2816 Tasting Notes
Naivetea gets it right! This tea is so right for me!
Thanks to this thread on Steepster I discovered Naivetea:
http://steepster.com/discuss/1832-having-a-love-affair-with-flavored-oolong-teas
I tried a few of their plain high altitude oolongs and they are delightful on their own. I’m not sure which tea they are using as the base of their flavored tea but it sure seems to work for me. The passionfruit infusion is sweet and simple, I definitely know it’s there but it doesn’t overwhelm me with a cloying sensation, just a nice juicy fruit flavor. And it also lends itself well to soymilk if you should happen to want a creamier dessert type of experience. I am so happy with this blend, the only thing I’m not so happy about is the price, 2 oz for $16 (but volume discounts apply). Still, what is worse than spending a lot of money on a bunch of crappy tea you can’t even stand? And, you can infuse this multiple times.
This is truly a winner in my book. Wheee!!!
Preparation
My perplexity with Teavana, and more specifically, their marketing department appears to be growing.
With a name like Toasted Nut Brulee Oolong, I naturally expected this tea to taste like nuts. The problem is there is so much else going on here: roobois, apple, pineapple, coconut, cardamom. The flavors are conflicting and the tea is schizophrenic. To me it seems more like it should be called a tropical tea? In any event, it is at least drinkable and not unpleasant.
Can anyone recommend a flavored oolong that really does taste like nuts?
Preparation
Teavana is almost exclusively over-priced nonsense. Their primary goal is to sell you an over-priced tea set. Failing that, they sell you over-priced tea.
yeah I have some issues with them myself.. lol
This is one of my absolute favorite teas that I think is reasonably priced. I’ve found after branching out to places like David’s tea/Adagio teas that their tastes tend to be hit and miss as well. I doubt there are many places that have all great wonderful perfect tasting teas as it goes by a tea-by-tea basis. I think Teavana is so large that they’re much more open to criticism than other tea companies. It sucks that you haven’t liked the teas you’ve spent money one though, tough break :( I have a ton of Adagio teas that are just blah.
I’ve had a few from them i’ve liked. The papaya oolong and the white ayurvedic chai are pretty good. I just don’t think this tea tastes like toasted nuts or brulee… agree on Adagio and David’s tea, I’ve had a few lame ones from them myself so it isn’t just Teavana ;-)
Oh yeah this this tea definitely doesn’t taste like a brulee in the traditional sense, so it is disappointing to get a tea that doesn’t taste like what you thought you were buying. I guess I’m just lucky that I like this particular blend!
A few unrelated responses:
1) My primary gripe with Teavana is that their in-store sales tactics are well documented and their primary goal is to sell tea sets, not tea. The margins are much better on the hardware, and they know it, so just walking in the door, if you look around at all someone is rushing up trying to pressure you into buying a set. I hate high pressure sales. Especially when it results in them trying to avoid selling you a to-go cup or loose tea. So, at least for me, it isn’t just slagging a big company — I love buying tea from TeaGeschwendner, Republic of Tea, Argo Tea (retail)… it is that Teavana just has a really crummy business model based on profits, not tea. There are too many independent, struggling tea shops to patronize a giant that treats you poorly — if you have a choice (I know not everyone does).
2) The Houston Galleria location deliberately over-fills bags of loose tea way beyond what you asked for and then tries to convince you to pay for all of it. So our local iteration of the brand is particularly bad. By contrast, the location in Northbrook Court (IL) is a very pleasant place to be with great staff and service — just very expensive for what you’re getting.
3) They offer very few non-flavored teas.
4) The few non-flavored they offer aren’t remotely price competitive for the quality of the leaf.
5) I was completely underwhelmed with Adagio at their price points as well.
I’ve heard a lot of negative things about their sales tactics when you go to one of their stores but I ordered this from their website so I was spared the experience.
I was underwhelmed by most of the teas on their website.
Did you ever try Teaopia’s Creamy Nut Oolong? IMHO a good, nuttily flavoured oolong :) Not that it’s available anymore, sigh.
Krystaleyn – no I never had that… oh well!
I really need to make my way to a Teaopia (if they’re still Teaopia and not Teavana now) and see if there’s any more left… it’s really quite good. If we swap again I can pass some on. :)
sounds good!
I stopped into Peet’s and got this on my way to work. Not sure if it is EXTRA fancy but it seems to be pretty good. ;-) I’ve definitely had some assams that were maltier and richer than this one but it’s good to know I can get a decent cup of tea when I’m out and about. I am pretty sure I could not drink this one plain. It needed a decent amount of soymilk to make it smooth and mellow out the tang.
I do wish all tea was on a standardized rating system, and it was not the SFTGFOP system which, let’s face it, barely makes anything vaguely resembling sense. But at least, for the teas to which it is applied, it gives you an objective measure to compare teas. Labels like “extra fancy” sound more like marketing than grading, and yet you see them in frequent use to distinguish leaf qualities — but what does it mean ?
I truly don’t know. I think it is more of a marketing term to mean “it’s fancier than the less fancy stuff we have.” hee hee.
I just learned of Peet’s today. There is a tin of it in the office I’m temping in. Of course it is right next to two huge boxes of Lipton tea bag…“sigh”
Go for the Peet’s! :)
Overall this isn’t half bad compared to some of Teavana’s other blends I haven’t been enjoying too much. It is difficult to taste any green tea in here, it brews up PINK and the fruit flavors are predominant. Thankfully the hibiscus takes a back seat in this blend (I’m not really a fan). I think I can taste the bamboo which gives it another interesting dimension. I will try brewing this up with some extra plain green tea to see what happens. Not totally blown away by it but it was pretty tasty in my opinion.
Pretty nice for a fruit tisane and one of my favorite teas of this type (see my previous note). I still think it could use a little more cinnamon and less hibiscus. I actually downgraded this recently due to the amount of hibiscus in it. I might try adding some of my own cinnamon the next time I brew this, and maybe a clove or two. Also I have noticed it is a bad idea to add soy milk to any tea that has hibiscus in it!!!
I recommend Celestial Seasonings Sugar Plum Spice. Any tart/hibiscus flavor is overshadowed by spice, and lots of it! My mother hates anything with hibiscus but loves this one…and it’s definitely one of my faves, even if it is bagged. :)
thanks, I will look for it!
I got some more tea from Teavana to try because I really like the papaya oolong. Sadly I am not a real fan of this. I am starting to feel a little meh about Tevana because they seem to be so hit or miss with me. Now onto this tea- the flavor is weak and instead of pear, the hibiscus and apple flavors predominate. I will probably finish it but add in some more plain oolong to make it better.
This tea was weak and unimpressive. It is definitely not one of their better teas, sp I can see how Teavana can be hit or miss.
I’m glad I’m not the only one. :)
Hit or Miss happens with me and every tea company that I’ve tried. I just chalk it up to that’s the way it goes.
okay, I guess I like my tea spicy! This one’s a real eye-opener…
It is a pretty nice blend from Teavana, it’s a bit different because it uses white and green tea. Smells very aromatic and cinnamon-y. The lemongrass is a nice touch and I adore the pepper. Comparisons with red hot candy are pretty well on the mark… It’s a good afternoon tea for me. However I doubt I will buy this again because it just hasn’t made that much of an impression upon me.
My, my, this is quite a tasty tea. You should know that I actually hate red rooibos which is in this blend, so I’m even more surprised that I like it. The predominant notes here are the yummy spices, cinnamon, star anise and cardamom especially. They overpower the rooibos – I’m excited! I did use a lot of tea per water here, probably about 2 tablespoons. That makes it a bit pricey for the sampler but it is so worth it. A fabulous dessert tea. I added soymilk and a pinch of sugar to mine. I’ll be getting more of this to keep me toasty in the San Francisco rainy season… :)
I am actually upping my rating on this today. I was having a wussy cup of tea and thought to myself, where is that Laoshan black stuff? I must have some now!
Good morning world!
Well if this tea does not wake you up and make an impression upon you, you are probably dead.
Very chocolate-y, malty and dark. Pretty delicious! I am loving this with some soymilk this morning. Definitely a great morning cup of tea if you want something a bit stronger. Thankfully I do not detect any bitterness here which is a great thing for moi. If you miss the taste of coffee you will most likely adore this.
Preparation
It’s a shame you cannot buy more….
@Charles- You will definitely be able to buy more if you are willing to wait one more week. The new harvest of the Laoshan Black is supposed to be excellent, and is on its way. The progress can be tracked on the new live tracking page: http://verdanttea.com/november-shipment-live-tracking/
I will post an update note on the teas that are out when they get back in. (This, Tieguanyin, Cornfields, etc)
I like the tasting note- I am glad that it was strong enough to stand as a morning cup with soy milk. I will have to try that some time.
Thank you!
@David – Hurray! I’m sure we will all be keen to try the new shipment of tea. :)
Thanks David.
Nice to see that it got you, Amy. This one gets me every time I try it. I brewed it up this morning again, and remembered just how much I love the stuff. Even when I’m away for a while, indulging my affections in a fine golden needle black, this Laoshan tea is always there in my mind – confidently and quietly saying, “You’ll be back…”
@Geoffrey I will be getting some more when it comes in… oh yes…
Nice- I just went through 10 samples of golden needle today for fun and found myself thinking the same thing- where is that Laoshan Black? I am excited to see how the family perfects this with their second batch this autumn, though I am not sure how they will improve on the first.
Happy tasting,
David
Hello tea friends,
I will be sending an official notice in the next day or two, but I wanted to let you know that the Laoshan Black is in stock again. We now have the new autumn harvest. The tasting notes will be updated soon, but I can say that it is pretty phenomenal so far.
Hurrah!!!
