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Boy, the ginseng is stimulating. It also cleared up my sinuses somehow. Definitely an effective pre-workout and cold fighter.

Now, it tasted like a dark roasted Tie Guan Yin-very herbal, mildy woodsy, earthy, with a sweet after taste after a rinse and 30 seconds. It was kinda week Gong Fu, so switched to Western at 50 sec, 2 min, 2 min and 30 seconds, and 3 min and 45 sec. Only then did I get a weird, sweet stone fruit and peachy after taste. I enjoyed this tea, but I wasn’t thrilled. I can say that I tried a thing on my tea hit list, and now I possess an effective medicinal tea.
Worth a try for newbies, but might go better with sugar or honey.

Shui Xian was on my hit list, and everything else that I tried from Berrylleb has been great. This one kinda disappointed me. I was looking for a sweet, smoky oolong with more of a caramel note, but what I got was more leathery, staunchly oak like, and smokey. This is a good, complex oolong. It’s just not what I was looking for.

Was there something wrong with my steeping? Maybe. I started with a rinse, then proceeded to soak it for 15 seconds. Too faint, so I let it sit another 15. Woodsy, and earthy with a complex shift in fog and smoke. Tried it again and again, finally turning the method into western for about 2 minutes with water closer to 180 degrees F. The sweetness really showed through this time, but again, not the best oolong I’ve had.

I’m probably going to review this one again because of how skewed I just reviewed it. I highly recommend this tea for people who like really woodsy and complex oolongs, but not for anyone who likes naturally sweet teas. If it doesn’t work out the second time, I’ll probably end up selling or trading it. Otherwise, Berrylleb is an awesome vendor that I will purchase from again. I did get this tea a day ahead of shipping predictions after all.

My first yellow tea, and I tasted the mango and the hazelnut the most dominant, but it was also very dry and reminded me of hay. Steeped it 3 times, but nothing particularly thrilled me. I’m totally biased to sweeter teas, but this one…it improved later on, but my first reaction wasn’t great. The taste reminded me of salt, sweat, and hazelnuts over wet socks. I think that the quality of the tea is solid, but does nothing for my preference. I only recommend it to experienced drinkers who know and like this type of tea. Everyone else, especially newer drinkers, would not enjoy it. Don’t let that detract you from trying What-Cha. Everything else that I’ve had has been of a great, strong quality.

I finally stock piled for winter, and I had to try this one based on so many recommendations. Well, every single review on here is accurate. Generally, the tea is on the weaker side taking a while to steep or very little water for flavor. Butterscotch was obvious in the dry leaf scent and for the lick of water that I rinsed in five seconds. The actual steep took around 8 minutes in 10 ounces of water to get the flavor. it really does have a weird butterscotch taste followed by a really powerful lemon curd sweetness, almost developing tart tones.

Like Amanda says, this really does not taste like a usual oolong, and more so like the love child of black and green. Although oolong IS the black green between fermentation, this one does not really have oolong notes. The malty background of the butterscotch is distinctly a black flavor profile while the lemon curd is something that I’d expect more out of a green tea. Those tastes are what I like about those two teas though. As it over steeps, the less like an oolong it tastes which is unfortunate.

Since this tea is weaker, it is an ideal pick for travel. I won’t take the same artful care as a loose leaf and I really can’t gracefully on the go. Also, it really does not need sugar though some honey might compliment the natural flavors.

The oolong did not really become my go to. It almost did and I’m really glad to have it and to have tried it, but honestly, I slightly prefer Touch Organics oolong because it tastes like an oolong. Will this tea be incredibly useful across Campus? Yes, but not my preferred. It remains as a solid staple.

Went to see Dracula as a ballet in Madison, Wisconsin, and it made me happy on a number of levels because it was NOT traditional ballet, thank heavens. The performers actually touched each other AND emoted…

Anyway, Madison is littered with coffee shops. And one just so happened to serve Rishi. I was so tempted to get the Tie Guan Yin ‘cause I’ve been wanting to try it again to see if it was as good as I remembered. Yet I craved a coconut oolong. It also made me happy on a number of levels. I’m not sure if it was a milk oolong or a Baozhong for the base, but anyway, it was distinguishable and flowed perfectly with the pineapple and creamy coconut. It tasted good throughout, getting better and slightly more vegetal as it steeped and as I drank it for over 30 minutes. Maybe I’m easily impressed, but this certainly matched a great day.

Two from What-Cha: one green one black. The black was interesting. It definitely tasted like a usual black with a malty astringency, but definitely had the fruity taste that it describes. I would maybe say it tasted like a vague stone fruit. I brewed it six times and each cup was fairly similar, but more fruity later on. Closer to a usual breakfast tea, but the leaves are pretty like a Ailoashan. I’m going to have to try this one again.

The green tasted incredibly similar to a genmaicha. I need to also try this one again because I was not enamored, but it was growing on me. Very nutty, dry, and similar to umami.

Back log, and only two brews of it. Steep 1 as 5 seconds, and it is fruity. Added another five seconds, and the flavors really came through. It did have the usual qualities of a Dian Hong-golden, silky, caramel hinted, cocoa dashed, and malty, but dominantly fruit flavored like lychee. A really strong lychee. I’ve never had this type of tea as a really fruity one, save the wild variety from Berrylleb. Steep two was still fruity at about 20 seconds, but more caramel shown through. Keep in mind I probably used between 5 and 7 grams. Tomorrow morning is going to be awesome when I finish this off.

3 pearls in 8 ounces and this is a potent one. I got seven steeps, and only the last two exceeded 2 minutes and 45 seconds at 4 and 5 minutes. It was fairly consistent too- something similar to a full bodied white tea with strong hints of citrus and tangerine like described. And the tea only got sweeter as time passed by. I’m impressed by the strength and longevity more than anything else as the leaves gradually opened. I have a feeling it might grow on me later on.

My first try of What-Cha from the group order, and “Sticky-Rice” is the prefect name, because that’s exactly what it tastes like. It is powerful for one tea spoon and after 2 minutes. Steep 2 was at 2 minutes and 25 seconds, and it was still just as strong as the first steep. Oddly enough, I picked up a pineapple note in the first one, maybe because of the power of suggestion and association. I used to eat sticky rice with pineapple and a little it of coconut oil when I lived in Hawaii, and this tea especially emulates that memory. The fact that the tea comes from Thailand is no surprise either-this is where I imagine being also.

I’m pretty impressed, though I’m not sure if I would drink this all the time. Make no mistake, this is a really delicious tea-the fact is that it tastes just like sticky rice and oddly, it acts as a strong appetite suppressant for me. I feel like I just drank a meal when I drink this tea. That could be a testament to quality’s greatness, but also a testament to its power. This is a deceptively light tea, but also very thick, moderately sweet, starchy, and creamy. I am so glad that I got to try this though….I was craving it.

Rating still stands, but I learned something about steeping. I did this 15 sec, then 20, 30, then 15, and I got a really awesome fuse of flavors. I’ve only back down on timing for some Mandala teas and Whispering Pines teas, and now I know it works really well for others. The first steeps were still muscatel, but had a more soup or broth like taste with nuts thrown in. The last one so far was a lot more fruity and less brothy. Well, experimenting is fun.