BookLion

This is another tea I drank without marking its passing. I remember it being very green tasting, very grassy, which are qualities I prize in a sencha. It seems like it would have been a good tea for spring.

Oh Bother, somehow I drank the whole tea without ever logging it – but I can’t remove it from my cupboard without leaving some sort of a record of it. I remember this as being a floral, pleasant oolong. It seemed to be a good daily tea, one that I looked forward to drinking, but the taste never overwhelmed what I was doing enough to incite me to write about it. Sometimes those kinds of teas are good. We all need them in our cupboard.

I bought this because I had a gift certificate to Amazon, and it seemed like the best choice at the time; I drank all of it in a week it because it was so easy to prepare. Although it seems that many have liked the flavor of this tea, I found it comforting but bland. I liked the bitterness of the cut black leaves, and the hints of vanilla and fruit, but didn’t taste much complexity there. Sometimes, however, what counts is cheapness and ease of preparation.

Unfortunately, I opened the container to realize I only had a few leaves left, so tried to make the most of it. I probably should have just brewed a 1/2 or 1/4 cup, but I wanted to make it last and so made a full cup. It turned out sort of watery and flavorless… I remember it being a nice, woody oolong, but that didn’t really come out today.

The loss of the container from my tea cupboard made it seem alarmingly diminished, so I’m relieved that I just placed a small order with Harney and Sons. More on that soon! (hopefully)

For whatever reason, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Pu-erh – but I often wish that some tea or person would come around and change that opinion for me.

This tea tastes nice, but only in the way that you would call a person who has no other defining traits ‘nice’. It does have that classic dirty, woody, pu-erh flavor that I actually do enjoy, but it lacks any sort of bitterness or astringency, which I feel that I need in order to to truly enjoy my cup. Pu-erh connoisseurs would doubtless taste more complexity in this well-rounded tea, so don’t take my rating seriously when deciding whether to purchase.

I know that my life is coming together again (after a cross-country move and starting a new job) because I’ve finally gotten to brew my first cups of tea in my new home. Nothing makes one realize that life is going to be OK like a lovely, bracing cup of oolong. I can see myself sitting here, relaxing, and enjoying many future cups of tea in a way that I haven’t been able to up till now.
Additionally, I have finally gathered up all of my tea things that had been scattered across the country and now have a designated oolong tea pot, which just makes life feel organized and deliberate.

No notes yet.

I finally found some more Novel Teas and have been using my nifty new ice-maker to make delicious cups of 1/2 iced tea with 1/2 lemonade. I brew the iced tea in a normal tea cup with 2 bags of tea in about 8 oz water. The tea is strong enough to hold its own against the lemonade and is refreshing enough for the most obstinately hot of summer days.
Unfortunately, I have been in the middle of moving for several weeks now and my tea consumption has been reduced to this or Twinings. I cannot wait to get back to my ‘serious’ tea tasting, and perhaps even order myself some new teas once I finish off some of my remaining ones. I’ll just have to keep that in mind until my kitchen gets sorted out.

This is a pleasant tea, and this cup, brewed properly, is much better than the one I hastily brewed in a hotel restaurant the first time. The black tea is decent, having a slightly dry and bitter taste, and the nutty-ness is very pleasant, but not overpowering.

All in all, an excellent morning tea. I do with that I would have gotten more than 25g now!

1st Steep 2 tsp, 8 oz

cup: A light, golden yellow
Scent: Grassy and a little nutty
Flavor: Exceedingly pleasant – just what I was in the mood for this morning. Delicate and grassy tasting without any astringency. A well-rounded cup.

Second Steep 1tbs, 6oz

Cup: Similar to first steep, a little more on the redish side
Scent: Very woody again, but definitely picking up something darker, maybe a chocolate or burnt carmel smell.
Flavor: Still woody, but quite a bit sweeter. Getting some more background tones too, something nutty and dark. Much less astringency now that I’ve brewed it more precisely.

First Steep 1 tbs, 6.5 oz

Cup: Deep brown color with redish tones – very clear.
Scent: Definitely woody with carmel and floral notes.
Flavor: This is a fairly bold tea, well rounded, but with a hint of bitterness and astringency (which I appreciate). I just love the flavor of this tea – I can’t quite describe what it is about it. The word ‘woody’ keeps coming to mind, but doesn’t sound nearly as appetizing as a word as it is in this tea. Perhaps a word I’ve heard people on steepster use would fit: toasty.

Final Thoughts: An excellent tea, one I keep returning to time and again. I wish I had the flavor vocabulary to do it justice.
Next Time: I got so excited about the tasting note that I forgot to time it precisely!

I think that Good Earth was the first tea that converted me to a devoted tea drinker, over 7 years ago. I’ve sipped it now and again since, and none of the nostalgia has worn off. Reached for it this morning because I’ve been on a “serious tea” binge and needed something a little easier, with more of an emotional connection and less of an intellectual tasting. However, I left the tea bag unattended and it turned out slightly medicinal tasting.

No matter the actual quality, I know that this is a tea I’ll return to so long as Good Earth keeps making it.

I don’t know if its just because of the sayings, but I think this is an excellent bagged tea. If I do have to have a bagged tea, I would go with Novel Teas or mighty leaf, and perhaps a few kinds of Twinings, but that’s it. Unfortunately, I am all out now, and don’t know where to find more!

3rd Steep: 1 tbs, 5.5 oz

Cup: Very Light, much more yellow
Scent: much lighter as well, a little grassy
Flavor: Getting ever so slightly astringent, less of the nutty flavors and a little more strongly green. Still very ‘buttery’.

Final thoughts: I don’t think this tea is going to go much further than the 3rd steep. Perhaps if I had put 5 oz of water in each time, I might’ve been able to brew a 4th.

2nd steep: 1 tbs, 6 oz, 1 minute

Cup: Much more green than first steep, very clear.
Scent: Still grassy and musty, grass scent perhaps a little stronger.
Flavor: Less water is definitely a way to go, this second steep tastes much fuller. Still getting a lot of the buttery, tongue coating flavor; less of the nutty flavors. This steep tastes sweeter than the first one, and has a more floral aftertaste.

Final Thoughts: Much better with less water – I am going to start steeping teas with my OXO food scale. It won’t be able to register the tea, but I will at least get a precise amount of water. Also, this tea has an unexpected amount of caffeine – getting a little tea drunk after only two steepings.
Next Time: Still needs less water for this amount of tea, but getting closer.

1st Steep

Cup: a very light yellow/green
Scent: mild, very grassy as one would expect from a young tea, but with a very earthy, almost dirty undertone.
Flavor: First thoughts – mild, not at all astringent. Very mellow for having such a grassy smell. Not quite getting the ‘buttery’ flavor I was told to expect, but the ‘nutty’ is definitely coming through. I’ve never wanted to describe a tea as buttery before, but I’ve been pondering what that might taste like as I sip. I think I’m starting to taste it now – it is an exceptionally smooth flavor that comes through after the tea is swallowed, almost like a coating on the tongue.

Final thoughts: As a person who prefers a little astringency and bitterness, this first steeping is far too mellow to be my ideal tea, but I can still appreciate its quality. If you like a well-rounded cup, this would be a perfect fit for you.
Next time: I think I’d like this better with a bit more tea and less water. This time I did about 1 TBS for 8 oz, but I’d like to try 1 TBS for 5 oz.

First of all, let me preface this tasting note by saying that I’m not the biggest fan of pu-erh. I do enjoy it, but it always seems too rounded and mellow for me. For some reason, I prefer dark, astringent, and even bitter teas. This was one of the best pu-erhs I’ve tried, however.
Flavor: A sweet, rounded, well balanced cup.
Color: A beautiful amber color – very thick. After several steepings, it appears lighter and very red.
Scent: Definite earthy, musty notes. Reminds me of an old coniferous forest after a long rain.

At Zingerman’s, they brew this as an iced tea during the summer – it is absolutely perfect this way. It really allows the citrus from the bergamot and the grassy green flavors to be highlighted. I enjoy it hot as well, but a high temperature never seems to mesh well with the lively flavors.

Another one of my favorite daily teas – I could drink this one forever. I love the woody, earthy notes and the fact that they don’t overpower the heady oolong flavor. If I ever run out of this tea, life seems a little dull somehow.

One of my favorite daily teas – the first and third steep are my favorite. The first is astringent and floral, the second more of the same but slightly dull, and the third is where the green tea flavors really take a step forward and begin to fill the palate. Beyond the third is well and good, but I do prefer my tea full flavored and so rarely go beyond the fourth, though I easily could. I would be curious to taste a jasmine others rate better than this one.