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I’ve finally tried this bagged grail that everyone seems to adore, and I feel a certain sense of accomplishment. The nose is absolutely insane on this… how do they manage that without adding flavoring?! It made me want to check my fingers for crusty little bits of white icing. The entire scent profile is spot-on without holes or extras.

The mouthfeel and taste certainly, certainly don’t keep up with the nose, but that cakey waft sorta makes up for everything else. A bit thin and empty in the middle. I think this is why I tend to not ever really dig herbal teas — there is something so special in what camellia sinensis does in the mouth, in myriad iterations, that herbs and fruits and spices and most other concocted brews just can’t. It’s not their fault.

This was my first experience with green rooibos, recommended by ashmanra. I can’t say I have big opinions about it, as I think its job here was to blend in and support everything else (which it does admirably).

Used a whole brick for this first session; I felt like half would be underleafing and I didn’t want to fraction it out any more than that, so in it went. Such pretty colors pressed into these pats of leaf.

Steaming leaves were both floral and vegetal, with some cream and butter. I actually didn’t break the brick up much, as I thought the large amount might benefit from the water having to do a little more work to suss them out. First pour without a rinse already has a nice full mouthfeel, with cream and vegetals dominating. I expect the florals will arrive in time, but how fun that they are waiting while we do something else for a minute.

Butter, cream, vegetal, and very… wispy… floral through subsequent steeps. The florals actually aren’t coming through like I was readying for them to, based on the package’s “this tastes like a high mountain oolong” claim. It’s lovely, to be sure, but I wouldn’t call it flowery. There is a bit of a cooling white tea note here. Every time I bring the cup up to my face I smell a tiny bit of funk, then when I search for it again it’s gone. Mouthfeel remains full, little to no astringency.

A nice little trip, and I have two more bricks left to explore with.

Sipdown. Had 10g or so and dumped them all in my 5oz ‘fu-pot. It was fun to have these flavors more pronounced than usual. I burned through this bag pretty quickly — there is comfort and such delicacy here that it’s an easy pick when I’m standing in front of the cupboard. I’m looking forward to poking my way through Jin Xuans from other sources, but I’ll be back here eventually.

Little sample from Garret with my first Mandala Tea order. Opened it right up because it called to me. Not taking big effusive notes, as I wasn’t even planning on leaving one, but it’s a nice little session that convinced me otherwise. I’ve noticed some berries (darker on the leaf nose, and lighter as the session progressed), fruit, mineral, a bit of roast that is not at all the primary note, marshmallow at the end of the second steep. There’s an earthiness that actually reminds me of rooibos, which I don’t think I’ve experienced from an oolong before. Quite smooth, pretty thin/light mouthfeel. This isn’t my sirens-blaring-weak-in-the-knees kinda cuppa, but it’s really nice. I’d drink it again even if I don’t order it myself.

I had tried a sample of this AU oolong a few months ago, and didn’t order more. I’ve since started hard down the single-origin road, learned they were discontinuing it, watched my damn panic button light up, and slapped a big-ass bag into my cart. It’s fine — it’s technically groceries, right?

Anyway. Nope, it’s not my favorite oolong, but this is good tea and I’m glad I grabbed it.

To be perfectly honest, the only place I got lemon (one of AU’s few tasting notes) was coming off the leaves as they sat in my pre-heated pot. Frosting, lemon, spinach, floral, and… roast? Hm.

The nose on the first steep was nearly empty, but flavors of spinach, umami, and that milk oolong creaminess came through. Still not much on the nose off the second — I could coax rice if I really tried. Some toast, vegetal flavors, and elusive florals as it cooled. Finally smelled grass on the third steep, with light florals and astringency, spinach, umami, and toast.

This tea leaves room for exploration and discovery, and can also be a nice easy session. Maybe I’ll find that lemon in one of these, uh… 70 cups…

Berries and roast on the leaves; berries, pine, and minerals on the first steep’s nose. The pine was new and a fun thing to find. Minerals and some light melon, then I let the steeps get away from me — oversteeped the second or third and kind of jacked up my session. Sad face.

I feel I may have underleafed this beauty at 7g:5oz, as I picked up on a lot but it persisted in a watery, first-steep sorta way. Steaming leaves gave up spinach, toast, cream, and corn, with very subtle florals that I couldn’t put my finger on.

The steeps were pleasant — cream, vanilla, light florals. Just so subtle… and not as much in a “delicate tea” sort of way as in “please feed dis teapot moar.”

Rather than mess with adding leaf, I just steeped later steeps longer — quite long — and found some really lovely florals. The trade-off was substantial astringency, but What-Cha gonna do? I found a bit of mild honey (honeycomb candy, really, as my palate is pretty out of touch with actual honey). The florals were really nice, and I’m a sucker for them.

I think I’ll put a note right on my label to up the leaf next time… maybe up arrows and down arrows will start a whole cupboard code over here.

This tea is joy. Steaming leaves boofed right up my nose with nougat, caramel, condensed milk. Alistair assured me the flavoring was all plant-based or I’d be side-eyeing this scrumpkin.

Slow open with caramel and minerality on the nose. Mouthfeel is smooth with mineral water, rock sugar… no cream yet, actually.

Second steep boofs up my nose again — condensed milk, nougat. Taste opens up to lilac, maybe lavender… thicker now, and creamy. Butterscotch! Mild astringency and vegetals.

Nougat is persistent on the nose. I love it. Third steep keeps astringency, sweets are moving down from the nose onto the palate now. Some raw vegetal notes, like broccoli stems. Grandma is slipping me a Werther’s Original while the other adults eat crudite.

Nice full mouth in the fourth steep; this keeps steeping like a champ. Astringent, creamy, cucumber, fleeting anise… seems like the oolong is really coming through the flavoring now. Shining. Lily in the next steep, with sugar and caramel sweetness lingering.

I poured a few more steeps. The base is so nice, delicate and wispy here at the end. Clean baby (sorry not sorry), honey, medium mouthfeel.

I adore this layering of punch and subtlety, both. There’s so much to find if you feel like poking around here, but it’s also a very comforting and easy friend (who brought cake) if that’s what you’re in the mood for.