Today I am enjoying Mighty Leaf tea’s Orange Dulce.

From the package:
“Like a lusciously rich dessert, Orange Dulce is a dark brew teeming with notes of orange, vanilla and jasmine blossoms.”

Orange Dulce is a black tea that requires four minutes of brewing time. While drinking the liquid very hot from my brew mug (see yesterday’s post), I could really taste the vanilla notes, but the cooler the tea became the more the orange flavor was pronounced. The orange and vanilla combination is fantastic. They really pair well with one another. The jasmine accents were extremely subtle, and almost indistinguishable.

This tea would be great paired with any dessert. I may need to bring a tea bag or two with me when I visit Disney next month. Although I must admit, the offerings of tea at the Disney resorts are quite extensive and – despite being tea bags – are of good quality. Look out for my Disney posts in the coming months.

I have been on hiatus from this lovely place for several months, and I am happy to say that I have decided to return. My love for tea has been re-inspired by a visit to my favorite tea cafe in Harvard Square with a friend a couple of weeks ago.

While visiting the aforementioned cafe, I enjoyed a personal favorite oolong tea Ti Kuan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy). My tea-drinking companion had a pot of darjeeling, which I can attest is quite delightful from this establishment.

In other news, the nice people at Mighty Leaf have continued to send me tea to review – despite my failings as a blogger of tea. Below you will find a picture of a thermos – or brew mug as they call it – and some samples I received from them. As I sip my tea, I can say that the thermos keeps the tea extremely hot. Today I am enjoying their Green Tea Tropical tea, which as the name suggests is a green tea blended with tropical fruits. Mighty Leaf recommends this tea as a good introduction to the world of green tea to those of you who are a little hesitant to try this type of tea. I highly recommend this tea.

For those of you reluctant to try loose tea, Mighty Leaf’s biodegradable tea pouches are the perfect solution. They provide a convenient, no-hassle way to enjoy tea, and many of their tea pouches can now be found at your local grocery store.

Here is a video showcasing how to use the brew mug. While I found it is very intuitive, I must admit that the video really does an adequate job of explaining the product.

If you have a brew mug or have tried Mighty Leaf’s tea, please let me know your thoughts.

Jason and I enjoyed a nice lunch at the Museum of Fine Arts this afternoon. I was impressed to find several offerings of Harney & Sons teas at the Galleria, a Parisian style sidewalk–think indoor sidewalk–cafe. Had I not decided to look at the dessert menu, I never would have known that they had a selection of tea, but luckily I brought my appetite with me to the museum.

For the final course, I decided on a Vanilla Bean cheesecake with berry marmalade, which I thought would pair well with the black tea blend English Breakfast. This blend was an organic tea made of Chinese keemun tea leaves.

According to The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea, the body of an English Breakfast is full and the flavors vary with the blend, but in general a good one has “hints of orange, clove, smoke, and a little honey.”

I had my tea with milk and sugar, and it was delightful. This is my first foray into the world of Harney & Sons, and I most certainly will be back for another visit.

If you are new to the world of tea, an English Breakfast tea is a great place to start.

After dinner tea:

Wuyi Oolong from Mighty Leaf

As my regular readers might recall, I reviewed a wuyi oolong not too long ago–one from Rishi Tea. Oolongs are very complex and varied in flavor, and, for that, I truly appreciate this category of the camellia sinensis plant.

Oolongs are between a black and green tea in oxidation: somewhere between 10 to 75 percent.

According to Mighty Leaf’s web site, this “Wuyi Oolong made in China’s Northern Fujian Wuyi mountains is well known for its smooth and rich body and taste. Long, beautiful twisted leaves impart a roasty aroma and produce a sweet, nuanced cup.”

Nuanced is the perfect word to describe this tea. You definitely get the roasted, smoky flavor found in most oolongs, but there are hints of the sweet “caramelization” of this tea that might be even more rewarding had I added sweetner.

This tea holds up well to multiple steepings, and gets better with every sip. You don’t want this cuppa to end.

Post-lunch tea:

Silver Needles (a white tea) from Narien Teas

Back on March 23 of last year, I reviewed my first white tea. I was not too fond of the unadulterated white tea at that point in my limited tea drinking experience. All that has changed.

Today I am drinking a white tea from Fujian province called Yin Zhen, often known as Silver Needles. This tea, according to the book Harney & Son’s Guide to Tea, is “widely considered the best white tea in the world.”

The tea is very subtle in flavor, with a hint of floral high notes such as jasmine. According to the book previously quoted, “Yin Zhen can sometimes begin tasting only of water. But it quickly blooms in the mouth to show a light sugar sweetness, dulled with gentle vegetal flavors of steamed bok choy. Some versions also have faint ‘heat’ notes, like toasted white bread.”

I feel my tea drinking has come full circle. I am now able to appreciate a fine quality white tea that before left me screaming, “What, this tastes of boiled water!”

Check out Narien Teas next time you are in need of quality tea.

Tonight’s before bed teatime gave me the opportunity to taste an Organic Sencha from Rishi Tea.

To me, this Japanese green tea reminds me of a fine beer. It has a full-bodied flavor like that of the aforementioned beverage and tastes of the land. I kept the temperature at 180 degrees, which according to my tea thermometer is the maximum for a green tea, and steeped for four minutes. I used one and one half teaspoons of the tea leaves for a bolder flavor, as suggested by the packaging. Another recommendation stated that the tea held up to multiple steepings. I will have to try it the next time I brew this sencha.

This green tea is very high quality. Sencha is a personal favorite of mine. While many say that the green tea genmaicha is a comfort tea for them, I would argue that sencha is a soothing companion to the ailing stomach or for those with the winter blues.

After lunch tea:

Orange Blossom White Tea from The Republic of Tea

Another trip to the cafe in my building brought a new tea experience. I had my eye on this Orange Blossom white tea for some time, and I finally decided to try it today insofar as I was out of options that piqued my interest.

This white tea comes from Fujian Province, China. I learned–after making it–that this should only be steeped for 30 to 60 seconds. I think my brew had steeped for at least four minutes, but the flavor did not suffer in my opinion.

I was a little concerned, prior to imbibing, that this tea would have a very strong orange flavor: one that I would not appreciate. On the contrary, however, the profile of this tea was subtle, and left merely a hint of citrus.

Late morning tea:

British Breakfast black tea by The Republic of Tea

This morning when asked how I liked my coffee, I replied, “I do not drink coffee.” I think most people are nonplussed by this response, but the person asking, a fellow tea drinker, retorted, “How about tea?” My unusual request was for black tea with milk and sugar.

The cafe in my office building sells a limited selection of teas from The Republic of Tea. I did not know what to expect upon my co-worker’s return from this coffee-tea run, but was pleasantly surprised.

The British Breakfast according to RoT’s web site is a robust blend of quality black leaves–a savory mixture of China, India, Ceylon and Kenya leaves.

I am embracing the British way of drinking tea: with milk and sugar. While I would not think of adding dairy or sweetener to an unblended green, oolong, or white tea, I find it adds to the drinking experience with black tea.

I would have preferred to have been able to distinguish between the origin of leaves used in this tea, but I think higher quality of teas will have to be consumed for a better evaluation.

I am drinking a cup of Mighty Leaf’s Chocolate Mint Truffle for the second time tonight. My first cup was ruined, in my opinion, by adding honey. This rooibos’ flavor already has a hint of honey without adding any to it.

Upon second tasting, I can clearly state the complicated, yet well-blended flavors of mint and chocolate. The cocoa nibs are not overpowering, while the mint leaves a very refreshing, yet subtle taste to the tongue. The rooibos complements these ingredients well: I think more so than the green tea I tried from Adagio that used similar ingredients.

This herbal tea makes for a nice nightcap.

If you have tried this “tea” with milk, please let me know your thoughts.

Evening tea: rishi tea’s organic wuyi oolong tea

According to the packaging, there are “sweet notes of raisins, honeysuckle, and roasted sugar.”

I tried this without any sweetener, but found the tea to be too mild. I had used two tablespoons despite being directed to only use one, but I still did not find the flavor to be very strong. I am used to very bold oolong teas, so this came as some surprise to me.

I added my beloved wildflower honey from the Essex County Beekeepers Association, and had a completely different drinking experience. I thought at first that the taste of honey would not complement an oolong, but I can attest quite on the contrary.