Jun tea pick - T637 Imperial Pu-Erh

T637 - Imperial Pu-Erh, S$11.50 for 50 grams

Well, before I began this post, gotta give credits to dearest bf for once again, subsidizing my tea of the month! It totally slipped my mind until he reminded me, and also paid for me whilst he went and grab Ti Kuan Yin (super nice I swear). I'm considering to get the superior one soon (a little more ex) because I'm running out of this tea. It's a sign of how much I adore it haha.

Okay, one of my next favorite in the bag. One tricky thing about this tea is the duration you brew it. Longer means thicker and sometimes it's a little too much to handle. This tea should be in the bag for tea lovers because, how can you dislike pu-erh?

This tea is probably the most common tea served in almost all restaurants so if you're always patronizing such restaurants, you probably can give this a skip.

May tea pick - T670 Milk Oolong Tea

T670 Milk Oolong Tea - S$26 per 50 grams

Been in a Oolong frenzy lately because I fell in love with Milk Oolong Tea from Gongcha (not the one with gongcha milk). Yes, that's the story. The only drink I buy from Gongcha nowadays.

Last month when bf and I popped in store, the Caucasian guy recommended us his personal favorite, Milk Oolong Tea, which got bf all hyped and bought it on the spot without even checking the price first. Heng ah, it's not at an exorbitant price if not he'd be a broke ass for the month.

Why this tea? I swear that anyone would be sold, hands down, just with a whiff. Have you ever smelled milk+tea leaves before? Heavenly smell. <3 Taste wise, it doesn't taste anything like milk + oolong tea that I have expected. It tastes like diluted Oolong tea with a faint scent of milk. It does need a little get used to if you're not a fan of milktea.

I  prefer the Imperial Oolong more, since infused (not sure if this is the right word) tea leaves are hardly a match for the pure tea leaves. A little disappointed here plus the price is $/$/$ really steep for its taste. Unless you're really curious to have a sip of how this tea taste, then don't spend your money. But it's really worth try smelling it in store!

And as usual, thank you awesome sponsor! <3

Apr tea pick - T703 Imperial Oolong

T703 Imperial Oolong (FORMOSA) - S$17 for 50 grams

Did you know that Oolong Tea is not a black tea, but blue tea?!!! Not in the sense that the tea is blue, but .... now I know why it taste so appealing. Thank you for the enlightenment, Mr. Tall Caucasian guy! First, he did his best in trying to continue the conversation between us. Second, he did his job, he recommended us his personal favorites (not the exorbitant price range kinds). Third, his personal favorites got us sold!

I already set my eyes on THAT tea he recommended for next month. It has a phenomenal smell which will just get you sold. Bf immediately got 50 grams of it for himself (without even checking the price but luckily it's affordable). And guess what, I've got myself a sneak tasting too! Hehehe.

The health benefits of Oolong tea is doubled because it's a combination of black tea and green tea (as its leaves are partially oxidized). Some of the benefits are:

• Boost metabolism, help in weight loss, and aids digestion
• Prevents hair loss, tooth decay and osteoporosis
• Stabilizes blood sugar, lower cholesterol level
• Strengthens immune system and mental alertness

Prevents hair loss! Definitely what I'm needing now. I'm going bald at this rate of extreme stress from exams. Oh and the weight loss! Honestly, I wonder if green tea is more effective? The benefits are rather similar among teas so no need to jump right in just for Oolong tea. Side note, it does oxidize pretty fast, so don't soak in the hot water for too long!

Yay, now I officially own a blue tea! & grumpy rich bf announced he's going to sponsor me for the rest of the year for my tea obsession just because I teased him during my March post. *Dances around* Whoopie for the nicest bf ever!!

Mar tea pick - Starbucks China Green Tips (by Tazo)

15 sachets (27 g) - S$13.90

I friggin' caved in and bought this super ridiculously expensive tea. Okay, ~ S$14 is not a big deal, but if you average it out on the amount of tea you get, holy crap 1 gram for ~ S$0.50 (or one sachet for ~ S$1)!?! Not sure about you, but this is cray pricey imo. Plus, it's from China ..... I really feel like being extorted indirectly.

China Green Tips by Tazo is exclusive to Starbucks so I can't find its loose leaves anywhere, even online. And trust me, I've been looking around for alternatives. If you manage to find, please lemme know!

Why is 'Green Tips' so expensive? As my bf explained, this particular tea only uses the tip of the green tea leaves, whereas for the normal green tea, they take the remaining of the green tea (no tips). I really do taste a difference in quality and since I refuse to pay over twenty bucks for twg's sencha tea, I shall make do with this.

To make my tea experience more economical, I cut open all the sachets and created my own 'loose leaves'. Unless you enjoy a super strong tea taste, else you can make do with just half the bag for one brew. Plus, loose leaves means ..... you can blend it on your own! I'd most definitely throw in jasmine tea leaves along with the green tea leaves hehe.

Buying this whole tin has another cheapo benefit. Please pardon my cheaponess. If you wanna head down to Starbucks to chill/study yet wanting to save $, just bring along one sachet of this and you literally spend zero bucks! They'll provide hot water for you, and you can seriously just sit down with ease (no side glares from other legit customers)! Yeah, I totally forgot about this and dissembled all the sachets. Stupid die me. In case you're wondering, Starbucks charges one cup of tea at S$4.70 in stores, so if you really enjoy the taste of the tea, might as well buy the whole tin and ask them to brew on the spot (since one cup = price of 5 sachets).

No thanks to my bf this month cause I got this with my own money. Haha, there goes my sponsor. Well, till then folks!

Feb tea pick - T647 Fujian Ti Kuan Yin

T647 Fujian Ti Kuan Yin - S$10 per 50 grams

I had a lot of hesitation in getting this but well, time to start my black tea collection! As usual, cheapo me went for the cheapest among the 'Ti Kuan Yin' series under TWG. Just kidding. I gave a whiff at both the 'Ti Kuan Yin - S$10' & 'Ti Kuan Yin Superior - S$15.50'; the superior barely beat the normal one, so yours truly wasn't willing to pay extra for that.

For example, Jasmine Queen Tea (S$9) vs Grand Jasmine Tea (S$17.50); the difference in smell is so significant that I rather pay for the more expensive tea. The taste was also proven to be better as bf and I each owned one and we had a mini showdown.

I really am liking this 'Tea Frenzy' idea. Had tons of fun getting so hyped over something so insignificant. Yeah I get what you're thinking too. Stop rolling your eyes at me.

Once again, thank you bf for getting me this tea! He just may be the sponsor of my 12 Months of Tea Frenzy. HAHAHA.

Jan tea pick - TWG T6 Royal Darjeeling FTGFOP1*

I feel so deprived when I'm stuck with that few choices of tea every single day. I have two Jasmine Tea, two Green Tea, and one Black Tea. So limited, ikr. By the way, I am not addicted to caffeine. It's more of 'I-refuse-to-drink-water'. Tea does not perk me up nor gives me insomnia.

Getting frustrated with my own limitations, I decided to limit myself to buying one flavor of tea per month this year. Teas ain't cheap so this way I get to try more teas yet keeping it pocket-friendly. This prevents me getting nags from my parents and also stops them from attempting to finish up the leaves on my behalf.

I recalled going through the TWG Tea List (happened to have it) and highlighting names which interests me before going in store to have a whiff before deciding which to get.

So my January trip landed me with my second black tea ....

50 grams @ $9.50

Cheapo me of course stayed away teas that cost more than fifteen bucks. I am not anywhere near to being financially stable to afford higher end teas. Royal Darjeeling from India (cheapest one among all the Darjeeling collection) definitely smells really good and tastes superb too!

I'm enjoying this mixed together with T4020 Grand Jasmine Tea (50 grams @ $17.50). Bf gave me the tip of mixing all the loose leaves to create my own blend. One of the benefits of buying loose leaves instead of sachets.

Tip: As much as sachets are more convenient (for lazy people like me), it's not cost-effective in the long run. Because for a normal cup, you only really just need half the leaves in one sachet. And if you count by cost-wise, one sachet probably amounts up to $1 for each usage. You definitely can brew more than once, that goes the same for loose leaves. The thing is, if you go Daiso and buy your own empty sachets, it's also much cheaper than buying the packed ones directly.

Side note, thank you dearest bf for buying me this tea! Little perks in life. <3