Aroma Tea Shop

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Recent Tasting Notes

96

OK, so I did my Blissed OUT TGY Gongfu style in my new Yixing pot http://yunnansourcing.com/en/teapots/1016-hongmaziniclayqieduanyixingteapot250ml.html. Awesome duo, Rogers and Hammerstein, Torvill and Dean, Sherlock and Watson, well you get the picture. It was a moment, the sun was shining, a brisk fall breeze, and my cat was quiet! I had to use my broiler pan for the tray, but after I wrapped it in a tea towel all was cool. Heated the water in again, a new Hamilton Beach 1.7L kettle (Moriarty) to 190F. Used 6g to 250ml @ 30 sec 1ststp and the result were……..not as great as in my gaiwan. Then the next steeps were a little better. It did last forever though, 10 steeps and then a plunge after lunch in a porcelain teapot for the last brew. Need to take lessons I guess or figure out the right ratio. The tea was less fragrant but still had the great mouth feel and taste. Maybe my Yixing pot is too big or I needed more leaves, I don’t know. Seemed like they were trying to pop out of the top they expanded so much. Live and learn. ‘There is nothing like first-hand evidence.’

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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96

I thought it presumptuous of me to try this tea as my first oolong tasting since it is such a highly regarded tea. I have tried a few others but not having known what they were other than TGY. I knew instantly I liked TGY and that’s why I chose this one. I immensely respect the love for tea Haymen De Luz and his wife have and their generosity in bringing these teas to us from Aroma Tea Shop. Opened the bag to see beautiful rolled bright green leaves with the essence of clipped hedge, hay and a floral note. Used 130 ml gaiwan with glass bottled spring water for brewing. 1ststp was about how I remembered the other TGYs I’ve had. 2ndstp and forward the tea just blew my mind. HONEYSUCKLE in a tea cup, who knew. I am so angry that it took to me being 54 years old before I was given this pleasure. The scent of, as Hayden says, gardenias is spot on. I know this is early in my journey into quality teas but i feel a great affinity to this tea. Thank you again Aroma Tea.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec
BigDaddy

OK, so I did my Blissed OUT TGY Gongfu style in my new Yixing pot http://yunnansourcing.com/en/teapots/1016-hongmaziniclayqieduanyixingteapot250ml.html. Awesome duo, Rogers and Hammerstein, Torvill and Dean, Sherlock and Watson, well you get the picture. It was a moment, the sun was shining, a brisk fall breeze, and my cat was quiet! I had to use my broiler pan for the tray, but after I wrapped it in a tea towel all was cool. Heated the water in again, a new Hamilton Beach 1.7L kettle (Moriarty) to 190F. Used 6g to 250ml @ 30 sec 1ststp and the result were……..not as great as in my gaiwan. Then the next steeps were a little better. It did last forever though, 10 steeps and then a plunge after lunch in a porcelain teapot for the last brew. Need to take lessons I guess or figure out the right ratio. The tea was less fragrant but still had the great mouth feel and taste. Maybe my Yixing pot is too big or I needed more leaves, I don’t know. Seemed like they were trying to pop out of the top they expanded so much. Live and learn. ‘There is nothing like first-hand evidence.’

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95

Several cups later I still love this tea. I have about one serving left and it is the last (unflavored) green tea in my cupboard. I’ve been trying so hard to earn my next tea shopping spree by using up what I have. Now I feel like I still have a full cupboard but nothing good to drink (kind of like the clothing in my closet, lol).

I have many teas that are just so-so and I’ve decided that I’m a princess and deserve only the best (haha). So I won’t drink them. Then, my husband has managed to accumulate a fair number of teas that only he likes, but he rarely drinks tea over coffee, so they sit around taking up my cupboard space, making me feel like I have more than I do. I periodically ask if he still wants to keep one or more of them and he always replies in the affirmative.

Part of my reason for earning the ‘right’ to shop for tea is so that I can justify spending money that I don’t have. As long as there is a sizable number in my cupboard, i can’t do it! boooo.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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95

It’s a keeper! A really good green tea: smooth ,vegetal, only the slightest bit of astringency. Not much else to say :)

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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75

I don’t know what’s going on here, but this one tastes identical to the non-apple version. See my tasting note for “Supreme Blue People Oolong.”

I wonder if maybe they put the wrong tea in the package and it really is the same as the other. . .

TeaBrat

ooh, I need to go back there soon. :)

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80

This is the strangest looking tea. The leaves look like little pebbles. After steeping for 3 minutes, only a few of them opened up (I was wondering if that would even be possible :) ) Although most of the leaves remained in their pebbly shells, they produced a flavorful cup (it’s supposed to be good for 4+ infusions, so Im sure the leaves will all open eventually). The smell reminds me of these things that my mother used to buy long ago as a homeopathic remedy for ADHD (for my bro) and anxiety (for the rest of us). I don’t remember what they were called, but they were chewy algae things. I think they were also sold in other forms, but we got the chewy things.

I would hardly recognize this as an oolong if it didn’t say oolong on the package. It has a strong barley flavor, but not the same kind that I associate with many white teas. There is also a recognizable licorice aftertaste just as indicated in the description.

Over all its a good cup of tea, but probably no one I’d have everyday.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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95

I received a generous sample of this tea in a swap and have since finished it off. With Steepster being so buggy recently, I took a short break from logging my teas. So, now that this tea is gone and the package has been thrown away, I can’t remember who sent it to me, but I think it was Meeka (sorry if I’m wrong!)

So, about the tea: I love it (obviously, as I finished the sample). I love a bold, roasted dark oolong, all charcoal-y with a hint of sweetness, yummy :p

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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drank Eastern Beauty by Aroma Tea Shop
6105 tasting notes

I think I may have underleafed a bit here as I couldn’t really taste much of anything, unfortunately! I think it just tasted like a basic oxidized oolong, nothing special. I have a bunch left from Amy oh so will have to see if I can improve my brewing methods! Looks like last time I didn’t do so well either… whoops!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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drank Eastern Beauty by Aroma Tea Shop
6105 tasting notes

Apologies – I have a bit of a tea backlog to get through because not only was my internet down most of the evening yesterday, Steepster seemed to be down as well! It was driving me crazy. So I have like 8 tasting notes/additional infusion notes written down in a Word document to paste into here (probably a good plan anyways, but it irritated me not to be able to post thing as I was drinking them).

This one’s another sample thanks to Amy Oh! :D

My notes are scarce (I was talking with/listening to drunken roommates while drinking it), but I noted that it tasted sweet and woody-ish (a flavour I find common in late infusions of green oolongs, and earlier in oxidized oolongs). I am wondering if my infusion time/temp/amount of leaf were off though; since I couldn’t access brewing parameters, I just made them up myself, and although they’re typically ok for an oolong, I think a longer infusion would have been better, at the very least. So this one tasted alright, but definitely needs some tweaking (and I definitely have enough leaf left to do that, since Amy sent me a very generous amount!) I’ll withhold a rating until then.

Thanks again, Amy!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Indigobloom

Steepster was definitely down!! frustrated the heck outta me :/

Kittenna

Tonight hasn’t been much better… taking advantage of a brief period of availability to read some notes!

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drank Blue People by Aroma Tea Shop
1711 tasting notes

My sister and I went tea shopping in San Francisco. Our last stop was the Aroma tea shop. The other tea shops we stopped at in Chinatown had only a few flavored teas which was a bit of a let down, but then we stepped into Aroma which had a ton of flavored teas. I chose a coconut green tea and as the gal was weighing it out she offered us a tasting of another tea. She peeked into a few gaiwans she had on the counter with wet leaves in them, choose one and poured. I sipped and at first it seemed plain and run of the mill. Then on the back part of the sip, the magic happened! A wave of sweet licorice and herbs washed over my mouth getting more powerful on the aftertaste and lingered a while. I was a little floored! The gal said it didn’t have any sweetener, it was all the licorice root that added the sweetness. Then she told me it was $39/4oz! It is good for up to six steepings and our tasting was the fourth. I must have sat staring at the wall of tea for a minute or so holding onto the last shred of my willpower before I caved and bought two ounces. On the way back to my car, I could still taste that tea and wanted more.

At home I’m discovering that to get it as strong as it was made at the shop, I have to use more tea than I am accustomed to. The gal at the shop said to use a tablespoon worth! The smell of the tea also reminds me of a medicinal chinese shop and I have always been fascinated with those stores. It’s that mixture of dried ginseng, ginger, licorice root and a bunch of other herbs. This tea is so strange and I like it! I’ll have to play around with it some more to get it to taste like the sample.

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12

Loose
Appearance: small, thin curled grey leaf
Aroma when Dry: sweet beans
After water is first poured: vegital, soupy, sweet
At end of first steep: vegital, soupy, sweet
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: hit of green
Staple? No
Preferred time of day: unsure, first tasting
Taste:
At first?: sour vegtial, brothy, bitter tangy close
As it cools?: gets more vegital, sweet notes mingle with the sour tang
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)?
Lingers? Yes, sour vegetal notes across the palate

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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12

Loose
Appearance: Long flat leaf tea, shades of olive
Aroma when Dry: light grass, hints of cream
After water is first poured: creamy bean notes
At end of first steep: sweet lima bean
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: clear
Staple? No
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first?: bright, soupy vegital, bean and nut notes
As it cools?: notes linger longer, sweeten, get cloying, nut notes disappear
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, sticky sweet, slightly brothy

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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87

I don’t taste any smoke in this tea. It isn’t a very complex cup, but it is good. It has a milk chocolate-like aroma and a bit of malt. That’s it! It was a very pleasant after dinner tea.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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87

I made more of this to compare to the Subtle Roast Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong from Verdant Tea’s Reserve Club.

This tea is very sweet and easy to drink. It has a a much more subtle smokiness than the Verdant offering, and the leaves are smaller and more tightly rolled. I have to admit that I like this tea much better.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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87

This tea is delicious. It is definitely less smokey than the one other lapsang souchong I’ve had. That other lapsang souchong (which was Harney & Sons) was very smokey and had a strong piney taste as well. I enjoyed that cup at the Indian Road Cafe in Inwood, NYC. Gosh, I miss home!

Anyway, I can’t wait to compare this one to the “subtle roast” zheng shan xiao zhong that came in the Verdant Tea January reserve club shipment. I think I may also dedicate one of my “too big” yixing teapots to this kind of tea, as it’s not very expensive and would be good for serving larger groups of people.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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86

They keep this one under the table, so you either have to know about it, or they have to offer it to you. I totally fell for the gimmick of this and decided to buy an ounce. It did turn out to be a very nice tea. The florals were well balanced with other flavors and there was a nice buttery taste to it. I’m still a new tea drinker (at least when it comes to anything besides English and Irish black tea blends), and I haven’t had many other spring Tieguanyins. I’ll have to try this alongside a couple of others soon.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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95

I had this last night. I brewed it Western style, but I can’t remember the exact specifications. It brewed a good pot of tea, despite the fact that this one is really best using gong fu brewing. I was so tired last night that I didn’t finish it, but it’s still nice this morning. I may keep some of this before sending the rest off to greenteafairy.

Flavors: Honey, Orchids, Stonefruit

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 32 OZ / 946 ML

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95

What a wonderful way to start my morning. This is my current favorite mi lan xiang oolong. This tea has just the right amount of astringency, and tolerates multiple steepings without getting bitter. The best part of this tea is the finish which lingers on and on, sometimes for hours after.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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88

This is a great comfort tea. It will always be a staple in my cupboard because I haven’t found anything that goes as well with Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups or homemade dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts (what I’m munching on today). It is a dark-roasted oolong whose aroma reminds me of coffee, stone fruit, and nuts. Great for a relaxing Sunday.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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97

Recently I went to the Aroma Tea Shop when they had their Living Social deal – I got a xiying teapot as well as this delightful oolong.

I haven’t been buying too many green oolongs lately; at one point I had way too many so I’ve been trying to cut down a bit on my purchasing.

I decided to treat myself to some of this today. When I had gone to the ship I was told it was a new fresh arrival. Steeped using gaiwan method for 30 seconds.

Steeps 1 & 2 (I often drink them together): this just smells so lovely, fresh and aromatic like a garden. The flavor is slightly buttery with a floral element and has a slight sweetness in the finish, what a treat. A nice gardenia aroma is coming from the wet leaves. This is simply divine.

Steeps 3 & 4 now I am picking up on the sugar cane element with a touch of fruitiness that reminds me of pineapple and pear. Still very rich with a lovely butteriness. Great for a relaxing afternoon tea tasting.

I am going to the Washington DC area for a trip starting tomorrow, if anyone knows of a tea place I should check out keep me posted!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 30 sec
Missy

Enjoy your trip :D

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80
drank Osmanthus by Aroma Tea Shop
46 tasting notes

I know I still have a bunch of teas in my cupboard for which I need to do tasting notes, but I wanted to do a quick note about osmanthus flowers. I love, love, adding them to all sorts of teas to add a floral note, or perk up a fading third infusion. While I’m not particularly a fan of straight osmanthus tea (6/10), the fun things it can do to a blend make it an 8/10. I’ve had great success with a Darjeeling black tea, a sencha green tea, and even with mint. The flavor is bright and soft at the same time, and I like the floral flavor more in osmanthus than I do in jasmine. Anyone else use osmanthus?

Ninavampi

My Dad brought me some from China. Plain I can’t stand the stuff… Thankfully I tried blending it with other teas and it is actually quite good… I love it in Turkish Apple tea. Mint sounds like a great idea!!

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90

Still a 9. I had this at work today and got a good 7 infusions out of it. Awesome for longevity.

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90

Aroma – Charcoal Roasted Dong Ding. Loose leaf. Appearance: wrinkled dark brown rolled leaves when dry. When steeped the leaves unroll and are still dark and wrinkled. Liquor: nutty brown, with very minimal sedimentation. Smell: soft, roasted smell. Taste: roasted oolongs may be my favorite anytime teas, and this is a really nice one. The taste is smooth, with a soft mouthfeel, roasted flavor with cherry notes. It handles multiple infusions, and multiple steeping times really well. Low astringency. Caramel aftertaste. Just delightful for drinking throughout the day. 9/10

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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70
drank Keemun by Aroma Tea Shop
46 tasting notes

I picked up a Keemun (black) tea recently for a friend who prefers black tea, and got some for myself. It particularly works in small batches, as in a gaiwan. Appearance: curled black leaves (broken) with golden tips. The black and gold contrast is visually appealing. Liquor: caramel brown. Smell: smoky and caramel. Taste: as with the smell, the tea has smooth, caramel notes, with smoky undertones. It is less bright than other black teas, but sometimes that’s what I’m in the mood for. It works wells on its own, but sugar can work. It is sensitive to oversteeping (primarily why I tried the sugar after a batch I oversteeped). I’m a fan of the complexity of the second infusion. 7/10 (because of the second infusion, also because it works well with my set up at work).

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