Category: Review

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Teakan’s Milan Xiang, Phoenix Dancong

Milan Xiang, Phoenix Dancong by Teakan
Oolong Tea / Straight
$25.00 for 70g

Milan Xiang, Phoenix Dancong is part of the Teakan’s Spring 2020 Exploration box, which I purchased at the 2020 Vancouver Tea Festival back in March. This Exploration Box consists of 5 teas and Milan Xiang, Phoenix Dancong was 10g of the 70g.

First Impressions

Milan Xiang, Phoenix Dancong comes in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch. Like the other teas that came in the Spring 2020 Exploration box, Milan Xiang has a minimalist white and black label on the packaging that provides all the information that I need about the tea. This oolong tea comes from Wudong, Guangdong, China and was harvested in spring 2019.

The leaves themselves are long and wiry, in dark brown and reddish brown colours. There is a beautiful fragrance from the leaves – it reminds me of floral and buttery aromas. It’s so inviting and smells sweet, which is nice. And look at those beautiful leaves! So gorgeous and just makes me want to dive right in.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Milan Xiang in 95°C (203°F) water for 2 minutes (western steeping style) or 5 seconds (gongfu method). 5 seconds was much too quick for me, so I opted to use 93°C (200°F) water and do an initial steep for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Milan Xiang steeps to a light golden yellow colour. The flavour of Milan Xiang is primarily that of buttery cream and floral sweetness. It’s really nice, and has a thickened texture for the mouthfeel, which is nice. It reminds me a lot of a milk oolong, and just has those buttery cream qualities that I enjoy in an oolong. There just the perfect level of sweetness in the tea that makes it really delicious and would likely go well with a lot of dishes.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Milan Xiang a total of five times (six steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour to be strongest for the first and second resteeps, while slowly waning for the steeps after that. I do think I could have gotten a few more steeps out of these leaves, as it was still quite flavourful by the end of the sixth steep of these leaves. The buttery cream flavour was just so tasty and made me want to drink more and more.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Milan Xiang, Phoenix Dancong. I really enjoyed the whole process of drinking this tea – from admiring the dry leaf, to the fragrance of the steeped tea, to just resteeping it over and over again. Definitely resteep these leaves to get all the flavour out of them – it’s just so good! The buttery cream flavours would balance well against a savoury meal, or just add a little something something to a dessert.

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Tielka’s Tielka Breakfast

Tielka Breakfast by Tielka
Black Tea / Straight
$13.00 for 65g

Tielka has provided me with Tielka Breakfast for the purposes of writing an honest review.

Until June 21st 2020, when you order a pouch of Tielka Breakfast from Tielka, you’ll receive a free storage tin with your order when you mention One More Steep in the comments of your order!

First Impressions

Tielka Breakfast comes in a printed white cardstock box that has a printed label on it. The label has a perforation right where the flap closes, which is a nice feature because you don’t have to peel it up to open the box. The tea itself comes in a vacuum sealed pouch that is not resealable, but that’s nothing that a plastic zip top bag won’t fix (I like to keep my tea in original packaging when possible, and using a baggie helps keep the tea longer since exposure to air, light, and moisture is usually what gets the tea stale, or moldy if it’s water exposure).

Tielka Breakfast is a Dianhong black tea from Yunnan Province, China. It’s a black tea that’s harvested in the May to August season (so summer), and Tielka describes it as being “hand harvested and crafted by organic artisan tea farmers”. This tea is certified organic and fair trade, which I think is awesome because it means that the workers on tea farms are being paid fair wages for their labour. The tea leaves themselves are a lovely dark brown with some golden pops throughout. There’s a rich aroma to the tea leaves – a mix of yeast that reminds me of baked goods, with some caramel notes.

Preparation

Tielka recommends steeping Tielka Breakfast in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions to a tee (to a tea?).

First Taste

Tielka Breakfast steeps to a dark reddish brown colour, and it has a caramel aroma to it. The tea itself is smooth with a mild astringency. I notice that there’s some yeasty notes again, it still reminds me of freshly baked bread, as well as some caramel flavours. There’s a slight sweetness to it, which I think could be easily boosted with some sweetener if that’s your norm for a breakfast tea.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Tielka Breakfast twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour was fairly strong still for the first resteep but was a bit weak for more with the second resteep. I would recommend experimenting a bit, if you’re not that picky you can definitely get three steeps out of the same leaves.

My Overall Impression

I loved Tielka’s Tiekla Breakfast. I really enjoyed the flavour of this straight black tea, it had some nice caramel notes and bread-y/yeasty flavours to it. It kind of lends itself to an almost malty flavour, like what you usually find in Assam black teas. It’s not as in-your-face as a traditional breakfast blend would be, there’s definitely some milder flavours in there, but I think it’s really well balanced. This tea would take to sweetener and creamer really nicely, in my opinion, so it’s a great option for afternoon tea if you’re setting something up at home.

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Dessert by Deb’s Lady Grey’s Garden

Lady Grey’s Garden by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

I received Lady Grey’s Garden as part of my purchased subscription box from Dessert by Deb. This tea is part of the Spring Garden Party Collection and is not subscriber exclusive.

First Impressions

Lady Grey’s Garden comes in a gold foil pouch that’s sealed and resealable with a familiar, colourful label. The first thing I noticed when opening up the pouch was the strong bergamot, lavender, and rose notes – which then made me think of a garden. Well played, Dessert by Deb.

This black tea blend is a play on the classic Earl Grey. Lady Grey’s Garden contains organic: black tea, natural bergamot, lemon peel, lemongrass, rose petals, lavender, and calendula petals. It’s a very pretty blend to look at with those vibrant colours! I can definitely smell the lemongrass after removing some of it from the pouch – the floral ingredients are definitely quite strong as well.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Lady Grey’s Garden in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the recommended temperature of water and did an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Lady Grey’s Garden steeps to a lovely golden yellow. The aromas that I can make out are lemongrass, the citrus notes of bergamot, and the lavender. It has a nice freshness to it that reminds me of spring. The flavour is a nice blend of everything – I can taste the bergamot the most, with the lavender, rose, and lemongrass mingling in the background. It has a sweetness to it, which I did expect, and has a strong floral flavour to it. I find it really has a nice feminine feel to the flavour profile, since Lady Grey’s Garden is so floral-forward. It definitely makes me feel a bit more decadent when drinking it because it feels like such a treat.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Lady Grey’s Garden once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the subsequent steep. I found that the floral notes weren’t as strong as the initial steep, which is something that I had anticipated. The bergamot flavour is still there, and the black tea base is a bit more obvious as it has a slight astringent taste to it.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Lady Grey’s Garden. I found it to be the loveliest floral blend – both for the eyes and the taste buds. I really struggle at times to enjoy twists on Earl Grey because I love the traditional take on the blend so much, but it’s just so nice to enjoy the floral flavours and it definitely makes me want to get a group of friends together for a little tea party. A nice bonus is that it isn’t a subscriber exclusive, so you won’t need to join the subscription box in order to get access to it – but the subscription box is pretty sweet, so why not get in on it?

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