Rellybob Send Message

This is different from any tea I have ever tasted. I think I now understand what ‘linen’ means. I am not sure if I like it or not. I don’t hate it but I think this one is going to be a bit of an acquired taste for me. I feel terrible not loving it as much as all the cool kids do. :( I’ve tried it Western style and jingshan style. I will continue messing with steep times to see if my opinion changes. I think the biggest problem I have is that linen taste and mouthfeel..I will leave the rating off for now. Next attempt will be western style but with about half the steep time.

Okay, having tried it the above way I like it much better. Still leaving the rating off until I ‘get’ this one.

My last note on this tea was short and I’m still finding it difficult to describe why I like this tea so much. It’s super smooth, leaves a very pleasant sweetness on my tongue and lasts for several infusions. Zero bitterness. In later infusions there’s some citrus notes. It’s just..good. Maybe someday I’ll be able to get into more detail but at the moment I’m just reveling in oolong goodness.

Edit: dropped the rating just a little bit. I didn’t get as many steeps as I remembered from the first time I had it. Still nummy.

This is one of those teas that lists ‘natural flavoring’ as one of the ingredients. I hate that. At least tell me what it is! Even better, use actual spices! .. I’ve had this tea in my cupboard for a long time. I used to work at Starbucks and by the end of my three years there I was almost completely switched over to tea. Instead of getting a free lb of coffee every week I got a tin of tea. That coffee smell is amazing at first, but after you get home and even your hair soaked up that smell, it’s actually pretty gross. Anyway, this tea is okay. I remember being blown away when I first tried it but now it just seems ‘meh’. Not a whole lot of body, or flavor. And now I can taste the ‘natural flavor’. Makes it taste a bit chemical.
I think the reason this was always so good is because I always drank it in latte form, with piles of whole milk foam and a little vanilla syrup. With whole milk and raw sugar it just isn’t the same. You can make lots of mediocre things taste incredible with some perfectly steamed foam. :D Can you tell making foam was my favorite thing to make and eat at Starbucks? it’s pretty much the only thing I miss.

I like it. It smells better than it tastes; but the taste is still, erm, tasty. The hibiscus is there but I didn’t find it too tart. The flavor I picked up on most, other than the hibiscus, is the clove. It will be a good nighttime tea as it has no caffeine. I have a hard time finding herbal teas that I like so this makes me happy.

I was so excited to try this. I love both oolong and jasmine, and I especially like it when there’s no added artificial flavoring. Well this tea did not let me down! The only sad thing is this tea is now discontinued. :( I have will have to restrain myself from hoarding what I have so it doesn’t go stale on me; I have a tendency to do that. “This is so good, I need to save it!” and then you wait forever to eat or use it and it’s not good anymore. :P Anyway, on to the tea:

The jasmine undertone is perfectly done here. It accents the oolong’s floral notes but never awkwardly overpowers, altho I can definitely taste it. I can’t, however , taste the other ingredients, but that’s okay. I like it! The oolong itself leaves a wonderful silky coating in the mouth.

First, THANK YOU to Teavivre for the sample!

I like this very much. I think the ‘milk’ part is more in the mouthfeel and maybe a little in the aroma. The flavor is vegetal, floral, and even a little fruity. The flavors of a good, typical oolong! It changes as it cools, which is one of my favorite things about tea. It tastes so different just a couple minutes later!

Back to the mouthfeel..it absolutely coats your mouth, especially when it’s cooling. The floral notes linger; it’s sweet. That heavy mouthfeel Is just so, so wonderful. Drinking bagged tea I had no idea tea could taste like this!

This is my first Dong Ding, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first time I brewed it I followed their directions of two tsps per cup, and I found that to be too strong for me; I was reading other reviews and thinking, I’m not getting any of the lightness they’re talking about. Or much floral, I was mostly getting vegetal. So I tried it with half the leaves and I like it much better! The mouthfeel is still really silky, and I’m getting more of the floral, and maybe even some of the butteriness others have mentioned. This resteeps very well. I am glad I got to try this! The really nice mouthfeel could be addicting!

Thanks to Teavivre for their generous sample sizes! It’s so nice to be able to play around with it a bit to fit personal taste!

Another sample from Teavivre. They sent a nice big sample! So nice for testing temps, etc… I’m not done deciding on this yet..it has such a delicate flavor I’m giving it more steeps so I can better express it!

Later…ok, I steeped it a little differently and now I can really taste it! I used water at about 190 degrees and used more leaf to water ratio. The aroma and first taste is allll hay and grass, which I really enjoy. It has a lingering, mouthwatering sweetness. I love it! I got four good steeps out of this before I quit!