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politicalmachine

any thoughts about this? was thinking of picking some up

Eisenherz

it was my first charcoal tea ever so I have no comparison point… but make sure you like the idea of a charcoal/smoky taste, because it’s pretty intense – more so than the dry smell suggests! however, after my first 2 cups, I started enjoying it more and noticing the subtleties of the oolong behind the charcoal taste. interestingly, probably because of the charcoal coating, the leaves barely open in the infuser. I found it got better as I re-steeped it; I liked the 3rd steep best, but I’m not sure if it’s because I got to enjoy the charcoal taste more with time, or if it’s because it got less overwhelming with ever steep. not sure if that helps you deciding, it probably also depends on how familiar you are with charcoal teas. if you haven’t had any, going for this is a bit daring (I got mine as a present for my birthday) but you might end up liking it. if you’re familiar with them and like them, I assume this is a good one, but I can’t help much comparing!

politicalmachine

great, thanks! I was just interested in an aged oolong to try out and this one seemed to be the oldest (and cheapest) that CS offers. I’d imagine though that the first few steeps should be very short given the nature of the tea, it would make sense to treat it more as a pu-erh in my opinion. Aged oolongs are usually reroasted every year to keep them dry so this one would have underwent many roastings. I think my curiosity would lead me to eventually getting this or something similar to it just to try it out.

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politicalmachine

any thoughts about this? was thinking of picking some up

Eisenherz

it was my first charcoal tea ever so I have no comparison point… but make sure you like the idea of a charcoal/smoky taste, because it’s pretty intense – more so than the dry smell suggests! however, after my first 2 cups, I started enjoying it more and noticing the subtleties of the oolong behind the charcoal taste. interestingly, probably because of the charcoal coating, the leaves barely open in the infuser. I found it got better as I re-steeped it; I liked the 3rd steep best, but I’m not sure if it’s because I got to enjoy the charcoal taste more with time, or if it’s because it got less overwhelming with ever steep. not sure if that helps you deciding, it probably also depends on how familiar you are with charcoal teas. if you haven’t had any, going for this is a bit daring (I got mine as a present for my birthday) but you might end up liking it. if you’re familiar with them and like them, I assume this is a good one, but I can’t help much comparing!

politicalmachine

great, thanks! I was just interested in an aged oolong to try out and this one seemed to be the oldest (and cheapest) that CS offers. I’d imagine though that the first few steeps should be very short given the nature of the tea, it would make sense to treat it more as a pu-erh in my opinion. Aged oolongs are usually reroasted every year to keep them dry so this one would have underwent many roastings. I think my curiosity would lead me to eventually getting this or something similar to it just to try it out.

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