The Tao of Tea

This is fantastic. I love the Bergamot in Earl Grey teas. The combination of the richeness in the darjeeling leaves and the citrius notes coming from the bergamot creates a well rounded flavor. A friend of mine loves to use a warmer water temperature and then add some soy milk to it, she finds the flavor to die for. If you are looking for a rich and deep flavor, deffinately try this one out.

This is one of my favorite teas. The pine smell alone is intoxicating and reminds me of going camping. The tea is quite nice. Very smooth.

Visited the Tao of Tea shop yesterday and among my purchases was this oolong tea. I asked the attendant for one that has a “buttery” flavor. First pick was the Ali Shan but they were out so this was the next best option. I picked up a can. To keep freshness, each of the two ounces in the beautiful tin was shrink-wrapped.

The leaf of this tea are tightly curled and a dark forest green in color with some lighter yellow-green color showing in places. The aroma of the dry leaf did indeed have the buttery flavoring, but it was not strong.

I steeped the leaf in about 185 degree water for 3 minutes. It came out a pale yellow with a hint of green to it. The aroma of the brew was wonderful. The flavor of the brew is equally wonderful with a smooth buttery flavor that is not overpowering. This is a great evening tea. I’m enjoying my 2nd steeping and I believe I will get another one easily, maybe more from this quality tea.

This is currently my favorite store-bought tea. It is very flexible with regards to temperature: steeps well at cool temperatures as well as at nearly boiling (though boiling water does taste noticeably worse). It is also very flexible as regards steep time: it gets a nice full flavor steeped lightly (under 3 minutes), but when I’ve forgot and left the leaves in the water for more than 8-10 minutes, it doesn’t taste over-steeped. It does seem to demand a rinse, though a few seconds’ cold water rinse is all it really takes. Delicious, and I enjoy it at any time of day (though I have to be careful not to drink too late in the day…)

This is a great evening tea. It’s hardly oxidized so very low caffeine content. It’s leaf is from the tips of the plant and is a downy light weight leaf. I like to refer to these type of white teas as “fluffy” teas. I use a scales to weigh out the proper amount as using a spoon and the volume it fills doesn’t work so good with fluffy teas. The leaf of this one is light greenish brown and has a soft texture. I steeped 2 minutes at a reduced temp of 165 degrees F.

This tea steeps up a pale yellow. The brew being a white is subtle to begin with. I did not add anything to this brew wanting to enjoy the full flavor it offers. Its taste is slightly nutty with hints of smokiness and a little roasty, with some honey notes tossed in. It’s a great white tea. I was able to steep a second time with no problem, adding about another minute the second time. The leaf opened up even further the 2nd time. I find this one a great tea to wind down with after a long day.

Enjoyed this excellent assam with my breakfast today. It’s leaf is nice a tippy, it’s brew a dark amber. It has a nice malty flavor that is smooth and bold but not too strong. Yummm!

As the leaves are so large and airy, I doubled the amount of tea I used to 2 teaspoons per 8 oz and the resulting cup was liquid honey. The liquor was a deeper gold and the sweetness was much more pronounced. Floral honey and apricots. Tao of Tea recommends 1 -2 teaspoons. I think 2 is the winner. This is how I’ll be brewing this tea in the future.

The smell is earthy with a hint of currants. Taste is solid Yunnan, minerally with a gentle honey sweetness. A hint of astringency at 4 minute steep.

I haven’t been overly impressed with other teas I’ve tried from Tao of Tea, but I love this tea. Discovered it at my local co-op (and for $20/lb less than on their website, which I don’t understand, but I’ll take it!) It’s going to be my new ‘everyday’ oolong. Has a light, fresh, slightly fruity taste (the company describes it as nectarine/peaches, while I think apricots).

This end of the work week after lunch tea is a rich brew tea with notes of chocolate and fruit. It’s a very smooth tea with a nice delicious aftertaste. This is a great tea and I highly recommend it.

This morning’s tea is this classic tea from China Hunan province. It’s a tea with wirey leaf that is dark, actually rather black colored with small amounts of gold color occasionally thrown in. The brew is dark with a bold flavor that has notes of fruit and dark chocolate. I drink it black with some sweetener added but you could add dairy to this.

On Monday this was great because it didn’t push me too hard into my morning. Today this was perfect because it was calm and relaxing which is what I needed. I love teas that always seem to be whatever I need them to be.

Uggh. It is Monday. I wanted a tea that would ease me into my day instead of forcing me to accept the fact it is the start of another week. This tea has the name ‘Light Black’ and I had never tried it so I thought this would be a good time to do so.

It has a soft nutty aroma with a little bit of sweetness coming from underneath. The taste is much the same. It does have a drying effect on the back of the tongue but it isn’t unpleasant at all. I quite like this and think it would be good for anyone who might be scared to try a full blown black tea. This does taste like tea, but it is soft, nutty, and sweet which makes it really approachable. Quite happy I chose this to start my day!

As this is just at it’s end of infusion…the scent reminds me of a walk thru a lumber store…very fresh woodsy smelling. The color is a reddish orange. It tastes like it smells with a little sweetness added in. You really can’t smell the spearmint or even taste it during the sip. It’s more of an afterthought-aftertaste effort. It’s ok actually. Not the best but certainly drinkable.

Smells like a pale/mild earl grey
Surprisingly refreshing and mellow.
Not to shabby.

Man, I can’t get enough of this tea. It’s got all the flavor of Rooibos, but none of the back-of-the-throat medicine flavor. Very smooth but still very flavorful.

I like to drink the less caffeinated teas in the evening to minimize sleep interference. I selected this one from the cupboard. It’s a light “fluffy” tea (as I refer to them since they are feather light for their volume.) The leaf has a fine fuzzy feel to it and olive green in color. The curl of the leaf tips is lengthwise from the out edges (right and left) inwards resulting in a folded look. It’s a beautiful shape. The brew comes out a pale yellow. I didn’t add any sweetener so as to not drown out the already subtle taste. The flavor is smooth and slightly nutty, sweet and very pleasant. There is no vegetal or “grassy” flavoring to this tea. It’s just a really great tea to mellow out on.

This tea is dried organic lemongrass, pure and simple, which I suppose to some people would mean that it isn’t really tea. Whether it counts as tea or not, it’s excellent. The lemongrass has a strong, bright flavor, and the aroma is wonderful. Since it’s herbal, it also works well as a nighttime tea. Definitely one of my favorite herbal teas.

Hmmm