Oolonga

I’ve just found a sample in my fridge and looks like it’s been there for a while. Though I actually do like Thurbo Estate FF Darjeelings, this one I would pass on. I can’t taste any of the described tropical fruit sweetness. My sample on the contrary is astringent, with a bitter and dry aftertaste.

High on price and weak on flavor. For me the rich nutty roasted rice flavor is the indication of a good quality Genmaicha. Here I can barely taste it, with the astringency and grassy notes from the tea leaf being quite overwhelming. I stick to Genmaicha Satsuki instead which is usually much better balanced.

Similar to Adagio’s Fujian Jasmine Pearl from Master’s Collection. Refreshingly floral with sweet aftertaste. Jasmine is prominent but not overpowering.

Do I have the same tea as the rest of the people here? I don’t know. But mine doesn’t taste anything like flowers, or honey or fruit, all I can taste is rubber, burnt rubber… I tried different water temp ranging from 190F to boiling, varied time from 1 min to 3 min, still rubber no matter what I do.

I bought a sample of this expecting “a superior gunpowder experience” but got a superior vegetable broth instead. There is no familiar gunpowder smokiness in this tea, at all. All you get is an ultimate vegetable flavor like broccoli and asparagus soup with a little bit of sweetness. The leaf is high quality, the brew is fragrant but the taste is just not working for me.

This is actually my blend and I’m reviewing it here not to promote but because I love it. I wanted to create a refreshing tea but not slap-in-your-face refreshing, more of a soothing tea at the same time. I think I really hit the nail on the head here: the brew is very smooth, easy to drink, with light citrusy taste backed up by a hint of mint and lemon grass.

Also it turned out to be a great thirst-quenching remedy after rich and heavy meals.

I had a 2010 Before the Rain sample. The tea is similar to Adagio’s Anji Duet but lacking in flavor in comparison. It is mild, refreshing, not too grassy but feels watered down. Probably would not repurchase.

I got a sample from the new batch and it is much better than the previous I tried some time ago. It is sweet, light and has a distinct mushroom scent and flavor that I’m looking for in silver needle. As it stands now this tea is going to be my everyday choice for silver needle.

I’m a big fan of White Peony overall but this tea didn’t impress me. The brew feels watered down, very light on flavor. There are definitely some fresh grassy notes present with a little bit of smokiness mixed in. That’s pretty much it… Drinkable, but wouldn’t repurchase.

No notes yet.

Smokey green tea and rose don’t blend together superbly but quite decently. The rose flavor is very strong, heavy and natural. I found myself enjoying this tea but unable to drink more than a small pot at the same time.

Quite decent but I would love to see more vanilla flavor in it, or to be more exact, a sweeter kind of vanilla, reminiscent of cookies. The one Adagio uses is like vanilla extract in a bottle – smells yummy but tastes bitter.

Surprisingly great tasting tea, especially for the price. Yes, the leaf is broken but it doesn’t seem to affect the flavor at all. The brew is full-bodied and slightly fruity with sweet peachy notes. No smokiness, very little astringency. All in all, the best non-Chinese green tea I’ve tried so far. A keeper.

Didn’t wow me as much as I thought it would… The price is steep but the leaf appearance and taste are very similar to Jade Tie Guan Yin, only a little less floral and a tiny bit sweeter. The brew is very mild and tame tasting overall. Nothing spectacular. I was able to achieve three infusions.

One of the worst Genmaichas I tried. Very grassy and vegetal, with little to no rice flavor. Increased water temperature / steep time only brings out more grassiness and does nothing to improve the rice taste. I like my Genmaicha on the sweeter side and full of roasted rice goodness, this one definitely falls short on both counts.

I would probably liked this tea better if I hadn’t tried TeaGschwendner’s Cranberry Mango green first. It is a nice tea, not too artificial though isn’t exactly mango tasting. It is lightly flavored, fruity, easy to drink and very thirst-quenching. TeaGschwendner’s on the other hand has real bits of mango and cranberry in it and thus produces much richer and more realistic flavor with tangy notes.

Genmai Cha is my favorite Japanese tea and I’m extremely picky about it. I don’t tolerate any grassiness or bitterness that comes with some blends out there. The way I see it, it should be sweet, smooth and creamy with a prominent roasted flavor. Adagio’s pretty much hits the spot, it has almost everything I’d expect from a good quality Genmai Cha. The only thing that keeps me from giving it a higher rating is the fact that the rice in the blend seems to be a bit over-roasted. It gives the tea a slightly bitter aftertaste which I can live with because it comes from the rice not tea leaves and has a different kind of bitterness that is not unpleasant at all.

Seems too heavy for a Jasmine tea. Earthy and dusty. Also has a sweet aftertaste that overpowers floral Jasmine notes and contributes to overall heaviness. Not refreshing at all, feels more like a bag of dry Jasmine flowers vs fresh jasmine on a bush.

Smooth. Robust. Flavorful. Just the right amount of bergamot. Probably someone’s perfect Earl Grey. But for me the tea base seems too heavy and strong due to Keemun, not refreshing enough. It’s more on the smokier side though I can’t taste any smoke directly if it makes any sense, the blending is done very nicely indeed.

My first yellow tea and… I’m apathetic. I expected something else, something different, something magical. Especially at this price pointed and limited supply. Alas, It never happened.

The dry leaf aroma is very intriguing, it smells of flowers and mandarins. Mandarins are my favorite part but unfortunately they don’t transfer to the brew. The brew… here is where the disappointment strikes. It is completely watered down. I’m drinking water, lightly flavored with Silver Needle. There is a tiny bit of sweet fruitiness lurking in there as well but it is hardly noticeable. Nothing more.

Off to the second infusion. All the fruitiness is gone, Silver Needle flavor is stripped down and only water remains… you get the picture. I feel like dumping it down the drain.

I need to try other yellow teas now.

My main gripe with this tea is its lack of personality. Yes, it has a light floral taste. Yes, it can be infused a few times. Yes, it is a quality tea for the price, it is easy to drink and is quite enjoyable. But there is absolutely nothing to remember it for, it doesn’t stand out. It is very mellow and doesn’t pack enough either flavor or aroma to actually impress. The aroma is particularly weak, sadly, I’m totally missing out on Osmanthus notes. TeaSpring has a lot of amazing oolongs but this isn’t one of them.

If a Darjeeling can taste herbal, this is it. It is surprising how much herbal flavor it has. I’m getting almost something like green tea mixed with herbs and with a Darjeeling brisk bitterness in the end. I don’t mean it in the bad sense though, it is weird but pleasant overall. I quite enjoy it with desserts but can’t drink much without something accompanying it.

Slightly roasted oolong with earthy flavor. I really hoped for promised flowery and honey notes but they never showed up. All I could taste was woodiness and a subtle sweet finish. Aroma was so fleeting that it felt almost non-existant. Falls into “drink and forget” category for me.

This tea is plainly lovely. It smells like a fresh jasmine off a bush and produces an exceptionally smooth, slightly sweet brew. It’s very different from other jasmine green teas I’ve tried because it has virtually zero astringency but still maintains a flowery kick to it, probably thanks to real jasmine flowers mixed into the tea leaf. It’s a bit sweeter than I prefer but very pleasant and refreshing to drink.

The brewing can get tricky, anything above 175F totally ruins the taste, making it bitter. If brewed correctly it easily stands up to several infusions.