Send Me Tea

I always enjoy a jasmine tea whenever I’m out at a chinese restaurant with family or friends, and the floral aroma straight out of the packet took me straight back to some of those memories.

I tried one-and-a-half teaspoons of tea per cup (250ml), which produced a pale amber liquor with a strong floral aroma. The tea was light on the palate, with a subtle floral-and-grass note in the finish (to be honest, as a black tea drinker most green teas taste a little grassy to me, but I don’t mind that).

My wife’s verdict: “Tastes like soap”.

My verdict: I enjoyed every last drop of the first three steepings – I would have gone for at least one more steeping, but time got away from me and soon enough it was time to hit the hay.

I was intrigued by how the tea leaves appeared after the third steeping. Rather than a pot full of enormous green leaves (like the oolongs I’ve been trying these past few days), the leaves formed a “twiggy” tangle, almost a sort of birds nest. Each “twig” was a pair of baby leaves with a lengthy stalk, which I found to be quite interesting. I wondered if this type of tea is typically like that, and I wondered if the amount stalk contributed to the (not un-pleasant) grassy note in the finish.

I also enjoyed the second steeping of this Dong Ding. My wife, however, claimed it tasted like “wet socks” and preferred the Tie Guan Yin we tried last night.

The third steeping was still enjoyable, but just a little too subtle for my taste.

This is my second foray into oolong teas, again purchased as a bit of a punt, not having heard of the Send Me Tea company or Dong Ding Oolong before.

Again, I was unsure of the tea-to-water ratio (being new to oolong teas), and I went with one teaspoon per cup (250ml) rather than the one teaspoon plus “one for the pot” as recommended on the pack.

If it was a wine, I’d describe it as a “nutty merlot” – not much in the front end, a soft nutty body in the middle of the palate, and a subtle short finish. Enjoyable for what it is, but my taste in tea is similar to my taste in wine – big and bold (a peppery Shiraz, a big Durif or Grenache in wines, and a wickedly smokey Lapsang Souchong in tea).

Today I tried a slightly higher tea-to-water ratio of one-and-a-quarter teaspoons per cup (250ml). Last time I was drinking this tea in the cool evening, and probably paid more attention to its subtleties.

Today I’m drinking it in the middle of a very warm day, and I found that the first steeping had good body but I couldn’t really pick up on that subtle floral finish from last time.

Again, the first steeping was enjoyable but the second steeping was my favourite. The third didn’t really do much for me at all.

Will try one-and-a-half teaspoons next time, and I really must investigate using filtered water.

This is the first oolong I’ve tried. I hadn’t heard anything about the Send Me Tea company before, and I didn’t really know anything about Tie Guan Yin (apart from the fact that it seems to be a popular type of oolong), so I just took a punt.

I enjoyed the whole experience from beginning to end. I broke out an old porcelain teapot we haven’t used in ages, and was glad that I did – I couldn’t believe the enormous size of the tea leaves after a few steepings!

I really wasn’t confident of the correct tea-to-water ratio. The packet said one teaspoon of tea per cup, plus “one for the pot”, but I’d read elsewhere that one teaspoon per cup is sufficient. I went for one teaspoon per cup (250ml), and the result was a pale golden liquor with not much flavour in the front end, but a subtle yet delightfully sweet floral note in the finish. I found myself wondering if I’d brewed it just a little too weak, but my wife enjoyed it just the way it was. I’d be interested to know the tea-to-water ratio that others use for various oolongs.

After my third steeping for the evening, I simply couldn’t imbibe any more tea. The front end seemed to pick up on the second steeping, and then back off again on the third, with a gradual decline in the floral finish over the three steepings. To be honest, I think the first steeping was my favourite.