DuvalTea

I feel really bad about this one. I’ve had it for a LONG time, MissB gave it to me ages ago. Thank you! I’m sorry I lost track of it.

I’ve been avoiding it, because I don’t really like da hong pao. It’s too roasty toasty woody for me, and tends to make my tummy upset. I really do prefer a mega floral oolong.

Anyways, here it goes. I rinsed and let it sit a few minutes, in my eensy teensy gaiwan. I’m using 50-60ml hot water, doing short steeps. I have a litre of water left, so let’s see how this plays out.

1) Quite toasty. Sweet underlayer. Nice mouthfeel. Not that bad, actually.

2) Basically the same. I think this is quite light, at least compared to other of these teas I’ve had.

3) The toastiness is reducing already. It’s a little stone fruits, a little sweet. Still pretty nice. (I’m not drinking all of these, btw. Just tasting, letting it cool a bit, tasting again…)

4) Hmm. I honestly don’t know how to describe this. I’ve looked up some flavours, but the only one that seems to apply so far is herbaceous. The roasty flavour is kinda maybe sorta like toasted buckwheat tea, but not totally.

5) I should maybe have steeped longer than 30 seconds here. Still, the brew is a nice amber-honey colour. It’s starting to turn a bit more herbaceous-floral, although it’s not all the way floral yet.

6) 1 minute this time. I think the tea could keep going a couple more steeps if you wanted to increase the time a lot. Still, not my favourite but not bad.

In conclusion, I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. It’s a pretty decent tea, IMO. Compared to others of it’s type, I honestly have no idea. But I would consider trying this one again, perhaps once I’ve worked through my puerh samples and want to educate myself more about oolongs. :)

I got this sample from MissB yesterday!
She’s lovely and I asked her if I could have like a wee sample of Lapsang because I’ve only ever had Lapsang Souchong in fandom blends.

This tea dry actually smelled very nice! I was surprised because all the blends I’ve had with Lapsang was very bacon smelling/tasting so I think it may be just Adagio’s tea that smells like that? Dude I don’t even know. I’d like to try other Lapsangs from other companies.
I was nervous for this tea because from what I’ve had, I never really liked the blends. But the smell is nice and mellow! I know from reading places that this tea is supposed to be super smoky and that’s definitely coming out as it steeps.
Oh whoa yeah. I just poured it into my mug and it’s definitely not bacon-y, but smoky.

Oh this is interesting. Not the best tea, but decent ish? Smoky, yes. Tasty? I’m so very confused with this tea because I’ve never had straight Lapsang before so I have no idea how it’s supposed to taste like! But at least I have a general idea. Definitely going to look for opportunities to try like single servings of Lapsang Souchong :)

((First one to review this tea what.))

(((Would it be considered a sipdown if you only have one serving of this tea? Ahh well, it’s a sipdown {118} hehe)))

Sweet buttery floral oolong of loveliness.

Seriously. This is SO GOOD.

Thank you for the sample, MissB!

1 tsp/8 oz/180F
2 minutes: Delicate, floral (reminiscent of honeysuckle), buttery, green.
3 minutes: Stronger green and buttery, very floral, maybe a little mineral? Hard to say.
4 minutes: Stronger, the leaves have finally completely unfurled. I would call this floral-mineral, with a side of green.

Not something for me to drink every day, but a really delightful treat. I have a feeling it’s quite similar to one of the Teavivre Tie Guan Yin’s that I’ve tried, but I don’t know enough about the teas/haven’t had them recently enough to actually make a comparison.

MissB has problems with oolongs, so she kindly shared a few samples with me. This is one of them.

Dry, it smells intensely of orange peel. Steeped, the ORANGE backs off a bit and I can smell a honey sweetness in the base tea.

This is amazing. The tea is really complex. There’s layers of spice, hay, honey, and lastly and (interestingly) most delicately, orange. It has a touch of a smoky/toasty note, but the barest touch. Just enough to bring more depth.

I am REALLY enjoying this. I steeped slightly cooler than recommended as is my preference, and will steep this as many times as I possibly can tonight. NGL, it is a rather expensive tea. Still, I could see buying it in the future. It is just that good.

I will update the note as things change in future steeps!

I’m on the third steep now, for 3 minutes. So. Amazing. Sweet, toasty but not toasted, not quite thick but not thin either. A little more woody.

Fourth steep at 200F for 5 minutes is stronger again. Still nice and sweet, woody toasty flavours in the background.

Thanks so much!

I love how the samples were just one-cup increments, and that it’s assumed I’ll re-steep repeatedly. I’ve yet to, and will update this if I do.

I love pu-erh, and this is the first I’ve tried that tastes mildly fishy (in a surprisingly good way), as well as with a touch of minerals and earthiness. It’s complex, has depth to it, and yet there’s an element of sweetness to boot that’s surprising me as well. I could see myself nursing this bag repeatedly all day, and I may just do that.

My first of the teas sent to me (free) from DuvalTea from their sadly unsuccessful Indiegogo campaign. Thank you again!

Wolfberry? Wolfberry. Okay, let me look that up. Oh, see… much more interesting to list that Goji berry, or Goji plant – which is what wolfberry is. The article I read also likens the flavor to “sweet liquorice”, which, I guess I understand? I find this tea a bit sweeter in a fruity way than licorice itself, with a bit of soapy in there for good measure. It’s also surprisingly creamy, and the base is a lovely compliment. I’m laughing as I type this, because this may be the first time I’ve ever said that about a Lapsang. In fact, I get zero smokiness out of this, which I normally associate with Lapsang. Booyah!

If it weren’t for the soapy taste, I’d likely re-order this again. As this was the perfect amount for one cup, this is also a sipdown.