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The leaves of this Yunnan Gold smell strongly of honey and raisins after a quick rinse. The brew itself, however, has a very interesting heady quality to it that smells almost “perfume-like” to me. I would say it smells something like patchouli, and it comes through in the taste. If I’m not careful, it can be perceived as an almost “soapy” flavor so I have to tread lightly with my steepings of this tea. Beyond that there are definite notes of malt, and as the tea cools and I take some more sips, the flavor seems to mellow out some. There is something sort of sharp that kind of lingers on the tongue for a while. It’s got a bit of a peppery aftertaste.

Not my favorite Yunnan Gold. It’s not bad, but that heady aroma is a little bright for me. I prefer slightly darker, richer teas when it comes to this category.

These beautiful camellia flowers brew a rather tangy tisane. It reminds me of orange blossoms, but without the bitter intense qualities of those. There are definite notes of hay. The overall flavor is a rather earthy one that is not unlike some white teas I’ve had. It reminds me particularly of a brick-aged white tea I’ve had from Shang Tea.

There’s not a lot to say because this flavor seems unique and I don’t have a great point of comparison. I could see it tasting somewhat persimmon like, as others had said. This is one of those you really have to try yourself!

This is my second bug-bitten oolong, and since Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong form Eco-Cha is one of my favorite teas, I’m excited to try this. After the rinse I get aromas of toast, apples, and cannabis. The main difference here from the other concubine oolong I had is that this one has been roasted more so I’m getting more toasted notes.

The taste is sweet and mellow, a wonderful honey and apple flavor with notes of toast. This tea is so sweet and tastes like candied apples with a bit of spice. It’s a real treat so far. The second steeping seems to release more spice-like notes of cinnamon to combine with the sweet apple tones. There are subtle woodsy tones in the background, but this tea is much less foresty all-around than the original Shan Lin Xi Oolong from Eco-Cha. The third and fourth steepings are similar and build on the richness of this tea.

Overall this is a very lovely tea. It doesn’t have the bright floral notes of a lot of similar oolongs, so it stays very mellow, rich and sweet. I really love this tea! I think it would make a really wonderful tea to drink in Autumn.

Steeped in a gaiwan: 15 seconds + 15 for repeat infusions, 194F/90C, 4.5g tea per 100ml water

This is a unique white tea. It does indeed brew a bit like a red/black tea. The apricot notes are apparent from the start, and the brew comes off with a nice malty caramely kind of tone. It’s subtle, sweet and earthy. Nice and mellow.

I might be fooled by the fact that it is a white tea though and perhaps it would benefit from being steeped more like a black tea (which for me usually involves a longer steeping period and hotter temperature). The flavor was great and I can only wonder if a longer brew would have yielded more richness and complexity. I only brewed it for 45 seconds, gongfu style in a gaiwan. I didn’t check the vendor’s steeping recommendations this time around. Just brewed like I do most whites. Adding 15 seconds to each steeping, it did build in flavor and peaked around the 3rd steeping. Really nice.

This is my first time trying a Four Seasons oolong, so yet again, I’m very excited by these samples from Green Terrace Teas. They are vacuum packed in gold foil pouches that are lovely and keep the tea very well stored.

Brewing this Gongfu style in a gaiwan, after an initial rinse, the aroma of the leaves is very rich with scents of honey, custard, cinnamon and apples. It smells a bit like a pecan pie or apple pie or some other delicious pastry. It is heavenly. The taste is mild and sweet with the same qualities.

The second steeping tastes lightly floral with hints of toasted pecans and cream. It has a wonderful warm and mild flavor, quite balanced with the floral and nutty tones on opposing ends of the taste spectrum. By the third steeping, the flavor is more floral, but it is very easy on the tongue and not overly strong. It is still also very creamy and mildly sweet. The lingering aftertaste is very nice. Four steepings in the floral qualities emerge a bit more, still underscored by a caramel-like sweetness. Fifth steeping is less floral and more of the sweet honey and nutty flavors with a bit of caramel apple, becoming once again very mellow. I think this tea is at its best in the early and late steepings when the floral notes are more subdued.

I think this is a wonderful Four Seasons oolong and I recommend it. It has a very clean taste and a sweet and balanced flavor.

I brewed it for 15 seconds in a gaiwan, adding 15 seconds each time at 194F/90C with 4.5g of tea per 100ml of water.

This is the second sample I received from Green Terrace Teas. I chose three oolong, as I feel I haven’t spent enough time with oolong and I do really adore them. This is my third time trying a Jin Xuan, and I already have a personal favorite Jin Xuan so I’m curious to see how this one will sit with me.

The first thing I notice is how subtle the scent of this tea is. After an initial rinse, there’s a very creamy aroma with notes of butter and vanilla. It almost smells like the crust on a creme brulee.

I’ve noticed many of my oolong becoming too flowery and heady a few Gongfu style steepings in, so I’ve cut down my initial start time on them to 15 seconds rather than 30. So far so good. The initial steeping of course is very light now and carries the subtelties of the tea. I’m getting very light notes of cream, toasted sugar, and butter. There’s a very mild floral aroma in the leaves, but it does not come through in the taste (yet).

This tea already differs quite significantly from my favorite Jin Xuan, which is called Jin Xuan Dong Ding because it is grown on Mt. Dong Ding. That variety has fruity notes common to Dong Ding oolong, I am guessing because of the terroir of the region, but the creamy notes of Jin Xuan come through as well since that is the varietal they are growing in that instance. This Jin Xuan from Green Terrace is very creamy, but does not have fruit aromas or flavors. I think it is closer to what Jin Xuan is typically known to be like.

The second steeping is similar to the first and still somewhat light. By the third steeping I am getting a more rich flavor, quite buttery with floral hints and a slightly vanilla aftertaste. Great hui gan. Four steepings in and it’s getting even more rich. I’m expecting at any moment for one of these steepings to fully unleash the creeping floral tones that I keep getting whiffs of, but much to my surprise it stays very creamy and soft while those floral hints stay in the background. It’s nice.

After a full five steepings, this tea is staying flavorful and is not getting particularly stronger or more floral or astringent. In my opinion that is a good thing for a tea that is meant to have a creamy, rich, mellow flavor. The flavor doesn’t really change much from one steeping to the next. It is pretty consistent, but builds on itself in richness.

I will call myself spoiled on the Jin Xuan Dong Ding I mentioned earlier. I really prefer its fruity-creamy blend of flavors. This Jin Xuan from Green Terrace is agreeable though, and I think those looking for a strictly milky, creamy tasting Jin Xuan will not be disappointed.

Wow, no one has reviewed this yet? I’ll indulge.

I had my Pino Digital Kettle Pro for 6 months before the heating element stopped working and it failed to heat up water anymore. The temperature readout and controls still worked, but no heat. Unfortunately, Pino only offers this product with a 90 day warranty so I was screwed and had to toss the thing. I have a friend who has had this same kettle for years with no problem and loves it.

My feelings on it are mixed. The size of the kettle is medium sized. It holds about 1.5 liters.

The pour spout only works well if you pour with confidence, otherwise you’ll get some drips. However, when this thing is full it pours fast and hard if you pour confidently, and it begins to pour with just a slight tipping angle, so you can’t really get it very low over say, a gaiwan, to pour directly into it without making a mess. I often had to pour into a cha hai and then use that to pour into my gaiwan so as to get an even and steady pour.

The temperature setting can be set to any temp and the readout tells you the temperature live, which is ideal for a kettle, but it often overshoots the temperature when heating by about 5 degrees F, and will drop about 5 degrees below the desired temperature before it decides to heat again. If precision is the name of the game, you’ll find yourself waiting on it to get back to the desired temp. You can cheat it when it is too cool (but not cool enough to start reheating on its own) by flipping it off then back on. If you do that it will try to heat to the set temperature (will still overshoot a bit, so you’ll have to wait for it to cool some).

Being that this was my first totally variable temperature kettle I was happy with it while it lasted, but now that I’ve moved on to a smaller kettle with a gooseneck spout from Bonavita, I’m definitely digging the Bonavita a lot better.

The manufacturing feels solid and appears solid, but since mine died after just half a year of use, I can’t speak for the quality.

I’d give this kettle a higher rating if it had a more controlled pour and if the temperature stayed closer to where you set it, also if it had a longer warranty. It does let out a chime when it reaches the desired temperature, so that is nice if you need that kind of thing.

For the price, there are better ones out there, so I wouldn’t recommend this one, especially with only a 90-day warranty.

This is my 50th Steepster review! WOOOO! fireworks

I decided to do something special and be somewhat of a pioneer. I haven’t seen any tea pets here on Steepster but since they’ve begun allowing reviews for teawares I figured I’d introduce one of mine and see if this flies. While it is not essential to making tea, it is definitely a tea accessory and is a product made specifically for use with tea, so hopefully this is acceptable.

I ordered this tiger tea pet from a site called AliExpress. It’s an online marketplace where many vendors from Asia sell their wares. I’ve named him Inaba and he is my third tea pet. For those of you unfamiliar with tea pets, they are more often used in Taiwanese Gongfu Cha than in Chinese. They are little companions that sit at the tea table for use when rinse water is poured out from the gaiwan and tasting cups. The rinse water is poured over the tea pet, and in the case of this type, it causes him to rapidly and dramatically change colors! It’s kind of showy and some find that it distracts from the appreciation of the tea, so it is not used by all Gongfu practitioners.

As for Inaba, he is my favorite tea pet so far for a few reasons. First, the dramatic color change is really wonderful to watch. The color changes instantly as you douse him with hot water, so it looks like you’re rinsing him clean, but the dark color only returns over a period of a minute or two so it slowly grows more dark. Second, he is the smallest tea pet I own now. He’s only about 4.5 inches long and 4 inches tall, so he fits very well on even my small personal sized Gongfu table.

He is climbing on a hill of money, so maybe he can bring you prosperity, fortune and good luck if you offer him some delicious tea! Hehe. ;3

All in all, I find this tea pet to be a charming addition to a Gongfu Tea Table. I like that the initial colors make it appear to be a solid colored statue. If you are serving guests, it may come as a surprise when you rinse him and he shows such vivid colors! Tea pets are definitely a fun conversation piece for tea gatherings and can be a nice icebreaker if you are serving new guests.

I’m going to rate this guy very highly but not perfect. If you look at him up close the detail on the painting can be a little off in some spots. That is the only aesthetic downside to him, but it is not really too noticeable and for the price these usually cost, it is totally acceptable to me.

If you are considering getting a tea pet, I highly recommend him, though there are so many types out there it may be your personal preference to get another type. If you are looking for one with a strong color change, however, this one is awesome, and as mentioned before, he is very compact and unobtrusive to the tea area.

He brings elegance and power to the tea table! Rawr!

Oh no, I’m the first to review it. Pressure!

Haha. Okay, so this 88th Night Shincha is kind of magical. It’s traditionally picked on the 88th night of spring , 88 nights after the Vernal Equinox (which puts it somewhere around June 17th most years if I counted right).

This shincha smells a lot like a high quality matcha to me. It is very rich. I’m getting lots of green leafy notes, some pistachio and a hint of green bean in the scent. In the taste it is vegetal and nutty like pistachio, mellow and has a nice sweetness to it, not a sugary sweetness mind you, more of a mild sweetness like you might describe some vegetables as having (carrots for example). There are delicate hints of mint. It’s lacking the mineral and ocean qualities I’ve tasted in other senchas, which is a nice parting from what I’m used to. The color is a beautiful green-yellow.

I’m gonna have to say this is the best sencha I have had yet. I have only had maybe 4 or 5 so my experience with them is not too broad, but this one is definitely the most enjoyable to me, for its mellow sweetness and hearty vegetal taste. Oh, and if anyone is curious, shincha is a first flush (first harvest) sencha, so that’s why I am comparing the two. :3

Edit: I served this tea at an event I held at my house where I served night-themed teas and it was a favorite among the guests. They said it tasted like a green smoothie. I can’t argue with that!

This Fu Shou Shan has a very flowery presence, some light buttery vegetal notes and is rather creamy. There’s also a good deal of foresty, pine like notes.

All around a pretty solid Taiwanese oolong. Nothing surprising, but pretty good.