The Tea Merchant

Thanks to The Tea Merchant for offering out the free samples! First of all, I have to say that this tea was shipped in such an elegant manor! I absolutely loved the wax seal, super chic.

As for the tea, visually it is gorgeous. The tea leaves are beautiful and I like the fact that they used what seems to be toasted coconut flakes, as opposed to most coconut teas that are made with just plain raw flakes. It really makes a difference in flavor as well, giving it more of a nutty toasted quality rather than a mouthful of just coconut.

I steeped mine for just a tad over a minute. The package says that 1-3 minutes would work, but I have a terrible habit of over-steeping white teas so I went the “safer” route which worked out well.

As I tried a hot cup this morning, I wanted to give it a shot over ice this afternoon. Did the same for steeping, let the tea cool and then poured it over ice. Very refreshing! The tea flavor comes out a bit more when cold but it leaves a cool crisp flavor that is simply delicious.

Over all, a great coconut white tea.

Thanks to The Tea Merchant for the chance to try this tea!
I was a bit concerned when I saw the recommended steep time and temperature, but I went ahead at 205 degrees for three minutes. It turned out well! This is a nicely balanced tea. I can taste both the green and white tea, and the bergamot is light, especially after the first steep. I wouldn’t use this tea when I’m craving Earl Grey but it is a good relaxing cup. Which really is why I like tea, sooo..I like it! :-)

Thanks so much to The Tea Merchant for the sample of this!

Yesterday, my friend came over about an hour early to prep for our tea party together. While she was there, I got two packages of tea! One I had expected – the tins from Epi to photograph (beautiful tins, by the way) and this one came as a total surprise.

Ariana was a bit surprised that I wasn’t more surprised… tea just shows up every once in awhile. What can I say, except that I love it!

We have a friend who’s… not a hippy, that’s the wrong word, but who’s very open to other cultures. That in itself is a poor description. He’s a wonderful guy, and he just loves learning as much as he can. To the last tea party Ariana and I hosted, he wore a full Scottish kilt, including a “ceremonial knife-shaped object,” as he called it. I called it a knife, but, you know, semantics.

He calls about a half hour before the tea party’s scheduled to start, inquiring about the dress code. I tell him to wear “Whatever you’re most comfortable in.”

He shows up about twenty minutes late… in full Japanese regalia. He had a kimono tucked into a pair of (very billowy) pants which I think were called hikama. Continuing the trend, he brought a “ceremonial sword-shaped object.” I called it a sword. It was really cool to watch him sheath and unsheath it – I had no idea there was so much tradition and skill and art housed in just that one simple movement!

I hadn’t thought up a tea plan for this party – I figured we’d just drink whatever I felt like! Ha. We started with a Chinese black, and then, in honor of Cam, I broke out this sencha which had just arrived.

It might be the largest sample size I’ve ever received. I didn’t know how big our teapot was, so I followed the British rule of “one teaspoon per person plus one for the pot” which might not be totally accurate, but it worked out fine. And there’s still what I would call a typical sample-size of tea left in the pouch. Fantastic! I get to brew it now, and then sit down with it later.

The instructions on the package say 3-4 minutes. Without a temperature guide, and never having tasted this tea before, I went on the conservative side. It took me a little while to like sencha, because I had to figure out how to brew it right. I didn’t want to be hosting a tea party and feeding my guests tea that I liked but they didn’t! So I went for ~175F for 2 minutes.

Even with not so specific steeping parameters, it’s still pretty good. The liquor is bright, bright green – Kate compared it to “hot Powerade,” and Cam called it “buttergrass water.”

It’s a very bright tasting tea. It’s vegetal, but not heavy like that flavor profile can be. It’s sort of like lettuce and – I’m blanking on the name, but it’s a little weed that looks like clover, only it’s heart-shaped, and you can eat them. There’s a little bit of buttery sweetness at supporting the flavor.

I’m going to rate this now because even the way I brewed it, I still really really liked it, and I can’t wait to sit down and try it for real!

My last sample from The Tea Merchant! I sure went through those fast. For some reason I decided to cold brew this one, I’ve never had an iced flavored pu-erh and thought it would be interesting. It smells so rich and earthy, but I do love iced coconut drinks.

Even after an overly-long 16 hour steep, the color and taste are quite light! Not weak, but rather airy. The earthy, rich, hay-y flavor from the pu-erh is still there, but cold it’s almost sparkling. The coconut comes through loud and clear, deliciously tropical. The cocoa keeps it from being too beach-drink-like, and complements the deep flavors of the pu-erh. There are also nutty flavors going on, in fact I’d almost swear there was hazelnut flavoring! It’s kind of like a tropical twist on Florence.

It reminds me a lot of Persimmon Tree’s Coconut Cacao, only I haven’t tried that iced or this one hot yet so I can’t really compare them. This seems to be a lighter take on pu-erh/coconut/cocoa though, with less of a coffee latte vibe.

Okay. Last sample from The Tea Merchant! I feel like I’m sloshing. Between trying all these teas this weekend and rediscovering my love for raspberry creme Italian sodas I have been full of liquid! :)

This smells luscious. Like raspberry and pomegranate. Liqueur is slightly sweet and strongly flavored of those fruits. A very mild floral note hiding in the background. As it cools, an astringency creeps in at the end making me feel like I need water to wet my mouth.

A very nice tea. The green tea base seems to be fine. Nothing less or more than standard green tea, but I am not a normal green tea drinker, so perhaps others can comment on that with more authority. The tea is, however, just a conveyance for the fruit flavors in this blend. Nothing grassy or vegetal – just fruit!

Thank you to The Tea Merchant for the sample. Three down, one to go!

I do so love Nilgiri tea and this blend with Yunnan is very, very good. A nice, honest black tea that is somewhat peaty and malty. I can actually get the hints of cocoa when cooled. Not a sweet tea at all. I can see where it could become bitter if oversteeped. A good, classic tasting black tea.

Thanks again to The Tea Merchant for this sample!

Many more leaf colors than I am used to seeing in darjeelings. There are some leaves that are somewhat reddish, even. Very pretty.

I did forget about this while I was sorting laundry and it brewed for a few minutes longer than recommended. That said, I expected a huge hit of astringency at the end and it was only really a medium one. No bitter taste, either.

A bright, clean taste. Very nice. A not unpleasant bite to the scent of the steeped cup, but that may come from oversteeping.

Backlogging from earlier today – I have had so many teas today but have not drank all of the cups as I am doing reviews for the SoroiTea Sisters site.
Need to get some reviews built up for those days when I don’t have time to do them.
Therefore I am not tea logged yet but have a lot to log haha!
This one is a goodie – I have just enough left for one more cup from the generous sample they sent me.
Will have to put this on my shopping list soon! I really want to try this with one of those melting ice steeps I think Bonnie told us about!

I do not believe I have ever had a Kukicha before.
I have to say I have been missing a lot!
This is a buttery, nutty, delight!
When I sniffed the dry leaf, which is quite pretty I might add, the initial aroma was nutty.
I love a nutty tea!
I also love a buttery tea and that was the initial taste on the sip but then I was surprised. This tea tasted a lot like an oolong! As I began to take more of the aroma and flavor in I realized this tea also smells when steeped much like an oolong!
Its still very vegetal, grassy, and fresh, yet there is this kick to it similar to an oolong with that roasted oolong after taste.
It is quite rich and I am used to using about 2 Tsp of leaves for greens and oolongs yet with this one I do feel I could have went with just 1 Tsp.
The water I used was 175f but I am thinking I could also have went a little less with the heat too as there is a slight bitterness and astringency but only slight. I am going to work on perfecting this steep because this is a really good tea and I want to do it justice.
Since this is my first Kukicha I have nothing to compare it to nor any experience with steeping so I will do a little research on that but as for this particular Kukicha I would not go over 170 – 1 Tsp – 3 mins on steep. It is very very good and I am going to sit back and enjoy this cup.
:)
ETA: lol wow lookee there … when I finished my tasting note I read what it said about the tea here on steepster in its listing lol it says 165 DUAH

Thank you to The Tea Merchant for sending me these samples! I look forward to trying them all, but I thought I’d start today with this Darjeeling. I adore Darjeeling, and this one is so lovely!

I taste notes of wood, spice, apple and muscatel within each sip. I like that the tea is not too much of any one of these things, it is sweet, crisp and light, and keeps the palate fascinated with it’s ability to offer so much without being overwhelming.

A really lovely afternoon tea, even if it is 9 pm!

Logging this from earlier today. I had this after lunch and before my Calculus class. I had to get a good amount of work done before class started, and I was wanting tea to help relax and focus. I was craving coconut tea. I pulled out a coconut chai, but I was wanting something lighter. Then I remembered this amazing sample from the Tea Merchant!

I steeped this for just one minute this time. I believe I went longer the other time I made this. Well, I liked this time much better. It ended up being just exactly the smooth, delicious, relaxing tea that I needed. The cup ended up empty before I knew it. I still need to compare this with Persimmon Tree’s coconut white tea and see which I like better. No matter which one is better though, this is still one amazing tea!

Thank you to the Tea Merchant for these generous samples!

This is one of the few packages that made me pause and admire it before tearing in to get to the tea. It was wrapped in tissue paper with a fancy wax seal holding it closed. The Tea Merchant logo was stamped in the wax. Of course, it doesn’t make the tea taste any better, but I still had to show everyone near me how neat the seal was.

This was one of the ones that I requested. It smells so delicious in the bag. It actually has a very similar taste to The Persimmon Tree’s Coconut Creme. I think that calls for a side by side taste test soon! I really like the white tea flavor here. It takes the lead with the coconut flavors adding to that. It’s very creamy and smooth. I would say this is for white tea lovers more than for coconut lovers, but it’s hard not to enjoy this no matter what you love more.

My second sample from The Tea Merchant! The name of this tea is so lovely, I didn’t even need to know what flavors were in it before I immediately wanted it. Once you smell it, the name makes sense: the vanilla is silky smooth and I suppose the long, elegant oolong leaves are similar to a dragon. And man, is this vanilla-y smelling, almost like pudding! It smells soooo good, I could barely pull my nose out of the bag. In fact, once I let my dad sniff it he immediately wanted some too!

Thankfully, the vanilla is a bit toned down when you steep it. It’s lighter, airier, but still rich and creamy. Less dessert, more “afternoon treat” if that makes sense! The oolong flavors were pretty prominent for me, maybe because I started with the second steep (my dad got the first!), but there are floral and fruity elements popping up as well. The citrus is mild and really only in the very end of the sip, a finishing note. It’s a bit lemony, but very toned-down and not overpowering. For some reason, the vanilla + citrus are reading a bit cupcake-y to me, like a fluffy vanilla one without any frosting. Very nice!

It makes me sad that there aren’t more recent reviews of this tea. There was one 2 days ago from keychange but closest to that is like 4 months ago. I hope people are still buying it and just not doing reviews every time they indulge (I know I don’t). Moreover, I hope people are still buying from The Tea Merchant – everyone was so impressed with them when they sent out their free samples – the packaging, the teas, etc. and nowadays you don’t hear much from or about them. They are still in business – I wanted so much to place an order when I had my orgy of tea spending after Thanksgiving – but I just couldn’t justify ordering more when I still had plenty from my large purchase last time. Anyway…I’m sure there will be one soon-ish. :)

This is such a stellar tea. Flavorful but not overpowering, smooth and silky and it smells fantastic.

I’ve said this before but no one I have ever steeped this for has not loved it. I wish I could capture the flavor in a sweet roll or icing for one or a shortbread cookie without using up the tea to get it! :)

I have had this several times since I first rated it, enough that I ordered again, a larger amount, and am working my way through that at a good clip. Everyone I have shared this with loves it. It is perfectly vanilla, lightly sweet and deliciously creamy.

/non-tea rant on

I had it last night as a comfort-hope-I-can-sleep-soon tea. I have some bronchial thing going on, which my husband also has. Broad brush statement follows: Honestly, why are men such babies when they get sick? Women get sick and still take care of everyone else. Men get sick and they curl up in a corner and moan. I get it – it sucks. We both have the same thing and I’m not happy about having it, either. The aggravating thing about it is that he’ll be better before I am since he got it first and when I’m still sick he won’t ask if he can bring me anything like juice or medicine. He’ll bring it, but I’ll have to ask for it. Sigh. I guess if they did what we did, they’d be women and what would be the point. I just have a leftover grumpy from last night. :)

/non-tea rant off

Anyway, I’m ramping up my rating on this since I evidently enjoy it immensely and I’ve not yet shared it with anyone who didn’t like it.

Thanks, The Tea Merchant, for providing this sample!

Smells absolutely heavenly. Light yellow liquid that smells very vanilla-y. The vanilla is indeed strong in this tea, which is just fine – I love vanilla teas! I don’t notice a citrus to this at all, though. The oolong isn’t strong, either.

I do love how oolongs look when brewed. This one with the marigold petals looks almost like dragonflies. Perhaps “Silk Dragon” is a very apt name. :)

Oh, and I love the packaging. The sealing wax was a great touch!

Thank you to The Tea Merchant for this sample!
First off, I like their packaging. The tea is in resealable bags (looks just like the ones Verdant uses) and then they wrap the bags in brown tissue paper and seal it with a pretty wax seal. I’m all for old timey stuff like wax seals!
This tea smells pretty decadent when you open the bag. The aroma was a little strong for me actually; but then I am a bit sensitive to artificial smells. The tea is very pretty, with the white tea and the blue cornflowers.
1st steep 1 min. My favorite part about this tea is that you can still taste the white tea. Since it smelled so powerful I was expecting a strong flavor but it’s pretty mild. The white tea base is nice and delicate, with the characteristic hay notes; the coconut lends a nice creaminess.
2nd steep 3 min. I like this steep best. Same flavors of the first steep just a little more full.
I think I would have preferred it with less of the flavoring or none at all; but overall I liked it and I’m glad I got to try it!

Well well this may just be the vanilla you have been looking for!
The first thing I want to say about THIS vanilla tea is that it is NOT cloying nor does it have that fake vanilla after taste commonly found when a tea company is trying so hard to give you that really strong vanilla flavor, YET this does have a strong vanilla flavor WITHOUT that nasty after taste!
I have not added any sweetener and it has a sweet sensation to it without any clinging lingering effects on the mouth that come with sweetened teas. I really like this one.
Its calming and unpretentious and is not trying to shove vanilla down your throat yet it had such a nice presence!
The aroma is to die for!
I would indeed stock this tea and keep it in my stash for when I want a nice straight vanilla tea. This tea is not confused about what it is trying to be! Could be a nice mixer with other teas as well as it is strong enough to hold its own but not so over done that it would mask other flavors!
The only downside here is that the oolong is pretty mellow. Its not a strong oolong. Being an oolong lover I could use a bit more of that kick I am used to.