Tag: Oolong Tea

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Harney & Sons’ Paris

Paris by Harney & Sons
Black Tea & Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$8.50USD for 4oz

First Impressions

I bought Paris at Harney & Sons SoHo location in New York City during my visit back in October 2017 and I couldn’t resist getting it after one of the salespeople working in the store told me that it was one of  Harney & Sons’ best selling teas. So of course I had to give it a try. Paris came to me in a metal tin, the tea itself is loose in a tin (not like Bancha where the tea was in a foil package inside of the tin). The aroma of the dry leaf is primarily fruity with a hint of vanilla.

Paris consists of: black tea, oolong tea, black currant flavour, vanilla flavour, bergamot oil, and caramel flavour. If you asked me to pick out the oolong tea in this blend, I’d probably laugh at you. There are some leaves that appear more twisted and long than others, but the aroma of this tea is beautiful. I love the fruity aroma – I’ve actually never eaten black currant before (but I have had black currant candy so I can pick out the flavour), but it smells so good.

Preparation

Harney & Sons recommends steeping Paris in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 minutes, and then to “Remove the tea leaves. Relax and enjoy.” Well, don’t mind if I do! I steeped Paris for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Paris steeps to a beautiful golden orange, the aroma from this tea is nothing short of enticing. There’s the aromas of vanilla, citrus, and black currants. I can’t make out the fragrances of black or oolong tea in the steeped tea. On first sip, I note some sweetness to this tea. The vanilla notes make the tea have more of a cream flavouring to it, as it reminds me of baked goods. The citrus and black currants have great flavour, and there’s a robustness to this tea. It honestly reminds me a lot of an Earl Grey because of the bergamot, with an added lightness with the vanilla and fruitiness from the black currant.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Paris twice. I found that the flavours weren’t as strong as the first steep, but still palatable. I found that there’s still a sweetness to this tea, and the vanilla and bergamot was mostly still present However, the black currant is missing. The second resteep was very watery and not nearly as tasty. I would say that Paris is good for just one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Harney & Sons’ Paris. It’s a lovely black tea blend, and has a lovely fruity aroma and flavouring to it. I really enjoy the addition of vanilla, and the bergamot really reminds me of the classic Earl Grey – which is one of my favourites. The creaminess that the vanilla adds to this tea is a welcome change from a classic, and I can see why Paris is one of Harney & Sons’ best selling teas. I think this tea would make an excellent afternoon tea selection with the sweetness and vanilla to compliment the macarons and other desserts.

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GCY Tea’s Tie Guanyin

Tie Guanyin by GCY Tea
Oolong Tea / Straight
300g

This is a review of a tea that I received as a gift from someone who had travelled overseas to Hong Kong.

First Impressions

Tie Guanyin came to me in a long cardboard box. Inside was two cardboard boxes, which each held a sealed foil package of the tea. The extra cardboard box step just makes me think it’s too much packaging, but at least it’s something that can be recycled. Each foil package of tea holds 150g of oolong tea, which makes this whole package a whooping 300g. I love a good oolong, so I was pretty stoked about having so much oolong available to me (on top of what I already have…). That said, all the print on the packaging is in Chinese and my reading skills are minimal, so bear with me on this one!

The dry leaf is a pleasant green with some pops of bright green among the darker shades of green. The aroma from this oolong is primarily that of grass and floral notes. It’s not a very fragrant tea, the aromas are very subtle.

Preparation

The instructions on the side of the packaging suggests to steep in boiling water, up to 5-7 times. I used my Breville IQ Kettle‘s oolong tea setting (90°C/195°F) for an initial steep of 2 minutes.

First Taste

Tie Guanyin steeps to a pale yellow-green, there’s a very mild aroma that comes up from this steeped tea. I would liken it to being a bit grassy, with very light floral. It doesn’t smell like floral perfume, which is a bonus, but the overall aroma is quite light. I found that the flavour is much more vibrant than I expected, especially considering just the fragrance of the tea. There’s some light vegetal and and grassy notes, while there’s a very light sweetness to this tea that reminds me of jasmine flowers.

A Second Cup?

When a tea company suggests that their tea can be resteeped up to 7 times, I always take it as a challenge. I resteeped this oolong a total of 8 times. The colour got consistently darker and more golden yellow, until about the 5th resteep with the same leaves. The flavours did get deeper and more robust with each steep, having more of a creamy, buttery flavour to it as I continued to steep it. Even up to the 7th and 8th resteep, the flavours are strong enough that I think that I could have continued steeping even more.

My Overall Impression

I loved GCY Tea’s Tie Guanyin. It was a surprising flavourful considering how mildly aromatic the dry leaf is. I greatly enjoyed how the flavours got stronger and more complex. The change to a buttery/creamy flavour mixed with the grassy and vegetal from the initial steep were quite welcome, and tasty. I found each steep to be delicious and it’s definitely a tea that can be resteeped over and over again and would recommend having it over a weekend morning and afternoon.

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Tea Ave’s Tie Kwan Yin Oolong

Tie Kwan Yin Oolong by Tea Ave
Oolong Tea / Straight
$14.99 for 25g

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First Impressions

Tie Kwan Yin Oolong from Tea Ave came to me in a sealed (and resealable!) foil pouch. I must say that I really do like Tea Ave’s packaging – it’s minimalistic, has all the information you could want or need about the tea on the label, and it’s functional. Tie Kwan Yin Oolong is described by Tea Ave as being a “distinctive-tasting tea” and uses words like “subtle bitterness”, “mellow, fruity notes” and “sweetness” to describe it. Bitter? Fruity? Sweet? I do love a tea challenge.

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Tie Kwan Yin Oolong has a beautiful colour – all of the leaves are tightly rolled up and they have a dark reddish brown colour to the leaves. The dry leaf has notes of plum, pine needle, and a general earthiness that I find hard to pin point what it reminds me of. Either way, the combination of what I smell is intriguing.

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Preparation

Tea Ave has steeping recommendations for steeping Tie Kwan Yin Oolong in a gaiwan, in a tea bag, a tea pot, or as a cold brew. Because I’m steeping in a teapot, I’ll share those steeping instructions with you. Tea Ave recommends steeping in 90-95°C (194-203°F) water for 3-5 minutes, and suggests resteeping up to 3 times (with an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute for each additional infusion). My initial steep of Tie Kwan Yin Oolong was in 91°C (195°F) water for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Tie Kwan Yin Oolong steeps to a golden orange. The aroma that I found wafting up from the cup, I think I would describe it as “light woodsy” – there was some definite earthy aromas, pine fragrance. I could also smell what reminded me of dried stone fruits (so like dried apricots and plums). The flavour from this oolong was interesting – I could definitely taste some fruity essence (plum flavour!), some deep woody/pine flavour, I did note some honeyed sweetness at the beginning of each sip that really highlighted the plum flavour – and (true to the description) I did note a very mild bitterness at the end of each sip. It wasn’t off-putting, it was just a little bit and it didn’t linger – which I found good. It was a complex cup of tea though – the sweetness is offset by the bitterness, and the fruity flavour gets balanced out by the woodsy notes.

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A Second Cup?

I had to resteep Tie Kwan Yin. Tea Ave suggested resteeping up to three times, so I had to do four times (just for fun). I found that the flavours were strongest for the initial, first, and second resteeps. The third resteep was beginning to get a bit watery, and the fourth was pretty much forgettable – so three resteeps was right on the money for this oolong. I found the bitterness got weaker with each subsequent steep, while the sweetness mellowed. The woody/pine flavours got stronger, but the plum got bolder (without becoming more sweet). It made for a different cup of tea with each steep.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Tea Ave’s Tie Kwan Yin Oolong. The complex aromas and flavours of this oolong, and how the flavours change with each subsequent steep makes this oolong both interesting and tasty. I really appreciated how the bitterness subsided with each steep, it make this tea just so much more enjoyable – I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much it had become stronger with each steep. This is a tea that I would definitely recommend resteeping over and over to experience the changes in flavour, and to also savour with each steep because it is a fun experience. I loved the plum and woodsy flavours in this oolong so much.

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