Aroma Tea Shop

Appearance: the leaves are a dark brown with an almost purple hue. Liquor: rich amber. Smell: warm, roasted, with floral accents. Taste: this tea is amazing because it handles multiple infusions really, really well. I can seriously get six good infusions out of this tea, and each one has different aspects. It starts out smoky but floral, and then deepens into a rich, subtly sweet, caramel flavor. A brief infusion leads to a lighter flavor, and a longer infusion leads to a deeper one. I like being able to vary my steeping times over the course of the multiple infusions because it lets me get different things out of the same tea. While debating whether to give this a 9 or a 10, the versatility persuaded me to give this tea a full 10/10.

Aroma – Chinese Ginger (black). Loose leaf. Appearance: leaves are smaller, black, tightly wound when dry, and approximately 0.25 inch (average) when steeped. Liquour: very dark brown, almost caramel. Smell: distinct, strong ginger. Smells like Chinese restaurant tea. Taste: balanced mature ginger and black tea notes. By mature I mean that the ginger is more of a ginger syrup than a fresh ginger flavor. Mildly astringent. Decent without sugar. Sugar substantially improves the flavor by bringing out the ginger notes (be careful not to overdo sugar). 6/10

I enjoy this oolong a lot. It’s light, and grassy and green. I can steep a yixing pot of a teaspoon or 2 for several times over, while still keeping a flavorful cup. For the first cup, I tend to steep for 45sec-1:00, sometimes going shorter in the first few cups. Then, once the leaves have fully opened and I’ve gotten some peak cups out of it, I’ll start brewing for longer. Sometimes up to 3:00. It’s a very strong oolong, keeping it’s smoothness without ever getting offensively strong. Having this around in my tea cupboard makes me very happy as it’s a rare treat!

So glorious. The first Silk/Milk Oolong I tried was from Red Blossom and they stopped carrying it a while back. While I was sad about that, I found out that the awesome Aroma Tea Shop sells a similar style of Oolong which is even better. This one is very smooth and buttery. You can re-steep this several times, the packaging says 3 or 4 infusions should be good. It’s really excellent and very much worth spending a little extra to get some of this for yourself. Excellent!

wonderful. notes of anise and ginseng. a bit sweet. my favorite.

amazing. like buttered bread.

A nice Oolong that has a sweet floral fragrance. It’s got a nice flavor, a little grass and smoke and a sweet floral taste that’s a part of the tea, not added. The floral aroma comes right out, takes a back seat to other flavors, and returns for an even richer aftertaste.

A sip down, Finally!
I checked my notes on this tea and I first purchased it over 3 years ago so it’s good that I’m finally done with it now. It’s a good tea, I just don’t drink a lot of oolongs lately. I drank some yesterday and then cold brewed the remainder, which I am having today. It’s especially good with a little bit of coconut sugar. I’m not sure I will buy anymore oolongs for a while as I seem to be so into black and green teas lately…

I’ve had enough of flavored tea for one day. This is a delicious brew!

Absolutely delicious when cold brewed for 12 hours overnight. If you have a tea like this you need to try it! I am getting notes of sandalwood, bamboo and cherry. Very refreshing.

A short foray into the Aroma Tea Shop this afternoon which is in San Francisco’s Richmond District. A very unpretentious little store. The Owner is quite nice and humorous and offers free tea tastings. I probably tried about 10 different teas before I ended up taking this one (the Milk oolong was also quite good).

So the Eastern beauty or Oriental Beauty is known as the champagne of oolongs. There is a good reason for this comparison. I am not an expert by any means on this tea, but I found this to be slightly sweet with a faint plummy/nectarine base and light minerality. I don’t get “malt” at all here, I’m reminded a bit more of honey. Not bitter or astringent in any way. Really hit its stride for me after the first steeping. This will be a very forgiving oolong you don’t have to worry too much about oversteeping. I will also have to try cold brewing this as I am sure it will make a fantastic iced tea. I need to experiment a bit with my ideal tea/water ratio. The rating will most likely go up if I get that figured out.

Light, sweet brew. Not my style, but quite tasty.

It’s hot here. I’m wearing shorts to work, kind of hot. Hot tea is not really what I have in mind of for the ideal beverage today. But, I haven’t been consuming that much caffeine lately and have been making up for those cravings with sugar. I think it’s time to cut down on the sugar and consume more tea! Looking forward to tea shopping this weekend because we are in dire need for more tea and some new teas would be nice for a change!

I do enjoy this rusty Oolong. I brew it in a gaiwan and transfer it into a mug. Less than 20 second steeps on the first two infusions. Light piss color, soft light green color on the leaves as they are first exposed to the hot water. This should keep me going for most of the day without the sugar crash.

I don’t think this is the same tea I’ve been drinking. I think I have the more recent pick, the supreme pick. It’s extremely floral on the nose. And is a tea that enjoys extremely hot water. Takes several steeps to open the leaves. But once open, you know it’s time to make another fresh batch. On my 4th or 5th steep left over from yesterday.

smokey, woody and other earthy-ness to it. brewing it in a metal infuser, not optimal, but for at work it is just fine.

toasty roasty and refreshy. brewed in a gaiwan. nice big leaves opening up.

Had 4 steeps of this in the yixing this morning. Extremely flavorful and smooth. Impossible to over steep. The tannins are in hiding on this one.

My tummy was upset because I ate way too much for lunch today. Okay, I wouldn’t exactly say it was upset, but it was damn full. I had a lentil-beet veggie burger/sandwich AND a almond/banana/blueberry protein smoothie AS WELL as potatoes and a salad on the side. Hence why my tummy aches so much. And this was 5 hours ago!

So I called in this supreme Pu-erh tea. A few chunks into the yixing and 30 seconds later I have me a cup of dark dark super smooth, bottom layer earth tea. Hope to starting feeling better soon.

Finished the last of the steeps this morning, from our brew last night. The best Pu-erh I’ve had yet. Extremely smooth and flavorful. Almost chocolatey. Yum.