Popular Tasting Notes
This is officially my first tea to be rated 100. It is, in my opinion flawless… The only issue I have related to it is that it isn’t in stock. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Frank is willing to revive a tea if you order a pound of it. Is this true? If is, well Frank, I think I need a pound of this! I am in love with it! I saw that it had been revived and for sale on Iheartteas.com, so I couldn’t resist ordering it to try. It is by far the best dessert tea I have ever tried, and believe me, I have tried a whole lot of them.
The dry leaves are black and accompanied by the occasional huge luscious looking blueberry. The tea leaves are large and beautifully unbroken. The scent is… majestically scrumptious, temptingly delicious, absolutely indulgent… A think scent of blueberries is surrounded by a heavy sweet pastry scent. It is the supermodel of all blueberry tea scents.
Once brewed the tea keeps most of its scent and the blueberry will invade an entire house. My brother actually woke up and wandered down to the kitchen to ask what I was making that smelled so much like blueberry. He was shocked when I told him it was tea! We don’t have blueberries in Ecuador, so anything blueberry flavored is a great and rare treat for me!
The taste is amazing. It tastes like a blueberry danish. Heavy on the blueberry, just the way I like it. The flavor is so smooth that there is no need for any additives. I added sweetener just out of curiosity and I barely even noticed it was there. This is one of the rare teas that taste sweetened without actually being sweet. It is, in my opinion, the sign of a truly well made dessert tea.
I am so happy I have found you blueberry danish tea! Where have you been all of my life? Frank, I have to say that this actually managed to beat the tastiness of your pancake tea (which is super super tasty!)
Everyone who likes blueberry HAS to try this. You have no idea what you are missing!
Preparation
Happy 100th note!
Yay! Go you!
Ooops… I meant it was my first 100 rating! 3 to go till 100th tasting note! : )
AHHHH!! I want this soooo bad!! If you buy a pound of it, think we could do a swap?
CHAroma I will let you know! I would gladly swap some with you! : )
Nina, glad to see you back….hope all is well. :)) Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, and one of my favorite flavored teas (I don’t drink that many flavored teas). I had a good blueberry tea quite a few years ago, with a Ceylon based black tea. Can you taste the black tea well enough? Even though I love blueberries, I don’t like the flavor to overpower the tea itself.
Thanks ScottTeaMan! All is good, just was very busy at work the past few weeks… The tea does shine through. It is a well thought out blend. The astringency and suttle elegance of the black tea shows up at the end of every sip.
I am definitely ordering a pound of this, so I am willing to swap a bit of it. :)
Hey I just thought I’d let you know that I’m selling two unopened pouches of this tea on eBay in case you still want it.
Awwww, you guys…
BLUSH!
Thank you so much everybody! I’ve tried to keep up with comments on my posts while we were away, but it wasn’t untill the last week or so (out of two) that I got around to tackling the recents page. (I had to go back 60 pages!!! O.o Damn me, for being unable to make do with the dashboard and greedy enough to wade through all posted!) As mentioned wifi at our B&B was a bit… dodgy, and I didn’t really want to clock up more roaming charges than I absolutely had to.
So yeah, I’ve seen all your comments and thank you very much for them. I’ll see about some proper replies once I work out where to even start, there are so many!
There should hopefully be a complete trip report up at LJ soonishly with photos and whatnot in it. I’ve been carefully writing down what happened each day.
YAY!!!! You saw it!!!!! :) CHEERS, HUGS! Congrats!
I did, I did. I did see your PM about it too, because I got an email about it, but I never actually managed to click the link. I think it fell victim to shoddy wifi and getting kicked off the interwebz, and then I just never got back to it. I’m OCD enough to go back through all the posts I missed, though. :)
:) So…does this mean you will have a new addy? If so PM me – next month I hope to send you a Mystery Box!
No, the address is the same, and I haven’t changed my name yet. I was adviced to wait because we were travelling to the UK. Apparently it won’t quite invalidate my passport, but it was mentioned that there might be some problems to do with names not matching on travel documents and such. I don’t really feel like that’s any stress worth risking when I’ve got a three month window to do the name change in without having to pay a fee. (Besides, I looked at the form I have to fill out and will have to contact the authorities anyway, as I have a couple of questions. Not really something I want to do wrong!)
I don’t blame you at all!!!! WOW – that’s a bit confusing! Better to be safe than sorry, I agree!
I was worried you’d miss it because you don’t follow me so I couldn’t message you so finally I asked TeaEqualsBliss to let you know! (big group effort lots of well wishes!)
Bonnie, I’ve sort of given up following people unless I need to message them or they me to set up swappage or similar. I prefer to read from the All Recent page rather than the Dashboard (I’m OCD like that), so it makes no difference whether I follow people or not, really. :)
Just because you sound sooo happy, Congrats one more time!! :) Stay this happy forever!
Thank you Nina. :)
Method: The first time, I made this exactly as the instructions stated. The tea had an amazing aroma, but the flavor was just too subtle for me. So today –
3/4 tbsp, 8 oz, 190 degrees, 3 minutes, brew in mug strainer, constellation cup
Aroma: This smells like some kind of sweet dessert. It has a very familiar aroma, but I can’t quite place it, which is driving me nuts!
Flavor: Sweet and fruity, again like a dessert. I want more. MORE!!!!! It’s lovely, but I definitely think I will do 1 full TBSP next time, and see how that tastes. I may increase the time also. I think this is lovely, but I could personally use a stronger flavor. In. Yo. Face.
Preparation
Pretty cup :)
Cutest cup everrrrr! :D
I agree about the cup! This tea sounds so delicious to me from Brenden’s description. And now this makes it sound even better.
Thanks, all! I do adore this cup. It is called a Four Seasons cup and it has constellations representing each season. I had to have it!
I am going to go add a bit more leaf and try a re-steep on this one. :)
This was the one tea that intrigued me aside from the ones I actually bought already.
It’s deeeelish!!!
I LOVE this tea. LOVE
No, I love it :p
no I love it schoompie! Also, I’ll be needing your cup
Everyone is like totally mackin’ on my cup. Here you go, my dearest. They have other designs, too. Mine is the four seasons.
http://yunomi.us/shelf/suppliers/suppliers-tea-ware/oiso-kobo/
Thank you darling. I’m on the site now. That will have to be my Rivendell/Sleeping Bear cup
Make sure you give them your email to get 5% off
And it shipped pretty fast, considering the distance
I will – I think I’m going for the Autumn Sky
Awesome! I hope you love it!!!
I might sleep with it
LOL
I feel this should have a companion tea called Elrond.
Everyone is mackin’ on your cup, including me! And I loved Rivendell first :-P
Oh my goodness!
My order arrived today from Mandala, I was so excited I was practically stalking the Mailman! :)
After I opened my box of goodies, this was the thing I was most excited to try. I love the box it comes in and even the paper wrapper! I might need to get another one for aging. Garret- let me know if you are running low, heh!
Anyway after a quick rinse I did a slight taste and was impressed but it was the 2nd steep that made me really happy. I totally agree with Kwinter on the excellence and good value of this. You get a smoky element, at the same time it is vegetal and somewhat sweet with a eucalyptus like flavor. I am very glad I got one of these!
3rd steep – for about 30 seconds. This flavor is so interesting, the sweetness is coming up a bit more and has a bit of a smoky licorice essence. I quite like that…
More to come…
Preparation
Hello, my friend! I just checked the stock on this. I thought I had way more of this, but there has been a run on it. I have 2 left. I am contacting a couple of my connections to see if there are any left in China. I’d like to have more. I’m guessing it is long gone, but I’ll try! So happy that you are enjoying it!!!
Noooooooooooooooo!!!! :)
I have yet to try anything from Mandala that was less than perfect! GET MORE NAOW Amy Oh before you become Amy Uh Oh!
1st-Totally jelly about your Mandala order! I’ve been stalking their site for awhile now. 2nd-my mailman has a tea package for me as well! I can’t believe it isn’t here yet O.O I may start pacing.
Oh nice Tamm Hope it is a great order! Mandala is awesome and so is Garret who runs it hope you can order from him soon!
Azzzz….. you are tooooo kind! But thank you for the nice words, all the same :)
Tamm – nice to make your acquaintance!
Amy – if I can’t track down some of these in the next few days, perhaps I can when in China next. Hoping for an October buying trip. Gotta seriously get together a pallet of tea wares and choose some more material for some Mandala ripe and raw pressings. And if I can’t find this exact one, I am going to look for one with the same flavor/aroma profile. Honest, I will!!
Garret, it’s ok, I probably have enough tea for a lifetime. :)
Yeah? Well I want enough tea for several lifetimes for myself and all my friends :)
At least the puerh won’t get stale! I’m afraid to buy too much of it for aging purposes though since it sits in my apartment…
:)
big wave Hi Garret!
Welps, I was right. This… is not a tea I can handle. Looking at the description, my instincts told me so and after brewing up a cuppa… I had a few sips but poured the rest down the drain. Something about the chicory root? makes my mouth go a bit numb. Coffee does the same, and I know they share many similarities. Bah. What I did get out of it, besides the nauseating effect, was really quite nice. Shame, I was so hoping to be wrong here!
Anyhow, I’m done whining, for now. This was my first sample from the traveling tea box! Hopefully my next one will be better.
And now.. I am off to bed. I know I have a bunch of unanswered emails but it has been a looooong day/week for me and I need my zzzzs.
(I’m now an official board member of my university alumni assoc. volunteer, but I’m mighty excited! sorry, I say things like mighty and golly gee when I’m zombified. ha.)
OMG, Butterbeer? Like in Harry Potter Butterbeer?
Hum…chicory is loosely related to endive but the root is used in the production of sucrose and substances to help fend off parasites and worms. It’s good for you. May help humans with weight loss. Oh well, of course it’s good for you, if it was bad for you, you’d love it. Poor dear!
Congrats, Indigo, on your board member appointment!
Wow. What a shame. :(
Congrats!
@Heather Martin: Yep … like Harry Potter’s Butterbeer. :)
Heather- yup! sounded amazing to me to! :P
Bonnie- I have a few working theories about this. Potatoes seem to have no effect on me so it might not be nightshades. So I am looking at solanine or salicylate concentration. Ah well. What can ya do!
TerriHarpLady: hehe mucho thanks!!
DanielScott: I know right?! can’t have em all I guess
Azzrian: thanks!! I’m still bouncing :)
LiberTeas: I LOVE HP!!!! the butterbeer at Universal Studios was amazing though
Congrats!
man I’m in a huge harry potter mood, I really want to try this.
I love HP too, and I had soooo much Butterbeer at WWoHP at Universal. Mmmmmm!
Wow how did I miss these notes.
Thanks Nina!!
CupofTree if you ever get a chance, I’d recommend it! if you don’t have a hate affair with chicory haha
Heather: Ah I wish they sold the carbonated version in Canada!
I’m not working right now so I can afford to have oolong Gungfu sessions in the afternoon, yay!
A Steepster member inspired me to drink this and read my book under a blanket, so that’s what I’m doing! I feel a little guilty though… Cause it’s a beautiful day outside…
How come tea wins over sunshine?
Oh, yeah, that’s right…tea wins over everything!!
So I’m having this beautiful tea. It is medium roasted and I have had it many times, just never logged it.
This one is a leaf hopper bitten tea, so you know it will be sweet! Using 7g in my beautiful Butiki Gaiwan.
The third steep is really the one that starts to give. That’s when the leaves start to unfurl. The difference between the second and the third steep is an explosion of sweetness!
This is all about lightly burnt toast and honey to me. Like really, if I burn my morning toasts a little and melt a bunch of gooey honey on top, this is what I’ll get. I so love that oven roasted quality, and it’s not smokey, not at all. It’s hard to explain, but this tea feels a bit like an alcoholic beverage, it numbs the tongue a little, like pu’erh does sometimes. It’s got nutty and fruity notes as well.
I have so many steeps in front of me… «Near…Far…WhereEeeever you are….My tea will go on, and on….» just sang my inner Celine Dion (oops, the windows are open, sorry neighbour)
Oh how I miss this tea!! Enjoy a sip for me and a blanket:)
Haha! It’s all your fault TeaTiff!!
You can blame tea and a blanket on me any day. Sounds so nice!
And don’t forget the book!!! Here, I just dedicated my 7th steep to you dear ;-)
What are you reading?
(This is the dream day I want today. Instead, I’m at work and I’m pseudo-gongfu brewing.)
Cheri, I I’m reading Birdman from Mo Hayder, and English author I have just discovered. A pretty intense thriller!
And I feel for you, “pseudo-gongfu at work” lol.
Looks like you are tea drunk!
Yes!!! I guess I am boychik, alcohol and celine Dion in the same session would be too much to handle in any normal state of mind!!
:D
TheTeaFairy, at least I can sort of make it work for me in the office. I get to drink great tea all day long. That’s a bonus! If only I were curled up under a blankie with a really good book. Birdman sounds interesting. I will add it to my list to check out.
Sounds delicious! I wonder what “gui fei” means. When I was working at Ku Cha in Boulder, we were selling a Gui Fei, but it was a green/flower blooming tea.
Apparently it means concubine tea and is an uncommon oolong from Taiwan. It’s produced by a unique method: it’s briefly attacked by insects, tea green leaf hoppers. And it get’s it’s name from Yang Guifei – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Guifei
MissB is a star! I have been equipped with no less than four boxes of this one AND a myriad of other samples. I counted them. There were nineteen different teas in the box. Nineteen! Many of them are herbals, so I’ve got a lot of choice in my Before Bed Beverage now. (As has Husband, of course. I’m not that selfish) Some of them are from companies I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of before. How exciting!
So, yes, this is intended as a Before Bed Beverage, but as I’m writing this it’s only actually mid afternoon. I just couldn’t wait. I have high hopes of this one. I’ve come to be quite fond of the normal Sleepytime before bed, so in my mind adding vanilla to that couldn’t possibly go wrong. The worst that could happen, that I can think of anyway, is that I can’t actually find the vanilla in it at all, leaving me with something that tastes much like regular Sleepytime and then… what have I lost, really? Not much, the way I see it.
Well, I can detect the vanilla in the aroma, definitely. It’s rather peculiar, because it depends on how close I put my nose to the cup. I do have a bit of a cold, but my nose isn’t completely incapacitated at this stage (and I hope it stays that way!), so I can still smell things. If I put my nose close to the cup, I can pretty much only smell mint. If, however, I’m sitting normally upright with the cup in front of me letting the steam waft up past my face, it’s all sweet and vanilla-y. It’s almost as if the mint is a heavier scent and doesn’t make it all the way up to my face. I’ve never noticed this happening before. Isn’t that odd?
I tend to like steeping Sleepytime for a pretty long time so I’ve done that with this as well. It must have got at least six or seven minutes I think. Now that it’s stronger I can also smell the vanilla among the mint when putting my nose closer to the cup. It smells wonderful!
I’ve tried a few sips, but I can’t really taste anything. Still too hot. I’ll have to be more patient, I suppose… Ah yes, that’s better.
It still tastes like Sleepytime. I’m not sure I would have been able to tell that it’s a different variety had I not known, but as I do know, I can find the vanilla. I can find it because I know it’s there but that doesn’t mean that it’s not done properly, if you know what I mean. Sometimes you don’t need to be able to taste everything. Sometimes just a hint is enough to enhance an overall experience. Just think of a sauce which has just a pinch of salt versus the same sauce with too much salt in it. The pinch of salt enhances the flavour of the whole, but too much of it just takes over. I tend to like heavily flavoured vanilla teas, but in this particular blend I think the vanilla works much better as that enhancer. It smooths the whole thing out and adds a touch of sweetness.
I’m really glad I decided to ask for someone to play middle-man so I could have some. I don’t usually like doing that because it seems such a lot of bother for everybody involved. I shall have to put together a really great box to send back to MissB after we’ve moved now.
when are you moving?
She already moved.
She has a queue.
(Yes, Ang. I am your secretary now.)
i know she has a queue..i’m just used to see her prenotes when it’s from the backlog lol
TIME WARP. This might not be backlog, though, and that last sentence really reads, ‘…a really great box to send now after we’ve moved.’
haha
ANG WE NEED YOU TO EKSPLAYNE
I think you need to come visit me Anna. I think we would have fun together being weird. Except that my hair might get jealous and try to take yours out.
I agree. Imagine how awesomely we could stalk Ang if we teamed up on the same continent!!!
And I’m sure our hair would probably just merge. For world domination.
oh man. I’m coming your way… we can stalk ang, and hit fru p on the way!
…gosh. O.O hides
Yes, Sil, this is from the queue and from before we moved. I try to remember to write ‘from the queue’ on them, but I’m not very good at that. I don’t know why I don’t just start with that sentence when I write the post in the first place. 99% or what I post are from the queue, so you can generally assume that it’s a couple months old.
Also, you two are scary. Seriously. Scary. (But I’d still feed you and rustle up something you could sleep on if you showed up)
SIL DID YOU SEE DID YOU SHE WOULD FEED US FOODS AND BUILD US A NEST DID YOU SEE
HALP!
Would she also hug us and call us George? ;)
I would, Geor-I mean Sil.
This is amazing! Thank you so much OMGSrsly for sending me a little bit of this! I think this is possibly THE BEST coconut oolong tea I’ve ever had the pleasure to drink.
It’s creamy, almost buttery, with lots of coconut notes on a backdrop of fresh oolong.
Wow.
Thank you. I love how freakin’ generous people on Steepster are!
And now I’m at 149. :( But I will be sure to re-steep this baby!
Preparation
WOW. oh man
also. you suck. I will get down to your numbers someday.
I wish I could have shared it with you. It’s just so amazing!
Also, if my Teavana order ever shows up, as well as everything else, I’ll be at 197? So much incoming…. Also, I’m so excited!
i may try to hit adagio on the weekend. Will let you know
What’d you order from teavana, cavo?
LOL. This one is just AMAZING, I know. Maybe I’ll send some to Sil, she’s been pretty nice to me. :)
I ordered during the heavenly sale – grabbed some mint cacao, two different white teas that were $2 each, and the 12 Days of Christmas Sampler. A lot of it is backordered though, and there’s no record on the site of the 12 Day sampler. :( I emailed them with my receipt to ask what’s up because I want it. I thought it’d be a super cheap way to try a bunch of Teavana teas! (It was $17?)
I’m really disappointed by the lack of communication though. Also, when I filed a ticket for support, they reply was covered in ads. Not classy.
ew. not cool.
Aww, geez. That’s horrible, Cavo! I tried calling tonight and their hours are awful (for me). 8:30am to 8pm your time, I think. Is that an option for you?
Well I’ve already got the support email in, so I’ll wait the 2-3 days they estimate it’ll take for a resolution. LOL. Well I was warned about Teavana.
Wow, that’s not good. But sounds consistent with their reputation, sadly.
I’m afraid to do a tea count…I’m guessing I’ve reached an all time high, & I’m still aching to place another ‘birthday’ order, LOL
Wow. I’ve been toying with making some coconut oolong lately. Maybe I will soon.
mmm this is the perfect tea to steep and resteep on a rainy day. Also, I had an interview today! Fingers crossed, I don’t care that it’s a retail job, at this point I would rather work retail than a desk job – neither of which are related to my degree!
Ahem. To the tea!
First of all, the leaves are huuuge! The wooden tea scoop I got as a gift from Derek Chew & Peony Tea S. (THANK YOU!) is perfect for getting just the right amount of humongous, twisty, dark leaves. They are gorgeous. When the water was poured over them, the scent filled my kitchen! I steeped as directed on the package, 30 seconds at 185 F.
The first steep surprised me! The leaves had a slight bright green-ness to them, and smelled like sweet minerals. I usually go for green oolongs, but this tea gave me the same great sensation as a spring tieguanyin, surprisingly! Sweet and buttery, but with a darkness and a mineral taste and texture that reminded me that it is definitely a dancong.
Subsequent steeps become less buttery but more sweet and seductive.
Thank you so much to PTS for this tea – it has moved me!
Good luck with the job prospect!
Thank you Barb! :)
Retail’s not so bad, as long as the crew you’re working with is good! Best of luck ♥
I hope you get it :)
So true Michelle! It’s all about the people – that goes for most jobs I’m sure… I guess it’s why I left my last one haha!
ty Helena!
Best of luck, rooting for ya’ :)
Good luck! I recently lost my job of 25 years and I was lucky to find a new one.
Good luck! :)
Oooh, I have this one too, and have yet to try it! I love buttery teas, I will have to get on that.
I have a big problem with this tea. It just keeps resteeping and giving me more cups. Well actually I guess that’s not a problem. But I’m sort of ready to do something else!
In other news, textbooks are expensive. Crazy expensive.
In other other news, my husband figured out that I love another. I suppose it was obvious, the evidence is all over me. And I keep meeting him in the bedroom for some heavy petting. The way he gazes into my eyes makes me so happy, and I have only known him for two months. Hearing him snoring next to me is the happiest sound ever. All I have to do is make a little tongue clicking sound and he comes running, just like a dog. And if I stop paying attention to him, he headbutts me to remind me that he is there.
http://imgur.com/a/Og5b3#5
Awwhhh adorable! He’s so cute! ^^ I love how so many people on here have dogs and cats. Least I’ve seen from their Instagrams. It’s awesome! People who own pets make me really happy! (:
I was really, really resistant to getting another pet, but I can’t begin to tell you how great this cat is. He has all of his claws, but is super conscious about never using them on us. Even sometimes when he gets frisky and wants to play it’s like he is consciously gentle. Zero hairballs. Zero accidents. He doesn’t even get underfoot and trip us. He comes like a dog when you call him, and even leaves the room when you tell him to (like when we go to bed at night). My heart hurts to think what might have happened if he hadn’t been adopted.
He does this adorable thing with his paws when we pet him. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202338952499958&set=vb.1376432936&type=3&theater
He is a beautiful cat! And yes, textbooks are crazy expensive!! Campus bookstore bad. Half.com good
Oh I’m looking all over. But the Chem ones don’t seem to be available anywhere but the bookstore, unfortunately.
What a cute kitty! :)
Good luck! I hope you can find a deal :)
Did you try ABE for textbooks? It was the only place I could find a couple of mine. Also Amazon rents some textbooks which is absolutely wonderful.
Yeah, I’m actually pretty savvy at the online book thing (I own an online bookstore).
He’s so cute! I feel that way about our male cat. He’s a love bug. :)
Super cute! Textbooks are definitely expensive. I was very happy when one of my physics profs ordered only the section of the book that applied yo the course vs the whole text and saved us about $65.00.
My daughters chemistry materials are gong to be around $500 for one class.
That is insane! What are they making you buy beyond the text and goggles?
That is crazy!
I left it downstairs, it looks like 4 different books.
Wow, I guess I could see it happening if their is a Lab book, the text and maybe an additional workbook. But, I have a Bio degree and have taken Engineering courses and I think the most I have spent on books and materials is $200.00 on a single course. Hope you can find some of the other books used.
School text books are such a rip off! ugh!!! Love your kitteh ;)
Science textbooks are the worst for prices – I remember it very very well. I truly believe they artificially inflate the price just to make the whole college experience even more impossible. And the reality is, no way she will get 500 bucks use out of them, but they are necessary enough that you can’t just do without.
Her bio textbook I found for $65 :)
I think this tea is next on my WP list. It sounds just dreamy.
Good luck on the book buying. Ugh.
and ooh me gorsh KITTEH!!! Such a cutie! I love how happy you are with him, and that he seems just as happy with you. I love the paw thingy. One of ours does that as well and it’s just sooooo cute!!! (Of course, if she’s so happy she’s doing the paw thing, she’s also droooooooooling all over the place.)
Thank you Stacy for this Sample!
I’ve received my new tea’s from Butiki (dance, dance, dance)!
As always, Stacy lovingly places just the right little packets of samples in my order (and will in yours also).
It never fails to make me smile with excitement when I discover what she has tucked in my box as my free samples!
I have tasted the previous Butiki Assam, but this is a newer one…
a Premium Taiwanese Assam.
My experience with Assam’s has been average.
The one’s I’ve tasted have been of medium body, slightly smoky and a little malty. Good breakfast Assam’s that can hold up to milk in the morning and have mild astringency. Not overly complex tea’s.
What now?
Stacy is always hunting down the best tea’s she can find. Like a sly fox, she scours the tea markets improving the line-up of tea’s she carries, always looking for unique flavors and blends. This is one of the things I love about her and Butiki Tea!
Flavor
Well, this was not like any Assam I’d ever tasted before!
There was a yam, potato flavor right away though not a lot (if any) malt.
I didn’t pick up any smokiness and the astringency didn’t even arrive until the tea was quite cool.
Speaking of cool…
The spicy heat in this tea was followed by a characteristic that I associate with Taiwanese Tea’s…that menthol/minty cool feeling in the mouth.
This was such a great mouth-feel (if you’ve never experienced it before) but subtle.
I was looking for a raisin chocolate taste (which I found), and along the way got distracted by how soft the finish was.
Like a mist the tea evaporated at the end. All the flavors seemed to be up front with a spice-cool shift in the center and then poof, gone.
This was before I added anything to my tea!
You can’t imagine how sweet and nectar-like my tea was when I added
just a little sweetening. (Stacy would say “Add a little natural raw sugar crystals to bring out the flavor”)
Very tasty and delicious for breakfast or anytime!
Lovely Assam!
Stacey! You Sly-Fox, you! :)
teehee
So glad you are enjoying this one. :) Its one of my favorite breakfast treats, though I do tend to add a lot of leave and let it sit until its nice and malty and very astringent.
A Taiwanese Assam? Oh my goodness, I’m intrigued!
Stacy, I’d try that if I had more on hand, but I would have missed the cool mint/menthol feel possibly for the tasting.
LiberTEAS-Here is what I wrote about Taiwanese Assams in my tasting note: As the name suggest, this is an Assam that comes from Taiwan. In the 1920’s, under Japanese rule, Assamica tea bushes were brought to the Sun Moon Lake area of Taiwan. At the time, the Japanese wanted to compete with the British in the black tea market. Since then this Assam has been refined by the Taiwan Research and Extension Station.
Bonnie-I’m terrible with my black teas, I so abuse them by intentionally over-steeping them. I just love that really astringent taste. Well, I do that to all except the Mi Xian which is really naturally sweet.
What a unique and delicious young sheng!
It reminds me of sencha, oddly enough. It is very sweet and sort of vegetal. It has a pleasant and delicate huigan, and is light on the cha qi scale. This might be good for people who are unsure about puerh but really love green tea!
I’m glad I got to try it :)
Do tell… What exactly is huigan?
It’s that sort of aftertaste that some shengs leave in the back of your throat/tongue http://articles.bannacha.com/index.php?article23/describing-pu-erh-tea
returning sweetness. I get huigan from good Taiwanese Oolongs, especially the slightly more processed ones.
Yeah, I get real nice huigan from Phoenix Dancong sometimes :D
I just get sweetness from start to finish with Dancongs. Where have you gotten Dancongs from in the past?
The one I have right now is from Verdant tea. It is really good. I like a long steep
I like the Dancong from Jing Tea Shop, especially Mi Lan. I also need to try Tea Habitat, that’s essentially all they do, Dancong.
nice
Did you steep the whole packet or part of it? I can’t find instructions on how much to use anywhere. I’m doing the whole thing with a shorter steep, so I hope I have not killed my sample.
Whole 10g packet for how many ounces of water?
12 oz. I was wrong….very wrong. It was too much.
Ugh, bummer. You can sometimes salvage by diluting with water…
Yeah, I did a little. It’s my fault…I don’t know what I was thinking.
Sipdown (191/196)!
I don’t think people understand that when a store closes at 9PM that doesn’t mean the employees go home at 9PM – it means that’s when we get to start closing; and for a big store like Dollarama it takes quite a while to close. Christ.
So, today at 8:55PM we had a lady come in and start shopping – FIVE MINUTES TO CLOSING. That wouldn’t have been such a big deal if she was just quickly grabbing one or two things – but that wasn’t the case; instead she had to do all her grocery shopping and buy all the stuff for her wedding: a few hundred fake white/yellow flowers, all our champagne flutes (which we have to wrap individually), place settings…
And because we weren’t closed yet we had to let her shop and stay open until she was done. Ughh! We didn’t even get to start closing until 9:40! Because of her me and my closing cashier both missed our buses. At least I’m within feasible walking distance: I felt really bad for Ruby though because this late at night the buses only stop by once an hour so she had to wait an extra long time to get home.
Fuck people.
But anyway; I finished this off in my timolino with milk today. Scratch another Butiki blend off the list, as well as one less black tea in my cupboard meaning more space in the closet for black blends! Hooray!
I’m not to sad to see this go; it’s way to hard to get it right. I don’t want to waste more time on it trying to perfect brewing it – so goodbye Irish Cream Cheesecake. It was an experience, at least…
Oh, that is so frustrating. I hope your co-worker got home OK.
You need to can an ok from higher up to be able to post a sign stating that after 8:45 pm you csn only accept orders of 6 items are less!
That is soooo annoying. :| Aren’t you allowed to tell her at 9 that, “Sorry, the store is closed. Can you please come up to the till so we can check you out?” I’ve had a few customers screw me over like that as well, but they generally don’t stick around more than 5-10 minutes afterwards…
Those people are the WORST. Like you have nothing better to do than wait around and serve them. The kind of person who has no respect for others or their time
Wow, so inconsiderate. Some people only think sbout themselves.
Inconsiderate she is! Sometimes the customer is NOT right…
(channeling Yoda today)
I’m pretty sure those types of people are the ones who’ve never worked a guest service/retail job themselves… :/
At the store I worked at, we started closing the tills at 9 so someone like that would be unable to make their purchase as the register was closed. Also, working in retail, I quickly learned how horrible customers can be. I mean, I once had a lady tell me to “go f*** myself” because I told her we stopped selling the comforter set she wanted two years ago. And when I apologized for the inconvenience and told her next time she should feel free to call us before making the drive to the store and we would be happy to check to save her the trip she told me to “f*** off” and then told her son to drop everything he was carrying on the floor.
Do you not have some sort of ‘we close in five minutes, please make your way to the tills’ call out or something? We do here. In Denmark, that lady would have been told (politely of course) that it was very close to closing time.
We’re not allowed to do a final call; store policy is to close at nine if no one is in the store but if people are still shopping to allow them to do so, uninterrupted, until they’re finished. @VariaTEA – I’ve definitely experienced that, and it really sucks. I’ve had people throw stuff at me because they can’t return/exchange it (Dollarama has a strict no returns or exchanges policy that’s advertised on all entrances and printed on every receipt). The best is when they ask/demand to speak to the person in charge: 9/10 that happens to be me, since I take over command of the store once my manager goes home for the day, which is usually half an hour after I’ve started my shift.
People are the worst. And the final call thing is sort of bullshit since employees shouldn’t have to stay just because people are inconsiderate.
That’s brutal. :| And it’s poor policy for your store. I can see someone being completely oblivious to closing time and would be completely understanding about hurry the F up, (and I can also see others who wouldn’t care.. but why not weed out those that do?)
The best is when they ask/demand to speak to the person in charge: 9/10 that happens to be me,
So, when that happens, do you go away and come back immediately and ask what the problem is? :p
@Angrboda Man that would be hilarious; but I think would often piss them off even more :P
Probably… It’s the sort of thing one wishes one dared to do. :p
Heheheh
Lots of yixing teapot discussions going on lately. Today I decided that I haven’t been using mine and really should be. I did season it a while ago, but figure with lack of use it could use another bath.
Wild Monk is of course my favorite sheng, and seasoning yixing is an investment in the future so you should use good tea.
My teapot is now happily soaking in it’s bath, and it’s not possible to make Wild Monk and not drink some. I was using the – one pot for the bowl, one pot for my cup method.
This stuff is fantastic, it just makes me happy to be playing with my teapots while drinking such an amazing tea.
Awesome!
So Mandala pot for Mandala tea, totally makes sense. I’m glad you are having a good time;)
LOL I think all my pots will get seasoned with Mandala Tea – I’m a huge fan. My favorite shou is Noble Mark, and my favorite dark oolong is their Big Red Robe – if you are going to invest in yixing might as well season them with the best…
Woohoo! Sheng Gang!! I’m on Hot Cowboy sheng right now!!
(I was also drinking this out of one of my new Noble cups from Davids – it’s officially – enjoy your teaware day in my house)
Yay for good sheng tea!!!
And Dexter, I am so happy to know you are spending good quality time with the monk and your little mandala pot today :-)
Dexter: do you use one pot for all your pu’erh or do you use a separate one for sheng and shou? Does it make a big difference or is it a personal preference? Thanks. :)
I will have a separate pot for shou and one for sheng (once my project seasoning gets fully going). IMHO they are different teas, it would be like drinking black tea from your dark oolong pot. I’m even considering doing yet another pot for Special Dark because of how different it is to other shou.
What YOU chose to do is up to you. I think they are cute, and I like them, I would have more if I could afford it. You just have to find the pieces that work for you, and then adapt them into your tea drinking routine. (I don’t really drink green oolong – therefore I don’t need a pot for them).
I’m not sure that answered your question…
LOL. It did. I ended up buying two yixing gaiwans, and I could see myself buying more because they are so darn adorable. I’ll use one for sheng and one for shou!
My Hot Cowboy isn;t here yet – but it has been mailed because Garret is awesome. Wild Monk is also my favorite sheng Dexter and that’s what I’m gonna season my sheng pot with. Although I really love love love the Wild Mountain Green.
I agree with Dexter that Special Dark needs its own pot because it IS different.
And Sars – I think you really need separate ones for sheng and shou
Dexter I love enjoy the teaware day :)
Thanks, HoneyBelle. I got a plain yixing gaiwan and one in a pretty lotus shape. I’ll keep my sheng and shou separate. :)
I hollered at LTF about the lotus gaiwan. We both have a lotus problem
I have a Mandala pot also.
mrmopar which one do you have?
I have one from a different site that I seasoned with Mandala tea.
I accidentally steeped this for a long time. Six minutes maybe? I’m not sure, it went way over my timer, as Mum had asked me to help her with something and it slipped my mind. Oops!
No matter, the tea was great. Really!!! I love cherry, and I love tart cherries even more! And boy was this tart. Not overwhelmingly so mind you, and I could definitely taste the puerh. Like one of those sour cherry candies. Mmmm. No sugar required.
Also, it’s a really nice change to have a flavour besides orange, chocolate, or toffee associated with puerh. Thanks TeaBrat for the sample!!
Shu puerh is awesome in that you can never oversteep it! :)
Ooh, interesting!
Wow, that sounds like a great combination! I had a strawberry flavoured one once which was just like drinking jam. Lovely.
This is one of my favorites from Nature’s Tea Leaf. Much conversation has taken place about the “perfect” cherry tea…this one comes as close to authentic cherry fruit (not candy) flavor as anything I’ve tried.
Stephanie, so true!! Unfortunately that meant my resteep turned out quite weak lol
Amariel, it really was!! I will have to order from them one day
Angrboda, yes stawberry!! I remember now as well, a strawberry puerh from The Spice and Tea Exchange. It was super tasty. I’m sad they discontinued it!
Gmathis, I could not agree with you more. Seriously, I’m still thinking about this one days later :P
I think it may be time for some more Berry Good from DAVIDs…
Amariel, Ooh yes that was a good one too!
I have not had it much this winter, but I did like it for spring and fall. And I admit I had it in the summer too.
The hibiscus would make it taste great iced!
Yes, though luckily the hibby is mild in that.
True. I guess it depends on what you end up with in your spoon from the packet!
I am in need of a light, citrus-y blend today. I’m making short ribs which, while delicious, have the downside of taking all day to make. Sure, most of it is just time in the oven, but chopping the veggies, prepping the seasonings, searing the meat, and caramelizing the onions takes a good 2 hours of work. Plus having the oven on for 5 hours isn’t that pleasant. So, a light tea it is! I was looking for one in my sample bin since I REALLY need to cut down on the overflow, and this caught my eye: not because of the citrus, really (though that’s why I ended up picking it) but because of the name on the label. Upton lets you put a name on your tea under “Packaged for.” I suppose it’s so you can gift them to people, but I decided to be delightfully immature so all my tea from them is for Batman.
I’ve been looking for the perfect grapefruit tea: I adore grapefruit juice but the flavor doesn’t seem to transfer completely in blends. I’ve tried quite a few and so far the vanilla grapefruit from H&S is my favorite, but it’s still not quite tart enough for me. The dry leaves of this smell SO grapefruity, so my hopes were pretty high. Sadly, I think the base is way too assertive here: it’s very powerful and even a little smokey which I find odd. The grapefruit is there, but only really in the aftertaste, and the juniper is muted as well. However, it’s more pure grapefruit than any other tea I’ve tried so I am not giving up hope! I have enough left in the sample to try some other brewing methods to see if it will bring out the flavor better: I’m thinking the water was too hot, even though they recommend boiling.
Preparation
1) How awesome is the Batman thing! I wish I thought of stuff like that! Now I want to order tea from Upton just so I can put something cool on the label.
2) You are aware, aren’t you, that everyone who has your address from doing a swap with you is plugging it into their GPS right now to see if they can get there before all that food is gone!
Delicious sounding short ribs! Does this mean Batman is your tea drinking alias?
Nananana nananana Batman! How awesome is that?!
Yum! Short ribs! (if you ever want to do it in a crock pot slow after searing…I have a recipe that keeps the kitchen cool in the Summer! and tastes wonderful…but it uses dark beer and buckwheat honey…and of course those carmalized onions…). OUCH!
Haha, I’m glad you all approve of tea for Batman. That’s what I use when I get food anywhere that requires a name: it’s just so much fun watching a confused Jamba juice employee holding up a drink and asking for Batman.
@Bonnie: I was actually going to do the ribs in my slow cooker, but I wanted the veggies a little crunchy and firmer so braising was the way to go. I wish I’d though of dark beer/honey though, that sounds AMAZING! Totally going to try that next time.
Oh, the poor Jamba Juice employee!!
We actually got a sample of this, and a sample of their St. Isaac’s blend with our Upton order. Both are quite good, and very similar… but the St. Isaac’s was definitely a notch or two more grapefruity. If you’re a grapefruit fan, that one is worth a buck or two towards a sample to try.
I actually have a sample of St. Isaac’s already! I thought it might be less citrusy than the summer blend so I tried this one first, but St. Isaac’s is definitely next on the list. Good to know it’s more grapefruity, since this one was almost what I wanted.
Batman, LOL! I’ll have to tell the boyfriend about that, it should be right up his alley humour-wise. :D Lately he’s taken to naming his Diablo III characters after Danish words for fish.
Now I’m tempted to have my next Upton order packaged for Diablo, Lord of Destruction!
DO EEEEEEEET!!! :D
Lol this is too funny!
Pshhh, silly, Diablo is the Lord of Terror :P
I think I might have mine packed for Darth Vader, though the girls say I should go for a slightly more obscure character.
I think we should have a competition to see who can come up with the most ridiculous name to put on an Upton order. XD
Inigo Montoya?
OMG, Princess Bride, right, Dylan? That is such a great movie (and he is a great character).
You all totally crack me up. I am going to consider doing something like this sometime. How about, Morphius? Or (trying to be more obscure) a character from a book like, Mr. Wickham, or Duke Leto Atreides, or Sméagol?
Check out Lupicia’s Grapefruit Green if you want a citrusy punch in the mouth. As for picking a character name, I think it’s funnier if it’s a well-known character instead of someone obscure. If it’s obscure, you might be the only one who gets the reference. Batman takes the cake. ;)
I hear you, CHAroma. When it comes down to it, who’s ‘well-known’ and who’s ‘obscure’ are actually judgements. The characters I mention are all actually ‘significant’ characters from ‘very popular’ novels (my judgement). And,for example, hearing (or reading) the name “Inigo Montoya” gives me much more meaning than hearing (or reading) the name ‘Batman’; still, I respect the fact that others may find it otherwise. Although ‘obscure’ things are ‘less likely’ to be identified by others, the more obscure they are, the more meaningful the connection is, for me, anyway. But, to each his own, eh? : – )
For the most part, I agree with you. But even people who have seen the LOTR movies don’t remember that Gollum was born Smeagol. So, they’d probably be even less likely to recognize the name when printed on a tea package.
second review…
My first review on this Puerh was just after I joined Steepster 5 months ago. Seems like ages in tea months! I’ve been a ‘tea person’ such a short time. I scored this tea pretty high and this was probabaly one of my first unflavored puerh’s.
What do I think of this Puerh now?
I did a quick rinse of the leaves…(know to do that now) then steeped 3 minutes.
Today I’m pretty sick with nausea from what has turned into an allergic reaction to some food (don’t know what) so tea is something that’s good for the stomach! I picked this puerh to help me feel better.
The flavor was mild and bready without bitterness. I was surprised at how dark the brew was after just 3 minutes and thought that it wasn’t bad for a morning cup with cream and sugar as a coffee subsitute. I added a little sweetening only and thought it was a good wheat bread tasting puerh with a little mushroom flavor. Not really complex but friendly.
Doorbell….granddaughter bringing 7-up for my tummy…mixing well with some ginger tea in the frig!
Hope you feel better soon!
Thank you….it was snacking on dry pea’s…stupid me…they’re in the bean family…duh…took a few days before the effects hit me!
Bummer! I am sorry:(
hope you feel better!
Feel better, Bonnie!
Get better soon!
Thanks guys…by tomorrow the room should stop spinning. I’m supposed to see an allergist (I’ve never had allergies until 5 years ago so as life changes your body can change too rather food than runny nose from trees and pollen and such!).
Hope you wake up feeling better today Bonnie. Good luck with the allergists
Hope today finds you feeling better. As for the tea – it’s always fun to go back and see how your tastes have progressed / changed.
Hello…a little better today…couldn’t get on steepster till noon…got the black screen…nausea will go away later I’m sure. Can’t eat much yet.
Hope you’re feeling all better soon! We’ve had a stomach bug going around the office and it struck me last week. Best wishes
Also- can’t believe it’s only been 5 months! I feel like you’ve always been part of Steepster; it’s impossible to imagine it without you.
That is solo sweet. Today is the first time since Tuesday I can eat anything carefully and drink tea. I’ve been so sick with the allergic reaction to those stupid handful of peas. Like Poisen! Worse than the flu…but I’m coming out of the fog (I hope). Thanks,
I’ve only got one more cup of this left! :O :O :O
(Well, I can always order more, right? Just need a job first!)
Anyway this is perfect for relaxing at the end of the night and maybe watching an episode of Supernatural. I just ate a peanut butter & banana sandwich and surprsingly enough, this tea paired well with it. I was afraid the sandwich would totally overwhelm the delicate tea but it didn’t.
This is probably my favorite non-black Butiki tea.
If you want more of this, let me offer you some… I overbought it in my excitement a while back and it would find a better home with you than sitting in a box here!
I agree! So delicious. I am also running low eek.
Sure! I’d love to take you up on that. :) Any time you want to swap, let me know too!
Supernatural <3
I just started! I’m 5 episodes into Season 1?
I’ll hopefully be visiting Sil next weekend – I will try to remember to leave some with her for you! And anything you’re interested in form my cupboard… haha :D
Ahh, Supernatural. Another TV show I never really watched, but know way too much about thanks to LJ, Tumblr, and fanfic. :) (I watched the pilot but really dislike scary things.)
Haha. I love how that sorta thing happens. I know a bit about Castiel, but I’ve been pretty good about keeping my head in the sand so there’ll be lots of surprises in the future too!
And thanks Kittenna – I’ll take a peek. Maybe I can take something else off your hands. :P
Best. Tea. ever. It’s achingly beautiful. I’ve just ordered two oz of it!
Supernatural just gets better and better. I recently finished season 8 and still miss Sam and Dean. :)
I was just watching Season 3 last night. One of my favorite shows ever, though I started watching S6. Haven’t seen 4&5 yet! I also love peanut butter banana sandwiches!
Wow… I am in blueberry heaven. 52teas’ blueberry is incredible. I can’t imagine living without it! It smells like blueberry through and through and it tastes even better.
I woke up late and decided to eat breakfast before going for my run. This tea poked through my memory and I decided to give it a try again. It is even better than I remember it. Right up there with my all time favorite blueberry Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish. I am nearly out of my pound of that tea…. So now I am going to have a lot of trouble deciding if I want a pound of this or a pound of that for my next blueberry fix of tea… Oh, tea decisions are hard!
Upping the rating on this one!
OK, now, to go run! Enjoy your Sunday everyone! :)
I hope Frank decides to reblend Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish. I never really got a chance to try it. I know it will be snapped up.
This tea wasn’t bad either. Not quite as good as Strawberry, but definitely an enjoyable cold brew :)
You too!
I can’t believe how fast you’re ripping through that pound!
Ninavampi, your review really makes me crave blueberries :-)
Almost through your pound of it?! O.o
So I’m a little late to the party on this review.
I had this earlier today with the TEAplets. But I was unable to focus on writing my review. Now is a better time.
I was lucky enough to receive the gift of tea from Sarsonator: this beautiful Mandala cake. She made this very special for myself and MzPriss (who was also given the same cake) as it wasn’t even available yet on Mandala’s website. That’s what I call a REAL surprise!
Now how thoughtful and generous was that? Thank you so much Sarsy, I am so grateful!
Right from the get go, I had a feeling it would be a good one. The cake looks amazing, as if every single leaf was placed strategically to create a little work of art.
It broke very easily, no need to fight it, loosely compressed.
I used 8g for a 5oz yixing clay pot.
First, I love the golden liquor it produces. It’s thick and almost oily as I pour the first steep in the pitcher.
The leaves are barely awake, and already they render a taste that completely seduces me. We all agree: it’s remarkable.
Stone fruits, mostly soft and ripe apricot. Super sweet and silky, heavy mouthfeel of honey.
In later steeps, that sweetness turns into maple water. I also get juicy apple notes. It’s not smokey at all, and that astringency normally present in young sheng is nowhere to be found.
Around steep seven, I get a certain acidity, but i think I just let it steep too long. It’s very potent.
I had dinner, and went back to it. It kept giving and giving.
Thank you so much again Sarsy, and thanks to Garret who helped make this surprise happened, you are such a classy guy!
As usual, for those who love to watch:
http://instagram.com/p/sieu8HQhy4/
This was so good and I loved being able to share it with my TFFs!
apricots are my fav. glad you enjoyed it
wishlisted
Yay! Here’s to hoping that I am able to get some more of this! Working on that today. It is selling fast and I want some, too! Great pics!
MzPriss : likewise :-)
Boychik and Stephanie: it is very likely that you will love this one
Garret: thank you! And so glad I have a whole cake of this!!
I just got two more cakes of this one in the mail today. Thanks, G!
I couldn’t risk it selling out. I’m so glad you love it, TTF! It makes me happy when you are happy!!! <3
:) This could be a great supplier to keep working with. Will soon be getting some samples of some of their other new offerings. If the quality keeps up with what I’ve tasted of their teas so far, I will be a happy tea seller.
Totally, G-Mac. And we will all be happy tea drinkers! Keep us posted on the other offerings, please. :)
Lucky rascals….
There was supposed to be almost a blizzard today…but it whistled on by, preferring to thump tumbleweeds on the Plains with howling wind and pelting snow.
I bundled up in layers, called Schey to meet me at Happy Lucky’s at 2PM for tea, and selected several new tea’s for my green tea pouch. Without that pouch and a “What did you bring us today Bonnie?” the visit wouldn’t be complete.
Five people were in and out behind the tea-bar when I arrived (including the owner, George).
Joe picked a group favorite (this Tieguanyin) and brought out complete aroma sets, a gaiwan and small fairness pitcher.
The Oolong Symphony Began. 170 degrees and short steeps.
At first the tea was delicate, a blend of linen…squash blossom and cucumber flesh. I commented that the taste was subtle in the beginning, then stalled like a wave gathering more water before unfurling on the sand.
The second steep was very floral without being old and tired, thickening on the finish. There was a feel of unsalted butter (so said Joe and I). The aroma was so heavy with orchids and honey, it pulled me deep down into the cup and I was lost.
One steep was vanilla cream scented and another orchids and jasmine.
The color, floral aroma and flavor were the same as we approached the 6th steeping.
One of the things that Eric mentioned was the size of the leaves and the amount of flavor. “Someone has taken very good care of these leaves to get them to give this kind of flavor for this long. This is very good Tieguanyin.” (Eric is the scientist, one of the people I’ve dissected tea’s and ingredients with. He’s also a West Coast Bay Area person like me).
We’ve had Tieguanyin (Oolongs in general) discussions about how the climate on the Frontrange is PERFECT for aging. It’s DRY and Oolongs like DRY storage.
George drifted over to the gaiwan and made a round for everyone. As the owner, he’s tasted LOTS of tea, and his eyebrows tweeked up like the Rocky Mountains. He was impressed at the look of the leaves after many steeps.
What sets this apart and makes this different that any other?
The aroma is complex and lingering.
It’s a warm day in May, and just before the morning becomes humid…I’ve gone into the garden to pick flowers for my table.
There’s a fence with honeysuckle. Sweet jasmine, lily of the valley and orchids in the garden. White cotton sheets are drying on the clothesline, flapping in the wind.
The aroma lingers. That was the first thing I noticed.
The flavor grabs attention in a subtle way.
Buttered squash blossom, diced peeled and seeded cucumber, clover honey with the scent of all the garden flowers and linen.
The flavor moves so slowly through the mouth, informing the brain with a ‘seven-second delay’ that “An event has taken place, tastebuds wake up”!
This is the point, that the tea is sneeky! It doesn’t behave the way you are expecting a Tieguanyin to behave.
This is NOT a Boring OOLONG!
And, the flavor goes on forever!
Sounds incredible!
I think you nailed it…its a delicate one…squash flower, orchid, lily, cucumber….not for the ‘toasted’ tieguanyin fan…but for the lover of Ali Shan and Tung ting
Bonnie – Your tasting notes always unfold like a story! I love them. This tea sounds so good.
Whenever I see that you have posted a note I get excited…it is like tea storytime! :)
I’m having some bone pain today so these comments are especially cheering! Thank you!
You’re welcome. Thank you for writing such fun tasting notes!
Sorry to hear about the pain. Hope it eases up soon.
Ahh.. How I’ve missed those Fort Collins chronicles of yours :-) Taking the Bonnie Tour in your hometown one day is on my to do list! Maybe I’ll be lucky when the day comes to find you with your friends at Happy Lucky’s, sipping a new tea you brought over to share…
(Hope the nasty pain goes away very soon)
Stay here…I need a Fairy Friend!
Thanks again Indigobloom for this big sample!
This is a young Pu-erh and a prize winner. Hum. That was interesting to find out after tasting the tea. I usually read reviews after I’m finished tasting because I’m easily influenced by the words of others and don’t like that to happen. It’s fun to find out that I’ve discovered the same qualities (either good or bad) on my own, that other more qualified and trained tasters write about.
Before steeping I did a 30 second wash. The steep time was 3 minutes in my glass traditional teapot with stainless basket.
The leaves were the darkest chocolate brown and I picked at them. They looked like long threads of petrified leaves, tea turned into dry wood that was now soaking wet and shiny.
The aroma was promising! Salty, a little musty and scented with crimini mushrooms.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
I could taste the tea in the steam. No disappointment in the first sip. Wow! Nom (as so many Steepsters say) this was super tasty! Very good! Better than I was expecting!
I was salivating from the first mineral juiciness when the tea changed. It turned a corner and became a soft, buttery, salty roasted pecan flavored richness. Really it did. Fantastic taste!
I’m about to preach now! Watch out!
If you never have added sugar or splenda to a Pu-erh…try it! This is something to try because salt and sweet play off each other. Sweet will bring out the flavors in the salty tea. Also, there are people who will never, ever drink straight pu-erh. We all know this. We are not in China and North Americans like sweet stuff. The health benefits of Pu-erh are worth trying a little milk or cream or some sugar (what I use is splenda because I’d be as big as a truck if I used sugar all day) and introduce skeptical friends to a latte.
This is how I am introducing my grandchildren to pu-erh’s. The sweetness creates such a compliment to the aforementioned flavors elevating them in a special way that makes them linger on the palate.
The mildness of this particular pu-erh is just right for those who are queezy when confronted with too much earthiness or mustiness. No old shoes and socks here. No old fellows or grannies (other than myself). A very tasty mild Pu-erh!
Squeeee! I love that you found pecan!! thanks for putting a name to what I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It’s been buggin’ me lol
noooo! I never add sugar and Splenda is icky. :)
I’ve talked to another person who is a tea sommelier who adds sugar to salty pu-erhs because it brings out other flavors. I was just doing this naturally because you do this in cooking. Sweet/savory…salty and sweet. The splenda is because when I am drinking so much tea I can’t have too much sugar…sorry, I’ve lost 50LB’s and need to go down another 20! I don’t always add sugar but I am trying to write about tea in a way that will address how other people drink it. I especially would like my family and friends not to turn away from Pu-erh.
I don’t much like the flavour of Splenda myself… but I do add sugar to my black teas sometimes, or agave, which has a lower glycemic index :)
The whole salty/sweet thing… I find that green tea is salty sometimes but haven’t seen much of that in a pu-erh. Maybe it’s the water?
I do add soymilk sometimes but never sugar… only because I think we have enough sugar in our food anyway. Well Bonnie I will try it sometime with pu-erh just to see what it’s like. :)
I find soy milk adds its own natural sweetness!
Can’t have soy Get’s Sick!, could try coconut milk!
how about almond milk? not sure, are they legumes or nuts?
Ahhh what a great tea learning opportunity :P
Almond nutty like me. Trees, nuts…I’m 5’9" also nuts! Almond milk is good. I use this too for breakfast. I know it’s really old lady but I have leche evaporada ie CAN MILK! Yes, I have it around because if I have whole milk it goes bad too fast since I’m alone. I can keep can milk in the cupboard for when I need to have milk in something and reconstitute with water. But, when adding it to a dark and rich tea, it brings out a caramel taste. An interesting result when you take the water out of the milk. Try it sometime.
Go Splenda! Yes, wonderful in puerh. Please explain sweet/savory to me. Sweet I know. What is savory? Give me a couple common everyday examples if you can.
Savory is usually anything that is not sweet like meat, cheese, many snack foods like pretzels and pizza. Nuts are kinda in between. Some veggies can cross the line also…roasted garlic is savory AND sweet. Meaty and sweet in a manner of speaking. When you play one against the other…um…magic. Take a piece of dark chocolate and sprinkle salt on it and the flavor pops. The smoky sweetness of barbacue sauce on ribs. Peanut butter and honey or jam or nutella or chocolate.
Sadly I have a nasty reaction to canned or powdered milk :(
but I have it anyhow in bubbletea sometimes, if I’ve had a full meal to cushion the impact. It’s just so good!
I have a feeling that if we had a meal together you could eat the stuff I’m allergic to and visa versa and we’d both be happy…topped off with a lot of tea!
Bonnie – got it. thanx!
As you can tell I’m a woman of few words ;/
I do wonder what kind of look I’ll get from my wife when I get my nightly dark chocolate… and the salt shaker. Oh, you know I have to do it now.
LOL Bonnie, I suspect you’re right!!
What fun that would be :P
If you have sea salt it’s better…less minerally bleh. I like the Lindt Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bar (and this company does not use child labor either). In the U.S. Target and almost Safeway etc. Also safe practice chocolates from Ghirardelli (San Francisco Company) has salted bars.
I also buy the Lindt Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt bars….at WalMart! Ours has them! Also a grocery called Harris Teeter, but I don’t think they are a huge chain so you probably don’t have one.
Good huh! I stick um in the freezer and snap off a little bit every night. I like the fact that they are socially responsible. There is a website that tells which companies are. (Hersheys is not good…I don’t buy their candies). The other S.F. one is good too.
al-Masīḥ qām!
I am not going to ride you about adding sugar :-) People drink their tea how they like to drink their tea and that’s their business. I think as long as what you’re adding compliments rather than covers up, that can’t be a bad thing, just a matter of taste.
But…
I’m curious why your rinse is so long, though? Without re-opening the endless debate of whether or not to rinse at all, 30 seconds seems very long to me, especially for Western style steeping, and with a shu rather than sheng style pu-erh. I would suggest, if you insist on rinsing, that you reduce the time to no more than 5 seconds, and really, a rinse is a rinse. You cover the leaves and then pour off immediately.
If your goal is to hydrate the leaves before steeping, try this. Rinse and pour off immediately. Then let the now wet leaves rest for 30-60 seconds, then begin your first steep. Enough water will cling to the surface of the leaves that they will continue to hydrate without being submerged in water, and you won’t lose so much of the flavor potential when you pour off the rinse.
Shu steeps very fast. I tend to do gonfu style with it in a gaiwan and my first steeps are essentially as fast as I can add the water, cover it, and pour off and the resultant cup is still as black as coffee. By the time my leaves have seen 30 seconds of submersion I’m on my 8th cup. That’s a lot of flavor to send down the drain with a rinse!
Thanks Jim! Noone to guide me here so I’ve bungled along. I do rest the leaves. The only reason I do Western style is quantity. If I’m going to drink enough to try it every way I think people might drink it (not everyone is a Pu’er purest) I need enough to play with. I just seasoned a new yixing for my own Pu’er drinking! I have a gaiwan also and a PIAO glass pot which works well for Pu’er. I’ve been asking other Pu’er people and some use sugar with salty puer’s. I do this on the second or third cup. Some are better straight of course!
No reason not to try Western steepings, I was only trying to suggest that, since you’ll get far fewer steeps with Western style, you don’t want to lose so much flavor during the rinse.
No my ears are open and listening! :)
This is my first sample from Fong Mong Tea as well as my first Sun Moon Lake.
Is it possible that a black tea can taste vegetal?
I think so – to me anyway.
Smells like a warm inviting soup broth.
Mmmmmm
Mushroom soup! Thats it!
This tea is one to savor – like being invited into a top chef’s kitchen and offered to sip from his big pot of slowly simmering soup. A “soup” that needs to be allowed to breathe and collect subtle nuisances of flavor over time. An aged soup perhaps? If there is such a thing.
This tea speaks to you as if it is knowing of secrets held within old trees, running streams that have spread gossip from one watering hole to the next and the memories of vegetation along the way.
I think of immense spans of wooded lands, with the ripe smell of oak moss and dew on green leaves. Intoxicating!
Yes vegetal, spicy with flecks of sparks dancing on the top and tip of the tongue. Leather, woods, mushrooms, and chocolate notes bow like a gentleman before my palate.
A champagne tea that sparkles all the way down.
Happiness.
Thank you Fong Mong Tea for this gift of a sample of your precious collection!
Preparation
I had two Ruby blacks from Taiwan and they were awesome, just as you describe this one. Supposedly they are frm the same varietal. It resteeped beautifully and you couldn’t make it bitter if you tried! I am really excited to try this one…can’t wait until it gets here.
Unfortunately I have found my re-steep to be very weak :( will try again and steep even longer but I went 6 minutes on the second steep. SIGH
Every review I have seen on this one sounds incredible. I hope it is in my samples – then again that’s a lot of pressure following these amazing reviews. Impressed.
Ah don’t be intimidated – my review was by far not as good as others. The thing is if a tea strikes you I think it just makes the words flow. I surely didn’t think I would be writing the words I did until I had the tea :)
Taiwan Reds really seem to benefit from an up dose and short steeps. I typically start ‘round 4-6g/100mL with 95C water at 45-90sec. I rarely get more’n 5 infusions from one, but do manage to get a nice range of light, sweet – and yes, mossy – characteristics with overarching stone fruit aromatics.
So western brewing is a no no it seems. With what I have left I will pull out my gaiwan :) Thanks for the tips!
LOVE the review, so much fun to read!
Thank you Jason! :)
Wouldn’t say a no-no… Hard to screw these up. I just get more fulfillment out of the many light infusions presenting flavor sets one after another as opposed to a singular one which tries to carry them all.
I can see appreciating it both ways – I have enough left to try it with the gaiwan so I think I shall :)
Yes, awesome review! : )
As I’m sitting here reading this I am beginning to question my decision to pass on the offer of free samples from them on Facebook (I’ve got a new package of samples on the way from Teavivre, and I don’t want too many samples complicating my life, now do I! Or, do I? :p ). I have two different samples of Sun-Moon-Lake from Life in Teacup I have yet to try; I’m looking forward to trying them as I have heard great things about Taiwan black tea.
Oh no. I did not mean to irritate your nose. I only wanted to share a tasty tea. At least the sample wasn’t so big.
haha it was a tasty tea…my nose just went all sniffly on me :)
Still sounds delicious!
Maybe because it is pretty heavily scented. Your nose was overwhelmed :P
i just had a mental picture of a tea monster made of loose wet tea jumping out of my cup and leaping at my nose….
Well now I have that image in my mind and I am laughing out loud…in my room…all alone…still in my batman onesie. So I probably look rather psychotic.
HAHAHAHA i totally just read that as BANANA onesie… so um yeah….
hahahaha that might actually be even better. Or we could combine the two and create the onesie version of this: http://skreened.com/wellthatsjustsuper/batman-banana-2605089
bwahahahahaha
Oh, I want a batman banana onesie! It’d be really hilarious.
yeah but i want TK to wear it.. complete with the banana top coming off her head.
http://www.kidshalloweencostumes4u.com/banana-baby-costume.html
LOL
Awww, that banana costume is adorable :)