355 Tasting Notes
Took a sick/mental health day. Is it bad that I had been saving this tea for Saturday morning? And I was excited about it? The day off meant I could try it one day earlier, and I’m glad I did. This isn’t as complex as I was hoping; I don’t really get a lot of earthiness or any of the typical Yunnan notes, but I do get that sweet, powdery taste of cocoa powder, especially in the aftertaste. It’s expensive, so I don’t know if I would do a bigger order of this, but I might go for another sample. The cocoa taste is great.
Revolution has some very high-quality bagged teas, and this is my favorite (the other really great one is their Honeybush Caramel). This oolong has some very roasty qualities – it goes down very hearty and hale – but a strong aftertaste of sweet apricot. Went through a phase where this was all I would drink in the afternoons; it’s perfect for the fall. Yum.
This one couldn’t brew fast enough. It is 2 degrees here in Chicago with -15 degree wind chills, so as soon as I got to work I pretty much ran to the water dispenser. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite teas. I love all Yunnan blacks for their peppery taste, but I love the red wine and sweet cocoa qualities in this one. I could drink it everyday.
Oh God. This is amazing. I was underwhelmed with the first sip or two, if only because I could only taste and smell the jasmine and thought the silver needle had been relegated to second fiddle. Turns out it kind of is – the only place I can really taste it is in my mouth after the sip – but this is still so good. The jasmine isn’t overwhelming at all, which I know a lot of people appreciate (though I dig strong jasmine teas). And that buttery, delicate silver needle taste.. wow. Wow.
Plowing through this insane stash that I’ve built up in the non-winter months. I have several 1 oz. sample packages from The Simple Leaf; Honeybee, another oolong, is the one that I’ve returned to more than once, while the others have been neglected. Tankha is very, very sweet for an oolong – not roasty or syrupy at all, but light and with a slight floral taste. I prefer my oolongs savory and roasty, so this wouldn’t be an everyday tea, but I’ll definitely revisit it from time to time.
I love this tea so gosh darn much. I don’t drink it for months and then as soon as that first sip hits my lips, I am reminded of how amazingly wonderful it is – that taste of juicy ripe pear, the sweetness of the matcha, and the very mild touch of green tea. Stash sells this online-only as a loose tea – I’m thinking of purchasing to see if there’s any difference between it and the bagged.
