Han Xiang Ecological Tea

I’ve had this tea since Oct last year and have had it a few times but forgot to add it to my Steepster cupboard. So just leaving a review now.

I don’t think I’ve had a bad tea from this Aliexpress seller. I might have brewed this one a tad weak this morning but the flavours are still coming through. I especially love the unique fruity taste this green has (I am talking about tai ping hou kui in general and not just this tea.). This one is definitely fuity with a mild nutty flavour. A very light tea that’s pretty smooth. Very little astringency.

I brewed this one in my mug this morning instead of using my testtube gaiwan that I usually use. I chipped the edge of the infuser last time I trying to get some leaves out. The glass is so delicate!

Backlog from last Saturday.

I made a pot of this before heading out to attend a seminar. I couldn’t finish the entire thing so I poured the rest into a travel mug. Unfortunately, it didn’t travel well.

The tea I had at home was fine, though – there was an additional sensation of powdery-soft sweetness in the tea on top of the jasmine. I’m assuming this is the magnolia talking.

Ubacat sent me a sample of this. Evolving Ness has asked to try some, so I’m sending the rest off to her.

Sipdown

Dexter provided me a sample of a Yunnan Dian Hong from this company and though I am not sure if it was this one specifically, I would say given her note that it just might be. Like Dex, I found this one too assertive when it comes to the sweet potato element. It’s almost harsh as its a rush of just one element whereas black teas are usually more balanced. It was fun to try though and always nice to experience new things so thank you Dex for sharing!

Finished this one off this morning. Pretty much the only day off over the past 2 weeks that both me and the other half have been off together with no obligations (christmas was the other day but we had friends and gaming to get off to). So we had a lazy morning, made waffles and bacon, OJ and coffee/tea and just enjoyed the morning. Now it’s off to take rental dog for a very long hike to tire him out. He’s going home tomorrow night so we’re going to get him good and energised for his return home…which means kill him today, let him sleep more tomorrow and by nightfall he’ll be full of energy bwahahahahaha. yeah we’re mean :) Sorry to see this one go, may need to pick up more in uh 2017.

dexter sent this one to me and i am a fan. as this tea cools it builds in the malty, chocolate flavour that i am a fan of. I haven’t actually had a tea this intense in a while for both those flavour profiles at the same time so this has been a rare treat. Glad i have another cup of this to enjoy later on. Maybe for new year’s :)

Dropped the temp on this one and increased the steeping time a little as per Dexter’s recommendation. This improves this one, not that it was a bad tea, but with a little change to the steeping, it’s a little different and more to my liking. thanks for this dexter!

dexter sent this one to me – always interesting to try new things from companies. This one reminds me of an oolong. Little semi rolled balls and that familiar roasted oolongy taste. However, in this form, it’s not bad. the tea is smooth and tasty. Nothing i need to keep in my cupboard but i’ll enjoy my next cup when i have it :)

Drowning myself 6-26-15 #7

This was part of a swap and once I saw Aliexpress on it I was quite excited. I’ve bought one item on Aliexpress so far and it was good, so getting something different was great. Thiis is one interesting green tea. A short brew seems to have pulled out some nice flavor that doesn’t compare well with other green teas that I’ve had so I find this to be an enjoyable tea that doesn’t have a bitterness or anything I can point out to make me not want to finish my cup.

o.O
This taste very similar to a Japanese sencha…

Surprisingly great

I think this was the third tea in my simultaneous taste test from the GCTTB4. (And again from Ubacat!)

I agree that this tea tastes a lot more like a green than a white. Nice body. I think it was my second favourite of the teas that I tried, after the Bi Luo Chun from YS.

I had another tea by the same vendor today. They were both somewht unremarkable- maybe I underleafed?

A sipdown! Finally!
I got this one from Sil, who got it from YYZ.
It’s a really nice green tea, which to me tasted like cream of wheat cereal & green beans.

This is really perfect for this morning…
malty and sweet with hints of raisins.
I’m getting a light, almost delicate mouthfeel (but I did just eat roasted carrots and fennel for breakfast, so my note here could be slightly off… lol).
As I’m sipping, I’m picking up a fruity note in the back… It’s really lovely!
Thank you so much for sending this to me, Dexter! And, you sent such a generous sample, so I can play around with this one. :)))

I really really like this one! Steeped, ahem, overnight and stuck in the fridge. It made SUCH an excellent iced tea! I’ll finish the rest tomorrow as I’m now moving on to less caffeinated options seeing as it’s 11:30 pm. :)

1/2 tsp or so in 13 oz. (More like half of what I’d normally use for 13 oz, I’d guess about 1-1.5g.)

Yeah, I think this one is a favourite. I treat it terribly but it’s SO tasty.

So I steeped this absolutely terribly, I’ll admit. But! I really enjoyed the tea!

It was sweet and thick and almost… minty. A nice, sharp, fresh flavour. Someone else called it “pepper” and I can understand that, but it really struck me as mint when I had it a couple days ago.

Thank you, Dexter! I really enjoyed it, and hopefully I enjoy it the next time I have it too. :)

1 tsp-ish, 12 oz, 195C, ~4 hours. Yeah… I know.

I got this a while back from Cameron B. I thought the sample might be a little tainted (which would have been my fault for keeping it stored near other scented tea’s) since it smelled faintly of cinnamon. Fortunately the I don’t taste the cinnamon.

I’m not sure if I’ve tried a Jin Jun Mei before. I really enjoyed this one, so I think I will keep this style of tea as part of my rotation.

The first steep was all dark honey and dried dark fruits. Yum!

The second steep was much lighter. Still very honey sweet and fruity, but much less so.

I really needed this cup of deliciousness after receiving the bad news about the cost of repairing my car…boo :(

I added another 1/2 tsp leaf to the leaves I steeped yesterday, and used an 8 oz cup instead of a 12 oz cup.

Mmm… My taste isn’t 100% back, but! It’s sweet honey carby yum. And I can feel the caffeine, which is good because I spilled my coffee all over my desk.

Thanks so much Dex! I really think I like this one.

Haha. Whoops.

I tried 1 tsp of leaf in 12 oz water, steeped 6 minutes. This one… well, it smells delicious this way but it’s kinda weak. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not feeling well and my taste buds are off, or if it’s because I shouldn’t have steeped this tea this way.

It smells rich and carby and a little spicy.

It tastes.. like thick, slightly sweet, hot water.

I’ll have to try this one again. Thanks so much for the sample, Dex! The leaves on this one are ultra cute. :)

I think this is the one I ordered, just going by the picture because the only description I could find for the tea I ordered was “yunnan dian hong”. I’ve actually had this a few times now but was always too lazy to find the supplier name again, so never rated it.

The dry leaves are long and straight, unlike most yunnan black teas I’ve tried. The tea itself was also a bit unexpected for me. There’s a rich bread/honey taste, and less cocoa than other yunnan blacks. Definitely enjoying this now, and looking forward to the re-steep.

This is a really lovely tea… I’ve steeped it 7 times already in my gaiwan, and it just keeps giving me fabulous liquor.
Roasted carrots, buttered parsnips, and winter squash….savory, but with this really refreshing crispness as the final note. Not bitter or astringent, just crisp and refreshing.
The leaf is gorgeous, starting out curled and tight, unfurling more and more with each steep… the liquor colour is really beautiful, too.
Thank you so much, Dexter for sending me this to try! I really love it! :)))

Sipdown!

I think this was a swap from Dex many moons ago?

I overleafed this to finish it off — it was a good decision! I’m at work so I can’t pay much attention to steeping parameters, but the liquor here is nice and dark, and I swear I’m getting dark chocolate/cocoa/brownies. Plus, there’s a really nice thick mouthfeel!

I’ll resteep this throughout the day. But I think this may just be a restock.

I mixed this with the last of some Dian Hong from Teavivre that I just sipped down. The leaves are long and spindly, and the first steep was giving off a nice smoke note. This mix is resteeping pretty well – multiple steeps of dark brown liquor.

Taking this to work with me so I can finish it off there.

Backlog from this morning.

I have to admit I don’t remember a whole lot about drinking this tea. Just recording this so I can make sure to make more detailed notes when I try it again.

Backlog from yesterday.

Another tea from Dex! I wasn’t too sure about the steeping parameters, so I used 1 tsp per cup with 100C water for about 5 minutes. However, since the leaf was very fluffy, it’s possible I underleafed.

Speaking of that, the dry leaf here is lovely – consistently golden, curly little buds with a some down on top.

I was expecting the usual sweet potato profile for a yunnan on this, but what I got surprised me.

It tasted like pepper! Like freshly ground black pepper!

This wasn’t unpleasant once I got used to it, but it certainly threw me for a loop at first! The liquor itself was a nice medium gold colour, and there was no astringency that I could sense….but…pepper! I’ve never gotten such a taste sensation from a tea before that didn’t have chai spices in it.