Tea Horse, Dong Ding Oolong

Tea Horse Description:
A hand-made artisan oolong from Lugu village on DongDing Mountain, Taiwan. Floral and fruit aromas give a buttery tea with honey, peach and lightly nutty flavours.

Sample provided by Tea Horse

My Review:
This is my third sample from Tea Horse. They operate out of the UK. From what I've seen so far, they know their stuff. Let's see if the streak continues.

The sample is well packaged in a resealable pouch. The label is simple but covers all the basics you need to know. Opening the sample, the first impression my nose gets is grain with green, woodsy, and roasted notes. The rolled leaf makes for rather large pellets. It looks like the picture.

I used two tsp or one of my scoops and fresh boiling water heated in my new Hamilton Beach programmable kettle. I will review it someday - but for now I just hope it doesn't get in the way of tasting this tea. The steep was 2 minutes per instructions.

The leaf is relaxed but not completely unfurled. The liquor is yellow I think. I kind of wasn't paying attention to the room lighting and it made it difficult to determine. At this point I caught the aroma of the wet leaf. It interested me and made me nervous at the same time. Please keep reading. The scent takes me back to when I was 14 or 15 and I would go to the stock car races on Saturday night. The wet leaf reminds me of the Marlboro scented grandstands. Not like an ash tray, but like the sweet smell from a distance.

Now the taste is nothing like what I just described. There is no tobacco or smoke flavor. It is mildly roasted. At first it tastes amazingly like Hojicha - roasted but mellow and kind of green. As the cup cools it changes into a creamy sweet woodsy flavor. Tea Horse calls it honey and buttery. It didn't hit me quite like that but it is very pleasant. Between sips as I write, I can taste the floral elements. They are subtle but lingering. Nice. As the cup cools even more I am now picking up fruity notes. Not necessarily peach to me, but then I seldom get peach unless it is PEACH. This is far too subtle for my brain to interpret in that way but I really like what I am tasting. I do think it is becoming quite nutty as well.

I'll continue to sip on more steeps to investigate what else might come out of this leaf. I can tell you already that I love a tea that changes as you sip it. This one is definitely impressing me.

Visit the Tea Horse website.

Tea Horse, Panyong Golden Needle

Tea Horse Description:
An elegantly spicy, thick and sweet black tea from China. A supreme whole leaf black tea with lots of delicate golden tips. Originally from the town of Tanyang, this speciality black tea is grown in the eastern part of Fujian Province, in the stunning Taimu Mountains, China.

Sample provided by Tea Horse.

My Review:
This is my second sample from this UK company. I am looking forward to the review. The sample came in a recyclable and resealable foil lined paper pouch. The label is simple, clear, and includes product information, weight, and brewing instructions. Also on the label is a best before date.

I opened the pouch and had to catch the scent twice. This took me back to my childhood when I would go with my dad to the feed store to buy seed. This smells like the corn bin at that mill. Forgive me if you don't make that association. Very cool flashback for me.

The leaf looks like the picture with dark leaf and some golden buds. The leaf is smallish, though larger than the standard fare from most Assam or Ceylon teas.

I used half of my scoop which would be approximately 2.5g or 1 heaped tsp. I used my Bodum press and 8 oz of just off boiling water. The steep was about 3 minutes. I seldom do anything really precise. I just sort of feel it. The resulting liquor is very clear and bronze in color. My first thought on the cup aroma was a good brown bread.

This is representative of other Tanyang and Fujian teas I have tried. The cocoa and caramel notes are present as is the hint of spiciness that Tea Horse mentions on their label. For me though, this is still bringing rich dark bread to mind. There is a honey like sweetness present and a healthy dose of malt. This is why Fujian is one of my all time top black teas.

Overall, this is a very pleasant cup and is excellent for pondering deep thoughts or maybe just reliving pleasant memories.  

Visit the Tea Horse website.

Tea Horse, Chocolate Peppermint

Tea Horse Description: Our most popular blend! A bespoke Tea Horse blend of Ceylon black tea with cocoa bean shells and peppermint. No artificial ingredients, it’s a calorie-free treat.

Sample provided by Tea Horse.

My Review:
Tea Horse is based in the UK. They offer a wide range of teas, taster boxes, and a subscription service of 4 monthly samples with free shipping in the UK.

This sample came in a resealable foil-lined brown paper pouch. I really appreciate being able to zip up the rest of the sample for later use. The ingredients and brewing instructions were clearly printed on the pouch label.

I opened the pouch and scooped out a spoon of leaf. I could smell chocolate. The cocoa bean shells are obvious in the mix. There are also a few yellow petals. I am not sure if that is the peppermint or just decoration.

The scoop of leaf went in my press along with 8 ounces of boiling water. The instructions said to steep 4 minutes. The resulting brew really caught my attention. I have tried maybe 6 chocolate themed teas. All of them have produced a murky brown swamp water brew. Not this one! The liquor is deep bronze, clear and sparkly clean. I could see through the tea to the bottom. Awesome.

The sip was equally impressive. In my notes to myself, I scribbled OMGoodness! The first thing you taste is chocolate. Not cocoa - liquid milk chocolate. Do yourself a favor and add a little of your favorite sweetener. I used Splenda. This is calorie free decadence. Tea Horse says to add milk. I am not British so I never add milk to tea. You can if you want.

The Ceylon base is a gentleman. It is strong enough to make its presence known without demanding the spotlight. There is no hint of bitterness or astringency. The peppermint is no wall flower, but it is only there for support. It fills out the cup without distracting from the chocolate.

Going in, I had a preconceived notion this would taste like a York Peppermint Patty. Nope. If that is what you are thinking, get that idea out of your head. This is easily the best milk chocolate flavored tea I have tried to date with the bonus of a light minty glow around the edges.

The second steep was weaker but still good. I have plenty left to try again. Next time I will attempt a 3 minute first steep and see if I can't coax a bolder second cup out of it. If you aren't one to resteep, let this go the full 4 minutes or more and enjoy.

Guys, instead of bringing your tea drinking girl an occasional box of boring old chocolates and have her thinking, "This will just go to my hips." Give her what she really wants - a decadent bag of calorie-free liquid chocolate. Better yet, buy two and tell her it's a his and hers thing. They love it when you do romantic stuff like that. You get to be the thoughtful guy, and you get your own stash of tea. Win - win, I say. Just don't tell my wife what I just wrote.

Visit the Tea Horse website.