I’ve been drinking a Ti Kuan Yin from The REPUBLIC of TEA, and it’s right on par with many of the delicious Oolongs I’ve tried in the recent past. First off, the scent of the dried tea leaves is just so naturally fresh and inviting. The leaves are dark green, but until they are steeped their true character remains hidden. I’ve been making Oolongs in my Yixing tea pot, and it is an absolute treat. The dried tea leaves spring to life when the tea is steeped. I’ve been getting at least 4-5 flavorful infusions in my 7 ounce teapot. So, for the money, you get a lot of tea. I use water that has cooled for about a minute from a boil. I never steep the tea for more than two minutes. I never held myself to a set time for each steeping, the tea seemed perfect no matter what I did to it.

I worked in food and beverage for several years, and I know that many of the keys to exceptional service start with the letter “C” – control, choice, courtesy, and convenience. I was very impressed with the The REPUBLIC of TEA’s service. Their online store provided me (mainly my wife) with all the “C” components of service. As for the Ti Kuan Yin that was purchased from them, it was delicious. I enjoy the light fragrant liquor with vegetal and buttery notes with a light floral flavor. Drinking this tea for me is an experience. The freshness that is derived from a cup of this tea is similar to walking out of a stuffy house and getting a breath of fresh air. Your senses are revived, and your body will thank you for it. With the hectic schedule that most of us are under, anytime we can get a breath of fresh air, it’s an absolute joy. I highly recommend this tea.

The REPUBLIC of TEA describes the tea as: from the Fujian province in China… known for its fresh, orchid flavor & clean finish. Large, iron-colored leaves can be infused many times over.

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I’ve been waiting to try this Oolong with my new Yixing clay tea pot. Since it’s a new pot, I wanted to experiment with it before trying this tea.  Anyway, I’m drinking an Oolong (spring 2007) from Just4Tea. This is a very green Oolong. It has an absolute freshness about it. The dried leaves have the aroma of a warm spring morning. I steeped the tea for about ninety seconds with boiled water that I let cool for just a minute. The pale yellow liquor revealed the freshness of the tea. After steeping the tea, the steam from the cup revealed a distant floral scent that is very common with Oolong. The flavor had a lot more character than I expected. It had a light buttery and vegetal flavor with light hints of jasmine. In the end, it had a faint hint of spice – almost pepper-like. I couldn’t get enough of the tea. I did multiple infusions with the Oolong and each time it was delicious. With this tea, you have to appreciate where tea actually comes from – a tea plant (camellia sinensis). As the tea steeps, the leaves spring to life. They were so green that it looked as though they were freshly plucked. This was a very enjoyable cup of Oolong. It revealed many flavors that added to the tea’s character.

Just4Tea describes the tea as: Very lightly fermented and grown in the AnXi area in the Fujian province of China. The orangey-green liquor yields an flowery aroma that is creamy, smooth, and refreshingly light. The flavor has a mellow and sweet finish that will please your palate.

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This tea has a true “wow” factor to it. I often talk about teas that have lots of character. Unique characteristics are what make tea special. This tea has several characteristics that makes it very interesting and fun to drink. It starts with the name…Tie Guan Yin was named after a Buddhist Saint – Guan Yin.

Just4tea.com was founded by June Lau. Her family has been in the tea industry for three generations. June’s father and brother actually roasted this Tie Guan Yin. So many online tea stores all sell the same tea. In this case, you actually get a tea that is uniquely made by a family with 3 generations of experience. If you’ve never had tea that goes through a roasting process, you are really missing out. The nutty and lightly-smoked aroma that is created by the roasting of the Oolong takes the tea to a whole new level.

Just4Tea.com describes the tea as follows:

Semi-fermented and grown in the Wuyi Mountains in the Fujian province of China. Tie Guan Yin undergoes a longer fermentation period than ordinary Oolongs and is blended and roasted using our traditional Chaozhou family recipe. It delivers deep flavor, with an intense, floral and nutty aroma and a fruity finish. When steeped in boiling water the crinkly balls unfurl, revealing green-brown, lace-edged leaves.

As you sip this tea, you’ll swear you taste everything from chocolate to sweet fruit all floating atop a deliciously roasted Oolong. This tea is perfect for the cold winter months. It warms your senses as well as your body. So, I highly recommend buying this tea and trying to figure out all the various flavors your tongue will pick up on as you drink this tea. I followed the basic brewing instructions of a quick tea leaf wash (10 second steeping), followed by a 2 to 3 minute steeping time in boiling water.

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Oolong (semi-oxidized tea) is often overlooked by tea consumers. With all the hype surrounding green and white teas and black tea (bagged tea) stealing the spotlight for several decades in the U.S., Oolong has been on the sideline. Oolong gives many tea drinkers the best of both worlds because it lacks the strong grassy flavor of some green teas, and it’s not as bold as many black teas. The Oolong I’m drinking today comes from the Fujian Province of China. Oolong is a traditional Chinese tea, but it is now consumed all over the world.

Oolong has a very fresh scent to it. If you could assign a scent to “health” it would smell something like Oolong. The aroma from the dried tea is almost intoxicating. As I try to describe it, I can’t stop enjoying it. For those of you that read my blog regarding Jasmine Pearl and thought the jasmine flavoring did not sound appealing to you, this Oolong should be perfect for you. It’s very natural – as tea should be.

Just4Tea.com describes the tea as:

Lightly fermented and grown in the Wuyi Mountains in the Fujian province of China. The amber liquor yields an aroma that is gentle, smooth, and refreshingly light. The flavor has a mellow and sweet finish that will please your palate.

I often disagree with descriptions provided by the seller of the tea, but this one is right-on-the-money.

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If you are in the mood for a truly delightful tea, try Just4Tea’s Jasmine Pearl tea. Just4tea.com describes the tea as:

Made by stacking up alternating layers of premium Oolong tea from Fujiang province and Jasmine petals. This scenting process is repeated multiple times. After the scenting process, the tea is then rolled to pearl-shaped balls, which gives the tea its name. It delivers a unique flowery scent with a fresh green tea flavor.

I love drinking this tea. It’s very relaxing to me. I can’t decide what I like best, the scent or the flavor. Regardless, the combination of the scent and flavor makes for a perfect cup of tea. As I take a sip, my senses are awakened and the stress literally disappears. Jasmine Pearl Oolong has so many attributes that makes it worthy of your attention. The round shape gives it a unique characteristic and adds a fun factor to the steeping process. The jasmine flavor takes the oolong to another level. There’s one catch to this loose leaf tea, you have to like jasmine flavoring. I typically do not like floral scented or flavored – anything. However, this tea in my opinion is perfectly balanced. So, the floral flavor is welcomed and not “in your face” dominant.

After you purchase the tea, experiment with the steeping process. You’ll be surprised how much tea you get out of the pearls. They unfurl as they steep. I don’t want you to waste the tea – you’ll get a feel for it after the first steeping. It’s recommended that you use 2 teaspoons of jasmine pearl with 180 degree water for 3-4 minutes for an 8 ounce cup of tea. The oolong tea is from the Fujian Province, China.

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First off, I would like to congratulate Harney & Sons for their role in helping the Dorchester Hotel in winning the Top London Afternoon Tea Award of 2007. Harney & Sons is an American based tea company. The company has been around since 1983.

One of my last purchases from H & S was a tea called Ginger’s Oolong. I really didn’t have any expectations of the tea. It wasn’t recommended by anyone. Basically, it was a random purchase. When the tea arrived, I quickly popped the lid off of the large tin. Their tins are black with a gold label and gold trim. The tins have a signature style to them. The tea had an incredible scent to it. The ginger spice mixed with the aromatic oolong made for an exceptional fragrance. After I steeped the tea, I noticed the great scent was retained throughout the process and into my cup. However, upon my first sip it was safe to say that the tea was actually bland in flavor. I was confused as to how something with such a powerful scent could be so weak in flavor. I’ve tried about 10 or more cups since the first cup. I’ve tried adding more tea leaves and cooler water temperatures to see if I could get more flavor out of the oolong. I’m going to keep trying to make this tea enjoyable. Now, I want to stress that the tea does not taste bad. It just doesn’t have the body and flavor of a lot of other oolongs I’ve tried.

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I was just talking to a reader, of marTEA.com, last week about how I don’t get enough time to drink as much Oolong as I would like. I’ve made it a point to personally try every product I write about. Copying and pasting press releases and calling it a blog is not what I want to do. That said, I like to try about 3 teas or more a week. Unfortunately, Oolong often has to take a back seat. That is until now…without planning it’s raining Oolong at marTEA.com.

Zarafina offers a “Wuyi Oolong Rock Tea.” The tea grows in the Wuyi mountains of China. I made this Oolong in my Zarafina tea maker suite, and I was floored by how great it tasted. First of all, the dried leaves are huge and full of character. The floral scent of the dried leaves builds the excitement. I set the Zarafina tea maker suite to “Oolong”, “Loose”, and “Strong” as my desired tea settings. After the tea steeped and poured into the pot automagically by the tea maker suite, I poured the first cup. The color of the liquor was a bright copper. The floral scent was still present in the tea. After my first sip, I was very impressed. Many teas do not retain their scent within the flavor. For certain teas, you would not want the taste to equal the aroma. In this case, since the aroma of the tea was so pleasing, I was hoping it would taste half as good as the scent. It was better. I don’t want new tea drinkers to think this tea tastes like you’re drinking a scented candle. The floral scent I’m referring to is very natural and inviting. This is how Zarafina describes the tea: “Growing among the fabled Wuyi Mountains, wrapped in the clouds and fog that gives its leaves their incredible, complex perfume and taste.” I don’t go for multiple infusions of the teas I drink that often, but this one I had to try it over and over. I’m such a fan of Oolong teas. I definitely recommend this one.

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If you are a peach lover, you’ll love this USDA organic bottled tea. One of the main ingredients of the tea is organic peach puree. Hence the title of “Peach OO-LA-LONG.” I can tell Honest Tea makes every effort possible to make sure their products are high quality. Peach oo-la-long is a fair trade oolong and black tea mix. The organic cane sugar and organic brown rice syrup in the tea add up to 8g of sugar per 8 fl oz. Compared to other bottled beverages, this is not too bad. Honest Tea states that this beverage has one-third the calories of other bottled tea beverages. Not to mention the fact that this is an organic product. So it’s not sweetened with a lot of ingredients I cannot pronounce. I can’t stress the detail Honest Tea packs into their bottle labels. There is an entire story on the bottle about how this bottle was given a penguin as its main character. I won’t spoil the story on this blog. I really enjoy Honest Tea’s products. My kids like this tea more than a lot of other teas I’ve let them sample. I’m not a super fan of peach flavored beverages, but I wanted to give this one a try. Honest Tea has several other flavors to select.

Visit Honest Tea’s website to see what flavors they have to offer

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