Cusa Tea – Premium Instant Tea Review

I came across Cusa Tea at the World Tea Expo. I was reluctant to try as instant tea is generally not that great, and I’ve had a few run ins with other instant tea sellers who disliked my review as they claimed their tea is better than loose leaf tea (like whaaaat?). I had a sample as was actually pretty impressed with Cusa Tea’s product, which is fast tea for people on the go. What sets Cusa Tea apart from the other instant teas is the material is all USDA organic. They also use a different method to instant their tea by… Continue reading, hoot!

2016 Winter Charcoal Dong Ding (aka 3 Roast) from Floating Leaves Tea

Floating Leaves Tea is the place for oolong, but if you want their best it is their Dong Dings and roasted teas. I’m no stranger to their Winter Charcoal Dong Ding that is thrice roasted, it is a tea that I’ve tea drunkenly purchased twice (too bad not thrice) despite having some already, and one I’ve enjoyed in shop a few times. Shiuwen Tai of Floating Leaves Tea has told us many tales of the Charcoal Master who made this tea, as well many other stories of Dong Ding Mountain. However those stories are not mine to tell. If you are interested in… Continue reading, hoot!

Korean Hwangcha from Teas Unique

I’m always on the hunt for more Korean teas. Teas Unique is a US based seller that has sourced 4 regions of Korean Teas, with a big range of single estate Green (with a range of pluckings), Oxidized, and Powder. I decided to try Teas Unique’s oxidized tea line. They have two unflavored Hwangchas, from a different region and picking. The similarities are they are both organic, hand picked, and hand processed teas. Korean Boseong Sejak Hwangcha is roasted, from Unrim Village/ Boseong County, and is a second picking. Korean Mt. Jiri Joonjak Hwangcha is pan fried, and from Mt. Jiri/… Continue reading, hoot!

April 2017 White2Tea Club feat Dancong Drinking Experiment

April 2017 White2Tea Club! This month features two oolongs – Milan and Yesheng Dancong, and a couple 2017 Grandpa’s Ripe Balls. I was torn on what to do for this review at first. This is a lot of dancong to get through for 2 days, especially if I follow the instructions thoroughly. I am also scared of drinking the recent (March) pressed shou – I personally prefer time on these and my gut will unkindly remind me why after the session is complete. I decided to forgo the 2017 Grandpa’s Ripe Balls for now, I will drink it once it has calmed down. If you… Continue reading, hoot!

Pine Oolong and Honey Red Jade from Golden Tea Leaf

I came across Golden Tea Leaf at the last World Tea Expo. Golden Leaf Tea had some delicious tea, but also award winning tea. Both teas I will be tasting today placed in the North American World Tea Championships, Pine Oolong first place and Honey Red Jade third place. Pine Oolong Pine Oolong is a blend of two Taiwanese High Mountain teas. Which high mountain teas? They don’t say, so I guess a trade secret? I was only given sachets that contained 3 grams of leaf. The tea inside the sachets look great and appear to be whole leaf. With two sachets, I was able… Continue reading, hoot!

Winter Alishan and Roasted Dong Ding from Tillerman Tea

Time for some winter oolongs! Today we have Tillerman Tea‘s 2016 winter Alishan and Roasted Dong Ding. 2016 Winter Alishan Oolong Gorgeous dry leaf here! The leaf is big, emerald bright green, with a mouth watering buttery scent. I did this gongfu style, 1 gram to 15ml of leaf, steeping with boiling water and fast infusions. The tea steeps up a light marigold with a soft floral scent. Interestingly, the hot leaf smells like flowers and sticky rice. First, Second, and Third Infusion: Winter Alishan sips in soft, floral and notes of linen and snap peas, with a heavy cream body.… Continue reading, hoot!

Fujian Rain & Fujian Baroque from Adagio Teas

Lets try a couple of Adagio Teas Fujian Teas – Fujian Rain and Fujian Baroque! Right off the bat I noticed something odd with my samples. On the website, they don’t post the weight of their samples, other than “X cups”. With the samples in my possession, I learn that Fujian Rain is a 14 gram sample, whereas Fujian Baroque says 23 grams. Looking at the website, both teas aren’t sold in a consistent size either – Rain is sold in 2oz/8oz, Baroque 3oz/16oz, but close in unit price. That said, the next person who asks me, “How big are Adagio’s… Continue reading, hoot!

Will it Gongfu? Oolong Edition

We must ask the age old question…. Will it Gongfu? I’m sure it has been burning a hole in your gaiwan on whether non-gongfu typical teas will gongfu. There is quite a lot of things to cover, so just oolong for today. Will it Gongfu? Flavored Oolong I will be using Banana Oolong from 52 Teas. I admit, this tea is old and I need to drink it before it goes funky. However, this is a good blend that has things I like to see in a flavored tea – mostly tea (not trail mix), true to flavor, and does not have… Continue reading, hoot!

Art of Tea Oolong Review

Today’s review is four oolongs from Art of Tea – Rose Oolong, 12:00 PM, Orchid Oolong, and Wuyi Oolong. I haven’t had Art of Tea in awhile, but I recall them having some pretty nice teas oolongs like Mandarin Silk and 99% Oxidized Purple Oolong. Rose Oolong – The dry leaf has a strong rose scent, up there on that potpourri vibe. For the reviews today, I did western style, but I also used my grandpa mug (The Wall by Boreal Wildcraft) so I can get an extended infusion for fun. For this oolong, I steeped 5 grams, 200F for… Continue reading, hoot!

Create Your Own Tea – Purify Tea

I have a lot of fun at these “Create Your Own Tea” shops. Purify Tea has some excellent teas and herbs to choose from, along with a great interface. The blend you make at Purify tea is all natural, no artificial added flavoring – the tea and herbals you choose make the flavor. They have 10 tea bases to choose from  at this time – Kenyan Garden, Imperial Puer, Mountain Ceylon, Himalayan Caramel, Ocean Sencha, Jasmine Allure, Honey Rooibos, White Spring, Chocolate Oolong, and Golden Darjeeling. I am really impressed with their base selection, especially with a Nepal black, Indian White, and… Continue reading, hoot!