1379 Tasting Notes
From pineapple Oolong to Orange Blossom Oolong (Ghee I wonder what sort of mood I’m in). This is my second Oolong tea from Pekko (my first being Blue Spring which I remember was very toasty).
Colour – Dark Brown with a touch of gold.
Smell – Earthy and light
My first sip in and I can tell I’m going to enjoy this. It’s a sweet and floral Jasmine tasting Oolong with only a touch of toastedness. The jasmine picks up in flavour the more you drink and starts become perfumey but in a nice way (in other words strong but not overpowering). It’s still citrus sweet (which tastes natural and more orange rind than pulp ie a little waxy) and very refreshing. There is a sort of ‘dark horse’ behind all of the flavours going on and that must be the Ceylon, it gives the blend more depth and strength.
This is so yummy, I’m glad I have roughly 47g more of this to enjoy. :)
Preparation
I was browsing my tea shelves and saw I had a sample of this happy sounding tea. I think today will be a day of flavoured tea which made this sample perfect to try. Thank you stacy for the sample and opportunity to try this Oolong. :)
Colour – Pale yellow
Smell – Gentle flowers (and a soapy sort of fragrance)
This is very nice, it starts off flowery and then the pineapple gets stronger and stronger until all of a sudden it vanishes. The green floral Oolong pairs nicely with the sharp and fruity pineapple. The more you drink the more buttery it gets but stays light and fresh.
The notes suggest to add a little brown sugar but this is sweet enough for me and I adore the natural flavours. The Oolong becomes stronger as the tea soup cools down but still deliciously so.
Overall it’s a very enjoyable drink (even for someone who is not a huge fan of pineapple such as myself) and it would be perfect on a hot day. The cup remained fresh throughout and the balance was spot on.
Preparation
Sorry for my lack of posts for the last few days, I have been in London on a short holiday and promised by husband I would leave my laptop behind. I do plan on making up for my lack of tea blogging by having a ’tea’athon this weekend. I have been thinking all morning of what to have as my first tea and then petitecanuck posted about Irish Afternoon Tea by Bewley’s and that’s when I knew what to have.
I have some of this tea left from a few months ago when my mother brought me some back from Dublin. This tea is lovely, on par with Twinings in my opinion. It tastes black and slightly malty with a solid medium strength (meaning it’s not strong nor weak but the lovely evening combination it claims).
A splash of milk and a 0 calorie sugar is all it takes to make that perfect afternoon ‘cuppa’.
Preparation
Overall – This is my second sample from Tea From Taiwan and I must say that so far I am impressed with the quality. I did prefer the first sample I tried but this was still very nice and I am glad I had the opportunity to try it. In a nut shell this Oolong is green and tastes like flowers but with a sweet and grassy edge that get stronger during it’s peak steeps.
For pictures and more information please check my blog.
http://kittylovestea.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/oolong-before-london/
I have had a terrible day today thanks to a mixture of ill health, busy work and a complaining customer. I drank Jasmine Phoenix Pearls and wished I had gone for something stronger so I pulled this one randomly out of the samples I had from Teavivre’s Pu erh sampler pack.
The raw tea looks amazing, the same colour as chocolate and in large pieces of wood looking sticks that smell earthy.
Not sure if it’s because I just had the Jasmine Phoenix Pearls but this is super strong. It could be the Paddy flavour (whatever that is, all I can imagine is ground up Irish leprechauns).
A few steeps in and I can taste flowers and earth, it’s very strong and a little ear waxy( don’t ask me how I know that). I would think that I brewed it too strong as it tastes that way but I used 10g which is a sample pack as recommended by Teavivre. I am also following their steeping rules on website.
The liquid is dark honey in colour and looks a little cloudy. Perhaps when I mentioned flowery earlier it should have said perfumey, the strong floral tang that reminds one of perfume but in the mouth…I’m picking that up.
Overall it’s nice but just not going it’s job today. I have rated according to my taste test for today but I do have more samples and will adjust my rating in the future so if I am having an off day when it comes to tasting I would have put it right.
I’m having a quick gaiwan steep of this before I go to bed. I understand that strong caffeine tea is not the best thing to have before bed time but I am up all night anyway as I am very restless and enjoy reading my book. Husband doesn’t mind as long as I use my book light.
Tea: 5p 5 steeps: rinse, 30s,50s,1m10s,1m30s,2m 100ºC/212ºF
First steep
Gold in colour with a malty yet fresh tea with slight sweetness.
Second steep
Deeper golden brown in colour with a strong malty flavour. No bitterness.
Third steep
(The pearls have started to break apart)
Deeply golden brown with an earthy, malty and cocoa taste and smell. The sweetness is also back. So far I’m reminded of a much less sweeter version of Maltesers.
Fourth steep
Now more brown and gold than gold and brown in colour. Malty, strong, slightly bitter now but still with a slightly sweet cocoa finish.
Fifth steep
Brown, gold, red in colour and still malty and deeply earthy in smell. Quite bitter now but still manageable, very malty with no sweetness.
A lovely tea overall with my favourite steep being number 3. If you love malty and strong tea’s then this would be worth a try. :)
