March of Teas
Here are some of the recent teas I purchased from Tea Trader, and tried in March, 2026. Tea Trader is definitely my favourite local (Calgary) tea market.
OK I normally try to remove leaves if I accidently pour some into my cup, but this looked like a teddy bear face so I kept them. 🐻
Darjeeling Hoopoe Choice
Ok, I was looking for a good black Darjeeling - and when I saw the name ‘Hoopoe’…I had to try this. I love the delightfully eccentric Hoopoe birds - seen in Greece, Egypt and apparently India. I’ve tried to photograph them in Corinth and Luxor…but alas, my shots were never great. This is a beautiful photo by Gunjan Pandey (below).
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
Described as follows: “Tea Trader’s house Darjeeling selection. Lively floral notes underlie a smooth, fruity, aromatic cup with good colour and sweetness.” ~ Tea Trader [1]
My thoughts:
This tea has very sweet aroma, almost like cotton candy, but it has a very smooth texture, with hints of grapes and a very slight astringency. The liquor is the colour of dark amber. This is a very nice tea and I understand why it is a Tea Trader pick from Darjeeling.
Organic GABA Oolong
This Oolong is from Formosa (Taiwan), and is described as follows:
“This is a refreshing tea with a lovely sweetness, infusing with distinctive notes of cooked raisins and a hint of bubbly creaminess. Higher oxidization in this oolong brings out deeper colour and strength but can be steeped without worrying about bitterness.
Its unusual method of processing involves exposure to a nitrogen rich environment to boost the naturally occurring ‘GABA’ (gamma-amino butyric acid), an essential amino acid and one of the main neurotransmitters in our central nervous system. One of the many functions of GABA is to prevent over-excitement of the nervous system and thus provide a calming relaxing effect and help reduce feelings of anxiety, stress, and fear.”
Formosa - Organic GABA Oolong
My Thoughts:
What a splendid tea. I really enjoyed this. It has a pleasant sweet aroma, smooth and light texture, a beautiful golden liquor, and the underlying taste of fruit (or fruit salad - as I couldn’t quite place a specific fruit). I would definitely buy this again. I’m not sure if this really calmed me down, but I certainly didn’t feel over stimulated. It provided a very pleasant feeling.
High Mountain GABA Oolong
Also from Formosa, but marketed as picked from the high mountains (and is therefore priced almost double of the organic leaves noted above).
Described as follows:
“This remarkably complex high mountain oolong infuses round and creamy sweet with striking, fruity-floral candy notes; a bit tangy with a clean finish. Repeat steeping encouraged and don’t be afraid to use more leaf or infuse longer than usual.”
My Thoughts:
The High Mountain Oolong has a slightly more floral fragrance (I would definitely wear this if it was a perfume).
When comparing the Organic (O) Oolong with the High Mountain (HM) Oolong I noticed a very slight difference in colour of the dry leaves, the HM being slightly more green. The colour of the liquor is almost completely indiscernible, which is hard to detect with the shadow in the larger cup (this is my fault as I like to have variety in cup size and shape), the Organic Oolong being slightly darker. A side by side of the wet leaves shows similar single or two leaves (leaf and bud) both about medium sized leaves, the Organic slightly darker in colour.
Flavour and aroma are (to me at least) almost the same. I can taste that the finish lasts longer with the organic and the HM is slightly more floral. I would recommend buying both and comparing for yourself. Both of these Oolongs are really wonderful.
Have you tried these teas? or other black teas from Darjeeling or Oolongs from Taiwan? Is there one that sticks out to you? Please share in the comments below.
Happy Sipping!🍵
P.S. I received two samples as a gift with my purchase. I will highlight them in a separate post.
[1] https://mrmaxeystea.com/product/darjeeling-hoopoe-choice/ Accessed March 29, 2026. ($18./125g)
[2] https://mrmaxeystea.com/product/organic-gaba-oolong/ Accessed March 29, 2026. ($21./125g)
[3] https://mrmaxeystea.com/product/high-mountain-gaba-oolong/ Accessed March 29, 2026. ($40./125g)
