New Tasting Notes

Dragonwell (Lung-Ching) is my favorite green tea, and this one by upton is pretty good, however I don’t think this one is the best offering around as it fails to completely capture the nutty accents that make dragonwell so good. It is best when steeped at 175 degrees for about 2 minutes.

Recommended brewing time is 1-3 minutes. I typically steep for about a minute or so, and it is strong enough. It has a subtle peach scent. The peach is less noticeable as I drink it, with the ginger coming in a bit more (but still subtle). It is very much a green tea.

Given to me as a gift, it has become a favorite.

A smooth, sweet tea. I drank it with a bit of sugar and a splash of milk. While it’s not something I would buy or drink often, it tasted good and smooth.

Though pretty good, Sencha Imperial falls short of Mariage Freres’ higher grade of Sakura Tea. I’m probably a harsher critic than most. And it is cheap enough that you can actually afford to drink it if it suits you. I just won’t purchase any more of it once I finish off this tin.

Starting to show its’ age a little. Otherwise, a nice grassy, bright fresh-bean cup, perfect for afternoons of contemplation.

Strong Currant flavor. Good mid-morning energy booster.

I like this tea. Certainly not the most complex blend, but a good standby nonetheless. Milk and honey are a must.

One of the 5 rarest and most famous Wu Yi Oolongs and it’s easy to see why.

Online, it’s described as being the rarest, because the process requires such high skill that most people won’t even attempt to create it.

I don’t know what brand or what year this Oolong was harvested, but I will ask my friend who gave it to me.

(It’s pricey and rare, so he only spared me 3 grams of it, but that 3 grams was little enough to get upwards of 8 infusions, in a small Yi Xing teapot)

The complexity of this tea makes it hard to describe, but that’s also is what makes it such a treasure. Unlike most Wu Yi’s, the leaf is not a deep dark brown.

Dry Leaf:
This Bai Ji Guan was a medium brown, almost cherry like color with spots of olive green. A truly beautiful and distinct leaf, unlike any I’ve ever seen. The leaf style is typical Wu Yi, large curly, these were not particular long and wiry, but shorter and wider.

Dry leaf aroma: Smoky, hint of some kind of wild fruit.

After rinse aroma: Passion fruit, floral, soap-ish (good in this tea)

First infusion: 15 seconds. WOW. The flavor is incredible, it might have been even slightly over-steeped at 15s, but the initial fruitiness is unmistakable. Followed by a slight smokiness. And then comes the sweet finish, and what a lingering sweet finish. I noticed that 5 minutes after, it was still there and you only really realize it after you forget that it’s there-if that makes sense.

I won’t bore you guys with the details but I went on to steep this tea many times for my friends and each time, something unique, different, distinct and most of all, delicious.

We don’t currently carry this Oolong (but we do have 2 grades of Da Hong Pao) but we might in the future. So if you ever get your hands on some, savor it and treasure it…and send me a few grams ;)

Wonderfully fruity, smoky, long lasting sweetness, the complexity is amazing. I wish I have more than 3 grams.

Quite possibly the best flowering tea I’ve ever had. The carnation-jasmine combo rules. The first pot was smooth and rich, and the second pot was surprisingly sweet. I’m trying to get a third infusion out of it. We’ll see how this goes.

I steep for about 3-4 minutes. I like this tea for the digestive properties, as well. It sooths upset stomachs. The flavor is not an overwhelming ginger, but it is important that you do like ginger to begin with.

This is one of my everyday teas. I don’t buy many bagged teas, but when I do (mostly for convenience/travel/work) it’s often Republic of Tea. This turns the prettiest purple color, and it doesn’t have the artificial taste that many fruity teas have. I always have a tin of this on hand.

I get this shaken, with lemonade and sugar free vanilla syrup…it’s unreal!

A classic tea, with an awesome twist. I love the lavender infused taste!

must have with milk…I can’t start my day without it

Steeped 3 minutes.

Fruity, but not too fruity, with a bit of honey flavoring.

Steeped 5 minutes. Brewed with 1 ounce milk and 1 tablespoon sugar.

Makes an exquisite Indian Chai. Recommended to all Chai lovers.

Steeped 5 minutes.

Great double Chai, but much more enjoyable with milk and sugar.

a phenomenal aged oolong, very flavorful and with strong chi. Amazingly forgiving in the brewing, an instant favorite.

It’s alright. The black tea is nondescript, but fine – tastes typical of non-premium bagged black tea. The rum aroma and flavor is strong, and there is just a hint of vanilla flavor. It would probably taste good mixed with a chai.

It’s good – not too strongly flavored. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it – I would consider buying it in the future.