I tried this tea on five separate occasions, not because I enjoyed the tea, but because I figured that I must be doing something wrong.  This tea just never tasted right to me.  Luckily my sample package was large enough to allow multiple tries at various temperatures and steep times, with varying amounts of tea.  My first cup followed the brewing suggestions on The Simple Leaf website.  When that didn’t seem to work, my preparation ranged from a 1½ to 3 minute steep, with 160-180 degree water, and between 1 to 2 teaspoons of leaf.

Regardless of the preparation method, each cup tasted the same.  The flavor was very heavy and extremely vegetal.  The tea also had a strong fishy taste and smell that was difficult for me to get past.  If I were to recommend a tea from this merchant, it would not be Chloe.  If you’re looking for an interesting and delicious green, I would suggest Shanti.  For whatever reason, Chloe just didn’t work for me.

After allowing the leaves to brew, I was a bit too anxious to try this one and while at its hottest, it came across as a bit vegetal to me. As I am not one who generally prefers a vegetal tasting tea, I managed to allow my cup to cool a bit before trying again. The difference was amazing! Once it has cooled, I was able to appreciate the slight honeylike sweetness as well as what I finally decided tasted a bit like a red grape at the end of the sip.

This is not a bold oolong but rather smooth and delicate. While I am sure it would be delicious at any time and place, to be really appreciated it deserves the honor and respect of being savored during moments of quiet contemplation.

While the water was heating, I took a few moments to check the brewing instructions on the website. Simple Leaf’s website is much like their teas, “Unflavored. Unpretentious. Uncomplicated.” There is nothing flashy about their site or their tea selection, but it is quite informative, easy to navigate and offers a variety of simply delicious teas. I found that this particular tea is from the Rungmook Estate in Darjeeling, India. Until recently, my experience with white teas was very limited. I had tried a few of lower quality and wasn’t too impressed. But then, I had the opportunity to sample some better quality flavored whites that convinced me to give the unflavored ones another chance.

Decadence’s dry leaves have a faintly familiar sweetness to them, that for some reason reminds me of Juicy Fruit gum. As expected, it brews to a pale and clear liquid. The taste is much sweeter than I was expecting and lingers long after I have swallowed. It was also incredibly smooth. Knowing that this tea is a bit on the pricier side, I decided to attempt a second infusion from the leaves as that always helps me decide if an extravagant tea is worth the price. I was pleased to find that the second cup was every bit as tasty as the first. My suggestion would be that Decadence is a tea to be savored during quiet moments when you can appreciate the relaxing aspects of brewing and sipping an exceptional cup of tea!

I’m sorry but I must gush one more time about how much I love the information provided on the tea grower and tea estates on The Simple Leaf’s website.  It is a website worth taking a few minutes to visit.  I have had this sample in my stash to be reviewed for awhile now and have been putting it off time and again for no real reason.  I guess that having read other reviews that indicate that it is more like a black tea (Darjeeling to be exact), and then noticing that leaves even look more those of a black tea kinda made me less excited about it.  Don’t get me wrong, I like both oolong and Darjeeling and happen to own some amazing leaves in both categories.  Anyway, this is very unusual looking for a blend that is an oolong.

I infused the leaves with less than boiling water for 3 min.  An interesting point to note is that I generally find oolong needs to cool a bit in order for it to reach its ideal taste.  This is not so with Tankha.  This immediately tastes like a Darjeeling black tea.  It has a nice natural sweetness to it and I can pick up some fruity notes too.  There is also a sort of woody dryness to it, but the dryness is very mild in comparison to a full-bodied Darjeeling.  However, I really taste little, if any, oolong flavor.  If I were to stretch my imagination and point oolong characteristics, I will tell you this reminds me more a green oolong in that as it cooled I was able to pinpoint some floral notes.  This blend has much more in common with a Darjeeling black tea than with oolong.  To me, it is like it’s great, great grandma was an oolong and everyone in the family since has been a Darjeeling black tea.

If someone asked me about purchasing Tankha, I would suggest that they purchase it looking for a nice Darjeeling—one that is less dry than its black tea cousin, complex, and medium in body.  As a Darjeeling, this is pretty good.  While oolongs exist in many forms and fashion, this barely qualifies to be an oolong in taste.  However, overall, it is still fairly good and if you love Darjeeling and are getting into oolong this might be for you.  It is reasonably priced at $13.95 for 4 oz.

I don’t like bees.

The bio for the Honeybee Nepalese Oolong touts that Taiwanese techniques were adapted for use in Nepal. Also of note, they purport that it “exudes the aroma of native Daphne bholua and Rhododendron plants, with a slight touch of honey and fruit.” I’m not entirely sure what a bholua is or what it would taste like. Perhaps the description was meant to impress those “in the know”, for I certainly didn’t.

I was surprised to see that the leaves for this batch were on the lighter side. Usual oolongs are roast-brown in appearance, whereas these still bore a shade of green. I brewed it at 180 degrees for three minutes, 2 teaspoons per 12 ounces of water. The liquor came out copper-colored, more akin to a deep rooibos or a lighter Earl Grey. Taste-wise, it was very smooth but not impressive. At least not on the first infusion.

It lived up to its namesake by the second. Being a biased infuser, I confess that the true nuances manifested by the second steep. It was then I noticed the hint of honey. For that, I shall impart a 6 out of 10 and a hearty golf clap.

I like to steep my tea in a clear glass pot. Shanti, which means peace in Sanskrit, is the prettiest tea I have brewed. The long rolled leaves are a beautiful green and produce an equally attractive golden green liquor. The dry leaves have a smoky and fruity scent with hints of sugarcane.

The taste is only slightly grassy with a slight fruity flavor. It is smooth and not nearly as bitter as some green teas.

While I am comfortable assigning this tea a high score and would recommend it to any green tea lover, I have one reservation. The best green tea I have tasted is called Chloe and is also sold by The Simple Leaf. As good as Shanti is, and as much as I like the name, I have to recommend Chloe over Shanti.

Chloe is a green tea with beautifully rolled long green leaves. These dry leaves give off a sweet fruity aroma which smells better than any tea I’ve experienced. In a parallel universe where Camellia sinensis leaves are illegal and sniffed rather than brewed, people spend hundreds of dollars and squander hours and days in ecstasy sitting and sniffing Chloe.

The wet leaves had a scent that was not as alluring, but still pleasant. The fruity smell disappeared and was replaced with more of a grassy order. The tea had almost no color and looked a lot like water.

Perhaps due to its deceptive appearance as water, the first sip was nothing short of shocking. It was so sweet I had to look inside my cup – had I added sugar?

I have to be honest, I’m not a big fan of green teas. I find them bitter and grassy tasting. This tea is only reminiscent of other green teas I’ve tasted. It is extremely thin and has almost no body with a very mild and pleasant taste. I’m not sure what this means, but while I was drinking it, this thought crossed my mind: If I were a smoker and Chloe were a cigarette, this would be my brand.

One drink I really despise is iced tea. But another unusual thought entered my head: This would make a delicious beverage cold. I was stunned by my own thought – a testament to how good the tea is and how much it affected me.

Enough with the stream of consciousness. While I can’t fault Chloe (other than for being a green tea) I have one criticism of The Simple Leaf – Google Checkout. Unlike many, I trust companies like Microsoft, Yahoo and Symantec. But I wouldn’t trust Google with one electron. However, if you haven’t issues with Google, you must try this tea.