Category: Review

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Murchie’s Spring Green Mao Feng

Spring Green Mao Feng by Murchie’s
Green Tea / Straight
$7.95 for 2oz (56g)

Spring Green Mao Feng was a purchase I made myself at a Murchie’s retail location upon the recommendation of a staff member in the store.

First Impressions

I wandered through a Murchie’s retail location and asked for recommendations on green teas – and this was one of them. Spring Green Mao Feng was put into a plastic pouch with a clear window in the front. The bags have printed steeping instructions o the bag to apply to all of their teas, with a brief description of the company at the top (fun fact, Murchie’s has been around since 1894!).

Spring Green Mao Feng is a Chinese green tea – where mao feng translates to fur peaks. Traditionally, mao feng comes from Anhui, China. Spring Green Mao Feng is a beautiful, wiry dry leaf, going from a light spring green to a deep black. It has a grassy aroma to it, and it just smells fresh, like spring rain would.

Preparation

Murchie’s recommends steeping green teas in 79-82°C (175-180°F) for 2 to 3 minutes. I did an initial steep of Spring Green Mao Feng at 79°C (175°F) for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Spring Green Mao Feng steeps to a light yellow. The aroma is light, grassy, and vegetal. There’s a mild sweetness, no bitterness or astringency. It has a very smooth texture and easy to drink. Spring Green Mao Feng has a grassy, vegetal flavour to it that makes for a nice cup of tea. Just a touch of sweetness that lingers at the tail end of each sip.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Spring Green Mao Feng a total of seven times (eight steeps total with the same leaves), using the same water temperature and adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. Spring Green Mao Feng holds up beautifully to resteeping over and over again, with the wiry little leaves opening up to show off full leaves in a delightfully young, spring green colour.

My Overall Impression

I loved Murchie’s Spring Green Mao Feng. This green tea came recommended to me, and I wasn’t disappointed! I enjoyed the flavour of this tea from the initial steep to the last resteep. The leaves hold up incredibly well, and I loved the grassy notes. It just felt like spring in a cup – there was something refreshing about it. I would highly recommend resteeping this one as much as possible to get all the flavour possible from the leaves.

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New Moon Tea Co’s Cream of Earl Grey

Cream of Earl Grey by New Moon Tea Co
Black tea / Flavoured
64g

Cream of Earl Grey was given to me as a gift, as such I did not look up the price. New Moon Tea Co is a tea company located in Nakusp, British Columbia, Canada.

First Impressions

Cream of Earl Grey came in a kraft paper pouch (both sealed and resealable), with large black labels on the front and the back of the packaging with white print. Cream of Earl Grey is described as being a premium loose leaf tea, the pouch holding 64g of tea that is small batch and hand blended. Part of the reason that I was given Cream of Earl Grey is because one of my students found out that I love tea and this was her favourite blend – also bonus points of the fact that I also love Earl Grey blends (as I’ve mentioned countless times before both on the blog and on Instagram).

Cream of Earl Grey is a beautiful blend – with visible flower petals mixed into the black tea base. Cream of Earl Grey consists of: black tea, cornflower petals, orange peel, and natural bergamot. Earl Grey has a decently long history as one of the original tea blends, and typically consists of black tea and bergamot. There are lots of blends that have been inspired by the original Earl Grey blend, and also changed to suit ones needs. Cornflower petals is a common ingredient found in an Earl Grey blend, so I was happy to find it in this one as well. The bergamot aroma from the dry leaf is rich and truthfully, one of my favourite parts of enjoying an Earl Grey tea.

Preparation

New Moon Tea Co recommends steeping Cream of Earl Grey in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 4 minutes. I opted to follow the steeping instructions and do an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Cream of Earl Grey steeps to a rich orange. The aroma of the tea is primarily that of the bergamot, the tea itself is smooth with a creaminess to the tea that I find intriguing, and a bergamot flavour throughout. The black tea itself has no astringency and bitterness at the steeping time at 4 minutes. There’s no sweetness to it, but I did have a cup with both some cream and sugar (hello, attempt at a London Fog) and it took to it very well.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Cream of Earl Grey, adding an additional 30 seconds for the first resteep. I found that the flavour of the tea was lacking in terms of bergamot, and it was primarily the black tea base coming through. I would recommend steeping Cream of Earl Grey for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked New Moon Tea Co’s Cream of Earl Grey. I can see why this Earl Grey blend is a favourite for New Moon Tea Co fans! I frequently enjoy an Earl Grey blend, and found that the flavour was delicious. It’s more subtle compared to other Earl Grey blends that I’ve had in the past, in terms of the strength of the bergamot flavour. If you like your Earl Grey to have stronger bergamot, you might not enjoy this blend as much – but if you like an Earl Grey having a creamier finish with a more subtle bergamot I think you’ll enjoy Cream of Earl Grey. I personally think it works brilliantly as a base for a London Fog.

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DavidsTea’s Magnolia Oolong

Magnolia Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$12.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Part of an online order from DavidsTea, Magnolia Oolong comes in a familiar silver pouch with a familiar label – blue for the fact that it’s an oolong tea. The packaging lets me know that Magnolia Oolong is an oolong tea from the Anxi region of Fujian Province, China, and the tea leaves have been scented with magnolia and jasmine blossoms.

The tea leaves are a beautiful range of green – from a light spring green to a dark hunter green. The leaves are tightly bunched, with a bright floral aroma to them. They truly smell lovely and inviting – almost as if you’re enjoying a small bouquet of flowers and they’re bringing you in for a whiff.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Magnolia Oolong in 90°C (195°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I opted to an initial steep of Magnolia Oolong for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Magnolia Oolong steeps to a light golden yellow after the initial steep of the leaves. The tea itself is quite aromatic, with a light floral fragrance. The flavour of Magnolia Oolong is delightfully floral, the texture is smooth. There’s a floral sweetness, floral flavour, with a light creaminess at the tail end of each sip. The mouth texture is pleasant with a way of coating the mouth, and zero astringency with the water temperature that I used to steep it.

A Second Cup?

Resteeping Magnolia Oolong was a joy. I resteeped Magnolia Oolong a total of six times (seven steeps total), and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour of this tea deepens to a lovely golden yellow with a nice floral aroma and flavour. The creaminess of the tea is present through all the steeps, and becomes more buttery in flavour by the second resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Magnolia Oolong. The experience from smelling the leaf to steeping to drinking was a nice journey, which was capped off with the many resteeps of the same leaves until I couldn’t drink anymore. The leaves resteep beautifully and the flavour of it was excellent throughout all of the steeps. I find the combination of magnolia and jasmine to be just a pleasant experience, because it made for a light, sweet floral cup of tea.

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