Author: Michelle

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Udyan Tea’s Dragon Claws Oolong Tea

Dragon Claws Oolong Tea by Udyan Tea
Oolong Tea / Straight
₹585.00 for 100g

Udyan Tea has provided me with Dragon Claws Oolong Tea for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Dragon Claws was initially a confusing tea for me. On the packaging that the tea came in from Udyan Tea, the label reads “Dragon Claws Black Tea” while the website calls it “Dragon Claws Oolong Tea”. The tea came in a sealed, resealable matte black pouch. The leaves themselves are beautiful – there’s some feathery down bits, some wiry leaves.The aroma of the tea has some grassy notes.

Based on my knowledge, I would call this a oolong tea. Udyan Tea calls this an oolong tea that was harvested during autumn 2018. The appearance reminds me of an oolong much more than a black tea.

Preparation

Udyan Tea recommends steeping Dragon Claws Oolong Tea in 90-95°C (194-203°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I opted to steep at 91°C (195°F) water for 4 minutes for my initial steep of Dragon Claws Oolong Tea.

First Taste

Dragon Claws Oolong Tea steeps to a bright orange colour, it has a lovely aroma – grassy and hay notes. I found the tea to have a bit of astringency, and a subtle sweetness at the end of each sip. There was a touch of nutty flavour that I found in the tea, I can’t quite pin-point which nut it reminds me of.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Dragon Claws Oolong Tea twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The tea steeped to a more golden orange, with a stronger flavour that stayed well balanced compared to the initial steep. The astringency stayed mild and wasn’t off-putting. The second resteep was considerably weaker than the first.

My Overall Impression

I liked Udyan Tea’s Dragon Claws Oolong Tea. I found that the dry leaf had a lovely aroma to it, and it steeped well. The flavour of this oolong tea was balanced well, I really liked the light sweetness throughout that went well with the astringency that was present. I could have done without the labeling confusion, and I do wish that the tea had held up a bit better to being resteeped since I’m so used to resteeping oolongs for many more times.

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Oteas’s Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon

Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon by Oteas
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$6.95 for 30g (12 sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon come in pyramid tea sachets, that are in a bag that’s inside of a box. As mentioned in previous Oteas reviews where the tea comes in sachets, the bags are biodegradable – which I think is so awesome. As a fair disclaimer, I haven’t tried composting one of the sachets – I live in a condo, so I can’t really keep a compost bin on the balcony (I’m sure strata would say something!) so the sachets (and tea leaves) end up in the green waste bins.

The aroma of Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon is primarily that of ginger and lemongrass, with hints of cloves and cinnamon in the background. The dry leaf looks amazingly beautiful with the flower petals throughout. Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon consists of: lemongrass, ginger pieces, cinnamon, fennel, licorice root, pineapple granules, orange peels, basil, spearmint leaves, pimienta triturada, tangerine orange granules, cloves, osmanthus flowers, pink pepper, pink cornflowers. Oteas mentions that people with hypertension should “avoid excessive consumption” of products with licorice root.

Preparation

Oteas recommends steeping Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon in 100°C (212°F) water for 8 to 10 minutes. My initial steep was for 10 minutes.

First Taste

Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon steeps to a beautiful golden yellow-orange colour. The aroma of this herbal blend is primarily lemongrass and ginger, I find the cinnamon has a hard time being strong with those other more powerful, fragrant ingredients. There is a gentle sweetness with this blend and I can taste the lemongrass and ginger, with light flavours of the cinnamon at the end of each sip. There’s an almost fruity quality in the sweetness, which may be coming from the pineapple and tangerine.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon, but I found the flavour to be lacking in comparison to the initial steep. I would recommend steeping Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I loved Oteas’s Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon. I found the flavour to be quite good, although I do wish that the cinnamon had been more prominent, but it had some tough competition. The sweetness in the blend is nice, and I felt that it helped temper down the ginger, which normally adds a spiciness to things. I had this blend hot, and found it to be pleasant – I think it would be nice as an iced tea or cold steeped, since the ginger would add some heat in the flavour.

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Ahista Tea’s Mojito

Mojito by Ahista Tea
Green Tea / Flavoured
$14.99 for 100g

Ahista Tea has provided me with Mojito for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

The sample of Mojito came prepackaged into tea sachets, almost like a gauze-material was used. When I tore the bag open to get a better look at the tea leaves, there were a lot of small thin, white fibres. The aroma of Mojito has a strong lemongrass and citrus aroma, with a hint of mint throughout. The aroma of the mint wasn’t as strong as I would have wanted in a blend called Mojito, but lemongrass is a hard ingredient to overcome.

The ingredients are clearly identifiable when you look at it, which is nice. There are some large, dried citrus pieces – it’s quite beautiful! Mojito consists of: green tea, lime pieces, lime leaves, peppermint, and lemongrass.

Preparation

Ahista Tea recommends steeping Mojito in 90-100°C (194-212°F) water for 3 minutes. I opted to steep closer to 90°C, and steeped my initial steep of Mojito at 91°C (195°F) as green tea is an ingredient in this blend and green teas tend not to do that well when steeped at higher temperatures.

If you’re ever questioning a recommended temperature, I always suggest steeping at a lower temperature because you can always steep it for a longer period of time. If you opt to steep at a higher temperature, the tea could wind up being bitter or astringent and there’s no going back from that!

First Taste

Mojito steeps to a light yellow colour, with a strong lemongrass aroma to it. The smell of the mint is a bit overpowered by the lemongrass again, like it was with the dry leaf. Not surprising considering how strong of an ingredient lemongrass can be. The first thing I notice when tasting Mojito is the sweetness – then followed by citrus notes, lemongrass, and mint. The mint adds a nice refreshing quality to each sip, but it is still not as strong as the lemongrass. Unfortunately, I don’t really taste the green tea base.

When iced, I found that the mint flavour came out more in comparison to the lemongrass. I would recommend either having it iced (and perhaps adding some freshly muddled mint leaves) or cold steeping it.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Mojito once but found that the flavours were lacking. I think that the majority of the flavour went into the initial steep. I would recommend Mojito for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Ahista Tea’s Mojito. I found that the green tea wasn’t very present in the flavour – neither in the aroma of the dry leaf or in the flavor of the steeped tea. For a drink called Mojito, the tea that I made could have had a strong hand with the mint leaves. It could very well be that other tea sachets made have more mint leaves in them, but the ones that I had received were lacking in the mint aroma and flavour – especially when compared to the lemongrass. I would recommend cold steeping Mojito in comparison to steeping in hot water because I think it does help to bring out more of the mint flavour – another great way to amplify the mint flavour would be to make it iced with some freshly muddled mint leaves..

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