Kryptryx

Recommended time is 3-5 minutes, but 3 minutes was too long.

Smooth, dry, and malty.

A very smooth oolong. Fruity, but not citrus. More flavor as it cooled, but I could not detect the chocolate.

I had but a single serving sample of this tea from Teas Etc. I have delayed consuming it until my desire for a nice green tea was just right. It was worth it. This is a delightful tea, very smooth and pleasant. Great for these chilly afternoon wet-yuck days. It has now gone, but will be remembered in a future order.

I moved away from black teas during the summer. Their flavor just no longer been interesting. But lately, I have a very nice Earl Grey, and this very nice Assam. Maybe it was the teas. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was Me.
But this is a very smooth, subtly favored Assam. I am surprised, and delighted.

Tried it with boiling water, and a short steep, and it is much more tastier. Actually, I didn’t choose to do that. My utiliTea thermostat is flaky again. But it did bring out a more malty flavor.

Compared to other Earl Greys, the leaves have a very strong, but pleasant, aroma. The brew however is relatively mild. Improving as it cools. This could probably stand a longer steep.

A definite sweet fruity taste. Probably honeysuckle, but I don’t know what honeysuckle tastes like. But, no chocolate taste. Maybe it is too subtle for me, but I have yet to have taste chocolate in any the teas which are supposed to have the flavor. That said, still a very nice, sweet, dark oolong.

Very pleased with this tea. More so as it cooled. The 1oz package will not last long.

A free sample from Chicago Tea Garden. Looked very interesting. I’ve not had a ‘chocolate tea’ before.
But I was disapointed. Couldn’t taste the cocoa flavor at all. There is enough in the sample for one more cup. Maybe I need to getthe steeping correct.
It was much darker than I would expect for a Yellow tea. Much closer to a black tea.

This ones almost gone. One more serving perhaps.
Flavor was a little more woody this time, less malty. I prefer the malty taste, so I might need to order a different brand next time.

A very smooth black tea. Dark brown color. No bitterness. The leaves were a similar color mixture as golden monkey, but smaller. No maltiness in the flavor however.

Somewhat dissapointed. The milky aroma is very slight, and brewed, hardly present. Not a good example of a milk oolong. Longer steeping may bring out more flavor, but maybe also more bitterness.

Short steep. Tea still has good body, while very light in color. Very soothing.

Had to try this. The leaves were very smoky, similar to a barbegue grill. The flavor of the brew less so. And I didn’t enjoy it. And I think it gave me a headache.

This time, there was a distint milky taste. Not as present as a milky oolong, but definite. More so as the tea cooled.

Broke the lid of my tea pot. Needed some Tea I could trust. This is the one.

Just to confirm, used water at 180. Not as good as boiling water. This oolong is a very dark brown, almost black. Maybe it does need to be treated as close to black tea.

Tried more tea than usual. Improved the flavor. Delicious when cooled, but still warmer than room temperature.

I used extra tea, and a short steep. I let the brew cool a bit before tasting. The medium body had a very smooth texture. The taste floral and sweet. No bitterness. Bumping the rating.

With my cup size tea strainer broken, I have reverted to my larger teapot. Problem is, the position of the strainer requires me to make more than one cup at a time, using more tea.
But maybe thats a good thing, because this particular brew tasted as lot better than I remember. It was very smooth with no bitterness. A delicious malty favor and delicate slightly woody aroma.

First steep was as expected, but the second steep was very flavorful. Then thinking back I realized something. The noise during preparation wasn’t quite right. My kettle, an Adagio utiliTEA kettle with an analog temperature knob, didn’t stop at the selected temperature and the water actually boiled. So, a new, and better, and more reliable kettle goes onto my gift list.

The result was a less delicate, more earthy, more roasted taste. Quite pleasant. I may need to experiment more with hotter water with these darker Oolongs.

Also, unrelated, I need to figure out how to link my notes to my Facebook page. The ‘link’ icon is missing.

Used up the last of this tea. And it was as good as I remembered, especially as it cooled. A floral aroma and a sweet taste that lingered.

This time, I let the tea cool to a little more than room temperature before tasting. The body was smooth and sweet. Floral aromas and taste dominate, but are not too strong.
The tea takes a least a couple of steeps for the leaves to unroll. The are small (around 1cm) pieces rather than entire leaves.