Dorothy Send Message

Finally got a chance to try this, even though I think I’ve had it for almost a week now. When I saw this online I jumped at the opportunity to buy some because I loved the spring 2011 version so much. And usually my husband takes black tea for work, so he was also excited to try it.

After brewing it up 6 times, we agreed that it was a very good oolong and stands up to the previous version we tried. So if CS keeps stocking Ali Shan by Mr. Chen we will keep buying it. ;)

125ml yixing teapot, 1 generous tsp, 6 steeps

The tea description for this is spot on; malty, nutty, chocolatey. And with each sip I take, the flavour really builds up and becomes heavy in my mouth.

Of course there is no real chocolate in this, but that is why I find it so enjoyable. Whenever I buy flavoured tea with chocolate in it, I’m almost always disappointed. I just hate the sensation of drinking melted chocolate mixed with tea. Something about the consistency and sweetness of the brew makes me feel like a glutton (and not in a good way).

Enough ranting, I don’t have a sweet tooth but I do like this tea quite a bit. It’s sweet, but not too sweet (sometimes Bai Lin black tea and Oriental Beauty oolong tea are too sweet for my tastes). I can definitely see this as a good tea to drink during the winter. The rich sweet/earthy characteristics and heavy body are something I find pleasant in tea during this season. As a bonus, this tea appears to be very light so even my 50g bag fills a lot of space. So it should take me a while to go through all of this. Woot! :)

For recommendations, if you enjoyed CS’ Huiming Hong Cha or their Hualien Feng Mi, you will like Xiao Zhong (or vice versa).

200ml glass teapot, 1 generous teaspoon, 1 steep

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review
Follow up to my last tasting note on this tea

Prepared this in my gaiwan, because the company website mentions you can steep this 5-6 times. So that is usually my tea vessel of choice when I resteep that much.

Surprisingly all of the steeps were very tasty and even the sixth steep had good character. Up’d my rating for this because I’ve grown to appreciate and love it even more.

100ml gaiwan, 1 packet (5g), 6 steeps (rinse, 1 minute for the first two steeps, then +1 min for resteeps)

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review
Follow up from my previous tasting note.

Had this today in a tall glass mug (2 steeps, 3 mins each), and then in a gaiwan (4 steeps, 50s + 20s resteep) later in the day.
Not sure which method I prefer, but the glass method certainly puts on a good show.

Either way I found this to be a very enjoyable green tea. Better than most of the green tea I’ve bought locally.

With a name like Yixing Hong Cha I expected to do this gongfu style. Unfortunately I don’t have a yixing teapot dedicated to black teas, so I will use a gaiwan.

Drinking from the first steep, I taste something sweet like honey, nutty, raisin notes, and the liquor texture feels grainy and tastes like it too.

Second steep tastes much bolder, stronger, more complex; better in every sense. Picking up on some new floral and cocoa notes.

Third and fourth steeps have much of the same flavours but are becoming weaker. The scent from the liquor reminds me of chocolates filled with fruit jelly for some reason. That grainy liquor texture from earlier is now light and refreshing now.

Fifth steep, a nice roasted flavour is coming out, the raisin and grainy flavours are still here but the rest is fading.

Sixth steep, I think I can begin to taste the original water flavour. Last sip ended on a earthy, grainy, cocoa note.

This is my fifth and final tea from the sample pack. I’ve never tried Yixing black tea before, but I quite like it. During my quick steeps there was an explosion of flavour at #2 followed by a rapid decline. Maybe I just need to increase the temperature, but when I brew it next time it will be western style. Anyway, so far I feel this has a great flavour to price ratio, but it is not my favourite from Jing Tea Shop. Based on flavour alone I like the Dan Cong Red Tea best, and Ying De Hong Cha for best flavour and resteeping. That being said, all of these black tea samples from this company were excellent.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 6 steeps (30s + 10s resteep)

Finally got around to trying this tea. I bought it a while ago but wanted to do a comparison tasting with the same type of tea from another vendor. Plus I wanted my husband around to give me his thoughts on the flavour.

Sniffing the lid of the tasting cups, we picked up on some unexpected flavours for a black tea.

Onto drinking them, the first cup (Jade Red sample from Life in Teacup) we tasted cherry, tomato, soft malt, barley, and a kind of leathery flavour (meant in a good way).

Then we drank from the other cup (Camellia Sinensis), here we tasted tomato, spices, raisin (minus sweetness) licorice, menthol sensation, soft malt, barley, and a kind of leathery flavour again. Sipping between both and thinking more about it, there is a wonderful heavy texture to both teas. In the aftertaste, much of the flavour remains and lingers for a good while.

This was a very unusual drinking experience. I have another Sun Moon Lake type from Life in Teacup, but it’s the small cultivar type, and they taste quite different!

Overall I love the flavours and the uniqueness it presents. However as much as I enjoy this tea, I wouldn’t drink it all the time, just as a nice treat. I would highly recommend trying this once, but it is an expensive tea so the smallest size possible is good. Make sure whoever you buy it from mentions T(aiwan)-18 cultivar or Jade Red, otherwise you may get the other type of Sun Moon Lake. (Personally I always buy small sizes, because I don’t know how much I’ll like the tea)

120ml comparison tasting cups, 2 tsp, 2 steeps

At first when I made this, I probably used too much leaf and not enough water. The result was overpowering and bitter. Anyway, I brewed a new batch in a tall glass mug with plenty of water (slightly more than 1 cup). Moving on to the tasting notes. ;)

Smelling the liquor on this second attempt, I feel relieved that it doesn’t smell bitter or pungent in any way. It has a nice floral scent, and the liquor is a light orange-yellow.

Taking my first sip, I’m again comforted in knowing I brewed this better. Drinking more, I taste something floral, spices, something like fuzzy peach, soft malty flavour, and light tea flavour. During the aftertaste a very floral lavender flavour lingers.

I never usually brew a full cup or more of water when I make tea, so I’ll keep that in mind when I brew this. Anyway, I’m very pleased with the results and it was entertaining to watch the long twisted leaves in a tall glass. Very good tea, it met and then exceeded my expectations.

290 ml of water in a glass mug, 2 tsp (hard to scoop the tea leaves, so I dunno), 1 steep

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

This is the companion review for the Premium grade Dragon Well.

Smelling the dry leaves, I am picking up on some familiar notes of the premium one plus a tobacco like smell. My husband found the scent of these leaves more favourable than the premium one.

Then we smelled the lid of the tasting set after the tea was brewed. Here, it reminded me of bitter greens.

Onto drinking the liquor, there is a strong flavour that hit me right away. Followed by slight bitterness, buttery (less than premium), vegetal (less than premium). The taste reminds me of the type DAVIDsTEA offers, or at least the one I tried from their sample pack.

In comparison to the premium Dragon Well, I don’t like this one as much. But I cannot say it is a bad tasting tea. The major difference is that it tastes slightly more bitter, less “fresh”, and is not as refined. However I would still feel comfortable drinking this at home or sharing with friends. I’ve had much worse green tea than this. Next time I will try this gongfu style in a gaiwan.

120ml tasting cup, 2 tsp, no rinse, 1 steep

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

I’m not very experienced with Dragon Well teas, so along with this premium one I asked Angel for the regular version. Tonight I will be preparing both side by side, in my tasting sets. See the regular Dragon Well tea for the companion review.

Smelling the dry leaves, I’m picking up on cocoa, mild veg, “fresh”, moss, something sweet. My husband said it smells like KFC (weird!)

Then I smelled the lid of the tasting set after the tea was brewed. Here I picked up on the familiar notes, plus my husband remarked that he thought it smelled like candy.

Onto drinking the liquor, I tasted cocoa, floral notes, strong buttery flavour, fresh greens (asparagus). My husband said it reminded him of buttery tarts.

That’s it for today’s tasting session. In comparison I can see why this is the premium stuff. Next time I will be preparing this gongfu style in a gaiwan.

120ml tasting cup, 2 tsp, no rinse, 1 steep

Follow up from my last tasting note.

I used more leaf today (2 tsp instead of 1 and 1/2) and got more of the sweet, apple flavour mentioned in the website description. Very nice.

Starting to feel that most of these samples should be brewed with 2 tsp of leaf.