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Everspring Tea’s Alishan High Mountain Tea

Alishan High Mountain Tea by Everspring Tea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$19.99 for 100g

First Impressions

Alishan High Mountain Tea was one of those impulse grocery store purchases (yet again). The golden tin on the shelf just called to me (and it didn’t hurt that it was also on sale). It’s a metal tin with a plastic bottom to it. Beneath the shrink wrap and under the lid, there’s a plastic seal that peels out. Inside of that, however, is the vacuum-sealed gold foil pouch of tea.

There isn’t a lot of informtion on the packaging – just that it’s oolong tea and it is a product of Taiwan. Alishan is a mountain in Taiwan, so that also checks out. The leaves themselves are tightly bunched up leaves, with the colouration varying from a bright green to a dark green that’s almost brown. The aroma is lightly floral with a touch of grassy aroma in the background.

Preparation

Everspring Tea recommends steeping Alishan High Mountain Tea in “hot water”.

I opted to use 195°F (90°C) water and did an initial steep for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Alishan High Mountain Tea steeps to a pale yellow. It has a sweet floral aroma to it. The flavour to Alishan High Mountain Tea is grassy, floral, with a honey sweetness to it. There’s a thin texture to it, but the flavour coats the mouth well. I like the sweetness to Alishan High Mountain Tea, because it’s at the tail end of each sip.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Alishan High Mountain Tea five times, six steeps total with the same leaves. The flavour of Alishan High Mountain Tea got more grassy and less floral, while the sweetness lingered and then slowly waned. The colour of Alishan High Mountain Tea became a darker yellow with the subsequent steeps before it started to fade in colour again.

My Overall Impression

I loved Everspring Tea’s Alishan High Mountain Tea. The flavour is enjoyable, and the pricing was decent for the amount of tea you get in the tin (100g). The tea has a nice aroma, resteeps well, and the leaves look beautiful! Not a bad grocery store purchase on a whim.

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

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Teakan’s Honey Oolong

Honey Oolong by Teakan
Oolong Tea / Straight
$38.00 for 61g

Honey Oolong is part of Teakan’s Volume 6 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Honey Oolong makes up 15g of the 61g kit.

First Impressions

Honey Oolong comes in the very familiar packaging from Teakan – a sealed and resealable kraft paper pouch with a minimalistic white and black label. On the front, the label details the location where this tea comes from (Minjian, Nantou, Taiwan), the type of tea (oolong), and when it was harvested (spring 2021).

Single origin teas are always a treat to enjoy, because everything from the amount of rain, sun, altitude, soil and fertilizer quality all make a huge difference on the tea plants for the growing season.

Honey Oolong has tightly bunched up leaves that are a mix of cream, deep green, and brown in colour. The aroma of the leaves are sweet, fruity, and floral. It’s really an inviting fragrance for the senses.

Preparation

Teakan has steeping recommendations for both western steeping and gongfu steeping.

For western steeping, Teakan recommends using 90°C (194°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes.

For gongfu steeping, Teakan recommends using 90°C (194°F) water for 30 seconds.

My initial steep of Honey Oolong was done western style, and I used the recommended water temperature and steeped for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Honey Oolong steeps to a light yellow. The aroma is (unsurprisingly, given the name) sweet and floral. The flavour of Honey Oolong is sweet, with a floral undertone. The floral notes remind me of peonies, if I had to pinpoint a specific flower. I found that the texture of Honey Oolong has a slight thickness to it, with a pleasant mouthfeel. There is no bitterness or astringency.

A Second Cup?

Honey Oolong’s leaves opened up so much after the initial steep. I resteeped Honey Oolong six times (seven leaves total with the same leaves), and found that the flavour remained fairly consistent throughout, only decreasing in intensity after the second resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Honey Oolong. This oolong was a treat for the senses from the dry leaf to the steeped tea, and even examining the spent leaves. Honey Oolong has a beautiful flavour and aroma, it was quite enjoyable to steep and drink. I enjoyed it hot, but I also had a cup that had cooled down so I think this tea would be great iced as well – the natural sweetness is a nice touch.

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

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Dessert by Deb’s Cream Soda Float

Cream Soda Float by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.75 for 25g

Cream Soda Float came to me as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

This is actually the last blend from Dessert by Deb that was part of the bimonthly subscription box that I’ve got to review! The last box was received earlier this year and while I’m so sad that it’s no longer being offered, I am looking forward to placing a self-curated box to receive in the mail very soon.

Cream Soda Float comes in a pale pink metallic pouch that’s sealed and resealable. It has the very familiar colourful polka dot label across the front of it.

Cream Soda Float consists of organic: black tea, natural cream flavour, sarsaparilla root, coconut, vanilla, and red cornflower petals. This is an incredibly beautiful blend – just look at it! The aroma is surprisingly strong and it reminds me a lot of cream soda. I’m not sure how that was achieved, but it smells really good and reminds me just like the pop.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends preparing Cream Soda Float in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

Dessert by Deb also recommends preparing Cream Soda Float as a latte or with “a splash of soda”. I opted to have it hot, and then tried it as a latte.

First Taste

Cream Soda Float steeps to an orange-brown colour, and it has a strong cream soda aroma to it. I found the flavour to be curiously very similar to cream soda. There’s some vanilla notes, it’s slightly creamy, and somehow tastes like cream soda. The vanilla notes really lend itself to making me think of a float because of vanilla ice cream (obviously one of the classic choices of ice cream for a float!). It has a nice sweetness to it, which I appreciate because cream soda has plenty of sweetness to it, but it’s not overkill.

Changing this cup of tea to a latte added a nice layer of creaminess on top of the existing vanilla notes, and really sold it to my tastebuds that I was having a float.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Cream Soda Float once, but found that the flavour just did not compare to the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Cream Soda Float. I don’t know how she managed to get this black tea blend to smell and taste like cream soda, but Deb did! Part of the high marks is for that alone, because it’s just a marvel to me. The flavour was on point, the fact that it had those vanilla notes for that vanilla ice cream component of a float really made it all the more delicious. It does well as a latte, so I imagine that Dessert by Deb’s suggestion of preparing Cream Soda Float with a splash of pop would also do the trick as well.

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