Coconut black tea review (#46)

Flavored black tea
Margaret's Fine Imports

Ingredients: Black tea, natural coconut flavors, dried coconut.

This dry tea looks great and smells nice. It is black tea with actual coconut shavings in it. But as much as I love coconut, the flavor does not translate very well.

The coconut tastes a little off, like the heat is too much for it. I should try making sun tea, actually. When does the sun come out next in Pittsburgh?

There's a slightly oily look to the top of the hot tea. The flavor is similar hot and iced. It works iced with mango and peach, but only in small amounts.

I give it a thumbs up for the simplicity of the ingredients, if not for the end result.

I am really excited to show you a special tea tomorrow: a smoky black tea from Pipers Coffee & Tea.

Tea Club January: Maharaja Chai Oolong (#43), Golden Monkey (#44), Samurai Chai Mate (#45)

The tea club welcome kit.


 
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Maharaja Chai Oolong
Flavored oolong
Teavana

Ingredients: Cinnamon, oolong tea, ginger pieces, carob pieces, chicory root, artificial flavoring, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom.

The dry tea smells strongly of chicory. Or maybe that's just the artificial flavoring, but who's counting?

Cinnamon and clove scent the steeped tea. The tea is polite and warming. It doesn't have the longevity of a real oolong (the 2nd steep wasn't worth it), but the 1st steep is nice.



So much flavor dust!




An oversized tea ball for it to open up. The yellow cup is lighter than I expected.

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Golden Monkey
Black tea
Teavana

Ingredients: Black tea.

The dry tea has a light earthy smell similar to oolong, with a hint of dried grass or straw. The pieces are thin with downy hairs.

The cup has a lovely warm smell. The liquor is an orange brown. The taste is in between a breakfast tea and a Chinese restaurant tea.

I got a 2nd steep out of it. I like it!



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Samurai Chai Mate
Flavored mate
Teavana

Ingredients: Green mate, green rooibos, cinnamon, candied pineapple pieces (pineapple, sugar), candied papaya pieces (papaya, sugar), orange peels, artificial flavoring, lemongrass, anise seed, coriander, cardamom.

The dry tea smells like a grassy lemon candy. The chai smell is evident as it steeps. It makes a yellow cup.

This was fun because I have never had green mate or green rooibos before. An uplifting taste with some sweetness.

Bonus! A sample of the Majaraja Chai Oolong and Samurai Chai Mate mixed together, with rock sugar.

Interesting to see a blend of tea blends.

Next time I'll show you a tropical black tea.

Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose (#42)

Flavored green tea
Margaret's Fine Imports

Ingredients: Luxury green Sencha tea, rose petals, natural flavors.

The dry tea smells incredible! It's a cheerful but deep yellow cup with the sweet scent of cherry, lightened by rose.

You'd think cherry and rose would be overpowering in the cup, but it's perfect. It smells like an invitation to Kyoto, Japan, in the spring. The green tea is a little earthy, too.

According to Margaret's Fine Imports, "Sencha is commonly used in Japanese tea ceremonies marking events of personal importance" (read more here).

This is a really great quality tea. I'm careful with the first steep, to get the tannins just right, and I usually steep it three times.

Be gentle handling this tea, because the delicate Sencha pieces can break easily and leave a dust.

My cat smelled it for a strangely long time.

Next time I'll show you what came in my January tea club shipment!

Mountain Oolong (#41)

Oolong
Gryphon's Tea

Ingredients: Chinese oolong.

The dry tea smells of mushroom and pepper. I gave the leaves a hot water rinse and then settled in for a 3 minute steep.

The cup has an amber color, and still smells strongly of mushroom. The first taste has a nice musk to it. I hardly need to use any tea because it has a lot of flavor.

The second cup, also at 3 minutes, is a bit lighter in color. I will start increasing steep times after this one. This second cup has a similar smell but less mushroom in the taste.

The third steep was 4 minutes. This steep is really good! I'm enjoying seeing how the flavors mellow out.

Huge pieces!

According to Gryphon's Tea: "The mountain oolong is just that, a chinese oolong. Organic, with a dark leaf but a sweet light color and flavor. Tastes a bit like a green tea but with a rich finish and mouth feel that lingers."

Great tea! Enjoy the view from my kitchen.

Next time I'll review a precious tea of Kyoto.

Mad Hatter Tea Twitter Gift

Mad Hatter Tea

I won a Twitter contest! Look what the delightful Mad Hatter (@Mad_Hatter_Tea) sent.

To order this tea in the US, contact Mad Hatter Tea's official US agent, Wondrland Mickey:
https://www.facebook.com/WondrlandMickey
https://twitter.com/MickeyWondrland

The round ones are for tea cups and pots.

The tall ones are for drinking from a paper cup.

THANK YOU Mad Hatter Tea!!

Dobra Tea: Matcha, Oolong bubble tea, Moroccan Mint

My ideal Super Bowl Sunday: TEA at Dobra Tea!

Let's go to Dobra Tea!

To obtain tea, one must ring a bell.

Did they hear?

Shoes have been removed.

Our neighbors have vacated.

Yes, I would like one lamp for my home please.

Matcha Kyoto! It is grassy and surreally uplifting.

A sweet mochi-type treat must be had with it to balance the flavor. Drink it after a meal. Not good for an empty stomach. Luckily, we had just gone to Ramen Bar.

*upbeat music as matcha is swirled*

The BEST bubble tea I've ever had! Oolong with rice milk! Perfectly refreshing. The tapioca pearls had the best sweetness level and texture.

For dessert: Moroccan Mint.

It seems to taste more like spearmint than peppermint. It has a thick, sweet texture. It is poured out of the teapot from a height to get the pour right. Delight.

Mint leaves.

Goodbye!

Assam (TGFOP) (#40)

Black tea

Margaret's Fine Imports

Ingredients: Luxury black tea (Assam TGFOP, 2nd flush).

Consider this my heartfelt recommendation:

The dry tea smells earthy but fresh and light. Once steeped, it smells sweet but almost a bit smoky. The taste is incredibly smooth with great flavor. I love it for breakfast, but it'll be a favorite at any time of day! Really great tea!

Nothing can compare to Mad Hatter Tea, but this Assam echoes what I love of its flavor.

Ikea spice (ahem, tea) jar.

But what's TGFOP? Read more about tea grades here. TGFOP means Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. (And, "orange" does not mean orange, but may refer to the Dutch House of Orange.)

In short... I LOVE this tea.

Next time I'll review a new oolong, one that's more on the oxidized side.