Dax Pamela Dean

The leaf is small to begin with, and then broken up a bit, so the tea is very fine-grained. The aroma is tobacco shop, or maybe barber shop strop, which i find enticing. Brewed up, the liquor is red jewel tones and winey in the manner of a beaujolais, but not quite as fruity. The smoky finish adds a bit of welcome pungency to a tea which hovers steadfastly balanced between dry and sweet. The only hint of bitterness presents itself as if it’s the very darkest cacao or black pepper. Halfway through the cup, I added soy milk, but it muted the flavors more than I liked. The second steep was almost as good as the first, and I experimented with just a drop of agave nectar in that cup. The slight sweetness elevated the rose and brown sugar notes, and gave a nice variation, I think, on the plain brew. To share the experience of this wonderful Keemun tea, I’m adding this sample tin to the Steepster TTB. Everyone should get to try this at least once!

Having had a better experience than many of my cohorts with this tea, I’ll offer some ideas which might have made the difference. 195F or 200F is too hot for this tea. And it’s so easy to use too much of this tea … consider how dense the dry tea is … probably twice as dense as a non-rolled green leaf. I didn’t weigh it, but I’d guess that a half or 3/4 of a teaspoon of tea would be plenty (2 grams) per each 6oz water. I made a 12oz mug using less than a teaspoon of tea.

Another tip is to pour the water down the side of the steeping vessel, rather directly on the tea … or at least try to pour gently. Pinhead gunpowder is usually made from smaller and more tender leaves than regular gunpowder, and thus is somewhat delicate, like a Japanese green. Also, do not put a lid on while steeping, especially not the first steep … try that with your fussy green teas. It may help.

Green is my least favorite tea type, so I won’t be buying. But when writing these notes, I try to stay objective and be a judge of the tea’s quality, compared to others of it’s type. I’ve had one pinhead gunpowder before this one, and a couple of the regular. The pinheads have been more subtle in both cases than the regular (4-5 mm size).

So, on to this evaluation. Tiny (about 2-3mm) nuggets of shiny, dark green tea — truly a pinhead gunpowder tea. The liquor from them was a clear, radiant gold, and the oft-noted wisp of smokiness was there, too, in the scent and flavor. Thus, gunpowder tends earthier, to me, than a more floral green, like a mao feng. It presented practically nothing in the way of astringency or bitterness to distract me from it’s herbaceous greenness. A bit of artichoke, I think, not particularly sweet or grassy, but nicely juicy. Steeping in a glass mug with glass infuser may have helped preserve it’s pure nature. The second steep at 3 min had more body and wetness than the first, with equal strength. As I finished it, up popped the sun, and voila, it was Thursday!

EDIT: Okay, I went and weighed the tea. A rounded teaspoon is 3.5gm, which is about 50% more tea than needed for 6oz. So it’s not twice as dense … only one and a half times. If a person were to use 2 tsp for a 12oz mug, they would have used enough tea for a 21oz pot.

Chaou Zhou clay teapot, tea to cover the bottom of pot in 2 layers. The dry tea consists of small (5mm and smaller), rolled-up nuggets with bits of stem attached. Very dark green, with rich vegetal scent to match. First infusion at 195F, 1 min, liquor is a buttery yellow with buttery taste to match, and full-mouthed body which lingers on. A floral note which is faint, but being that this is the first infusion, raises my expectations tremendously. Second infusion, 190F, 30 sec, the florality is a little more noticeable, rose and lilac perhaps, with an underlying sweetness like new-mown hay. Third infusion, 200F, 1 min, the tea has unrolled so that the teapot is almost full of leaves. The body and sweetness of this tea are, to me, its most remarkable qualities. Very enjoyable. And speaking of quality, the freshness of this oolong is outstanding, and essential.

First tea I’ve rated using my new system (see profile page). Ratings will be lower from now on. (i had been rating so high on the scale that there was no elbow room left). This Darjeeling has a wonderful, flowery, fruity fragrance with a hint of rosemary. Pleasant astringency and clean finish. 1 rounded tsp per 8 oz water, 3 min & 5 min. Second steep has reduced flavor but retains lovely muscat fragrance and is less astringent. Sometimes when I prefer the 2nd steep, such as with this tea, it may be that I used more tea than necessary to start with. A level tsp might have been better. The dry leaf is very prettily black with touches of gold and white. The wet tea reveals all leaves are broken or cut, colored brown with touches of green and caramel.

Dry leaves are big, thick and really black, but only a slight roasty scent. Weighed the portion because so hard to estimate such a bold, fluffy tea. First steep 3.5 min, the honey and floral are obvious in the scent, and repeated in the flavor. Second steep, 6 min, less malty, but with more body and added caramel and roasted barley sweetness. Third steep, 12 min, used less water and got a decent cup, but added a bit of dark agave syrup to round things out. A very impressive tea. I liked the sweeter, 2nd steep best, with the strong roasted flavor toned down and the caramel notes developed.

This is too much. I’ve steeped this Golden Monkey from Orient Organics four times — each time a great cup of tea. It’s just a wonderful flavor, as described in detail in an earlier note. First steep was just cooled a bit from boiling. The rest were boiling water. The times were 2, 4, 6, and 10 min. The rating had to go up.

This tea shows up on both the green tea and oolong rosters at Stash. That’s because it’s a pouchong (bao zhong), or Bay Jong, as Stash has chosen to Americanize the tea designation. More confusement ….. But anyway, back to the tea.

When I first tasted this tea, several months ago, I didn’t know all that fun stuff. Now, I don’t think that knowing it has changed my taste buds all that much. I do appreciate the pouchong concept more now, since I dislike the astringency and bitterness of green tea so much. Pouchong gives me a lot of green tea flavor possibilities without risking the unwanted elements. A triumph of tea mastery, in my estimation. Does the person who made this tea know it’s being sold as “Bay Jong?” I wonder what she’d say?

Drinking green tea or a really green oolong, I feel all healthful and proud of myself. With this tea, I can do that and like what I’m drinking. The lilac notes were terribly elusive this time. The aging of the tea probably is mostly responsible for the loss, but maybe a change of temperature on the 2nd steep would help. Anyone have a suggestion which way to go — cooler or hotter?

I’m still liking the cup. The artichoke and new-mown hay are still going on. I gave the 3rd steep 9 min at 200F. Result was strong enough, but drier and less interesting.

Dry tea, curled like a brown-’n-gold bi lo chun and an aroma like baking cookies or hot creamed corn, made me hungry. Liquor also smells like sweet pastry, but flavor is more earthy, mushroomy, with a little tobacco bite on the tongue, slight astringency. Next time I might try using less tea or making the first steep shorter — 1:30 might be just fine.

Yipes! Second steep just as strong. I should weigh the tea next time. Since it is curled up, it’s easy to use too much. Fragrance of 2nd brew is nice brown sugar and the liquor taste has less pungency than the first round. AND a passable 3rd steep — this is some powerful tea!

Absolutely wonderful keemun! Smooth, sweet, mildly floral, with the cocoa and wet earth notes in the vendor’s description. Both the first and second infusions were flavorful, and quite sweet enough on their own. A lovely cup of tea.

The Leaf: The dry tea, beautiful curls of tiny tips, has a surprisingly fresh aroma. After enjoying 3 good steeps, a close look at the wet leaves revealed that a bud, or a bud and one small leaf, were picked to make the tea.

The Liquor: Round, malty flavor enlivened by subtle notes of black pepper. Smooth, full body with nuances of baked yams and damp wood. Clean finish with a delicate dryness. I added soy milk to the latter half of one cup, with a squirt of agave, and the tea flavor came through nicely, bringing it’s stimulating, spicy element along.

Peach is a good flavoring for tea. The extracts seem to stay fairly true to the natural taste. Anyway, this is a good example, used on a dark oolong in a nice “silken” tea bag. It tastes like you’d imagine; nothing that special. I guess the reason for putting flavor on oolong is that the tea is nondescript, or simply to create more varieties of tea to offer. The peach flavor was good, a nice juicy peach, but it covered over the tea flavor enough that I couldn’t judge the tea itself, but it must have been okay. I didn’t feel the need to sweeten it up, either; no bitter or astringent tastes. It made a good second steep and probably would have done again. Pretty darn good for a tea bag! And I like the business practices of the company.

The small, multicolored dry leaves are curly, but not rolled-up, and smell mossy and fresh. Leaf hairs in the golden brew testify to the youngness of the leaves. In it’s flavor, the base note is balsamic, overlaid by the green mossy-ness and notes of artichoke and red clover blossom. It is like a pouchong, lightly oxidized, but the floral tastes and aromas are more earthy, like the clover blossom, and less like the very sweet flowers we normally call to mind. Because I dabble in herbs, my concept of floral scent has been enlarged to include what I would call (in an aromatherapy context) a mid-note florality. If I sense a top note in this oolong, it is fleeting. This is a subtle tea, which takes some consideration to fully appreciate. I am curious about how this tea would turn out if steeped at lower temperatures, perhaps 190F. I’ll post about it here, if it gives a substantially different result.

And then there is the freshness, even in this oolong. I am sure I have never had camellia sinensis tea this fresh. Which means that it hasn’t had time to absorb the ambient aromas from months of travel, packed in various containers which are opened and closed all over the world. Some of what we taste in tea from China, for instance, is travel-acquired. We may have come to think of it as the taste of tea. Now, having tried three extremely fresh teas from Hawaii, I think perhaps not.

As to how my sister got these Hawaii-grown teas, which are not available anywhere online at this time, to send me for my birthday (thank you, Chrissy!): she reports that she went to teahawaii.com and emailed them, then mailed a check. I don’t know what she paid, but if you want to find out how fresh tea tastes (or perhaps how tea really tastes) it may be worth it.

This stands apart from other white teas, and I think it’s the teamaster, Eva Lee, and the terroir, being Hawaii-grown and handmade. The voluminous tricolor leaves are bold and aromatic with rich floral notes — and so full of life! The third steep, at five minutes, is still a clear bright gold and very flavorful. A layer of greenness, like a fresh meadow, is there to support the florality. The umami I found in the black and oolong teas from Tea Hawaii is present in this white version, as well. What I describe as that satisfying, savory quality must be rooted in the freshness of the leaf. Those are the things which stood out, to me, as very notable and special about Tea Hawaii’s Forest White.

And @teasquared, yes, after the liquid cooled a bit, I did get definite roses, and perhaps the chardonnay, too. If I drank more wine, I’d know better. :)

And about that immaculate freshness ….. I am sure I have never had camellia sinensis tea this fresh. Which means that it hasn’t had time to absorb the ambient aromas from months of travel, packed in various containers which are opened and closed all over the world. Some of what we taste in tea from China, for instance, is travel-acquired. We may have come to think of it as the taste of tea. Now, having tried three extremely fresh teas from Hawaii, I think perhaps not.

As to how my sister got these Hawaii-grown teas, which are not available anywhere online at this time, to send me for my birthday (thank you, Chrissy!): she reports that she went to teahawaii.com and emailed them, then mailed a check. I don’t know what she paid, but if you want to find out how fresh tea tastes (or perhaps how tea really tastes) it may be worth it.

This stands apart from other black teas, and I think it’s the terroir & teamaster, being Hawaii-grown and handmade. The first thing I notice about the dry tea is the marvelous fresh scent. These long, thick whole leaves with gold tips have the freshness of a green meadow in their aroma — and this is a black, substantially oxidized tea! The freshness carries over into the flavor of it’s “soup,” which is rich and sweet, with notes of biscuit, caramel and wood. And there’s lots of umami, the savory-meaty taste, in these Tea Hawaii teas, which (like the freshness) is true of all three representations of their teacraft that I’ve been so fortunate to receive (thanks to my sister). The leaves are perfect and full of life, truly artisan teas which have been carefully grown and hand-processed. Handmade tea, from the ground up. I’m becoming a bit of a connoisseur of the pure leaf, and it’s teas like this which make it rewarding.

And then there is the absolute freshness. I am sure I have never had camellia sinensis tea this fresh. Which means that it hasn’t had time to absorb the ambient aromas from months of travel, packed in various containers which are opened and closed all over the world. Some of what we taste in tea from China, for instance, is travel-acquired. We may have come to think of it as the taste of tea. Now, having tried three extremely fresh teas from Hawaii, I think perhaps not.

As to how my sister got these Hawaii-grown teas, which are not available anywhere online at this time, to send me for my birthday (thank you, Chrissy!): she reports that she went to teahawaii.com and emailed them, then mailed a check. I don’t know what she paid, but if you want to find out how fresh tea tastes (or perhaps how tea really tastes) it may be worth it.

I think I drank this tea under it’s name of “Makai Black” direct from the Tea Hawaii Company, owned by Eva Lee and her husband. I received it from my sister, who lives in Hawaii, and I’m waiting to hear the story of how she obtained it.
See my tasting notes under “Makai Black” by Tea Hawaii.

Rich, malty, steeped 5 min without bitterness! Bright amber liquor with delicious aroma and very little astringency. Great by itself, and just as good with milk and sugar. I bought a pound. Some will be used in blends from Aeon Infusions. Second steep was okay, but maybe not if you have guests.

Full-bodied, dark, and hearty, sans caffeine! The roasted chicory gives a bitter tinge and the spices add aromatics, making this a suitable substitute for coffee. Don’t add sweetening until you’ve tasted it. Makes a passable 2nd steep, too.

The wavy, golden dry tea consists almost entirely of buds and has a toasty, earthy scent. Medium amber liquor has the haziness which comes from many, fine leaf-hairs suspended in the tea. It is self-drinking, biscuity, sweet caramel, with a crisp chocolate finish. There’s a nice spiciness in the finish and aftertaste. Second steep at 4 min was equally smooth and rich, and a bit sweeter than the first. Definitely high quality tea!

3.5gm/12oz

I don’t mind cleaning the slots in the glass infuser with a toothbrush IF I have enjoyed the rooibus-infused liquor which passed through them. After these cups, I minded. If you must know more about my encounter with this cursed abomination, read my earlier tasting note. A blend is not necessarily better than, or even equal to, its ingredients, this being a case in point.
P.S. It’s the green rooibus. It just tastes nasty to me. Tastes so different than regular, red, fermented rooibus! After that 2nd bad experience, I put the ToLife tea in a screen colander and sifted out the rooibus. What was left was better stuff, in my book.

Now that I’ve had a bit more experience with oolong teas, I realize that this one might be classified as a pouchong — that is, on the greenest end of the oolong spectrum. A short pre-rinse remedied the first-steep astringency experienced earlier. A closer look at the wet leaves revealed blossoms of a blue color interspersed therein. Since the dry tea is mostly pelleted, the flowers are not evident there. I enjoyed the several steeps, perhaps a little more than before; a better understanding seemed to improve the experience. Since the Steepster overlords refuse (so far) to give us numbers on the ratings slider, I’m not sure if the rating will be come out higher than before, as intended, or lower. They also ignored my question about how the “average” rating for a tea is computed. I have filed a complaint feedback on my ratings discontent. Anyone want to chime in, go comment on it!
P.S. Oh dear, I’m more forgetful than ever! Looking at my previous notes, I see that I did the rinse and discovered the blue flowers on the first go-round. What a gag it is, getting old! :)

This dry blend could be explored visually, even with a magnifying glass, for quite some time whilst trying to identify all its elements. Another of Teavana’s inspired, uncanny, or regrettable (depending, I suppose, on one’s experience with same) mixtures which goes where no tea has gone before. The worst bastardization in the orgy is the green rooibus intertwined with jasmine, which emerged onto my palate as some vegetable of questionable origin (a dumpster, perhaps?). The addition of a spot of honey to the second steep, aided by the blessed presence of white tea, managed to smooth things into a fruit and flower assemblage, albeit a plasticized one. I really wanted to like this tea, especially since I got it in a swap with a nice person. Because of that, and due to myself (and my taste buds) being dog-tired, I shall refrain from scoring this now. Tomorrow is, after all, another day.

The dry tea has a good, solid black tea aroma with subtle floral notes. The tea liquor shares these attributes in scent and taste. The Ceylon and Assam FBOP black tea base is simultaneously bright and deep, while the bit of green tea in the mix lends freshness. Adding milk and sweetener, as the Queen would enjoy her cup, the tea’s briskness mellows into a delicious blend of classic black tea flavors with the florality continuing to linger in the background. This is a wonderful tea for drinkers who enjoy bergamot and jasmine fragrance, but find it too present in the classic floral-scented teas. I recommend it.

I gave the small dry tea nuggets a quick hot water rinse, then sniffed at the pot — floral bliss! Dr Oolong, co-owner of Zhi Tea, describes aroma of wildflowers, but that fails to capture the richness of my olfactory experience. For me, the light gold oolong broth wafted forth orchid and lilac, with light honey notes. The sweet scent clung so strongly to the empty cup that I couldn’t take my nose out of it. That’s how I want to die — with my nose in a honeyed cup! (any innuendo found in that exclamation, ahem, surely originates in the mind of the reader) Yes, I’m an old bird whose sensuality often, these days, finds itself swimming in a cup of tea. My family, I think, considers my tea obsession a blessing, a diversion which keeps me too busy to venture far onto the wild side. My old bones second that emotion. “Teadrunk nights are quite enough,” they agree. So my hat’s off to those tiny bugs which chewed these leaves and made this tea so special! I got four good infusions, too.

Yeah, grassy and a tad smoky. Can steep a 2nd and 3rd time. It doesn’t compare to green tea made with younger, more tender leaves. I think of gunpowder as the basic green tea, rather mundane, but this is better than some I’ve had.