The Mountain Tea co

This is a well-balanced roasted oolong. Although the roasting comes through in all infusions, there are also distinct floral and honey notes when one allows the liquor to cool before drinking. Quite pleasant.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 1:45 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 2:30 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10+ min.

This one of two teas I ordered from Mountain Tea’s Black Friday sale. I don’t have any plain green teas in my collection – the closest being some Genmaicha – so I decided this would be a good opportunity to try some!

This tea is different from any plain greens I have encountered. Even the look of the dry leaves is unusual – large, dark and curled. It brews up into a pale green-yellow liqueur. The taste is very smooth, vegetal and curiously salty. It reminds me very strongly of the sea.

I think this tea is quite nice, though I find that it’s more enjoyable in small quantities. I say this because whenever I brew an entire pot, I start out enjoying it, but after a while the taste will become a bit overwhelming. Just an observation, but otherwise it’s a nice change from the usual sencha!

WOW! This really is quite different!
Full review on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 14th but here are the snippits:

I will confess, I am getting a bit of a tea high while sipping on it. Either that or I just need a nap but I am feeling quite laid back and cozy in this sipping moment.

The aroma is a sensory explosion! Sweetly floral, and fruity, peppery notes, and the aroma of a wooded place. The aftertaste is so very familiar – what IS that flavor? Savory, vegetal, something buttered perhaps, GAH what is it? … Squash, Zucchini perhaps. I will come back to that another time it may drive me batty. It is delicious regardless!

Ah the second infusion really brings forth the fruit notes! Now I get that raisin note that another reviewer had mentioned on Steepster!

I am also pretty sure this is the type of oolong served at a couple of the local Asian buffets here local to me. Now granted I do not think they are near this level of quality of an Oriental Beauty Oolong but hey at least its not Liptons!

Oh and if you order from The Mountain Tea Company be sure to look for the button on their item pages that says “Tweet for Discount” if you have a twitter account you can get a code for 5% off your purchase.

Liquified dates, or perhaps prunes or sticky raisins. Wonderfully sweet and succulent.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 2:30 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 3:00 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4:00 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg. 7:00 min.

Fifth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg. 10+ min.

My second infusion of these leaves produced a stronger flavor than the first … still deliciously buttery, still a delicate vegetative taste although there is more to it this time around.

Enjoying a cup of this tea thanks to Azzrian … thank you for sending me some of this!

This is really nice. It took me a few sips to sort of figure it out, because it is different from most green teas … from the dry leaf – these leaves are HUGE! – to the flavor, it is softly vegetal, mostly buttery, and smooth. It has a very delicate flavor. Think a Silver Needle delicateness with the taste of a green tea rather than a white tea. That’s what I taste. It’s very refreshing and light. I like!

This is a very dark, highly-oxidized oolong, very close to a black. There are notes of molasses, and a sweetness that is present through all infusions. Although not roasted, there is a certain “roastedness” to it.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 1:30 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 2:30 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 7 min.

Fifth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10+ min.

I decided to have this one after seeing someone else had it today as a rainy day oolong, I waited for the rain to stop actually and I turned on the music to cheer myself up and I brewed this one up Gangnam Style, thats when you put on a fancy shirt and hat and dance the horsey dance while trying to make tea and you get water everywhere, ya get a little wet but its fun, wet outside wet inside. Really good tea sweet and delicious with peachy or apricot notes, slight floral tones and just intense yummy flavor, really good tea, If ya drink it from a small cup and have a long tongue you can lick whats left from the bottom of the cup mmmmm it’s really good like that too :) Thanks Azzrian!!!

Another delicious sample from Azzrian!

Rainy days are oolong days. This one is deliciously sweet, but still tastes natural and oolongy :)

Brewed Western style, 2tsp/16ish ounces.

Mmmm…. creamy, lightly citrusy background notes and a most definite presence of honey. This is a light oolong, which puts it solidly in my “like” category.

Brewed up a pot for Tea Club at work on Friday after our office holiday lunch. Figured we could all use something a bit light to round out the afternoon. It went over well. I only wish we’d had time to try a 2nd steep. I’m glad I went with a larger package of it on Black Friday even though I had not tried it before.

I did steep it for much longer than recommended and it was still very tasty, so perhaps that means this is a forgiving tea. :)

This was a sample included with my Black Friday order from Mountain Tea Co. I made up a pot to share with our little Tea Club at work.

The dry leaf smells of spices – nutmeg, maybe? Cinnamon? First sniff has me thinking of chocolate. Can’t quite pin it down. The first sips bear out that dry smell. A light oolong with an intensely buttery feel, more like broth than tea. Color is an extremely pale honey, even after 5 minutes of steeping. Honey. I think I also get a bit of honey taste from this. As it cools, more flavors come out and I do notice the orchid more than I did when it was hot. Very refreshing and enjoyable hot or cold.

It won’t be an everyday drinker for me, but if I like the rest of my order enough to refill it when I’m out, I might get some of this to have on hand.

In the interest of trying something new, I am using a few leaves from this to doctor some jasmine green tea, just out of curiosity.

It has certainly been a while since I had an oolong. These days, on account of the hot weather that continues to plague my town in November, I have been drinking mainly greens with some blacks thrown in for robustness. Yet, it has finally started to cool, and I felt this was a good opportunity to revive my love of oolongs! Bringing out my gaiwan, fairness pot, and a favorite cup, I collect the things I will need to try this tea, while the water boils. Opening the foil package of leaves, I breath in, taking in the high, sharp floral notes that seem almost sweet. Placing them in the bottom of the gaiwan, I pour just the slightest bit of water over them to rinse them and to begin the opening of the leaf. The aroma that rises from the gaiwan is one that matches the sweet, high floral notes. Touches of fruit, almost reminiscent of pear, come to mind. This first steep will be interesting.

The first steep is for thirty seconds, after which I am left with a pale, golden yellow infusion that smells reminiscent of the dry leaf, but a more vegetal aspect has been piecked up and brought forward, as tie guan yin tend to do. The flavor surprises me. I am struck by a deep, rich floral and vegetal taste. Deep and rich are the best words to describe it, despite seeming completely at odds with the high floral and fruit aroma. Too, the oolong has a thick mouthfeel, a bit on the heavy side. That aroma is left in the aftertaste, bringing all of the senses together. The leaves are put into water for another infusion. After another thirty seconds, I am left with a paler brew, more of a light yellow. Strange, I thought, a second steeping should look stronger. Yet it tastes much like the first steeping, though the floral notes are more pronounced. The third infusion (again for thirty seconds) brings back the color and aroma of the first. The flavors, though, have evolved, losing some of their floral nature and becoming more vegetal. Heating some more water, I place the leaves in a large pot to steep out the rest of their deliciousness. This oolong was very decent for a tie guan yin, and on my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it an 89/100.

This is a pleasant tasting oolong. Its roasted flavour is present in all infusions. But there are also more subtle notes of honey, stone fruit, and flowers which come and go through the various brews.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 1:30 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 2:30 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10+ min.

This is a pleasant tasting oolong. Its roastiness dominates through all infusions, but there are more subtle notes of honey and stone fruit which come and go through the various brews.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 1:30 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 2:30 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10+ min.

I couldn’t find this one in the steepster database so here we are.
Thanks Azzrian

This one is nice. It’s a mellow-vegetal flavor with a naturally-saltiness almost.

Thanks to Azzarian for this gem! Another tea added to my shopping list.

This is fruity and floral – a unique flavor profile for an oolong. I taste honeyed peach and bright citrus, with a delicate floral hint. The brewed cuppa smells divine as well.

I don’t have a lot of experience with oolongs personally so I apologize for the brevity of this review. Maybe I should say this tea leaves me speechless! :)

Ahhhh what a long day! So finally I am relaxing with a lovely tea!
Not only am I enjoying this lovely tea but I am sipping out of my Ru Kiln cup. I scored this very pretty cup from Verdant with reward points. WOOT!
And I am enjoying my new Gaiwan http://www.mightyleaf.com/product/brown-gaiwan/
I have been waiting to own a gaiwan like this for ages! Finally I have one I can use! I never mastered tipping the lid correctly with my tiny hands lol.
I love the look of the gaiwan love the beauty of the Ru Kiln Cup … LOVE this tea!
I am a happy camper! See previous notes on tea.

Good Lord Almighty this is delicious!
I am So happy I made an order with this company!
Thick, rich, PEACHY – and not hard to find the peach notes at all!
An absolutely pristine cup of oolong that any oolong lover should get to try!
Not bad pricing at this site either!
This one is under the clearance section.
Full review will be on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 15th

The leaf is a darker green, smaller rolled tea, somewhat irregular. Infused, the aroma was tart, with a touch of astringency. However, on the taste, there’s nothing remotely astringent here. The liquor is medium yellow, and the taste is floral, slightly smoky, with an assertive sweetness underneath. Very similar to the flavor of a good yellow tea.

The leaves are mostly buds with two or three leaves – a nicely made tea. It’s the kind of tea that works even better with repeated tastings under different conditions. Quite flavorful.

Brandy oolong is oxidized at around 90%, and the leaves are picked in summer. As a result, the flavor is deeper and more pronounced. This particular tea received recognition at the North American Tea Championship.

The hard, dry leaves were individually rolled irregularly into small green “pearls,” and are uniformly dark green in color. The unsteeped aroma is a predictably vegetal. The tea itself is not unlike a smoky Yunnan black, with a small amount of sweetness on the finish. Very flavorful – ideal as a breakfast waker-upper.

The dry leaf is dark green with what looks like whitish buds. It has a peachy aroma, maybe a touch of candy-like sweetness. The infused aroma is like honey with a slight astringency.

On the taste, the flavor is very restrained, with absolutely no astringency here, mixing honey and lychee and an afterthought of lemon; and as is the case with most Oriental Beauty, it’s very subdued; by adding more tea than usual, the flavor is very appealing. This version has been pressed into a tea cake, an inventive way to make its appearance unique and enjoyable.