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The dry tea has a vegetal, mineral scent. The leaves are tightly rolled, uniform in size, and they are cute little twisty eyebrow shapes.
Brewed, the scent is very vegetal, like fresh steamed asparagus. The color is a more brown color like clear vegetable broth. This tastes like the tea that I get at my favorite Chinese restaurant.
As the tea cools a little, I can taste the qualities of a green Gyokuro type tea and can taste that it stepped into the oven for such a short time giving it a hint of baked potato skin flavor.
This is a very Earthy tea, not bitter, so it is easy on the caffeine & stomach. I love that I get to drink the same tea that the monks in the local temple drink every day. It is so special to me.
After tasting, I paired the tea with rice and fresh sliced tomatoes that I had for lunch. I thought of the monks and what they might have to eat or when they might drink the tea. I love this green tea.

6/13/14

Had a pot this afternoon and decided to take the temp down to 175 for 1 minute. The instructions say to brew at 190 for 1 minute. I used a heaping teaspoon for 2 cups of water. I like it better at the lower temperature. It still has the mineral flavor but it is more subtle and refined.

The dry leaves are dark colored, long, & twisted,,,all perfectly the same size. There is a roasted black tea with milk scent to the leaves.
My first infusion was for two minutes with the tea liquor turning a beautiful amber jewel color. I am trying to think of a description other than malt to describe the scent of the liquid but malt is really the scent! I am not detecting the floral scent in this darker Oolong while it is still very hot.
The flavor is toasted & almost light coffee latte flavor with a tiny tiny hint of the floral aroma coming through in the after finish. This has very very subtle floral aroma for me.
As the tea cools, it gets a very creamy mouthfeel and a highly toasted almond flavor comes through.
I am on my second infusion now, the package indicates it is good for 7. The flavor is still toasty & robust with very very very subtle floral.
This is a good darker Oolong, I am still trying as many as I can and haven’t had so many of them yet and the one I had tried in the past gave me lots of caffeine high whereas this one doesn’t so I am still learning about the caffeine effects of the darker, more oxidized teas. I read that the caffeine causes bitterness and the theanine in tea (which coffee doesn’t have theanine) levels the caffeine out. This tea is not bitter, so I am enjoying a darker tea with low caffeine effects. Very fascinating and must keep learning :)

The dry leaves have a very creamy black tea scent and the leaves are a little different in size. Brewed, the tea liquor is a beautiful champagne clear pearl color and the scent is light cream. The flavor is light and creamy,,,very enjoyable in the morning with fruit!
I am enjoying the website and packaging of Seven Cups, they have so much information. The teas are explained very well including origin, tea master, harvest time, & of course steeping information. This tea is from the Fujian Province, China,,harvested in May, good for 5 infusions, and the tea master is Wu Si Jia. It explains that the fresh, soft rich quality also makes for a nice iced tea.
I found this to be an excellent tea for my morning because I like a light, cooling, easy tea to go with fruit and not harsh with too much caffeine effect so this is lovely tea.
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7/26/14
This is one of the first type teas I ever bought. I haven’t had Shou Mei in a long time. I brewed the same way as before, 190F for 2 minutes. Now that I’ve had a few teas, I have more to compare it to. It tastes like a White Peony and a Bancha had a baby,,,, Shou Mei. It really has sweet elements and creaminess of White Peony but then a Bancha note steps in to mix it up a bit. The Bancha note is a bit dried mint tasting?
Overall, pretty good for an everyday, inexpensive tea.

Drinking the last of my sample today. This Jin Xuan Oolong is heaven. This tea gives me the same euphoric feeling you get from yoga. The aroma causes you to breathe deeply and inhale the scent of beautiful flowers and the light toasty, creamy flavor fills you with warmth. The leaves are all consistent in size and rolled. The taste is a perfect balance of creamy, floral, and toasty notes. Gonna steep this one as many times as I can today and then I must order more Jin Xuan to try!!!!

The dry tea has the distinctive green tea scent with a sweet note of barley.
Brewed, the liquor is a beautiful lime green color with sweet green tea scent.
The taste is green tea, sea veggie, and sweet barley. This is a clean, fresh, and organic green tea. Very good.

Got this one for a holiday gift. The dry tea comes in little plant-based special knit tea bags. It has the exact scent of cacao & dark cabernet.
Brewed, the scent is chocolate biscuit and the color is a pretty mauve-berry wine color.
The taste is warm wine, tangy berry, and a hint of cocoa. This has a unique taste. I like that it is caffeine free because these flavors are suited to evening to me with the strong wine taste. As the tea “liquor” :) cools,,, the chocolate flavor starts to come thru a little more. This is definitely a fun limited edition to try,,the box says the Maqui berries have a vivid purple color,,as do acai berries,, giving this herbal its pretty mauve color.

The dry tea leaves have a creamy ginger snap scent. Pretty & long tea leaves.
Brewed, the tea is a perfect ginger color. The scent is a toasted oolong so I was excited to take a sip. The flavor is subtle toasted malt with a ginger accent.
I have not smelled or tasted any peach notes but as I look at the rest of my dry tea leaves, I am seeing little bits that must be peach fruit bits so maybe I didn’t get any fruit bits in this serving. I will have to try this one again and make sure to get fruit bits in the steeping.

The dry leaves smell like cherry candy and vegetables.
Brewed, the tea liquor has a beautiful lemongrass color and slight cherry scent. Slight accent of cherry in flavor but mainly a green tea, vegetal flavor. I like the cherry accent, I had never tasted a cherry Sencha before so didn’t know what to expect. This tea pairs nicely with the veggie wrap and steamed lemon-sesame broccoli I am eating for lunch.
Second steep is just as delicious still with cherry scent but mainly green tea in flavor.

The dry tea leaves have a creamy milk & tea scent.
Brewed, the tea liquor is champagne clear gold color and the scent is slightly toasty with gardenia and jasmine flower essences. Upon cooling a bit, a malt scent comes through.
The flavor of this tea is creamy subtle malt with edible flowers. A beautiful Oolong.

I got this tea bag as a sample and I only wanted one cup this afternoon so I thought I would try it. The chai spice scent is great and it is strongly cinnamon. Since this is a chai blend, it is perfect for milk. I don’t drink milk so I drank this by itself and it was still really great. You can taste the cardamom but it is not overpowering as that spice can sometimes be. If you don’t want to make your own chai blend, this is a great shortcut because the spices are very mild and well-balanced.