LuLin Teas

I really wanted to like this tea, but it’s just not doing it for me. It tastes very nutty, and seems quite astringent if brewed as they suggest. I tried this with multiple shorter sweepings too, and the second and third steepings were fairly nice and sweet, but it’s not a tea I’d have again.

This was in a recent Hapa-tite! Tea Swap from Melissa (Dryad Tea).

This was a delicious and beautiful tea. I steeped it probably about 6 times. It tasted light and sweet with vegetal and floral notes without getting too perfume-y. I really liked the Jasmine, as it was elegant yet not too heavy when brewed hot.

given to me by a dear friend, this tea is a lovely lemongrass variety with a good gingery flavour. steeping it 7 minutes is great, brings out the hint of orange in the flavour as well.

Backlog:

A really wonderful Oolong! I have been very impressed with the quality of tea that I’ve tasted from LuLin. This is a rich, deeply fermented Oolong.

Hints of smoke, fruity background flavor, smooth and silky to drink. Notes of spice that develop as I continued to sip … and in subsequent infusions.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/03/28/black-oolong-tea-from-lu-lin-teas/

very gud tea

This tea very gud kind of taste

Backlog:

I really, really liked this breakfast blend from LuLin … in my opinion, it’s a great example of what a breakfast blend should be. Rich, full-flavored, Robust, Bright, Brisk, and a very invigorating tea … what you need to get going in the morning.

Here is my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/03/03/breakfast-blend-no-1-from-lu-lin-teas/

The tea in raw form consists of small Oolong balls that are very dark brown/black in colour. They do look mature by the dark appearance alone but the rich toasted floral scent would have given it away had I not known before hand. Mature Oolong is always a treat and with age it becomes smokier and thicker but also more mysterious and interesting.

Using my Gongfu teapot with roughly 4g of Oolong and following the following instructions as taken from the Lu Lin Teas website.

Using boiled water cooled to 85˚C. Infuse for 30 seconds and discard first brew. Re-steep and infuse for 1-3 minutes, depending on taste. Re-steep up to 3 times.

First Steep – 1 minute – The tea is light orange/brown in colour and has a thick smoky, roasted/toasted aroma.

Flavour is rather delicate but has strong smoky tones of wood, flowers and leather. It’s also slightly sweet which tones down the richness of flavours. The consistency is smooth and overall a very pleasing first steep.

Second Steep – 2 minutes – A little darker in colour and with a richer scent. The Oolong balls are also starting to unravel and open up and expand to become twice the original size. A little deeper in flavour now with more smoky leather tones becoming more dominant and the floral notes are becoming weaker to detect. It does however remain sweet and honeyed almost.

Third Steep – 3 minutes – It’s amazing how quickly a tea can start to weaken in both smell and taste. We went from being fairly weak to moderately strong and back down to openly weak. That would conclude that this is the last steep so around three steeps per pot is correct (at least for me). The scent is mostly toasty now compared to the previous much smokier steep. Flavour is also much sweeter and resembles toasted flowers.

Overall it’s been a beautiful tea on a beautiful day and I could not have asked for more. This is toward the early end of the mature scale so it’s not as mature as it could be but it’s at a nice level. Mature enough to have flavour but light enough to be refreshing. It would be a great example tea for those interested in trying aged Oolong without throwing themselves into the deep end and buying something too strong.

Please visit my website for pictures and more information on this tea.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/05/06/oh-what-a-beautiful-morning-oh-what-a-beautiful-day/

The tea in raw form contains long and thin Keemun leaves with lovely blue cornflowers and large curly orange flower pieces. It has a very strong bergamot and orange essence that is fresh and floral with a touch of sweetness. The quality looks very nice but there are a couple of Keemun stem pieces amongst the blend.

Brewing Instructions: Add 3g of tea per cup into a teapot and steep with boiling water for 4-7 minutes according to taste.

As my teapot holds roughly three cups full I will be using three fairly heaped teaspoons of tea. One good teaspoon of tea works out to be roughly 3g. Plus I adore strong Earl Grey so I will be going for a 6 minute steep. Also for the sake of this review I shall not be adding any milk or sweetener.

Once steeped this tea is light amber in colour and has a strong waxy orange aroma.

In flavour this is strong, sweet and refreshing with pure orange and bergamot tones that are waxy yet juicy. There is a mellow misty aura which helps to tone down some of the strength which I believe is down to the Keemun base. Also detecting a subtle perfumey after taste with a little dryness. Very smooth and velvety.

Usually because I like my Earl Grey strong I have to add milk and maybe even a sugar or two to tone down the bitterness but this tea is light enough that I wouldn’t need to add anything to it to enjoy it.

I didn’t know what to expect from a tea that claims to be Posh Earl Grey but now I know Posh means delicious. This is the kind of Earl Grey blend that stays traditional enough to still be Earl Grey but also has enough added to give it that extra push in flavour. Simple yet effective. I do love my Earl Grey and I now also love this blend. I would happily recommend this to any other Earl Grey fans out there.

For pictures please visit my blog. http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/04/30/what-makes-an-earl-grey-posh/

Thanks Liberteas

I couldn’t find this one in the database here so I am adding it.

This was pretty good. It was of medium-strong strength. There were woodsy notes as well as a mild ‘caravan’ like flavor underneath, too. A little brash but not overly.

Heavier black tea flavor in the middle of the sip. My favorite part of the sip is this middle part! Dandy!

In raw form this tea is a vibrant mixture of green, red, dark purple and yellow colours. The ingredients are large for the most part and look dry, crisp and fresh.

It has a very dry woody and peppery herbal scent with a touch of flowers.

Brewing Instructions: Add 3g of tea per cup into a teapot and steep with boiling water for 7-10 minutes.

Ingredients: Hibiscus, orange flowers, rosehip, sea buckthorn berries & lemon verbena.

Once steeped this tea is dark red in colour and has a gentle sweet fruit and herby aroma. Very berry like.

The first few sips reveal a soft berry fruitiness that quickly becomes dry and herbal tasting. The hibiscus is not overly sour or tart and it’s largest influence is on the colour above all else. The rosehips are quite dominant and dry tasting but is also lightened by the subtle citrus flavours from the orange flowers and lemon verbena. All of this leaves a floral berry like after taste which sits well with the warm weather today.

All of the ingredients taste natural and uplifting. Honestly I didn’t know what to think of this blend as I am not usually a fan of hibiscus or rosehips BUT this is so light and airy that it’s enjoyable and a good exception to my rule. You get used to the herbal taste which admittedly is not for everyone (as my husband will tell you) but I like herbal tea so this was right up my street.

For more information and pictures please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/04/23/spring-is-here-and-its-fruity/

Backlog:

I’m not typically wild about rooibos blends but this one is REALLY incredibly good. It tastes just exactly the way I wanted it to taste. I have chocolate, I have lavender, I have cinnamon … and I don’t have a lot of rooibos taste to interfere with those delightful flavors. The best rooibos blends (in my opinion) are those that taste less like rooibos and more like the flavors of the blend, and this one does that.

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/02/17/lavender-chocolate-and-cinnamon-rooibos-blend-from-lu-lin-teas/

Backlog:

If you’ve gotta have bagged tea – if the convenience and no-mess, no-fuss qualities of a bagged tea outweigh the quality and flavor of a loose leaf, here is the bagged tea that you should use. No other type of tea bag or sachet rivals these cubed sachets from LuLin Teas. And the way they perform when brewing an Oolong is the true test, in my opinion, because Oolong teas are the teas that expand so much … and I always frown upon bagged Oolongs – well, I did before I tried these cubed sachets! There was ROOM TO SPARE!

Yes, loose leaf is the best … but, if I were to try this tea loose in a side by side comparison with the cubed version … I don’t know that I could tell the difference, because honestly, I got full flavor out of these cubes.

THEY’RE AWESOME!

Here is my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/02/05/ginseng-oolong-lan-gui-ren-tea-cubed-from-lu-lin-teas/

Smell: I found the scent very bold when I first opened the sealed package. While it was steeping, it was probably the same level of boldness too. I enjoyed it quite a bit as I had this bed later in the evening and didn’t want to sleep anytime soon. It’s definitely so far a great pick me up blend to brew!

Taste: I’m usually not a huge fan of earl grey blends but this one has me rethinking that now. To me, the smell is quite deceiving because I feel like the flavours I got from just one sip were completely different. That’s not a bad thing either. I say this because it didn’t taste too strong or overwhelming like the scent may have. The main flavour I can get out of it is most likely the orange flowers. It adds a great, subtle sweet hint to the blend which makes it quite honestly, outstanding! My favourite part about it is how the flavours just keep on lingering on the tip of your tongue. The bergamot and zesty orange notes are an excellent combination for this medium high level caffeine blend.

www.theteacupoflife.blogspot.ca

Backlog:

Sorry about the number of backlogs … I’m trying to get caught up.

This is a delightful Earl Grey offering from Lu-Lin Teas. I’ve tried a few Lu-Lin teas now (watch for more reviews coming soon) and I have been very impressed with their teas. And it’s a really nice company too, having had a few email conversations with Hannah from Lu-Lin. She is really pleasant, and I appreciate her dedication to fine teas.

This is a very silky tasting tea. Very smooth … with a nice balance between tea flavor and bergamot. Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/01/30/posh-earl-grey-from-lu-lin-teas/

This is the Earl Grey for me. I brewed this tea with a friend (who claimed to not be an Earl Grey fan) a couple of days ago. We used 3g of tea for a “normal” sized teapot and I have to say it really was quite delicious.
Fuity and floral but not too strong or overwhelming which really is something I look for in my Earl Grey and it can be hard to find.
Even my non earl grey drinking friend enjoyed her brew which speaks volumnes to me!