Category: Review

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Teazorean’s Broken Leaf

Broken Leaf by Teazorean
Black Tea / Straight
$14.83 for 32g

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Teazorean has provided me with Broken Leaf for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I mentioned some information of Teazorean’s conservation efforts in my last Teazorean (Orange Pekoe). The loose dry leaf came to me in a cute little tin, kind of the perfect size to tote extra tea in your bag around.  The dry leaf has a mixture of dark brown and reddish brown leaves, and there were some small sticks that I noticed in there as well. The sampler tin holds 10g of tea, I used approximately 3g for my small teapot.

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Broken Leaf is a straight black tea. The smell that comes from the black tea leaves was a malty aroma, that reminds me a bit of Assam tea, and there’s some peachy-apricot aromas coming from the tea leaves as well.

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Preparation

Teazorean recommends steeping Broken Leaf in 205°F (96°C) for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Broken Leaf steeps to a lovely light golden orange, it’s more pale that I expected for a black tea when I steeped it according to the length of time suggested by Teazorean. On first taste, the first thing that I noticed was the honey sweetness in this tea. Despite the aroma of the dry leaf having a maltiness to it, I noticed that there was quite the minimal malty flavour to it, and there was an apricot finish to each sip.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Broken Leaf two additional times. I found that the first resteep was slightly weaker than the inital steep – there was more apricot flavour that came out in the tea. The second resteep was weaker still, and not as enjoyable as the initial and first resteep. I would say that Broken Leaf is a good choice for one more steep.

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My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked Teazorean’s Broken Leaf. I found the aroma of the dry leaf and the taste of the steeped tea to be enjoyable. The honeyed sweetness and the apricot flavours are delicious, and I think it’d be a great alternative to the traditional Earl Grey for an afternoon tea because it has a different flavour profile, but still has the robust flavours of a strong black tea.

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Oollo Tea’s Four Seasons Oolong

Four Seasons Oolong Tea by Oollo Tea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$6.00 for 30g

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First Impressions

Four Seasons Oolong Tea was an oolong that I picked up at the 2017 Vancouver Tea Festival earlier this month from Oollo Tea’s table. The tea came in a silver foil packet in white card stock box, covered with patterned paper that’s stamped. The foil packet isn’t resealable (unfortunately!) and I didn’t have any empty tins, so I wound up putting the foil packet into a plastic resealable page to keep the air out.

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Four Seasons Oolong Tea has a bright, almost nutty aroma to it. It reminds me of chestnuts, which is almost seasonably appropriate. The dry leaf is beautiful with dark and bright greens, and the leaves are tightly compressed together.

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Preparation

There were no preparation recommendations on the packaging, and I couldn’t find the Four Seasons Oolong Tea on the Oollo Tea website, so I opted to steep at 185°F (85°C) for 1 minute for the initial steep.

First Taste

Four Seasons Oolong Tea steeps to a pale yellow for the initial steep. The aroma that comes up from this tea has a mix of nuttiness and grassy notes to it. There’s a smooth, mouth coating quality to this oolong. I found zero bitterness or astringency in this tea at the temperature that I steeped it for. The flavour of Four Seasons Oolong Tea had a hint of roasted chestnuts with grass/vegetal flavours, it’s quite tasty.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Four Seasons Oolong Tea a total of six times, adding an additional 30 seconds per resteep. I found that the flavours got more vegetal and less of the chestnuts with each subsequent steep, and it was still flavourful by the sixth resteep.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Oollo Tea’s Four Seasons Oolong Tea. The aroma from the dry leaf and the steeped tea is delightful, I really enjoyed the mix of chestnuts and vegetal notes. I had a great time steeping this tea repeatedly over the course of an afternoon, and watching the tea leaves open up. I would definitely recommend resteeping the leaves and taking the time to drink this oolong over a period of time. Four Seasons Oolong Tea is a great cup of tea, and the vegetal flavours are smooth and delicious.

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Tisano’s Mint Cacao Tea

Mint Cacao Tea by Tisano
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$13.99USD for 4oz

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Tisano has provided me with Mint Cacao Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

The pairing of mint and chocolate has been a steady part of my life for a very long time – one of my dad’s favourite flavour combinations is mint chocolate (especially in the form of ice cream), so it’s one that I’m very familiar with. When I saw that Tisano had sent me a sample packet of Mint Cacao Tea, I was very excited. Ripping open the packaging, I was first welcomed by the smell of chocolate and mint. If After Eight chocolate was ever made into a tea blend, I think this would accurately represent the aroma of that candy.

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Mint Cacao Tea consists of cacao shells and Egyptian peppermint. I’ve never had Egyptian peppermint before, but it has the crisp, refreshing aroma of mint that I’m used to.

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Preparation

Tisano recommends steeping Mint Cacao Tea in 212°F (100°C) water for 3.5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions for the initial steep.

First Taste

Mint Cacao Tea steeps to a golden orange, and has a mostly chocolate aroma that wafts up from the tea. I smell a hint of mint, but it’s primarily the chocolate that comes through. On first sip, it reminds me a lot of the Original Cacao Tea that I reviewed previously, with just a touch of mint that shines through. There’s a touch of bitterness to this cacao blend, that reminds me a lot of dark chocolate. I found myself searching for the mint at times.

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I added a touch of cream to Mint Cacao Tea and found that it helped with the bitterness, which allowing the mint to come through a bit more. There’s not as much sweetness as I was hoping to find in a chocolate mint tea, but a little bit of honey helped bring out the chocolate flavour a bit more.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Mint Cacao Tea and found that the mint chocolate flavours was quite watery compared to the first steep, and would say that Mint Cacao Tea is good for one steep only.

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My Overall Impression

2cups-2

I thought that Tisano’s Mint Cacao Tea was just okay. I found myself wishing that there was more mint in the flavour of the tea, but the addition of honey and cream helped the blend to taste more like a hot mint chocolate. The aroma of the dry leaf is amazing and reminds me just like mint chocolate candy, and it smells quite a bit like chocolate (with a touch of mint). With a bit more peppermint or mint extract, I think this would just hit the spot.

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