289 Tasting Notes
Once again I lost my note while I was in the middle of writing it. SIGH.
I’ve had this tea for awhile, and had forgotten that I never wrote a tasting note on it. I’m actually glad I waited, because I remember at first being disappointed that it didn’t taste more like traditional genmaicha. However, now I can appreciate it for what it is. There are already many notes on the taste of this tea, so I don’t feel that I need to go into great detail. The green bean flavor of the Laoshan green melded with the toasty rice makes for a comfy and gentle cup. It’s hard for me to describe what I feel toasted rice adds to any blend; it adds more body and richness. It adds more YUMM.
Note to self: 1 teaspoon of leaf is quite enough.
Preparation
For several months now I’ve been preferring black and oolong to green and white teas, but I thought I would try this tea today. Thank you Angel and Teavivre for such generous sample sizes! I have enough here for many many steepings.
This is very pleasant. Mild, sweet, and with the characteristic Dragonwell taste. The green taste is more vegetable than grassy, and like I said, mild. I’ve had many green Oolongs that had a much more vegetal taste, so this tea is a nice break from my usual. Don’t mistake ‘mild’ for flavorless, though. I think this could easily be oversteeped, to my tastes anyway. Keep the water temperature low and don’t overleaf! I used a little over 2 tsp and I think next time I will use less. Lots of flavor in these leaves.
Thank you again Teavivre for the chance to try this yummy tea!
Preparation
Black tea is suitable for drinking in the cold season! And sometimes it is enjoyable to try some green teas.
And believe me, it’s been cold here! We had the coldest December on record. Windchills have been down to -60 F. Cold like that usually waits for January or February, and usually doesn’t stay long. Most of the month has been this way tho! So let’s just say I’ve been inside, drinking tea, for weeks.
How cold the weather is! Just stay inside,drinking tea. Wish the cold weather will leave soon.
This is a lovely tea. I used my whole sample packet and steeped for one minute.
The wet leaves smell creamy and rich. The taste is at first very floral, and becomes more vegetal as the cup cools. The creamy sweetness appears almost immediately, and is on the front of the sip, not the end as some other Oolongs I’ve tasted are. The creaminess dissipates, or is less noticeable, as the vegetal notes become more prominent. As far as vegetal taste, this tastes more spinach-y than grassy. Aftertaste is sweet, like I just ate fresh garden peas and perhaps some flowers. :)This resteeps well too. I would recommend this to those who enjoy floral, vegetal, creamy tea. If you are looking for a roasted oolong, this is not it! :)
Thanks again to Angel and Teavivre for this delicious sample!
Preparation
Sipdown! I’m going to have to order more. Thank you to whoever it was many moons ago who recommended Den’s to me for their awesome genmaicha. I have been passing along the good advice! If you are new to genmaicha, just start at Den’s.
I was nervous to try this the recommended way – boiling! I recommend you try it though. I think this is my only green tea that can be steeped with boiling water and turn out perfect, with no bitterness.
Preparation
I am on my 3rd steep of this and I really like it. The bergamot is more in the aftertaste, while up front it tastes like cloves and cinnamon. I’m always happy to have a blend with Laoshan Black as its base. It really makes a difference, especially in resteepability. This is my favorite blend of the month.
I used 2 tsp and steeped for 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes and still going!
