Tao Tea Leaf

This was my tea of choice at work today. I’ve had it before, but haven’t drank any for quite awhile. Trying to drink some of my older teas, trying not to hoard some of my favorites.
Seven months ago I wrote something to the effect that I thought this was a little pu’erh, a little black. Had characteristics of both. I still agree with that, but now that I’ve experienced more pu’erh (and more black for that matter) – I’ve decided that this is Special Dark’s little brother. If Special Dark were ever discontinued (please say it won’t happen) this would be my replacement for it.
This is more pu’erh ( really good pu’erh) and less chocolate, but definitely in the same family. I love it for what it is. It’s really, really good .

This is another fantastic tea from Tao Tea Leaf. It’s a little different from other pu’erh that I’ve had. It has some of the classic pu’erh taste, but it also has some of the classic black tastes. Interesting. To me this is almost a cross between a pu’erh and a black. Normally I would just say something like, I wish the pu’erh was bolder, but this is a bold tea. You can taste the black under the pu’erh. Strange, weird, unusual, but I like it. It’s not fishy, but has lots of earthy pu’erh. It also has some malty chocolate notes of black. I may have to get more of this and play with steeps to see if you can change how much of each side you can bring out.
Thank you so much Scribbles for sending me this sample!!!

oh wow.

i really have no idea how tao tea leaf did this. a pure, high quality, elegant black. no smoke. no acid. a beautiful black base for a pristine wild tasting pink rose…. why pink? because i am convinced that red would taste stronger and yellow would be too mild…. this is the taste of a wild pink tea rose, one of the ones with spikes in place of thorns, lol.

the rose essence is perfectly balanced…. it’s not so aggressive that i feel like drinking a spiky milkshake, and not so subtle that i think i’m drinking a weak tea.

this is… a subtly robust authentically rose (in other words not even remotely fake) tea. somewhere on tao’s website i believe they make reference to this as an imperial/royal blend. hurrah! i agree in every way.

full marks. um, do you sell in bulk? by chance?

2nd steep: not as nice as the first go round, but it was so superlative in the fist cup i haven’t the heart reduce it from it’s original score. YES it’s THAT good! =0)

This was sent to me by the most generous Scribbles. Thank you so much for introducing me to Tao Tea Leaf. I’ve liked pretty much everything of theirs that I’ve tried.
This one is harder for me. I like it, but it’s a bit odd. It’s a bit like a Lapsang Souchong, but different. It is smokey, but you can still taste the black base under the smoke. This is a really bold black tea, and while the smoke is not overpowering, it is still very present. I just find it odd that they have found a way to put this much smoke on the leaves and still allow the base to come through.
Having said all that, I do like it, but it’s still a little too smokey for me.
Thanks so much Scribbles for sending some of this my way.

As with most sipdowns, there’s just one pinch more leaf than you really need for a full cup, but you dump it in anyway…in doing so, the mineral background referred to in the tea description really stands out. I keep thinking it tastes a little like a silver spoon.

Enjoying it with my feet up for an after-dinner gloat. Actually made a plausible facsimile of restaurant Chicken Balsamico without trashing the kitchen or sustaining major grease burns. Score (a rare) one for the kitchen incompetent. http://www.carinos.com/chefsblog/post/2009/09/24/Chicken-Balsamico-Carinos-Recipes-for-the-Home-Cook.aspx

An Ji Bai Cha Green Tea is a special green tea that contain an amount of amino acid, which is calming to the nervous system.

Some days God just looks out for you in ways you don’t expect. I closed my eyes, jammed my hand down to the bottom of the basket, and pulled this out. I need calmed :)

Furthermore, since little attention was being paid this morning, the sloppy user didn’t realize it was a green tea and dumped in just-off-boiling water and schlepped off for five minutes…and this is still fine, just fine. Grainy and toasty, like Wheat Chex.

Final pronouncement on the calming effect to be determined.

In search of perfect chai quest continues. This one is a little sharper, spicier than the previous one I was drinking. My previous note said that this was clove heavy. I’m not getting that today – must depend what ends up in your tsp. I’m upping the rating some, this is a decent chai, but not as good as Camellia.

I’m a huge fan of Tao Tea Leaf teas!!! I was really looking forward to this chai. I’ve been searching for a new favorite since my old favorite was discontinue.
Sorry Tao, this isn’t it. This spice blend isn’t my favorite. This is really clove heavy for me. The clove pretty much obscures the rest of the flavors. I’m not getting any cardamom at all, and really just a hind of cinnamon.
The search for the perfect chai continues.

Green oolongs are not my favorite, but this was included as a sample in my last order. As much as I prefer darker oolongs this is one that I could drink now and then for a change. It’s a nice light oolong, beautiful pale yellow. It’s not too grassy or veggy ish for my tastes. It has some floral tones with out being overly so.
I really like everything I’ve tried from Tao Tea Leaf.

dear tao tea leaf,

i know that i reviewed this tea just last week but felt i should review it again as i am sipping my last cup.

the sample (which now sits damp and wilted in my tea basket) was kindly shipped to me by my friend scribbles. i do love this blend of yours. i love it so much that i actually dislike the name because it’s so banal!

i have no idea if scribbles is in your employ, but if she isn’t i really think you should consider it because i placed my first order with you last night as a direct result of her actions. at the very least she should get a kickback… or a friends and family discount…. maybe you could hire her as a blend sampler!

all because she sent me a sample of this tea. it wasn’t even from a swap…. it was just because she’s awesome… and while ordering more of this tea i stumbled over a bunch of other stuff i wanted to try and noticed that shipping was free in canada if i bought 35$ worth (which i did…. because it seemed sensible).

…… so yeah, scribbles really should get a discount. in my opinion. btw, has my order shipped yet?

sincerely,
JustJames

this was a lovely sent me by scribbles…

i wish it had had a zippier title, i think it’s subdued name caused me to leave it lonely and without attention… what a terrible way to treat a tea!

as i move through tea phases i sometimes tune out other genres… ie: i’ve been enjoying flavoured robust blacks lately and blanked on anything aside from them.

this tastes very much like a hybrid— there are black elements to the tea, but it is also very reminiscent of a puerh….

in short i am beginning to understand scribbles’s love for this vendor. hmmm….. may need to shop! lol.

oh, and it gets this score after i forgot about it on the counter after the timer went off. =0)

GCTTB
Really happy to have had this opportunity to revisit this great tea. This is really nutty, just a hint woody, and all amazing dark oolong.

This is another fabulous sample sent to me from the amazing scribbles. I’m really having a good time with the Tao Tea Leaf teas that she so generously sent me. I’ve already placed an order to get more of a couple of them and to try a couple more.
This is a really nice oolong. It’s more woody than most of the ones I’ve tried – in my world that’s a really good thing. It’s easy to drink and was forgiving with my strange steeping parameters re being at work. This is not as mineral tasting as some other oolongs are. I really like it. Thanks scribbles for introducing me to this tea company.

Thank you scribbles for sending me a sample of this tea.

I’ve decided that I really like Tao Tea Leaf teas. This just isn’t my favorite. This is a nice, smooth, black tea, but it’s lacking something…. It’s not deep enough, dark enough, rich enough….something. It’s too mild. I’m not very experienced with black teas, and I think the moral of this story is that, golden needle isn’t my favorite black.
Thank you so much scribbles for helping me explore the world of black teas.

Hi all. I haven’t written a tasting note in five months. At that time I was trying to get back into logging and drinking more tea. Yeah that obviously hasn’t happened. So again, I’m saying I’m going to try and get better at this.
I’ve been fighting a head/chest cold for the last couple of weeks. I picked up a nasty bug while I was in Toronto, and haven’t touched the amazing samples that my tea friends so generously gave me while there – thanks ladies. Feeling guilty

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTNpTAVAWSM/?taken-by=dex3657&hl=en

I’m still not 100% so I’m actually drinking a tea that I bought while there (thanks Sil for taking me to Tao’s) rather than dig into the samples – hoping to be able to do that soon.
I’ve written numerous times that this is my favorite black tea. I fell in love with it a few years ago (2013 was an amazing year for all Fujian black teas) and while not all harvests have been amazing, I always love it. This is no exception. I adore this tea. This harvest is a touch lighter and maybe just a hint fruity – but it still has the chocolate, malty, starchy goodness that I love. My favorite way to drink this style of tea is western steeped – lots of leaf, cool water and LONG steep. Mmmmmmmm I’m jut hugging this mug. Very happy with this tonight.

I often say that this is my favorite black tea. But is it really? This is the first black that really blew me away, but since then I’ve tried lots more great black teas. Is this really the best black that I’ve tried or am I just emotionally attached to it?
I have been drinking it at work for the last couple of days. HHHhhhhmmmm – yep I love it. Awesome, fantastic, perfect. This is everything that I LOVE about black tea. Emotional or not – I’m still calling this my favorite and need to get more of it in my cupboard.

I have a sample of this thanks to the incredibly generous scribbles. I really, really like this. Not sure what it should taste like, but I’m getting chocolate oolong. I’m fully aware that this is a straight black tea, that is suppose to be smokey. Dunno that’s what I’m getting, and I like it. I’ve been drinking this pretty much all day, and the longer you steep it (ok, I got distracted and let one infusion steep for more than 10 minutes) the more chocolate notes come out. This could be my go to black. I have several others to try, so my opinion may change, but for now – thumbs up.
Thank you so much scribbles for sending this to me.

I had this tea this morning, and finally found a chance to log in to do a tasting note.

From my recall this is absolutely delish. I remember notes of the oolong…mineral, but also the roasty, toasty coconut. I can’t believe I left this one for so long, I think it will become a staple.

I have another coconut oolong in my stash, but I think this one is superior. Will have to re-visit other to compare.

While I was driving to do my weekend errands I still had roasted coconut on my tongue 20 minutes after drinking cup. Not a bad thing.

Pu-er congee!! yes, that is what this reminds me of. Congee is an Asian (Chinese? Vietnamese?) porridge often consumed when one is sick or needs comforting. I usually get it with chicken and preserved egg. Yummy. So it seems natural that pu-erh, a digestive aid, should be combined with Congee!
For those who haven’t had congee before, picture cream of wheat with a ricey sortof taste.
The background is rather mild for a pu-er, I suppose the tea blender (Tao) chose that in case it overwhelmed the rice flavour.
By the time I got to my sixth steep though, I was still getting rice flavour, along with a mild sweet breadiness without the usual heft. Odd, tasting rice and bread at the same time.
Oh and the scent! a coworker of mine remarked that is smells like chicken soup. Funny, given that I likened it in my head to the Asian alternative version! ha!
Also, it must be a pu-er thing… I didn’t get hungry til more than an hour after I normally do. This happens to me every time make a cooked pu-er. Appetite control perhaps? I usually eat at 10:30am, so this could be useful for those days I need to save myself for lunch out with the girls! :P
and now I am sad that this was only a sample. One tuocha in the packet! and since I don’t own a pu-er pick I just plunked the whole thing down and went for shorter infusions. What a waste… I think it could have gone atleast three or four more times. Oh well!
Rating: 87

Ok so I like matcha. I love flavoured matcha… and this was great!! just not my preferred flavour. I could tell that it was a quality brew, as it was oh so smooth and fresh tasting. Not at all fishy or rough like the DT version I bought a few weeks ago (not picking on DT, it’s just the last one I had so the comparison is easy to make) Just, a little to sencha-like for me. I had a hard time finishing the last of it. *shrugs
Rating: 82

Milk, some honey… golden assam tea… this was very good! it wasn’t however, what I expected. The fruity aspect was something I’ve never experienced in a black tea. A floral sort of fruity. Cherry perhaps? that’s all I can really pinpoint at the moment. Would have to try it again to really “get it”.
Not sure I’d actually buy any for myself though.
Rating: 88

My cat woke me up (for a second time) this morning, earlier than I was planning to get up. I wear an insulin pump with tubing that runs to an infusion set on my abdomen, a continuous glucose monitor sensor on my upper arm, and a medical alert bracelet for type 1 diabetes. These medical accoutrements have become targeted by him. This otherwise pretty sedentary 20-pound lug gnaws enthusiastically and mercilessly at one or all of them when he doesn’t feel he’s been fed quite recently enough. I preferred his chewing on hair phase, to be honest. Anyway, at a certain point it ruins the indulgence that was meant to be “sleeping in”.

So, I thought I would make the most of it and get up and enjoy the morning. I had my gaiwan and setup already out ready to go, so I went for the heap of Tao Tea Leaf samples I still have from a couple months ago, thinking any of them would be a sure thing.

Unfortunately, I’m having an odd experience with this one. I botched the first two infusions by not realizing I only had the Zojirushi set to 175. The leaves had a slight roasted, woody scent, and the liquor came out rich and orange-brown, but I wasn’t getting much from it. Only a slight mineral taste. I heated some water to 195 separately, for the next three infusions, but had only a slight improvement. It was a little more smokey-tasting, but still very underwhelming. Is it me? Is it the tea? Is it my water? I don’t know!