Tea and Zen

This is a fantastic tea. This stock I have right here is sadly a little old, but it still packs a punch. It's something I do plan on getting more of (assuming they don't run out of stock) once I have a lot less tea. Right now my blog is booked till January while making an update every two days. That's a lot of tea! Tiger Lily and Seven Cups are the only two places I have seen Orchid scented tea offered, so if you enjoy Jasmine scented teas, check this out while stock lasts!

Dry leaves

Anyway, I highly recommend you check out Tiger Lily Tea. They're a little Mom & Pop style shop in the quaint, historical town of Mystic, CT. The owners are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Unfortunately most of their stock is not on their website or Facebook, but if you're looking for a WuYi Oolong then there are your go to guys. I'd definitely say that WuYi is their specialty. 

That being so, they also offer many herbal teas, a few flavored varieties such as a Cherry Sencha, Blueberry Black, and Chocolate Mint Black tea if flavored teas suit your fancy. They offer a few Japanese greens, several Chinese greens, and a yellow tea. The exact yellow tea I do not remember right now. So, in short, they have a lot of stock. I know right now they have two teas I haven't seen anywhere, period. One is the Ming Huang Hong I reviewed earlier, and another is a rolled oolong. I don't remember the origin. 

This tea is made up entirely of young tea buds grown on Mengding Mountain, scented with spring blooming Orchids. Man does it smell amazing! Even in the scenting being weaker, you can still taste the sweet, floral nature of the orchids in the aroma. Simply fantastic.

I used the last of my tea (3.8g)/235ml, 85C water. First steeping was 30 seconds + 10 per each additional steeping.

On the back of the package (apologies for the smudge in the image, that's my fault!):

Tea scented with Orchid flowers has always been quite rare. Today, only Sichuan province tea makers produce this tea by means of careful scenting processes that uses fresh Spring blooming Orchids and young tea buds grown on Sichuan’s Mengding Mountain. A rare scented tea that balances the complexities of high quality green tea and the delicate scent of the orchid flower.

Brewings

Once brewed, the first cup smelt of orchids and a red leaf lettuce. In the aftertaste you have orchid, honey, and hint of gold raspberries. The liquor is very smooth and full without a tiny hint of astringency. As this is the bottom of the bag there were a few broken pieces, it likely came from them. There is also a slight bubbliness to it like soda. It is very subtle.

In the second cup the liquor is even more buttery and smooth. Your tongue is immediately met with a very strong flavor of honey, melon, and orchid mixed together. The lettuce from before is much lighter in flavor. In the aftertaste there is orchid, melon, and a little elderberry that mingle together.

The third cup is much milder in flavor. Butterlettuce and a hint of green beans are present in the liquor. The aftertaste is a gentle mixture of orchid and honey.

This is something that I particularly like about this Orchid scented tea. You get the same experience as jasmine: floral, a little fruity and a little green, but you have a totally different overall flavor profile. I get raspberries in jasmine tea,  but not gold raspberries. They do taste different. I rarely get elderberry in jasmine tea. Yet, here it is in the orchid. I do get the orchid flavor in jasmine teas, but it is much weaker than the jasmine flavor. Here, that is by far the main floral profile and it is simply delightful. It isn't overpoweringly floral like a lot of jasmine I've had. It's just floral enough to be the main taste but mild enough to let the other flavors shine through. This tea isn't one I would consider complex but it s very enjoyable. Sometimes being complex is a good thing, other times it isn't. This is one of those times where it's simplicity is the beauty of a tea.

The remaining three cups were very similar to the third cup. Mild, smooth, lightly fruity and floral, and downright delicious. Considering this tea is on the older end, it wasn't as strong as it would've been otherwise. Since it gave me tasty cups despite the age I believe this says a lot about the quality as well. The fresh tea is much, much better than this. Yet it is still better than a lot of jasmine I've had out there. Seriously: try this tea!

Rating

Overall I give this tea an 8.2. It's a nice, delicious change from your typical jasmine tea. It's sweet, floral, and a little fruity. The price is a little steep ($14.99/25g) but the quality is definitely worth it if you ask me. It's lovely for anyone who is enthusiastic about floral scented teas.

Leaf Samples

If you're interested you can purchase this tea here or visit their shop!