Category: Review

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Sunny M’s Formosa No. 12

Formosa No. 12 by Sunny M
Oolong Tea/ Straight
$34.00 for 100g

Sunny M has provided me with Formosa No. 12 for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Formosa No. 12 comes in a sealed, resealable pouch with a one-way air valve to help maintain the freshness of the tea and to help prevent it from getting stale. The packaging is clean, functional, with some great information on the labeling. Sunny M describes Formosa No. 12 as an artisan roasted, hand-picked, micro lot tea from the Charm of Hearts tea estate from Taiwan.

The leaves themselves are quite lovely – tightly bunched up and rolled leaves from dark brown to a more chocolate brown colour in the shades of browns found in the dry leaf. There’s some strong floral and fruity notes in the tea that are really inviting.

Preparation

Sunny M recommends steeping Formosa No. 12 in 85℃-95℃ (185℉-203℉) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to use 93°C (200°F) water and steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Formosa No. 12 steeps to a lovely golden orange colour. The texture of the tea is smooth, and the flavour is floral with a slight nuttiness that lingers on the tongue. I found that the tea itself had a slight astringency that was present at the tail end of each sip, which wasn’t off-putting for myself (just something to be aware of!).

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Formosa No. 12 a total of eight times (nine steeps total with the same leaves). I found that the flavour of the steeped tea got creamy and buttery as I steeped it, which wasn’t present in the initial steep, and it balanced quite nicely with the floral notes.

My Overall Impression

I loved Sunny M’s Formosa No. 12. This oolong does such a great job of being steeped repeatedly – which is a good thing because it’s not the cheapest tea ever, but you get a lot of bang for your buck with the ability to resteep it many times over. And I’d definitely recommend doing so if you’re a fan of milky oolongs because it does develop a more buttery flavour as you steep it, which is one of the reasons why I enjoyed it.

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BRUU’s Subscription Box

Subscription Box by BRUU
3 x 14g teas (42g)
£10 + Shipping

BRUU has provided me with their Subscription Box for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

BRUU is a UK-based subscription box that offers a monthly shipment of three teas, a “discover” tea, and a surprise “gift” with each box. So this is what the box looks like – cardstock (could be recycled!), colourful tea-themed illustrations, and just looks like a fun package.

There were some cards on the inside – a highlight of Munnar, an Upper Surianalle Tea Estate and a small sample pouch of a tea from Munnar (in the Discover… bag). The free gift in this box that I received was a Double Choc protein bar from Tribe, along with some information about the company that included a coupon code. I do like chocolate, so this was a welcome surprise.

The teas themselves came in 14g pouches that are resealable, with tasting cards for each tea, and small golden clothespins – super cute presentation if you ask me! BRUU describes each box as being “tailored to your preferences”, which I think is pretty neat!

In the box I received was Royal Star (oolong & sencha blend), Caribbean Kiss (black tea & green tea blend), and Orange Ice Cream (fruit-based tisane).

Royal Star has a really bright and fruity aroma to it. It smells like candy. Royal Star consists of sencha, oolong, sunflower petals, cornflower petals, and currants.

Caribbean Kiss has some really strong citrus notes to it. It consists of green tea, black tea, lemongrass, carrot peel, pink peppercorns, pomelo slices, and flavouring.

Orange Ice Cream’s aroma matches the name the best. Orange Ice Cream has a great orange aroma that reminds me a lot of an orange creamsicle. Orange Ice Cream consists of apple pieces, sour apple pieces, freeze-dried whole cape gooseberries, spearmit, flavour, marigold blossoms, safflower petals. I’m just weirdly surprised at the lack of orange in the ingredient list!

From left to right: Royal Star, Caribbean Kiss, Orange Ice Cream.

Preparation

BRUU recommends steeping Royal Star in 80°C (176°F) for 2 minutes, Caribbean Kiss in 100°C (212°F) for 2 minutes and Orange Ice Cream in 100°C (212°F) for 10-12 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions almost perfectly – I used 79°C (175°F) water for Royal Star, and I had steeped Orange Ice Cream for 10 minutes.

First Taste

Royal Star smells a lot like the dry leaf – fruity and sweet! Surprisingly, it didn’t taste that way to me. Royal Star steeps to a dark orange-brown colour. It wasn’t as sweet as I was expecting (or hoping!) it would be since the dry leaf and steeped tea has a great fruity candy aroma to it and I had some great expectations. It does have a fruity flavour to it, with a touch of sweetness. There’s a mild astringency present mostly at the tail end of each sip, which isn’t too off-putting.

Caribbean Kiss steeps to a golden orange colour. There’s a strong citrus aroma, with peppercorn in the background. There’s a definitely sharp peppercorn flavour to this tea, with some creamy orange notes to it. It’s got a bit of a bite to it, thanks to the peppercorn. Having this one iced would probably be ideal to help tame those spice notes.

Orange Ice Cream steeps to a bright yellow – like sunshine. It smells just like the dry leaf, resembling an orange creamsicle. The flavour tastes like what I expected it to – orange, cream, vanilla notes.  It’s got a nice level of sweetness to it, and I think it would be excellent over ice.

From left to right: Royal Star, Caribbean Kiss, Orange Ice Cream.

A Second Cup?

I attempted resteeps of Royal Star and Caribbean Kiss, but found that the flavour wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I think this has a lot to do with the ingredients that were just tapped out on flavour after the initial steeps.

From left to right: Royal Star, Caribbean Kiss, Orange Ice Cream.

My Overall Impression

I liked BRUU’s Subscription Box. I really like subscription boxes in general because I think it’s a great way to get exposure to teas that I might not otherwise try. The packaging is fun with the tea-themed illustrations, and I think the tasting cards and gold clothespins are just charming. The tea themselves aren’t really blends that I would have personally chosen for myself. I think at first glance, I was most excited for Royal Star as it was a sencha and oolong blend, and I ended up liking Orange Ice Cream the best because it basically tasted like dessert (and what’s not to love about that?). The protein bar will end up in my bag for a night shift snack for sure, and it’s always really fun to try new-to-me teas.

I’d definitely be curious about getting another box from BRUU because it’d just be fun to get to explore more of the teas that they have in their catalogue. The nice thing about the BRUU Subscription Box is that it isn’t overly expensive. It’s priced at £10 for a box (and if you prepay for more months, the price per month does go down), which could make for a nice little gift to yourself on a monthly basis.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Masters Teas’s Shincha Gyokuro

Shincha Gyokuro by Masters Teas
Green Tea / Flavoured
$34.00 USD for 1.5oz (43g)

Masters Teas has provided me with Shincha Gyokuro for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Shincha Gyokuro came in a sealed, resealable pouch. This is a Japanese green tea from Masters Teas and I was super stoked to be offered the chance to try it – it was harvested April of this year! This particular tea comes from Shizuoka, Japan and is such a pretty colour after it steeps (keep reading to see!).

The dry leaf is a dark green – the leaves are thin, narrow, and flattened. There’s a grassy, roasted aroma to the leaves and it’s a really nice smell. It smells fresh and vibrant and it’s just really exciting to get to steep and taste a newly harvested and roasted tea.

Preparation

Masters Teas recommends steeping Shincha Gyokuro in 165°F (74°C) water for 2 minutes, this information wasn’t on the packaging but I easily found it via the product page on the website. I used the lowest temperature setting on my kettle – 175°F (79°C) – and allowed it to cool for about 5 minutes prior to steeping the leaves.

First Taste

Shincha Gyokuro steeps to a pale yellow-green colour. There’s a strong grassy aroma to the tea that reminds me of a warm spring day, which is nice. The flavour itself is a mix of grassy and nutty – there’s some strong umami notes without being overwhelming. There’s no bitterness or astringency, which is nice, and it just makes for a rather pleasant and savoury cup of tea.

A Second Cup?

Masters Teas’s product page for this tea suggested that it could be steeped up to seven times (six resteeps), so of course I had to try it! I found that Shincha Gyokuro does really well – the leaves become such a vibrant bright spring green and the flavour of the initial steep carries through as I resteeped it. The umami notes don’t pack as much of a punch as you resteep it, and the grassy notes come forward a bit more – it still remains a pleasant and savoury tea to drink.

My Overall Impression

I loved Masters Teas’s Shincha Gyokuro. I think it smells great, steeps well, and resteeps even better! The grassy and umami notes of this straight green tea are pleasant and delightfully savoury – which would pair well with a meal or snack. I really enjoyed how well this Japanese green tea resteeps, as well as how vibrant the leaves are after being steeped – such a gorgeous colour to experience!

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.