Natures Tea Leaf, Natures Ultimate Chocolate Oolong

Nature's Tea Leaf Description:
Nature's Ultimate Chocolate Oolong Tea is an exclusive blend of select oolong tea leaves with a duo of rich Belgian chocolates. The oolong leaves are naturally withered under the strong sun, and wrap rolled into small beads giving this tea a roasted aroma. A blizzard of sweet creamy white and rich semisweet dark Belgian chocolate curls are expertly combined to provide the drinker with the ultimate chocolate tea experience.

Sample provided by Natures Tea Leaf for review.

My Review:
I had previously tried a chocolate mint white tea from Natures Tea Leaf. It was very tasty and well balanced between tea, mint, and chocolate. This is ULTIMATE chocolate. So it has a lot to live up to with a name like that. The white and dark chocolate curls are pretty in the mix and quite nice to munch. This calls for 2 tsp of leaf. I used one heaping scoop with the spoon that came with my press. I added 12oz of water at just below boiling.

So I am looking at the leaf in the press and I am thinking that isn’t enough – it looked like it was all chocolate. I added about a third of a scoop more. The steep time was 3 minutes. The brew is very cloudy like adding milk to coffee. As I pour, I start to notice the leaf in the press. Oops. This is oolong. Oolong usually expands a lot. I forgot. That is a lot of leaf!

It smells roasted like Foojoy Wuyi oolong. I admit to adding sweetener because, hello, it’s chocolate. The taste is mainly roasted oolong with the chocolate coming in light in the late sip. This feels milky underneath from beginning to end. As it cools the chocolate flavors pick up becoming a more prominent taste.

The oolong overpowers the rest of the cup, especially when hot. This is because I used too much leaf. I went to the website and discovered it should have been 1 tsp of leaf not the 2 tsp as noted on the pouch.

So not afraid to admit i messed up, I'm starting over. Now the dark roasted oolong blends most excellently with the white and dark chocolate curls.

For the second cup I reduced the steep time to two minutes. The chocolate and the oolong remain in balance. The roastiness is reduced and the chocolate flavor is even more obvious. If you don’t like the first cup, definitely give this another steep.

On the third cup I went back to three minutes. It was lighter than the second cup but still a lot of balanced flavor. I also notice now that the roastiness is calmed way down you can taste the floral oolong.notes. It always reminds me of the smell of the geranium plants my neighbor grew when I was a kid.

I think this would go at least one more steep but I don’t have time to find out today. If you use the web instructions this is really very good. Did I mention it’s chocolate?

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Nature’s Tea Leaf, Chocolate Mint Whisper White Tea

Nature’s Tea Leaf Description:
Chocolate Mint Whisper White Tea is an exclusive blend of a select White Peony tea with pure peppermint leaves and rich Belgian chocolate. The whole leaf tea is evenly mixed with fresh cut mint leaves that are dried naturally to preserve their flavor. Belgian semisweet and white chocolate curls are expertly combined to provide the drinker with a tea that is decadent in aroma but with a flavor that is fresh and minty with hints of rich and velvety chocolate.

Price: $8.00/2oz

This is the second of three samples I received from Nature’s Tea Leaf for review.

My Review:

The first thing you notice with this one are the curls of white chocolate. Looking closer you also notice the dark chocolate curls. The leaf scent is mildly chocolate and minty. I have high hopes for this tea.

I used almost two scoops of leaf for 12oz. that is nearly double what I normally use but this is white tea and the chocolate takes up a lot of real estate in the bag. The water was lightly steaming. I steeped for about 4 minutes. The resulting brew is light and cloudy. Actually, it looks muddy. I expected this since it is a chocolate tea. The chocolate has all melted leaving only the leaf and a white film in the press.

At the front of the sip is the white tea. While the brain is trying to determine how it tastes the chocolate splashes over it. This is hard to describe as the white tea is obvious but under the chocolate. While the flavor is light, it is not shy. Chocolate is the main flavor in the cup. I cannot separate the two types in the sip. The chocolate washes into a milky treat as the mint rises and claims the aftertaste.

This is not an in your face decadent chocolate tea. The name whisper fits it perfectly. It is like a whisper in a quiet moment. Soothing. Relaxing. I often read reviews of chocolate teas where the writer says, “I just wish it had more chocolate.” My feeling is, with this one, it would be a distraction. It is perfect as is. Disclaimer: I did add sweetener to bring a little more life to all the flavors, but I would have done that anyway.

Visit Nature’s Tea Leaf at http://www.naturestealeaf.com/

Nature's Tea Leaf, Bergamot Green Tea

Nature's Tea Leaf Description:

Bergamot Green Tea is a select Sencha green tea with genuine, dried pieces of bergamot. The Sencha tea leaves are green and have a flat, smooth, and narrow body. Bergamot, a “Chinese bitter orange,” is a citrus aurantium, a type of citrus fruit that is yellow in color with a pleasant fragrance and sour, sweet taste. When infused, the tea liquid is light yellow. Naturally fortified with antioxidants, our Bergamot Green Tea is potent with a citrusy aroma and a bold and stimulating flavor. With a hint of muscatel, this tea has a pleasantly dry finish you are sure to enjoy.

Price: $6:00/2oz

Sample provided by Nature's Tea Leaf for review.

My Review:
I am home today. I took a snow day. There isn’t that much snow but the wind is howling causing the snow to drift faster than the road crews can plow it. I talked with my sons who both work the night shift. They said it was treacherous out there. I decided to head for the couch. On the way I grabbed a Pop Tart and went looking for tea. I need Earl Grey, but I don’t have any at home. Yeah, it’s at work. I do have an ounce of Bergamot Green Tea.

I opened the pouch and sniffed. Ok, this isn’t Earl Grey. At least not the kind I normally drink. This smells of green tea with light citrus/pepper notes. I heated my water and poured into the press where a scoop of the leaf was waiting. The steep time was about a minute. The resulting brew was yellow turning amber in the cup.

Some teas have layers of flavors that can each be detected as you sip. Some teas are just a muddy mess. This tea is different from both extremes. Here we have closer to a melding of flavors where the green tea and the pieces of bergamot fit seamlessly together. What I mean is there are different flavor elements but you can’t tell where one begins and the other ends. This is Sencha, and light citrus. It also tastes a lot like pepper without the heat. It completely makes me think Gurman’s Pepper Mango, spicy but without heat. This is not Earl Green. It is something completely different and interesting.

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Nature’s Tea Leaf, Buddha Hand Oolong

Nature's Tea Leaf Description:
Organic Iron Buddha Hand Oolong Tea are strips of tea leaves with a dark green and black bloom. The leaves are naturally withered under the strong sun, oxidized, and then tightly wrapped and rolled. The Buddha Hand Oolong, so named for the resemblance to the leaves of the fruit tree "Buddha's Hand" or "fingered citron", has a delicate aroma and an audacious flavor that is refreshing when served hot or cold.

My Review:
This sample was provided by Nature’s Tea Leaf. The dry leaf is interesting. It is rolled, but not in balls, rather more as elongated pods that resemble the cocoons I find on our cedar trees. The dry scent is grain. Once I put it in the press I thought I detected cocoa. Neither of these scents do I think of when thinking oolong. I used a half of my scoop, looked at it in the press and thought, this is not enough so I nearly doubled it. The water was heated to almost boiling. I steeped per instructions at 3 minutes.

The brew is a pale yellow as best I can tell in my dark office. The wet leaf scent is best described as green. It is not vegetable or floral, just green, with the faintest of roasted notes. The leaf has not unfurled completely so I am not sure what we have yet.

The sip when hot is a little light on the first cup. It first seems non-descript, then suddenly bam, bam, bam. It goes from tasting watery to mineral, then immediately changes to floral, followed by mellow roasted. The aftertaste lingers long and floral of green oolong with a cooling breath sensation. Pretty awesome for one sip. Yet it is so light, that gulping this, you would miss all but the roasted note and aftertaste. As the cup cools I am noticing more of a woodsy taste early in the sip. The roastiness reminds me of light genmaicha, the floral aftertaste is somewhere between tiguanyin and high mountain oolong but more subtle than either.

Steeping a second mug resulted in a press full of huge leaf - ok I didn't need as much as I thought. It is still not completely unfurled but there is a lot of it. Oddly, it stills smells just green. The brew is golden. The roasted taste has mostly gone in to hiding. It is replaced by a creaminess. The aftertaste continues to grow stronger. It is now largely tiguanyin, but the cooler the cup, the more it takes on a citrus type flavor.

I decided to try something different on the third mug. I used a cold brewing technique I have only started experimenting with recently. I poured cool water (not heated) over my leaf and set the press aside for an hour and a half. The result was the most flavorful cup yet from this tea. Seriously good. The sip was what I call geranium as that is what it reminds me of as I taste. It had the same great aftertaste as when I used hot water.

I know this has many more cups in it, as it is only improving. Unfortunately three cups is all I have time for this day.

What I really like about this one is the complexity. It morphs and mutates during the sip and through the temperature changing as well as with different steeps. The downside is I am not sure how well the first cup translates to the average western tea drinker’s tastes. I have noticed a tendency to embrace big flavors. This may start too subtle for a lot of tea drinkers and be overlooked by those more familiar with the bite of the Assam monster. The aftertaste of Buddha Hand is quite strong and delightful even in the first cup and only intensifies in later steeps. Hopefully that will be enough to grab the attention of any one trying this wonderful tea for the first time. This one deserves to be steeped multiple times.

Nature's Tea Leaf, Dragon Pearls Green Tea

Nature's Leaf Tea Description:
Dragon Pearl Green Tea is made using tender leaves plucked in early spring. These silvery buds are partially withered, lightly fired, wilted, and baked to enhance the quality and silvery-white appearance. The tea is then moistened with light steaming so the buds can be twisted and hand rolled into a pearl shape, then baked to amplify the smooth flavor and aroma. When you infuse these pearls in your tea cup, you will see the top two leaves and the bud spring to life. Dragon Pearl yields a smooth body similar to white tea with the rich, semisweet flavor of roasted chestnut. A great tasting tea to enjoy anytime.

My Review:
This generous sample was provided by Nature’s Leaf Tea. This is an unflavored green tea rolled into tiny little balls. I love the look of dragon pearls. Each individual pearl is hand rolled and I always find them amazingly beautiful. As is my habit I sniffed the pouch, and it may be my imagination, but the leaf has a minty green aroma.

The steeping instructions are printed on the package. It calls for 1 tsp of leaf per 8oz of water. I used 12oz so I guessed at 1 1/2tsp – the pearls make it a challenge to figure out how much leaf you actually need. Of course not as big a challenge as a tightly rolled oolong. This calls for a cool temperature of 175F and a one minute steep.

After steeping the brew has only the palest yellow-green tint. In fact in almost just looks like water. The leaf is only part of the way unfurled and has a nice green steamed vegetable aroma.

In the sip I notice no bitterness or astringency. There are no roasted notes. This is simply clean fresh Chinese green tea. It has a milky feel as it is swallowed. The aftertaste is lingering and pleasant. It leaves a cooling sensation on your breath. This is a nice solid cup.

The second cup at 1 1/2 minutes is very light pea green. The leaf scent reminds me of lake water which is much more pleasant than it may sound. This cup is much sweeter. Still quite good.

Cup three at 2 minutes. I can’t really comment on the taste as I had pepperoni with lunch. The leaf is completely unfurled. It is comprised of rather large leaves. I had to play with it for a moment (because I am a big kid) and it is soft and fluffy.

Cup four at 3 minutes is tasting a slightly mushroom with a metallic edge. It is still nicely flavorful, however I am going to halt steeping here on this one.

On Steepster, I called this the Sara Lee of teas. After all, who doesn’t like Dragon Pearls? This is a really solid Chinese green tea.

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Nature's Tea Leaf, Silver Needle White Tea

Nature's Leaf Tea Description:
Organic Silver Needle White Tea has exquisitely shaped buds enveloped in white down. This white tea excites with its savory aroma, rich body and a sweet flavor with rounded finish that is soft and airy on the palate. White Teas which include our Organic Silver Needle variety are known to promote weight loss and stimulate the metabolism. This low caffeine antioxidant packed tea is delicious hot or cold and can be enjoyed any time of day.

My Review:
The one ounce sample was provided by Nature’s Leaf Tea. The pouch is stuffed with beautiful white and grayish-green leaf. Not only does it smell so fresh and amazing but it also is the softest silver needle leaf I have encountered. I love silver needle. I am looking forward to this cup and trying not to get my expectations too high.

I used my wooden scoop to gather a generous portion of lovely leaf and placed it in my press with 12oz of water heated to a cool 175F. I steeped for about 2 1/2 minutes. The instructions say 4-5. This brewed up to the lightest of tinted liquors. The wet leaf still has a lot of white down in it. The smell of the leaf makes me think of a field of grain, maybe alfalfa.

The sip is a light, refreshing, white tea with a lingering fresh aftertaste. This is a nice complex cup, much more so than a white peony. I find it most refreshing when it reaches room temperature. It is kind earthy, a little fruity with some oats thrown in for good measure.

Next I added a little leaf and a little time to see how that would affect the taste.
While the second cup is steeping, I want to comment again on the aroma of the leaf in the drained press. The whole time I was sipping, this wonderful scent was rolling out of the press, keeping me distracted. Wow, this is fresh.

Ok, adding more leaf and time makes for a darker and bolder cup. It does not bring out any new flavors. I like my white tea to be delicate, so for me the shorter steep is the correct one. Either way this is a very nice silver needle.

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Nature's Tea Leaf, Fujian Congou Black Tea

Nature's Tea Leaf Description:
Fujian Congou Black Tea is a quintessential black tea that consists of long leaves rolled into slender, striped tea leaves from the Fujian province in southern China. Congou tea is made from large mature leaves and specifically does not include the bud. With its celebrated history Fujian Congou black tea has a rich and uplifting aroma and when infused has a pleasant, smooth, and rich flavor that promotes balance and harmony.

My Review:
This is my cup of the morning. The generous 1oz sample was provided by Nature’s Leaf Tea. The packaging has steeping instructions clearly shown on the front. The one thing it lacks is a description of what is inside. I don’t know if that is a plus or a minus. One the one hand, I would rather not have a preconceived notion of what I am about to sample. One the other hand, I have never had a Congou tea before and I don’t know what to expect.

The dry leaf is dark, small, sharp, and wiry. It smells of grain. I used 1 1/2tsp for 12oz of water heated to approx 195F. I steeped for 2 1/2 minutes in my press. The brew is dark caramel and still has the grain scent as does the wet leaf. The leaf is small fairly evenly cut pieces and chocolate in appearance.

There is no question this is a Fujian tea from the very first sip. It has that honey sweet, grainy goodness with more than a hint of malt. It has the yam notes. Yet there is something unique about it as well. It has what I can only describe as a darker edge way low underneath that comes out more in the sweet lingering aftertaste. The cooler the cup becomes the more I am detecting this as a roasted note or light smoke.

As the cup emptied I noticed the scent of the leaf still in the press. It was fruity with hints of chocolate or to be more exact, cocoa. I needed a refill. Cup two is similar to cup one, sweeter with less of the darker notes.

Cup three is lighter and is still very flavorful.

I read a description somewhere on the net that compared Fujian Congou to a cross between Yunnan and Keemun. Yes, I agree. It is very similar to a Bailin Gongfu I sampled but with the Congou I could not bring the chocolate notes out in the sip.

This is a very nice black tea. Fans of Fujian teas will love this. Those who generally dislike black teas, as too harsh or bitter/astringent, should give this one a try.

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