Tag: Oolong Tea

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Oteas’s Oolong Tea with Ginger

Oolong Tea and Ginger by Oteas
Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$7.49 for 33.75g (15 sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Oolong Tea and Ginger for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Oolong Tea and Ginger is a blend from Oteas that comes portioned into tea sachets with plastic free packaging. Oteas encourages recycling of the cardstock box, the inner liner (that holds all the tea sachets) can be composted at home as well as the tea sachets themselves – how great for the environment! The sachets themselves are the pyramid-shaped ones, I tore it open to take a better look at the contents since that’s what I’m all about.

The aroma of the dry leaf is definitely ginger-heavy. The listened ingredients are Chinese oolong tea (green tea) and natural stem ginger. I’m a wee bit confused about the classification of oolong tea and green tea (since they are different types of tea), but I also know that some oolongs behave more like green tea in terms of steeping time and temperature, so I’m not too fussed. But if you read the packaging and get confused too, you weren’t alone.

Preparation

Oteas recommends steeping Oolong Tea and Ginger in 85-90°C water for 2-3 minutes. With my kettle, I opted to do an initial steep with 85°C (185°F) water for 3 minutes. I did steep the tea in the pyramid shaped tea sachet, and found that it was pretty full with the expanded leaves when I was done steeping.

First Taste

Oolong Tea and Ginger steeps to a really nice golden orange colour. It has a strong ginger-forward aroma, which is well reflected in the steeped tea itself. There are some grassy and earthy notes from the oolong that balances well against the ginger – with really reminds me of a ginger ale of sorts. It’s a nicely balanced blend.

A Second Cup?

I restepeed Oolong Tea and Ginger once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the subsequent steep. I found that the ginger notes weren’t as strong, as I think I used up some of that flavour in the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Oteas’s Oolong Tea and Ginger. I thought the balance of flavours between the oolong base with the ginger was really well done, I appreciate the plant-based, compostable packaging materials that Oteas has sourced out to use for their products. The flavour of the tea is nice and I find that the ginger is really flavour forward, which makes for an easy blend to reach for when you’ve got an upset stomach if ginger helps you.

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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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Sunny M’s Formosa Mudra

Formosa Mudra by Sunny M
Oolong Tea / Straight
$40.00 for 100g

Sunny M has provided me with Formosa Mudra for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Formosa Mudra is a curious little tea that came from Sunny M. Described as being ethically sourced, hand picked and artisan roasted, this oolong tea comes from the Charm of Hearts tea estate in Taiwan. The tea itself is primarily dark brown, very tightly bunched up leaves.

Formosa Mudra is a straight oolong tea with no additives, the aroma from the tea is a fruity aroma that reminds me of stone fruits – like apricots or peaches. The dark colour really shows an impressive amount of oxidation, and I’m excited to give it a try.

Preparation

Sunny M recommends steeping Formosa Mudra in 85℃-95℃(185℉-203℉) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes in 93°C (200°F).

First Taste

Formosa Mudra steeps to a lovely light golden orange colour. There’s a pleasant aroma from the steeped tea that reminds me of a mix of peaches and malt, I find the tea to be smooth, with a slightly thickened texture to it and just a slight astringency, which is nice. It’s not as sweet as I was expecting it, based on the aroma of the fruity dry leaf.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Formosa Mudra a total of six times (seven steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. As I resteeped Formosa Mudra, I found that the tea became more buttery and creamy in flavour than fruity as I steeped it. It made for a nice transition and still a tasty cup of tea.

My Overall Impression

I loved Sunny M’s Formosa Mudra. I found the aroma of the dry leaf to be lovely, and the steeped tea to be not quite what I expected – as it shifted from a stone fruit to a more buttery cream flavour. It does make for a nice cup of tea though, so I’m not disappointed at all in the change and really enjoyed steeping the same leaves over and over again. It was a real treat to watch the leaves open up so much as I steeped this oolong tea.

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