Tag: Oolong Tea

Posted on

Liquid Proust Teas’ Peach vs. Bergamot featuring Formosa Oolong

Peach vs. Bergamot featuring Formosa Oolong by Liquid Proust Teas
Oolong Tea/ Flavoured
$7USD for 1 ounce

Liquid Proust Teas has provided me with Peach vs. Bergamot for the purposes of providing an honest review.
I received this product at no charge to me and received no other compensation.

“Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life.” – Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way

20150929-liquidproustteaspeachvsbergamot1

First Impressions

I was more than a little bit excited about this tea when I read the name because I really love Earl Grey teas so anything with bergamot oil gets me excited. Opening the bag to take a sniff, the first thing I can smell is peaches and it smells sweet – it reminds me a lot of fuzzy peaches candy. The underlying scent has some citrus notes to it, which I would think is the bergamot but it doesn’t pack a wallop like in some Earl Greys that I’ve had before. This is a lot more subtle, since the peach scent is definitely overwhelming the bergamot. If this was an actually some kind of match between peach and bergamot, I would say that peach is already winning in the fragrance department!

20150929-liquidproustteaspeachvsbergamot2

Peach vs. Bergamot contains: Formosa oolong, marigold, and flavouring. Without more information, my best guess is that the flavouring includes peach and bergamot. The marigold is easy to pick out, the oolong has subtle twists in the leaves. They are an amazingly dark colour though, and the flavouring stands out to the point that it is overwhelming to the natural fragrance of the tea.

Preparation

Liquid Proust Teas recommends steeping Peach vs. Bergamot in 185°F (85°C) water for 3 minutes, I steeped for about 3 minutes.

First Taste

Peach vs. Bergamot is a beautiful, clear golden brown colour and has a very light peach fragrance. I don’t really smell any bergamot, but the peach is very nice. With the first sip, the peach flavour is subtle and the oolong flavour comes out quite well despite it being hard to smell when the tea was dry. The tea is pleasant – smooth, no bitter notes. The peach flavouring is a quite nice pairing with the oolong. Because the flavouring isn’t overwhelming, oolong comes out in tea after steeping. I don’t really get any hints of bergamot flavour though, there’s no punch of citrus that I am used to from Earl Grey, but the peach is so pleasant that I don’t even care that I can’t taste the bergamot.

20150929-liquidproustteaspeachvsbergamot3

A Second Cup?

Steeping Peach vs. Bergamot again, most of the light peach flavour is gone and I get the full effect of the oolong. It actually resteeps quite well, despite not tasting the same. The second (and also third!) steep of Peach vs. Bergamot brings out more of the straight oolong taste as most of the flavours are gone. Because the flavour changes so starkly, it’s almost like getting to try a whole new tea.

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved Liquid Proust Teas’ Peach vs. Bergamot. In a battle between peach and bergamot, peach is the winner – but the clear champion overall is the oolong. The peach flavouring lasts well for the first cup, but each subsequent steep brings out more and more of the oolong and it’s a beautiful flavour. I think the first steep would also make a really nice iced tea, the delicate peach flavour lends itself well to a tea for summer and would probably taste fantastic with some ice, maybe a fresh sprig of mint. Hot though, the tea is great and I love the changes in flavour as the oolong comes out.

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

Posted on

Liquid Proust Teas’ Nostalgia

Nostalgia by Liquid Proust Teas
Black + Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$9USD for 1 ounce

Liquid Proust Teas has provided me with Nostalgia for the purposes of providing an honest review.
I received this product at no charge to me and received no other compensation.

“Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.” – Marcel Proust

20150923-liquidproustteasnostalgia3

First Impressions

Like with the first Liquid Proust Tea I reviewed (Smoked Breakfast), the bag is very sturdy and a bit tough to open (at least it’s air tight?). It has a very subtle aroma, no perfumed smells to overwhelm the senses here! The tea itself smells sweet, it reminds me quite a bit like the smell of lychee and it comes off as ‘fruity’ to me, despite not being an herbal infusion at all.

20150923-liquidproustteasnostalgia2

Nostalgia contains the following: 2012 Da Hong Pao oolong, Fujian black tea, and red sandalwood. This is my first time trying a tea with Da Hong Pao oolong and red sandalwood. It is a pretty tea, the red sandalwood gives nice bright pops of colour in the otherwise very dark tea leaves. I’m not too familiar with red sandalwood so I’m not sure if what kind of smell it should have on its own, but I don’t smell anything that reminds me of wood in this tea – it does make the tea look prettier though.

Preparation

Liquid Proust Teas recommends steeping Nostalgia in 205°F (96°C) water for 2-3 minutes. I steeped it for about 3 minutes.

First Taste

20150923-liquidproustteasnostalgia1

Nostalgia had a very light scent when steeping – I couldn’t quite place my finger on what it reminded me of. It almost had a light earthiness quality, as well as smelling like black teas that I’ve tried in the past. The tea steeps to a warm brown colour that is very inviting. Nostalgia has a very smooth taste, there’s no bitterness that I noted. There was a slight astringency at the end of each sip that was primarily quelled by drinking more of the tea. While it had smelled a bit fruity to me prior to steeping it, I didn’t note any lychee qualities to the tea when drinking it – I didn’t really expect any as it wasn’t listed as an ingredient, but it did have the fruity floral scent to it when dry.

After I finished my first cup, I wanted to see how it would resteep so I had another steep of Nostalgia.

A Second Cup?

Nostalgia does really well with resteeping! I tack on another 30 seconds of so of steeping time for each subsequent cup, I resteeped this tea two more times and it tasted exactly the same, which is a nice quality to have in a tea.

My Overall Impression

2cups-2

I thought that Liquid Proust Teas’ Nostalgia was just okay. It’s a beautiful tea and it resteeps really well if you’re looking for a tea that will last you throughout your day. While I did find the flavour of the tea quite enjoyable, I was not a fan of the astringency sensation that I get from this tea.

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