The Settlement

Advent day 7! I’m a bit behind on some of my advent notes. But, was a welcome surprise in my advent from Inkling, as I don’t think I’ve tried a yellow tea before this one. It definitely has that nutty/peanut note that I see many others describing. A bit of a salty note, and mild vegetalness.

This is such a unique tea! Darker in color and flavor than other yellow teas I’ve sampled with a distinctive peanut taste. It’s a bit astringent, but I still enjoy it.

This super-distinctive light tea is a weird delight.

It tastes like a county fair — a little bit of kettle corn; a little bit of salty, over-crisped chips; a little bit of wafted nuts drifting through the air into your nose.

It’s a gravelly voice, whispering.

It’s the setting sun over a carnival. The sideshow carnies are dancing in front of a fire. Spinning yarns about their lives before the circus.

It is outside in late summer.

This is a weird post, but this is a weird tea.

[ Edit: This tea started out as a 77, but the cup actually gets even better as it cools and I reach the bottom. So now it’s an 80. I might bump it up a few more points if I continue to like it in subsequent steeps.]

Delving into the box Sil sent to me awhile back, finally!
This tea was a pure pleasure to drink! Very smooth, very light, initially I thought of Genmaicha, but the roasty flavor was more like nuts, especially peanuts, instead of toasted rice, and it also features a buttery quality.
Thanks Tea Sister!! This one is a win!

My August Uncommon order arrived this afternoon! Since I’m staying in today anyway to get some spring cleaning done, I opened my package and went right to work. Of the four blends I ordered, The Settlement was the one that intrigued me the most – I had never tasted yellow tea before.

I was pleasantly surprised! I love its earthy nuttiness. It’s a very satisfying, savory tea with a slightly sweet finish. I will enjoy finishing this. Now that I’m no longer a yellow tea virgin, I’ll start to seek more out.

Interested? Here’s a coupon for $10 off! http://go.referralcandy.com/share/FKRVB4M

My August Uncommon teas arrived!

I had to start with this tea because when I first found out about August Uncommon this was the one tea I was just drooling over, it felt like an injustice to start with anything else. I made a small pot worth of tea to split with my mom: I was incredibly excited to share a yellow tea with her because I’d never made one for her yet.

Personally; I think this is arguably the best yellow tea I’ve had to date. I really need to try it Gong Fu to be sure as that’s the way I’ve primarily drank my yellow tea from Camellia Sinensis (which is my current favourite), but this just had such a more lively and robust flavour profile.

When August Uncommon describes the tea and “nutty” they’re not kidding! Breaking down the flavour profile, this is a predominantly nutty tea with both peanut and roasted hazelnut type notes. There’s a strong, comforting toasty flavour like eating roasted nuts at Christmas (not chestnuts though; that’d be too perfect) while unwrapping presents. Other notes present are straw/hay and a light buttery note as well. The overall mouthfeel is very rich, and the liquor smooth with minimal astringency. I could probably drink this tea for days and feel happy and at peace.

…And on the flip side.

My mom, who I was hoping would appreciate the uniqueness and rarity of the tea, couldn’t even finish a teacups worth. To her, the nuttyness was overpowering and the straw/hay taste harsh and unpleasant. She described it as drinking “barnyard juices”. What’s wrong with her!? It hurts my heart to see such a wonderful tea go unappreciated. However, I guess that just means more for me, right?

Right.

thank you beelicious She was kind enough to swap some of these teas with me so that i could give them a whirl and hopefully try them before they’re gone. Though even if they are gone, it still helps give me a sense of what the company is capable of before placing and order since international shipping is a flat 20usd. gross.

i can’t figure out what tea this one reminds me of. the aroma is absolutely that of another tea that i’ve had before…maybe one of the roasted oolongs that i’ve had? The difference here is that i am really enjoying the brew of this one. I prefer yellow teas that produce a sweet liquor, but this is still really nice and thoroughly enjoyable. roasted peanut oolong sort of taste…smooth, no bitterness and a satisfying cup. not heavy.

Preboil/10oz/3.5g/120s/150s

This is a unique and interesting tea. I’ve never had anything like it before. The steeped liquor is a beautiful, pale amber with the strong aroma of peanuts, soup broth, and salt. It’s very savory with a dark, buttery undertone. It’s not very heavy (surprisingly) and it doesn’t stick to the inside of your mouth like other teas with such dense flavors. It’s light to medium bodied with a mildly sweet aftertaste. The savory/umami quality makes me think of edamame, though I don’t think that’s exactly right. The flavor of butter combined with the faint, faint saltiness (and roasted/nuts) also bring popcorn to mind. Maybe popcorn cooked a little too long. I’m not getting “smoke” although the roasty notes are coming through quite strongly. It’s a little vegetal, which helps me see why others could call it a combination of roasted buttery oolong and smoky green tea. That’s a VERY accurate description. The second steep contained many of the same notes, with a little more salt and vegetal sweetness. The peanut flavor has receded, just slightly, and the aftertaste has a more lingering presence. Edamame, snap peas, and peanuts. Unexpectedly delicious. (I don’t even like peanuts.) Have I mentioned how incredibly smooth this tea is? It’s so smooth! No astringency or roughness whatsoever. If it were, I think it would ruin this tea for me. As it is it’s perfect.

(:

It’s nice to step out of your comfort zone sometimes and try something you wouldn’t normally try. It was a huge win in this case. I’m glad I got the sampler, because otherwise I would not have wanted to try this…and now I’m entertaining the thought of getting more.

Awesome good!!!
sometimes ya smell or taste something because you read it in a description, I read peanut aroma and try to smell peanut and I do totally and it smells really really good. Everybody else says it smells nutty too, I made everybody sniff it cuz it smelled so good lol

2 reviews already as I read them I see they are both so different but I’m in agreement with both of them and then some, this tea is Sooooo Good!

The taste is even better than the smell, I’m not very experienced at yellow teas so i’m not sure how they are suppose to taste but this one is just Awesome.
It is nutty(like the smell)kinda roasty and buttery with a savory note and so velvety smooth, vegetal, woodsy, smokey, earthy and slight sweetness too(sweetness like the sweetness of sweet peas).
Last but not least I get a slight hint of an odd something that took me a while to put my finger on, I think it may be called an Umami?
I’m not sure how to describe it, its a kinda savory almost, kinda like the Umami that you get from a grilled steak, I know that weird but thats what I get.
This one to me is kinda like a cross between a nutty, buttery, roasty oolong and a sweet,vegetal, smokey green tea(smokeyness like a gunpowder green).

I really, really dig this tea,in Love for sure.
Sad that I almost drank my Mini all up I will be wanting to get more of this one asap :)
I’ve had 1 or 2 Yellow Teas before but not enough to know anything,
Is This what yellow teas taste like? Now I must explore more yellow teas lol
100 Points!

Very smoky aroma, also a slight musty smell, although the dry leaves are in perfect condition— not surprising considering the slow drying process— I can almost picture them damp and out of sight somewhere.

First steep is the color of light amber with a pronounced smoky flavor. Burnt hay, not in a bad way. Not getting any peanut or sweetness. As it cools more… brown butter, very buttery especially at the finish of a sip.

I let the third steep go extra long, and it is a little more bitter tasting, but wow even more buttery and some saltiness. Broth-like quality— I keep expecting to see a layer of sheen on top but there is no actual oiliness here. Less smoky, this is my favorite steep. Strangely like a gourmet popcorn now, with brown butter and a little salt.
Very, very interesting.