut note in the oolong end and the hazelnut flavor begins, which may be a good thing. I have to admit I was a tad disappointed that this wasn’t darker, sweeter and richer, but it does taste like hazelnuts, like eating the nuts themselves and in this way the blend is successful.

I may just have to try this with extra leaf and bit of sugar the next time I make it, to try to meet my unrealistic expectations. The samples were generous enough for multiple servings. Glad I got to try it, will write my review on Zen Tea’s website after a second session. Thanks again to Zen Tea for their generosity, I’m looking forward to the roasted Tieguanyins!

Edit: enjoying this today, following the given brewing parameters for 12 mins, I also put in two rock sugar crystals. It is better, the hazelnut is fully present and it has a touch of sweet, but the oolong still feels “thin”. May end up blending my last teaspoon with Adagio’s hazlenut black oh wait I didn’t like that one at all or a straight black for more body. Edit edit: I did add a bit of Bailin Gonfu Black Organic from Teavirve to the second steep and based on the smell I thought I had created a delicious Nutella tea, but alas tis bitter, until the last sip which is dark and cool and sweet. So there is promise there, just probably need a lower temp, steep time and make it a first infusion. Yeah this aftertaste is quite delicious.

This is a free sample from “Zen Tea.” Thank you, Zen! I understand I have some presents on the way from your store!

When I opened the pouch, I thought, “Coffee! Foofy coffee shop flavored coffee all creamy and with too many calories!” I forgot this had hazelnut and thought it was just the vanilla until I looked at the description again! Ah yes, thus the deep, dark, rich aroma.

Now that I am sniffing the steeped tea, I can definitely tell this is hazelnut I am smelling. I think Bossa Nova is a great name for this tea. It evokes a sultry, somewhat sensual atmosphere. Think dark coffee house with slow freeform jazz, poetry readings, and bookish sorts wearing glasses that shouldn’t be sexy but they are. The glasses, I mean.

I could be wrong since I don’t drink coffee, but this seems like a tea that a coffee lover would love to drink. I don’t think I would drink this when I wanted an oolong experience, sitting quietly and experiencing all the changes of the different steeps, closing my eyes to focus in aftertaste. I think I would drink this just to evoke the atmosphere, playing some jazz, and writing letters to friends or chatting with one who is sharing a pot of tea with me.

Thanks to Zen Tea for a sample of this tasty-sounding tea!

Another tea I’m a bit apprehensive to try due to mixed reviews, but here goes nothing! The tea from the packet smells tasty enough… sure, the flavouring smells artificial, but sometimes that works. I’m not opposed to artificial flavouring if it tastes good! :D It does smell nutty to me, with vanilla undertones. So far so good!

After a couple sips, I have to say that the flavouring is working for me more than it did for most, I think. I’m tasting a lingering nuttiness and some delicious sweetness. I’m having trouble picking out the oolong, but it’s certainly a better choice than a black base, in my opinion. There is definitely an artificial taste going on here, but it’s not a huuuuge problem for me (ok, until I got a sip that was very artificial-tasting).

All in all, probably a pretty decent tea for tea newbs, but a touch too artificial for me. I do still like it enough that I’ll finish it, but I probably wouldn’t purchase more.

ETA: Second infusion had somewhat of a bitter note. Although I drank the infusion, I did discard the leaves.

i have a box of over 100 swap samples now and this morning i dug around in it in the dark until i had a few in my hand that seemed varied. i threw them in my purse and went to work.
this is my first taste from my swap with KallieBoo!
i immediately felt really lucky to have my random pick in the dark to be such a tasty tea! my cup was empty very quickly. i am NOT a gal to turn down hazelnut or vanilla in a tea. and hellyeah this one has both.

I don’t mind this. I really enjoy hazelnut, which was apparent right away. It does taste a tad bit artificial as others have mentioned. I do really enjoy nutty teas though, so I don’t imagine I will have any trouble drinking this!

Seems like an odd combo – hazelnut and oolong? It’s pretty good though. I enjoyed it, even if it was slightly artificial tasting. Drinking the rest of my 1oz pack won’t be any trouble, but I probably won’t rush out to get more.