Golden Tea Leaf Co.

Good Assam like tea. The camphor is really strong for this tea, and I definitely get a tingly sensation on my tongue. Gongfu, 15, 12, 15 so far. It is actually a little too brisk for me personally, but it is definitely complex on the notes.

First steep gave me the usual for a Taiwanese Sun Moon Lake: cinnamon, thick malt, smooth, and a little bit drying. Second steep was surprisingly sweet and floral. It oddly made me think of an over steeped jasmine tea never mind the smell had the tomato thing that I associate with this tea. It was also spicy at the same time. I think this is what Amanda meant about the cardamom and saffron in her description. I also get the mint note, and I think that’s what I am having a hard time with. A little too dry. Steep three was more malt, spice, and smooth dryness.

Crap, you are my favorite jasmine tea right now. I grandpa steeped you at the caf and you did not become astringent whatsoever-just sweeter and creamier with you’re awesome florals. You even rebrewed after grandpa steeping. I’m going to be so sad when I finish you off.

Excellent jasmine tea. Very close to a jasmine green tea pearl. The body was clear and clean, and was brew-able in short ten second incremented steeps. The jasmine is strong, incredibly sweet, and naturally creamy in texture. I easily got eight cups, with another potentially looming on the horizon.

This was not super complex, but it was also not super vegetal. The florals were strong, but they were also airy and light. I think this jasmine oolong could be a favorite. I would give it to an experienced jasmine tea drinker and a newbie alike. I’m going to have to see it western, but I am fairly happy with this turn out.

This is sooo good today. So buttery…

I quite enjoyed this one.

In basic speach: this was a smooth black tea little bitterness and no astringency Gong Fu. It also had a lingering sweet aftertaste that is not super common with blacks. Would recommend it to a connoisseur like the website says, but a newbie genuinely curious about the world of black teas would enjoy the excellent body.

In over-obsessive tea snob speach: this was a great tea Gong Fu with bready toast notes ending with a sugary aftertaste. There was smooth malt too and comes close to the other black teas with the caramel and chocolate notes, though this tea in particular does not necessarily have them. Instead, the kinds of images in my mind from drinking is broiled toast coated with butter, sugar, and cinnamon. It is like other Taiwaneese blacks, namely a Sun Moon Lake Assam, but it lacks the brisker and more tomato-y notes that I associate with that variety. It does have the weird cinnamon thing going on, though it’s not as strong as I’ve had in other teas.

So overall, I HIGHLY recommend at least a try of this tea. It’s texture, balance, and sweet aftertaste are excellent and worth experiencing-hence the connoisseur recommendation. As Oolongowl commonly says about certain teas, this is a mouth-feel lovers tea. Someone absolutely newer to the imaginative world of teas might not be super impressed with the texture and just might assume it’s a slightly sweeter than usual black tea. I personally brewed it using around 3-4 grams (closer to 3), first steep 20 sec, 35 sec, 45 sec, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes at 180 F.

I opened my bag up and it had that pastry aroma. It was not giving up Gong Fu, and I got an awesome bombshell of new notes like custard, lemon, pineapple, brown sugar, and rose. It’s still as floral as ever, and fairly buttery. It was starting to get a slight spice note which I have only had in a few oolongs. I am definitely upping the rating-I can see why this batch is the staff favorite.

Yeah, this was as good as I remembered and then some. It is definitely green, but it is so smooth, sweet, and clean kinda like creamy lemongrass. Now to rate it….and 93. It might be higher. It is good Gong Fu and Western, but I am not too sure about grandpa style. We’ll see.

Gotta to love self fulfilling prophecy. I was not as enamored the second time, but the tea had the sweet creamy flower notes that made me say “HOLY SWEET CREAM BATMAN!” I brewed the liquor a little too strong. More broth and a little bit of astringent veggie, but still flowery, creamy and sweet. I still recommend it and enjoy it.

HOLY SWEET CREAM BATMAN!

Yes, I gong fu’d this tea with moderately longer steeps and am backlogging, but this tea was my favorite of the jade oolongs I’ve had so far from this company. It took a tinsy bit to open up, but after it did, the bouquet of flowers and sweet cream opened up exponentially.

2018 Fall was pretty awesome, and my favorite so far. I’ve yet to try the winter. Either way, I recommend this company yet again and the seasons are improving. Supposedly, winter is a great grandpa tea. This one has yielded well western with some note variety. It’s got a bit more vanilla and flowers to its mineral edge compared to the previous seasons.

I am so glad I retried this magical jewel. Hyacinth was the most dominant floral for me, and then it was followed by a crisp and sweet green apple note in the first few finishes. I did this gong fu, and then transitioned into minute based steeps immediately after the 45 sec first steep. The later steeps were either lighter or darker depending on how I brewed it, but the lighter ones were milky creamy and lightly sweet. Of course it had the creamy notes of any green and spinachy gaoshan, but it is a very clean example of one.

I am writing about this again to say that this tea really is the magical flower power subtle Ali Shan that everyone claims it is, and I highly recommend getting some. I would buy more if I was not tea’d out myself.

Tumbler test! And…it did quite well.

Here’s what I did: 13 oz in my 16 oz tea tumbler and used some hot water. The tumbler was getting a little bit too hot, so after a little over 4 minutes, I poured 7 oz into a cup and kept the rest in the bottle. I was surprised to find that the florals were actually emphasized in both the bottle and what was poured out of the bottle. The milky texture was still there, but the florals were accented-albeit lighlty. Still no astringency or bitterness.

Another round-and I have no idea how long I soaked this batch, and the results were also pretty nice. It was a little more vegetal, but still milky. After a few more minutes, the florals returned and the brew was lighter and mildly sweet. It absorbed a little bit of the previously flavored oolong in that bit, but no means bad.

So this confirms I could probably drink this going from class to class. I actually liked how this tea brewed more in the tumbler than in a tea pot. I should have figured given how light this tea is and my experience with some similar teas. I do confess that I might be bad and add a little bit of vanilla beans to a small batch so that I can maybe accent the florals and milky mouth feel. Here’s to experimenting!

Crap. Apparently, I like the natural oolongs equally to the flavored ones. I have yet to find a unflavored oolong that does really well in my tumbler. I have enough to test this one out however.

The vegetal notes are really brought out in my tumbler which is why use the flavored oolongs in them. Granted, you don’t use a tumbler for a tea that requires shorter steeping.

Back to this tea, I’m double fisting it with the On Wisconsin. I used boiling water this time and the milk notes are really strong right now. As in regular milk-not unsweetened whipping cream. Oddly enough, the creaminess are about the same for both the flavored oolong and this one. I put myself in a position with oolongs in general right now. It is not a bad one in which I’m scrambling to find cash (though I’m not in the best financial situation), but one in which I desire too much and want to spend less money on tea. I’m about to graduate from MSU and need to be smarter with my finances.

Man was I lucky to get 50 grams of this….of course I’m going to finish it in a week. I really can’t thank the company enough for offering this oolong. After the long quest for the perfect floral and creamy jade oolong..this ALMOST hit the marks I wanted.

I was surprised that this tea needed to be brewed western to open up. The texture was very milky and thick while the flavor was light and aromatic. Many of the reviews describe this tea as particularly sweet and creamy, but it did not have the sweet honey note that I associate with this variety. That was the mark I was hoping to hit, but it could have been a result of brewing. I also wonder when this tea was harvested, though it has a few qualities that remind me of a winter oolong.

I’ve used 5 grams and I’ve used three grams for 6 ounces of water-both steeping in 30 seconds for the heavier leafed sessions and three minutes for the lighter sessions. The texture was mostly the same for both with the heavier gong fu attempt being crowded by the milky sensation. The western brew was more balanced, but I was left wanting more from the flavor. The florals, however, hit the lilac-plumeria combo I love with a cream like body, albeit one like unsweetened thick whipping cream. This quality keeps me coming back to this tea because of how I deeply associate those florals with my childhood in Hawaii. Best of all, there was absolutely NO bitterness or astringency.

While I was pickier and more hopeful with this tea, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and was thoroughly impressed with how close to milk the texture and taste. The changing and ever comforting florals also impressed me. I think that it will keep me in good company for the short time I have it.

Golden Tea Leaf was kind enough to offer me a sample at my request. Thank you so much!

They did warn me that this needed some Cha Dao, and I brewed this as suggested. It was not as sweet as I expected and was heavier in texture than in flavor. Like most of the oolong that I had from the company, the texture is incredibly thick and silky. It was also creamily green like freshly rinsed spinach. The vivid florals described on the page were present, but subtle. Pine and hyacinth were more dominant for me than jasmine, though I caught hints of it with the very small splash of citrus. The florals were more dominant later on, and I got about six cups for each session.

I can see why Pascal said that this tea was not for everyone and more for a connoisseur. The flavors were very subtle and took some careful discrimination to pick out. I also had to really get my nose close for the wonderfully floral smell. I preferred the other selections picked for me because the flavors of this tea were too subtle for me while the texture was a little bit too thick. I am glad to have enjoyed this Lishan anyway.

I’m a little bit confused. I had a loose leaf package labeled “Pine Oolong” and wondered if it was indeed the loose leaf version of this tea. It matches the notes described, but the loose leaf does not have the same light roast taste that I get with the sachet. It actually has stronger florals and a bit of a honey note in the smell and taste.

I am LOVING the crap out of it, but a part of me wonders if this is the Pouchong. The florals remind me more of one, and the website had this description: " Brews to a melon yellow with a floral fragrance, a hint of citrus and green apple. Very easy to drink." This is closer to what I am getting and almost want some more. I dig me some apple notes in a really light oolong. I’ll let this develop, but man, whatever this tea actually is-which I think might be the pouchong-it is pretty close to what I wanted.

This company was very nice to me. Thanks to Amanda’s many posts about this companies teas and my insatiable desire to try every single frickin’ green oolong POSSIBLE, I got their sampler.

This was a very pleasant light oolong. This was almost the same as a silk bagged oolong I previously tried, but still quite nice. The honey and florals come together really nicely with a mildly roasted background. Is this tea even roasted or am I just tasting the medium fermentation? Either way I enjoy it. The specific profile makes me think of literal pine nuts-which is the best way that I can personally describe this tea.

The essential vocab.: light, medium, floral, honey, and pine nut. I would not reach for this tea, but it is one that I would definitely enjoy every now and then.

If you are like me and a real lover of schedules, you are probably noticing that it is Thursday and there is a blog and that there was no blog on Wednesday like there was supposed to be. Blame Ben. This week and next he has Wednesday off, and since we only have the one computer (and he is the one with the job) I was nice and let him have full access to it all day. The single computer ordeal is soon to be over as a friend is hooking me up with a killer nice tower and surround sound speaker system, so no more polite computer sharing.

Today I am looking at quite the fascinating tea, Golden Tea Leaf’s Honey Red Jade Tea, a bug bitten red tea that has been tightly rolled similar in appearance to an Oolong. It is no secret that I am a bit obsessed with Taiwanese teas that have been nibbled on by leafhoppers, be it a Hongcha or an Oolong, their natural sweetness and complexity have skyrocketed them into being a comfort tea and not just one I seek out because of its deliciousness. The aroma of the leaves is…well…it is hard to put into words that are sensical and not just ‘holy yum sweet om nom nom’ so it took me a few sniffs to calm down enough to articulate. There are notes of caramel coated hazelnuts and cashews, stewed pears and plums, honey-drizzled pumpkins, and a rich heady distant note of plumeria blossoms. It is very sweet and rich, one of those teas I feel like I am sinking into while sniffing it.

I decided to brew this tea n my yixing devoted to Taiwanese Hongcha, which sees a lot of bug-bitten teas! The aroma of the brewed leaves is very rich and sweet, with notes of caramel, figs, cooked plums and pears, plumeria blossoms, and a finish of cooked pumpkin and brown sugar. The liquid is sweet and nutty, notes of honey and cashews blend with cooked pears and plums with a finish of caramelized figs and distant tropical flowers. It smells intense and mouthwatering, the perfect amount of sweetness and richness to push this tea over into a dessert tea.

If you like a tea that manages to be very sweet, very fruity, and floral while maintaining a rich quality, then boy do I ever have the tea for you! So before I get into the outstanding taste, I need to mention the pleasant mouthfeel. It is smooth and thick, not the point of an Oolong thickness, but it coats the mouth and is velvety in its texture. Ok, now for that decadent taste, it starts with a dessert-like combination of stewed pears, plums, and pumpkin with a sprinkling of cashews and brown sugar. Next, the flowers start, orchid and plumeria with a hint of honeysuckle and lilies, it is heady without being perfumed like an Oolong. The aftertaste is cashews and lilies and they linger for quite a while.

The second steep is impressively intense, it takes the same notes (with a gentle extra woodiness in the middle) but ramps it up! The sweetness is sweeter, the flowers more like nectar rather than just blossoms, and the fruit notes take on an almost pie like quality. No longer just a dessert of stewed fruit, the pie is on! The sweet nutty aftertaste continues, but instead of lily the aftertaste is, of all things, persimmon, which was a fantastic surprise.

So the first two steeps I drank while they were hot, the third steep I decided to play around with by letting it cool to room temperature, since according to the website this tea is even better when cooled. I find that hard to believe since it is already pretty fantastic! Drinking this tea cool is truly where it really shines, notes of orange blossom and malt show up, along with caramelized pears and heady plumeria. It is beautifully rich and smooth, I could become addicted to this tea! One thing I found really useful is it seemed impossible to over-steep this tea, I could toss leaves into a bowl and bowl-steep this tea for hours and it never gets bitter, meaning it is perfect for tossing in my travel tumbler. Toss this tea on the list of teas I need more of!

Blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/11/golden-tea-leaf-honey-red-jade-tea-tea.html

Everyone should pity Ben’s grandfather, who overheard me talking about Kansas and Tyrannosaurus rex and discovery at a family event yesterday. A local museum has the cast of the first rex skeleton ever discovered and I knew it had something to do with Kansas but couldn’t remember what and told him I would email him the details later. Turns out the discoverer was from Kansas, and I could have put that in the email and called it a day but noooo, see he asked about Paleontology and that is the most dangerous thing to ask me about. So Ben’s poor grandfather just received a massive email about all of Kansas’s Paleontological history, details about the Permian-Triassic Extinction Event (Because I will always talk about the Great Dying given the slightest chance) the best place for fossils to form and how location effects the fossil record. I have a feeling no one in Ben’s family will ever ask me about dinosaurs again, the same thing happened last time someone asked me about tea, at least I left them with a nice nugget of information!

Today’s tea is one that never sticks around in my stash very long, a long time favorite, Sun Moon Lake Tea (#18 Red Jade) this one from Golden Tea Leaf. One of the reasons this is one of my favorites is each one I have had is different, it is fascinating, you can certainly tell they are all Red Jades, but they each have some wildly different but similar note, kinda like the difference between different kinds of chocolate. Some are sassafrasy, some like cherry, some menthol, some cinnamon…it is always an adventure with this tea. Notes of cloves, dried cherries, freshly cut tomatoes, sassafras, malt, and finish of woodiness and molasses waft from the pile of leaves. It is both sharp and sweet, almost tingly in my nose, and of course I love the sassafras note. I did find the tomato note to be very surprising, I have run into many red teas that have either tomato leaves or sun dried tomatoes as a note, but this is the first time I have smelled one where it is like someone handed me a fresh from the garden just sliced Roma.

I decided since the tea is named (among many things) Red Jade to use my red rice pattern set, it seemed fitting. After the first steeping the leaves are so potent, practically exploding with intense aroma, notes of cloves, menthol, and sassafras just wash over me, it is wonderful and invigorating. After this initial flood of intense notes, gentle notes of malt and chestnut with a very gentle tomato quality greet my nose. The liquid is intense as well, strong cloves and sassafras, only a gentle sweetness with a burst of menthol in the middle and a finish of strong tomatoes, it is very strong and brisk.

On the first sip I was surprised by a burst of sweetness, this tea is usually quite sweet in taste and aroma, but with the aroma this time around being less focused on malty honey sweetness I expected the taste to be more brisk than sweet. The mouthfeel is pleasantly tingly and smooth, it seems a contradiction, but it works really well. Strong notes of sassafras and menthol at the front with a building menthol in the middle, towards the end a savory tomato note pops up and then finished with a cinnamon honey note that lingers for quite a while.

This steep has evolved into something new and exciting! Less sweet and more intense, a starting note of dark chocolate and saffron with a cardamon finish. New idea, one day make a Red Jade Masala Chai…assuming I can convince myself to add milk and sugar, the idea seems heinous. The end of this tea is where the sweetness lies, along with the cloves and sassafras, both lingering into the aftertaste. I was seriously in love with the saffron note, anytime a tea has that naturally (and not from added saffron) it immediately jumps to the top of my favorites list.

The third steep might be my favorite, ramping up the sweetness to be more like the first, so it is dripping with honey and caramelized sugar. Then of course is a rich cocoa and saffron, a nice tingly burst of cloves and sassafras in the middle with a distant wisp of tomato. The finish brings in a mellow cinnamon that lingers into the aftertaste. Of course since this is a Red Jade I am going to push this tea until there is nothing left, which came around steep seven, so it has decent longevity.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/10/golden-tea-leaf-sun-moon-lake-tea-18.html

Two little blog announcements before I start off on the tea ramble. First, the blog has received its first donation from a reader, and I have to say a huge THANK YOU!! When Ben gave me the news (since Paypal is connected to his email) I just sat in giddy awe for a bit, that wonderfully generous news put a positive spin on what was turning out to be a dreadful day. The second bit of news is as I am sure my steady readers noticed (or the ones who follow me on facebook and saw the announcement) I missed a day of blogging, boo!! I had hopped that with this new schedule that would not happen, but I didn’t take into account multiple days of being under the weather, so to make up for it I will post two reviews.

Today I am looking at Golden Tea Leaf’s Charcoal Roasted Jade Oolong, a uniquely roasted Oolong. Usually when I run into Oolongs that are charcoal roasted they are dark in color and very strong in the char department, but this one was roasted repeatedly over low heat meaning it retained some of its green while still having iconic charcoal roasted notes. I was surprised when I opened the package to find silk sachets full of tea rather than loose leaf, but was pleased to see the sachet is fairly large meaning the leaves will be able to expand some. The aroma of the leaves inside their little sack is delightfully roasty toasty, with notes of corn silk, roasted barley, sweet toasted buckwheat, and a bit of freshly baked oatcake. It certainly brings the grains and nutty notes, and even has a slight touch of toasted acorns at the finish, which was peculiar but quite fun.

I was torn on how to go about brewing this tea, on the one hand it is in a sachet so it would be so easy to toss it in a mug and call it a day, or grandpa steep it, or cut the bag open and gongfu as normal since my gaiwan was all ready to go. I decided to be silly with it and just gongfu the bag, I mean, why not? The wet bag of leaves smells strongly of toasted grains, like oats, buckwheat, barley, and a bit of cracked wheat. Alongside these sweet and toasted grains is a touch of cooked spinach at the finish. The liquid has notes of honey drizzled buckwheat and sweet corn with a touch of barley and a distant buttery quality. It is light and sweet with a great amount of toast, reminding me of cereal.

The first steep starts with a honey drizzled oatcake note with a side of toasted buckwheat. It is sweet with a toasted buttery grain quality that tastes sooo good, it is like drinking breakfast. Towards the middle the buttery quality increases, as does the buckwheat, it is not as sweet, but that is fine since the grain quality reminds me of toast. At the finish there is a delicate note of spinach that is light, but adds a touch of green and savory to a mostly sweet steep. There is a light honey aftertaste that does not linger for too long.

On to the second steep, which still smells strongly of cereal and a bit of toast. The roast is a bit more present this time, it is still honey sweet but the sweetness takes a step back and lets the notes of toasted grain become the dominant. Notes of toasted oats and roasted buckwheat blend with a touch of rye and wheat. The aroma reminds me a bit of granola and again, makes me think of breakfast.

For the third steep, there was not a ton of change between the second and third, and the third to fourth for that matter. I sat with this tea for several steeps and was amused by the bag stretched to its limit containing the puffed up leaves, though they did not really get to expand to their full size, it was like a leaf corset. Man, I really wish I could draw because that gave me the best mental image…anyway…On a whim I grandpa steeped the bag for its finish and was rewarded with a wonderful buttery, buckweat and honey tea that was both light and wonderfully sweet. It was my last tea session of the day and quite a relaxing one at that, even if I did really want oatcakes afterwards.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/09/golden-tea-leaf-charcoal-roasted-jade.html

I think I was expecting a brash and overly rich black tea flavored base to this on the tongue but it has a more even sip than I thought it would. I’m not saying that is good, bad, or indifferent – it’s just something I was surprised by. It had a woodsy-type flavor that seemed to come and go. I do like this tea. It’s satisfying. Honey Red Jade Tea from Golden Leaf Tea is pleasant and not overly done in any way. Perhaps this would be a nice loose leaf to share with friends…especially if you are unsure of their tea tastes. Personally, I think this is perfect for early to middle of the afternoon. I would need something more robust to start my day off but it might be better for those not into the super strong tasting black teas, too.

FULL review located here:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/03/18/honey-red-jade-tea-golden-leaf-tea/

I bought this tea at a local market, Bonjour. I just liked the packaging first. Then the store had asked me to try this. I did. Really like this Pine Oolong. It is light, but fragrant. And there is something to it. It is a sweet after taste, and really easy to drink. After the i finished the 4th sachets, then i knew i was in trouble…cuz i wanted this tea in the morning. i actually miss it. Very nice Pine Oolong.