Tea Adventure: “The Gillespie” (Black Tea) from Tea and Jazz House

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


“The Gillespie” (Black Tea) from The Tea and Jazz House [More info]This is a Flavored Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Every time my humans check out the Tea and Jazz House web site, it seems that improvements have been made. One is the addition of links to information about the jazz artists for which the teas have been named. This time is jazz legend John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, the father of Be-bop, a style of jazz. A true prodigy, he began playing piano at the age of four. Let’s see if this tea, with it’s combination of oil of bergamot, vanilla, and almond slivers added to black tea, is a prodigy among flavored teas.

The Tea Gang members gathered round to take a good look at the tea in dry form in the plastic pouch (it smells as good as it looks, a balance of oil of bergamot, vanilla, and almond):

I did the steeping honors here. Libre Tea Steeping Mug claimed he was on hand to supervise but really he was waiting his chance to steep some himself, claiming this tea is a perfect one for him. I suspect he’s right!

Boiling water is best. But keep the steeping time to no more than 3 minutes. You will get full flavor but nothing unpleasant. The first steep was reddish brown in color with an aroma where vanilla and almonds dominated and a flavor that was a mix of all the ingredients. A true sample of where the dry tea aroma doesn’t necessarily match the flavor and aroma of the steeped liquid. (Remember this the next time you’re in one of those tea shops and admiring the scent. Ask them to steep up a bit for you to taste.) My humans thought it could use just a touch of sweetener, though.

A second steep is not recommended here. It’s too light and weak in flavor, with a bitterness from the oil of bergamot. No worries, though, since the price is reasonable.

The flavor of this tea got me in a festive spirit, so I called on my buddy, Holly Mug, to serve up the tea. One problem, though, she’s almost as big as me and holds about as much. That red tray helped set the mood. This is a true holiday tea and can easily satisfy your craving for something special during all those parties and thus keep you from over indulging.

You never know what new flavors and site features you’ll find on Mary’s site. While there, take a few minutes to listen to her music. Tea and jazz. A flavorful combination.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Apricot Green Tea from The Boston Tea Company

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Apricot Green Tea from The Boston Tea Company [More info]This is a Flavored Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

No, you’re not seeing double. Yes, this tea was reviewed here as a chilled tea.

Time to see how this tea tastes hot.

Before we begin, this little teapot must say that The Boston Tea Company is changing my humans’ minds about flavored teas. This and other flavored teas we have tried from them are not some garbage tea with a bunch of stuff added to them to fool customers into buying them. They start with good tea and add quality ingredients. The tea flavor comes through that way, plus you can get more than one steep with each having good flavor. (No, I’m not saying that is what some of the other vendors we have reviewed have done. But based on the flavor of those teas, it seems so.)

My Tea Gang buddy Little One-Cupper did the steeping here. The dry tea/apricot/sunflower mix was composed of large tea leaf pieces and real pieces of apricot as well as sunflower petals. No skimping here. We heated the water to about 190 F and steeped the first round for 2 minutes. The liquid was a pleasant light yellowish green and had a wonderful apricotty aroma. The flavor was a wonderful combo of green tea and apricot with no bitterness nor a weird aftertaste that some flavored teas have.

I encouraged Little One-Cupper to do another steep (for 2½ minutes) from those same leaves and fruit pieces. He was a bit reluctant, but I as supervisor teapot persuaded him. The second round was as aromatic and flavorful as the first (this little yellow teapot always knows!). I’m even thinking a third round would have been possible.

Our buddies at Boston Tea Company are showing themselves not only to be knowledgeable about tea but to put quality and thought into their blended teas and flavored teas. Neither I nor my humans get any kind of remuneration whatsoever for saying this, but we can strongly recommend this company as one to have on your list of reliable tea sources. Toot!

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Review ― Formosa Oolong from The English Tea Store

The Little Yellow Teapot is now posting his tea adventures with this vendor’s tea exclusively on their blog. The Tea Gang hopes you’ll take a moment to read the article on The English Tea Store Blog.

Steeping in the cup:

See the rest of the article for how it turned out!

Tea Adventure: Giddapahar Musk 2nd Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Giddapahar Musk 2nd Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea [More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Another delightful adventure with a sample sent to my humans by our buddy Benoy at Thunderbolt Tea. These are teas harvested after the second period of growth after waking from their Winter dormancy. The samples he sends are always well-packed in vacuum packed and heat-sealed foil. They use various colors, this one being pink, and sometimes the writing on them is hard to read. No matter. It’s the tea inside that’s important. No steeping instructions come with these teas, our one disappointment, but we just go by past experience.

This Little Yellow Teapot did the steeping honors and served up in a delicate glass teacup and saucer my humans brought home from their trip to a teashop last year. The photo above shows the tea color a bit darker than it was, though.

One whiff of the dry tea leaves says this is premium Darjeeling tea and that Benoy has done his sourcing job well. The aroma was grassy and fruity, and the broken leaf pieces were a mix of dark brown, tan, and green. We steeped twice in water heated to 190° F for 3 minutes each. The liquid was a peachy pink color with a strong fruity character in the aroma. That wonderful characteristic Muscatel flavor was clearly evident in both steepings and became slightly stronger as the liquid cooled.

You could very likely get a couple more very tasty infusions out of the leaves, giving you a lot of value for the money. Another winner from Benoy. Toot!

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Review ― Yorkshire Harrogate from The English Tea Store

The Little Yellow Teapot is now posting his tea adventures with this vendor’s tea exclusively on their blog. The Tea Gang hopes you’ll take a moment to read the article on The English Tea Store Blog.

Tea Adventure: Darjeeling from Home Discount Store

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Darjeeling from Home Discount Store. [More info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

I, your lovable and humble Little Yellow Teapot, did the steeping honors here and recruited one of those high-class bone china teacups and saucers to serve it up to my humans. She was only too happy to oblige.

Having enjoyed Darjeeling teas sourced from particular gardens and flushes, my humans are becoming quite spoiled in respect to this type of tea. They also tried a Darjeeling from another vendor not too long ago and were disappointed, despite that tea having a fairly high reputation. So it was with some trepidation we embarked on a try out of this final sample from Home Discount Store (funny name for a tea vendor, but then they carry more than just great teas at very affordable prices).

This vendor put great steeping guides on the sample packs he sent us. So appreciated.

The wonderful dry tea leaves in the airtight pouch had a sweetish aroma that wasn’t as Muscatel-ish as expected. Ok, not jumping to any conclusions here, though. Time to heat the water. My humans followed the vendor’s instructions to heat it to boiling. They then poured the water in me and I whistled while I steeped. We chose to do a 5-minute steep just to see how it would go. The results were quite satisfying. The tea liquid was a wonderful reddish-brown and had a malty/fruity aroma. The Muscatel character comes through loud and clear in the cup with no bitterness and a slightly fruity aftertaste.

We ventured a second steeping but with very dissatisfying results. The aroma and flavor were barely there. Just goes to show that you can get either a strong first steep and stop there or you’ll need to shorten the steep time to 3 minutes or so and then get two nice steeps. The choice, as always dear humans, is yours.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Saffron Chai from Jaipur Avenue

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Saffron Chai from Jaipur Avenue [More company info]This is a Flavored Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

This is the last review out of five samples my humans received from Jaipur Avenue. Instant teas are usually not something I or my humans care for, but we have overall been pleasantly surprised by these instant chais. Our issue with this one was not its form but the saffron.

Just as with the first four tryouts, my buddy Glass Teamug did the honors here so you could see every drop while I posed nearby in my snazzy supervisory sash. That foil like pouch the tea mix comes in tears open easily and makes it perfect for taking along any place you’re going. It’s also simple to prepare. Just empty the contents into your mug, boil about 8 ounces of water, add 2 ounces to the powder and stir vigorously to get the powder dissolved, then add the remaining 6 ounces and do a final stir.

As I said earlier, the saffron is a bit of an issue here. My humans love basmati rice with saffron, and that spice goes well in a number of dishes and is highly prized by chefs. However, there is something not quite right about it in this tea, and there is a bit of an unpleasant aftertaste (just slight, thankfully). Overall, it’s not quite what we expect from spiced tea but still has some appeal and is quite drinkable, especially if you are looking for an alternative to sugary cocoa or caffeine-laden coffees.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Cranberry Lemon Black Tea from The Boston Tea Company

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:

Cranberry Lemon Black Tea from The Boston Tea Company [More info]This is a Flavored Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

No, you’re not seeing double. Yes, this tea was reviewed here as a chilled tea.

Time to see how this tea tastes hot.

First, check out the vendor’s label. So appreciated! Some vendors just put a label with the tea name on the package and leave it up to you to check their website for the rest of the story. This isn’t a bad idea and certainly saves them a bit of money, but that little bit of extra effort is a nice touch here.

Second, usually the vendor sends samples to us in loose form (especially since my humans gripe about bagged teas), but this one arrived in sachets. Ever being the sort of humans who make lemonade out of lemons, they decided to look at this packaging to see how it can be a benefit to folks like you. Other vendors have similar packaging, too. Let’s face it, a lot of you out there need and prefer the convenience of bagged tea. This little teapot understands. You certainly get that here. Each sachet comes in its own plastic package, so you can carry them in your pocket, purse, briefcase or backpack. And each steeps up a hot, tasty cup of tea. My humans took a different route here, though, than you might. They cut open the sachet and dumped the loose leaves along with the fruit pieces into the cup-sized infuser.

Here are the dry tea leaves (a nice broken leave black tea) with fruit pieces waiting patiently in the infuser for the water to boil:

We steeped a full 5 minutes, but per the vendor’s label, you could steep for 3 minutes, which might then leave enough flavor in this mix for a second steeping.

Just as with the chilled version, the taste when hot was light on the cranberry and a bit heavy on the lemon. There was no bitterness, though, and my humans drank it straight with no puckering. You might want a bit of sweetener, in which case a nice tupelo honey would be a great option.

Our buddies at Boston Tea Company are showing themselves not only to be knowledgeable about tea but to put quality and thought into their blended teas and flavored teas. Neither I nor my humans get any kind of remuneration whatsoever for saying this, but we can strongly recommend this company as one to have on your list of reliable tea sources. Toot!

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Orient Express Pack Tea #3 (Gyokuro Yamashiro) from Davids Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:



Gyokuro Yamashiro (part of the Orient Express Tea Pack) from Davids Tea [More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

This is the third in a trio of teas in their cute little box and named Orient Express that we received a little while ago. We started with the one on the left (Korean Sejak), moved on to the one in the middle (Dragonwell), and are rounding things up with the one on the right (Gyokuro Yamashiro).

Just as with the first two, that faithful Little White Teacup did the steeping honors, aided by the infuser basket so the leaves had plenty of room to spread out and infuse, yet lifted out clean. The little tin had a tight seal that kept the leaves inside as fresh as when they were packed inside it. Their aroma and appearance were pure Gyokuro (a high-grade Japanese green tea), with a dark green color, thin needly shape, and fresh, slightly grassy aroma.

The vendor information about the tea under the box lid was in French and English, with the important info being understandable in any language: heat water to 74 C and steep for 1 minute. Don’t overheat the water or steep longer than the recommended time, or your tea will be too strong. (You can click on the image below to see a larger, more readable version.)

Little White Teacup did three steepings, and was careful not to overdo. The tea was smooth feeling, and the seafoody aroma in the cup did not come through on the palate fortunately but was a little planty instead.

The highest priced of the trio, so you might want to try this tea as part of the Davids Tea Orient Express 3-pack before buying a larger quantity. Being such a highly prized tea, imitations abound, so be sure to buy from reputable dealers like this one. My humans wanted to let you know that this sample pack would be a great gift for any tea lover on your list this Christmas and is sized perfectly to fit into those stockings hanging in front of the fireplace. Hint! Hint!

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Orient Express Pack Tea #2 (Dragonwell) from Davids Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:



Dragonwell (part of the Orient Express Tea Pack) from Davids Tea [More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

This is the second in a trio of teas in their cute little box and named Orient Express that we received a little while ago. We started with the one on the left (Korean Sejak). Time for the next adventure with the one in the middle (Dragonwell). (We’ll finish up with the one on the right - Gyokuro Yamashiro.)

Just as with the Korean Sejak, that faithful Little White Teacup did the steeping honors, with the infuser basket giving the leaves plenty of room to spread out and infuse, yet lifting out clean. The little tin had a tight seal that kept the leaves inside as fresh as when they were packed inside it. Their aroma and appearance were typical Dragonwell (also called “Longjing” and “Lung Ching”), that is, broad flat leaf pieces in a lighter green/brown color with a haylike aroma (more toward the fresh cut side but a bit dried).

The vendor information about the tea under the box lid was in French on one side and English on the other, but the important info is understandable in any language: heat water to 82 C and steep for 3 to 4 minutes.

Little White Teacup did three steepings: 3 minutes, 3.5 minutes, and 4 minutes. Each steeping was green tea heaven, starting out dark yellow, a bit cloudy, smooth feeling, and having a flavor like cooked greens (but not spinachy) and with a rich, mild aroma that some say is like boiled seafood. The subsequent steeps were each lighter in flavor and aroma yet still flavorful.

This Chinese green tea used to be reserved for the Emperor and High Officials. Now, you can buy Davids Tea’s version for a very reasonable price, or get this 3-pack as a great way to try it out.

A word of caution: Dragonwell is so popular that fake versions have appeared on the market. They are teas that are grown in locations other than the Dragonwell area of Zhejiang Province of China but that have been processed to be similar in appearance. The true taste is unmistakable, though. Deal with reputable vendors like this one to be sure you are getting true Dragonwell tea.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Orient Express Pack Tea #1 (Korean Sejak) from Davids Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:



Korean Sejak (part of the Orient Express Tea Pack) from Davids Tea [More company info]

This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

The Tea Gang welcomed this trio of teas in their cute little box and named Orient Express a little while ago. Now, it’s time for those teas in those tiny tins to come out and play. We started with the one on the left (Korean Sejak). The next adventure will be of the one in the middle (Dragonwell). Then, we’ll finish up with the one on the right (Gyokuro Yamashiro).

Once again, that faithful Little White Teacup did the steeping honors, since the infuser basket fits into him perfectly. The leaves get plenty of room to spread out and infuse, yet when the basket is lifted out, the leaves come with it. The little tin was a bit tricky to get open. My humans had a struggle unscrewing the lid. Small price to pay for a tight seal that kept the leaves inside as fresh as when they were packed into that tin. Their aroma was like new grass clippings.

The vendor put information about each tea under the box lid, in French on one side and English on the other. Since the company is headquartered in Quebec Province of Canada where French is the official language, this isn’t surprising. The important info is understandable in any language: heat water to 74 C and steep for 2 to 3 minutes.

Little White Teacup did three steepings: 2 minutes, 2.5 minutes, and 3 minutes. The first had a delicate aroma and flavor, not grassy, and the liquid was a yellowy green. The second was a bit more planty but not grassy and the liquid was a bit more yellowish. The third was lighter in aroma and flavor than the first two.

Korean teas are getting more attention among tea lovers these days. Davids Tea’s version is reasonably priced, and having it as part of this three-pack is a great way to try it out.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Risheehat Vintage Spring (CH) First Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Risheehat Vintage Spring (CH) First Flush 2011 from Thunderbolt Tea [More company info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Our buddy Benoy at Thunderbolt Tea sent us some Spring and Summer (First and Second) Flush teas for 2011. These are teas harvested after the first period of growth and second period of growth respectively after they woke from their Winter dormancy. Benoy scouts through the hills and mountains in the Darjeeling area of northern India on his motorbike, going from tea garden to tea garden in a quest for the best teas to bring to his customers. He even gets his young and very cute (for a human) daughter into the taste testing. Toot!

This Little Yellow Teapot did the steeping honors, with my buddy Libre Tea Mug standing by for moral support. (He wanted to wear my supervisory sash, plus this would be a great tea to steep in him.)

The flowers on this teacup aren’t marigolds, a traditional flower used to celebrate the holiday of Diwali in India, but they’re close in appearance, so we thought this would be a fitting vessel in which to serve this wonderful tea:

One whiff of the dry tea leaves says this is premium Darjeeling tea and that Benoy has done his sourcing job well. The aroma was grassy and fruity, and the leaf color was a fresh green. We steeped 3 times in water heated to 180° F for 3 minutes each. That wonderful characteristic Muscatel quality was clearly evident in all three, but the flavor hits the tongue first as planty, with the fruitiness hitting the sides of the mouth a few seconds later. The fruit quality became more prominent with each subsequent steeping. The last one was fairly light in flavor, but you could chance a 4th steeping, especially if you shorten the steeping time of the first 3 infusions to 2½ minutes.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Longjing from Home Discount Store

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Longjing from Home Discount Store. [More info]This is a Straight Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Longjing (also called Lung Ching and Dragonwell) is one of the better classes of green teas. It is in such demand, though, that copycat versions are showing up. These are teas grown other than in the Zhengjiang Province of China but processed in a similar manner. (Longjing tea is named after a small town near Hangzhou City in Zhengjiang Province, China. The name “longjing” translates as “dragonwell” in English.) This tea is the real deal, though, according to the vendor, who has shown to be quite trustworthy on these matters.

I, your lovable and humble Little Yellow Teapot, am a 2-cupper and thought this tea would be steeped to best advantage in a smaller quantity using the Chinese method the vendor detailed on the package label shown here:

The dry tea had a typical appearance for this style of green tea, with long flat leaf pieces in a medium green to brown color. The aroma was planty (not spinachy) with a roasty richness. My buddy One-Cupper did 3 steepings at 30 seconds each. The yellow green liquid of each was delicately scented in a planty/roasty manner. The first steep had a stronger flavor while being smooth, planty, roasty and with a hint of smokiness. The 2nd and 3rd steeps were each a bit lighter overall than the previous ones. In our considered opinion, a couple more steeps using this Chinese method would definitely be possible.

Red being the color of good luck in China, we thought it very fitting to include a red flower in our arrangement for the photo.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Kabuse Sencha (a 2nd try) from Obubu Tea

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Kabuse Sencha from Obubu Tea [More company info]This is a Straight Tea

This is our second try of this tea. The first time was April 2010. Either my humans’ tastebuds have matured or this sample is better than the first one. Both are possible. Unlike some of the green teas available in grocery stores, Obubu brings you fresh from the harvest tea, so there will be variance from harvest to harvest and year to year.

Little One-Cupper did the steeping with me in careful attendance to make sure the high standards of the Tea Gang to treat each sample with due respect. We started by boiling one cup of water, pouring some in Little One-Cupper until his sides felt warm and then pouring it back into the little kettle. Next, the tea leaves went in the warmed pot and sat for one minute. We then added the slightly cooled water to the leaves in the teapot and steeped for 1 minute (the vendor recommends longer, but we wanted it to be steeped lighter).

The tea liquid was a bright green with a light planty/sweet flavor and hints of seafood but not quite. There was a slightly bitter aftertaste, even though we only steeped for one minute.

Little One-Cupper did two more steepings of the leaves, each for 30 seconds. The 2nd one was about the same as the 1st. The 3rd was lighter in color and aroma, with a sweetness to the flavor that his the sides of the mouth and tongue of my humans briefly when first sipping. Both were mild overall. We think we achieved a more authentic experience this time trying this tea. Such experiences can take you on a cultural journey if you let them.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Earl Grey Cream Metropolitan Blend from The English Tea Store

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Earl Grey Cream Metropolitan Blend from The English Tea StoreThis is a Flavored Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

Another variation on the Earl Grey theme. The vendor site says this is Ceylon black tea with oil of bergamot and natural flavorings (unspecified). Vendors want to keep their mixes proprietary, but it’s always tricky to try a tea that is so vague like this due to the possibility of allergic reactions (from my humans, not me!). My humans decided to proceed anyway. The dry mix showed some blue flower petals in it (either sunflower or cornflower) as shown in the photo below, and the aroma hinted of vanilla as one of the possible flavorings.

Yours truly did the steeping honors. Being a black tea, it steeped up fine in boiling water for 3 minutes, producing a ruby colored liquid with a vanilla-ish aroma. The flavor was smooth with no bitterness or edge, but the Earl Grey flavor characteristic was very subdued.

My humans decided to try a little with milk and sweetener just for the heck of it and found the flavor to be quite satisfying and almost eggnog-ish in an Earl Grey sort of way, with the flower petals adding in their own distinctive aroma and taste.

The second steeping was for 4 minutes and had a lighter color, taste, and smell, with the flowers dominating. Overall, intriguing and appealing to those who aren’t totally wedded to the one and only original recipe for Earl Grey.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Tea Adventure: Peach Passion Oolong from The Boston Tea Company

Here is the latest “Tea Gang” adventure with:


Peach Passion Oolong from The Boston Tea Company [More info]This is a Flavored Tea [About straight teas vs flavored teas.]

No, you’re not seeing double. Yes, this tea was reviewed here as a chilled tea.

Time to see how this tea tastes hot.

First, this little teapot needs to point out that the tea may have been reformulated since we received this sample a few months ago. We commented in the review of this tea chilled that the sunflower taste dominated while the peach taste was too light. The vendor acknowledged that feedback and passed along to the team that does the mixing. Be that as it may, here is our experience with this tea served hot. The dry mix had a mild peachy fragrance, but the aroma of the tea leaves could still be perceived.

My buddy and fellow Tea Gang founding member Libre Tea Steeping Mug did the honors this time, and two steepings were done, giving your extra value for your tea dollars. While flavored oolongs are not a big thrill for us, this one was better than most we’ve tried. In general, though, flavored teas from this vendor have not disappointed. They use real ingredients, not flavoring oils, and don’t skimp. The flavors are usually balanced, and the slight imbalance in this one is less evident in the hot version than it was in the chilled version.

The vendor says to use water brought just to the boiling point, so we did. The first steep was for 3 minutes, and the second steep was for 4 minutes. I’m pretty proud of my steeping buddy and couldn’t resist a “beefcake” shot of him with sunshine showing through, creating a beautiful golden color. Hey, tea can be a very visual experience, especially in clear teawares like this.

My humans sipped. We watched. It was a tense moment. Then, a split decision. The hubby human liked the mildness of the peach and thought the tea flavor still came through. The wifey human thought the sunflower flavor was too strong and that a bit of sweetener was needed; she added some and sipped the tea again. This time the peach flavor was coming through just fine. The second steep they both agreed was much lighter on the peach flavor but was still flavorful and did not need any sweetener.

Overall, a fairly satisfying experience for a flavored tea.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, any opinions concerning this tea and the company are always strictly objective.

© 2011 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.