Author: Michelle

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Urta Islandica’s Iceland Tea

Iceland Tea by Urta Islandica
Herbal Infusion / Straight
1.152 kr for 20g (10 tea bags)

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First Impressions

I am incredibly lucky that I have friends who help to support my tea habit! One of my friends went to Iceland (lucky duck!) and came back with some tea for me to try that she purchased on her travels. This is Iceland Tea from Urta Islandica (and yes, there is a webshop!). The packaging tells me that it’s made from traditional herbs and this herbal infusion consists of four ingredients: birch, angelica seed, Iceland moss, and arctic thyme.

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Some facts that are printed on the packaging include: birch leaf is a diuretic and used for detoxifying, Arctic thyme and angelica seed are sweet and thought to be good for colds and coughs, and Iceland moss is a “world famous health herb” that is good for mouth and throat irritations, as well as for the stomach. The tea bags themselves aren’t anything to write home about, as they’re simple squares. I did cut it open to see what was inside. The tea bags have a strong thyme smell to it, that’s sharper than the thyme that I’m used to. There’s a subtle sweet smell to it. I’m not entire sure what angelica seed or Iceland moss is supposed to smell like, so I can’t be sure I can smell it.

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Preparation

The label suggests steeping for 8 to 15 minutes, no mention of a water temperature. I steeped mine in 100°C (212°F) water for 10 minutes.

First Taste

Iceland Tea steeps to a nice golden yellow, there’s a strong smell of thyme that almost has me wondering where the rosemary is since it’s such a classic flavour combination in cooking. There’s a mild sweetness that I can smell as well, and I do wonder if that’s from the angelica seed and Arctic thyme.

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On first sip, I notice that there’s a very subtle taste to this after having steeped for 10 minutes. Iceland Tea has a nice gentle warming sensation as I drink it that reminds me a lot of ginger but without the heaviness spiciness. There’s a smooth texture to the tea, with a mouth coating feel. Because this herbal infusion has a natural sweetness to it that’s light, I don’t think it really needs additional sweetener.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped it once, as the packaging suggested that the tea bag could be reused for a “milder” version of Iceland Tea. I find it has a very similar taste to the first cup, but because the first cup wasn’t heavily flavoured, I feel that the second steep wasn’t that flavourful. I would say that it’s good for one steep only.

My Overall Impression

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I liked Urta Islandica’s Iceland Tea. It has an interesting flavour that I haven’t had before in previous herbal infusions, and I can see why the herbs are suggested to be had when feeling a bit under the weather. It’s a tasty, and the thyme is a delightful in a cup. I think if I was having this while having a cold, I would steep two tea bags. I feel like I might appreciate this herbal infusion a bit more if I was having it while nursing a stuffy nose or an upset stomach because I would love the warming sensation from this tea, and I think it would be great if I had a sore throat.

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terre d’Oc’s Uzbekistan Style Black Tea with Almond and Pistachio

Uzbekistan Style Black Tea with Almond and Pistachio by terre d’Oc
Black Tea / Flavoured
9.95€ for 100g

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First Impressions

I received this beautiful tin of tea for my birthday back in 2015, let’s ignore the fact that it has sat unreviewed for so long! I’ve had it several times since I got it, but I just hadn’t sat down to write about it – until now! I love the tin, it’s bright and has colourful designs all over it. The type face game is strong in terre d’Oc’s game. terre d’Oc is a French company, the internet tells me that they also do cosmetics and fragrances. I greatly appreciate that their packaging comes with French and English. Despite growing up in Canad and taking French (as a second language) in school, my French is incredibly rusty and I would have faltered quite a bit on reading it.

On the tin, it states that “In Uzbekistan tea is the hospitality drink served all through the day and first poured three times into a cup and then back into the tea pot. These three repetitive gestures symbolize “loy” : clay, “moy” : fat and “tchai” tea or water.” I love learning about the tea culture in other places, and the packaging also suggests to drink the tea straight without milk or sugar.

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The lid of this lovely decorative tin fits snugly for a good seal. The dry leaf of this tea has a sweet smell to it. I can make out the almonds, and what smells like apricots and plums (stone fruit). The black tea base smells malty, like an Assam would. The ingredients for terre d’Oc’s Uzbekistan Style Black Tea with Almond and Pistachio is as follows: black tea (organic), natural flavour almond, pistachio and apricot, almond pieces, pistachio pieces, and marigold petals.

Preparation

The packaging’s steeping instructions are to steep in 95°C (203°F) water for 5 minutes. It also says that this tea is “ideal any time of the day”.

First Taste

Ever the rebel, I steeped my first pot of this tea for four minutes to see how the flavours were and to see if it needed a little bit longer. Uzbekistan Style Black Tea with Almond and Pistachio steeps to a deep, deep orange. There’s a malty smell to it that continues to remind me of an Assam base, with a subtle almond smell but I can’t smell the apricots or pistachio.

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On first sip, after it cooled down a bit, there’s the malty flavour from the black tea base and the light sweet fruity flavours of the apricot. I can taste the almonds, although it isn’t very strong, and no pistachios were noted in the overall flavour profile of Uzbekistan Style Black Tea with Almond and Pistachio. There’s a slightly astringency noted at the tail end of each sip that leads to a bit of mouth puckering.

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Despite the packaging suggesting to not drink this tea with sugar or milk, I did want to try. I found adding sugar helped to bring out the fruity flavours even more and bring that apricot flavour to the forefront. I also found that added evaporated milk helped to temper the astringency.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Uzbekistan Style Black Tea with Almond and Pistachio twice. The second steep was very similar to the first steep in terms of flavours and astringency, the third steep was a bit watery and not as good. I would say that this black tea is good for one more steep only.

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My Overall Impression

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I liked terre d’Oc’s Uzbekistan Style Black Tea with Almond and Pistachio. The overall flavour is very good, and I found I liked it better doctored up with a bit of sugar and evaporated milk (but the flavour without the additions is still good and tasty). The beautiful tin helped me to learn a bit about the Uzbekistan tea culture, which I found very educational. I was disappointed in the fact that I wasn’t able to smell or taste the pistachio in the dry or steeped tea, and that’s part of the reason why I didn’t rate it higher. I think it’s a delicious tea, the natural sweetness and fruity flavours in it would lend itself well as a tea to go with desserts or a session of afternoon tea.

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Oollo Tea’s Baozhong Oolong

Baozhong Oolong by Oollo Tea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$8.00 for 25g

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Oollo Tea has provided me with Baozhong Oolong for the purposes of providing an honest review.
I received this product at no charge to me and received no other compensation.

First Impressions

Baozhong Oolong (also known as pouchong oolong or light oolong) is today’s tea. It’s an interesting oolong because it falls somewhere between a green tea and an oolong tea, with the processing methods. Baozhong Oolong is described as a floral oolong by Oollo Tea and I can certainly tell why when I first opened up the sample package.

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The leaves are dark green, with a high wiry twist to the leaves before they dried. There’s a vegetal smell that is mixed with light floral notes. There’s a subtle sweetness to the dry leaf that reminds me of the sweet smell of vanilla blended with honey. It smells delicious, to say the least! The ingredients for Baozhong Oolong is simply the oolong tea leaves.

Preparation

Oollo Tea suggests steeping Baozhong Oolong in 90-95°C  (194-203°F) water for 3-5 minutes and up to 3 brews on their website. On the packaging, it was 85-90°C (185-294°F) for 1.5-3 minutes and up to 3 brews. I used my Breville IQ Kettle‘s oolong tea setting (91°C/195°F) and for my first steep of Baozhong Oolong, I steeped it for 2 minutes.

First Taste

The first thing I note is the pale golden yellow colour of the tea, Baozhong Oolong is pretty when it steeps because it’s just this lovely golden colour that I quite enjoy. The first thing that I note when the tea is steeping is the smell – there’s this buttery floral smell to it that is inviting. After steeping it for 2 minutes, I poured my first cup and had a sip. One of the first flavours that I pick up on is the smooth creamy texture to the tea, there’s a light buttery/creamy taste to it that makes the tea taste rich. On the end of each sip of this tea, there’s a honeyed floral taste to it that goes very well with the buttery cream quality of the flavour profile. As I finished off the first cup of this tea, I couldn’t help but appreciate how complex the flavours are, and how differing it is from the start to finish of each sip of this tea.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped this tea for a total of nine times. The second and third resteeps turned out to be a brighter, more golden yellow. The honeyed floral flavours became more pronounced, while the creamy butter taste and richness to the texture of the tea remained the same. Steeps four to eight tasted very similar, the overall flavour begins to decrease in intensity, but it’s still palatable and delicious. By the ninth, I was still enjoying it but found the flavour to be quite exhausted out of the tea leaves at this point and didn’t attempt a tenth steep. For each additional steep, I added an extra 30 seconds to the steeping time.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Oollo Tea’s Baozhong Oolong. I’m always pleasantly surprised when I get a good quality tea that can be resteeped a few times, because I’m always cautious about the quality and how much I can get out of a tea. Baozhong Oolong did not disappoint in the slightest with nine steeps of the same tea leaves. What I really enjoyed the most from this tea is the complexity in the flavours – from the creamy butter beginnings to the honeyed floral end of each sip, it just makes for a very good cup of tea. Bonus is its ability to resteep over and over again,

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