Asha Tea House

I received this gracious sample from David at Asha Tea House. It was enough for two tastings. This was put on the site 3 days after I ordered the San Lin Xi sampler, and I was a little upset with myself for not waiting a few more days,but here it is.
After reading the description of the tea, and where it produced my expectations were set really high. One because its Asha, and I have never had an oolong that I was not really impressed with, and two because of the price $32.00 for 1.76oz of tea.
I could not get a decent smell from the dry leaf so I warmed my gaiwan and cup to start the tasting. The wet leaf smells great, sweet and brothy. The taste I really could not put my finger on. A little floral, and broth like at the same time…strange I know. Then I tasted it again and all I kept thinking was that its smooth and clean tasting. I did not get buttery just smooth. I know that it does not make any sense but thats what I got.

I waited two days and did the other half of the sample that David gave me, thinking that maybe my taste buds are a little off. I got the same, but a little more floral and light tasting.

My ending thoughts about this tea are little mixed so I will try and explain them. It is a great tea, but It did not stand out to me like his Alishan, or the San Lin Xi that he has available. If it was a choice between the three teas I would pick the other oolongs that he has to offer over this. I say this because of the price. For $32.00 I was expecting something different, an experience. A good example would be the Hawaii oolong that Samovar teas has. it is $25.00 for .88oz, but I know that it will not taste like any other oolong I have tasted in the past. Since I have had all of Asha oolongs I find that if I were to tell others to buy from Asha (which I do) it would be the San Lin Xi sampler that he has, which is a great experience to see how one oolong can change from the roasting.

While I was not blown out of the water by the tea, it is still the main place that I buy oolong from.Its always fresh and tightly rolled. The patience of his oolongs are also pretty impressive. Usually by the 7th steep the leaves are fully unrolled. If you are on the fence I would get the sample pack, and then go from there.

No notes yet.

Thank you to BTVSGal for this sample. Wow what flavor! This is buttery like buttered popcorn! Fantastic…and who would have thunk it! The White Tea floral is still there but not in the front knocking you down. I like that. There is such a weave of flavors that you think would not go together. Buttered popcorn and orchids? But it goes together like popcorn in the park on a Spring day. So good. I lightly sweetened mine. The second steep 2 minutes was longer than the 1 minute of the first. I can smell the charcoal and a little rubber in the vegital. Not a big deal. Still buttery and floral and light golden. I believe this is going to take multiple steeps better than any tea I’ve had thus far which makes it a bargan. I only used 1.5 tsp for 8 oz. and estimate it will go at least 4 or more steeps. Nice with chunks of salted cantalope or crenshaw melon.

It is a really nicde tea, however differs little from other San Lin Xi teas I have tried. I would prefer more individual character, but perhaps I am asking too much. Nutty and fruity. Certainly worth trying.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

This is the remainder of yesterdays brew so it is my second steeping. I let it steep for maybe close to ten minutes. Or should I say I forgot about it. The result is perfect. I am getting that sweetness. A soft sweetness that is so smooth even after a more than adequate steeping. A very unique tea….

All gone =( I’ll have to consider buying more, since I really enjoyed this.

I brewed the rest of my sample up basket-style with more leaf than before. I expected more because lately I have been experimenting with steep times and the amount of leaf that I use with my black tea. Obviously with more leaf and a greater steep time you are going to get a greater complexity and more strength. I did not get that today. I honestly think my taste buds and my sense of smell were off today because I know what this tea is capable of.

This is last nights late evening tea that I left to steep in the Gaiwan until I drank it tonight at 11pm. I may have steeped it 4 or 5 times yesterday before deciding enough was enough. I had been drinking Sheng all day and to be quite honest I was on overload. Tonight this Alishan was the most beautiful golden liquid with the flavor we all know and love. I could not possibly drink this fast. This was savored . Truly a tea of beauty and wonder.

The last of my San Lin Xi Oolong ends with this. It is a nice finish to a great tea. Seeing how a tea can change in the roasting process is a rare thing, from start to finish. Smooth and sweet. Not fruity like I thought it would be. The sweetness carries through nicely. A great tea.

This was yesterday’s late evening tea. I left the fourth steep leaves and the liquid to stew overnight. 24 hours later it is a beautiful golden hue with all of the lovely flavors one would expect with this top notch oolong. The liquid is cool, refreshing and uplifting at 9:00 EST.

I’ve been wanting to try a black tea from Taiwan so I decided to pick this one up from Asha in my last order.

I followed the instructions to steep at 212 for 2 minutes. This is a gorgeous dark red mahogany brown. It smells intensely malty but the taste is very smooth. At first it seems very subtle but then the longer you sip on it the more the layers of flavor kind of hit your mouth. It’s very pecan nutty also with a touch of fruit – perhaps roasted peach or cherry,. Nutty is one of my favorite flavors in tea so I am enjoying this one quite a lot. It does have a rich mouthfeel and a crystal clear radiance in the liquor. No astringency, no bitterness anywhere. Also re-steeps well.

I can see where the comparison to a fine aged whiskey comes from. You really want to take your time with this one and savor it slowly. It is an elegant tea for anytime but it might be really nice in the evening.

A big thank you to David for including a sample of this in my last order.

I got lazy and decided to make two quick steeps of this in the gaiwan and then put them together in a glass mug – I used water that was around 205 degrees but did my steeps for 30 seconds each.

I wasn’t sure if I would like the charcoal roast but it’s pretty yummy. The color is dark yellow, and yes it is toasty tasting. There is an underlying buttery flavor and a nuttiness that reminds me of toasted chestnuts or pecans, perhaps some buttered toast. This has a very smooth mouthfeel and is very clean and bright.

I also did steeps #3 and #4 together in the same mug and now that the leaves are opening I am getting a honey, nectar like sweetness along with the chesnutty-ness. It also reminds me a bit of a good quality – walnut oil? Or something of that nature. I’m amazed it feels so rich and decadent without any calories at all!

Their instructions say a full 3 minutes at 205 F (and that it’s a great pairing for afternoon sweets), but I rather liked it this way using shorter steeps in the gaiwan. It’s very yummy – another outstanding oolong from Asha. Definitely recommended if you like roasted style oolongs.

SO.. this is the next oolong. I decided to wait a bit before posting a tasting note. I had the “lightly” roster by itself and then had the “slightly” and the “lightly” together side by side. This roast is a little nuttier. Having them side by side I would say that this coats your mouth more, but the light roast is very buttery compared to this . I am drinking it by itself now and I getting a little different experience now. I will say that this is a great oolong. I just think I ruined the experience a little with it by not tasting it by itself. I only used a little of the sampler that I bought, and it keeps going and going. For oolong David has the best oolong hands down…:)

No notes yet.

!!! an unflavored pu’erh that I like?

I find that overpowering earthiness of shu pu’erh so…creepy. Not to mention it upsets my stomach (which is true of just about everything in this world, sigh). So I thought I’d try sheng pu’erh, but then I was worried since the general consensus seems to be that sheng is even weirder and less palatable than shu, which would be saying something.
and the dry smell was kind of off-putting. but I DID request this as a sample, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.
the smell while I was rinsing it frightened me. I was all ready to hate it. And then something strange happened. I took a sip. And it’s good! It’s not a tea I would glug (mugs of black tea tend to disappear alarmingly fast around me), definitely a sipper. But it’s got a rich, green earthiness. Maybe like a cedar or something? It makes me think of a forest in the rain. I like it. This is an issue – now that I like sheng pu’erh I’m going to end up with even more teas on my covet list.

More to follow as I resteep this.

Cold brewing this for 15 hours has brought out a lot of buttery notes as well as some gentle lilac ones. If you have this tea you need to try it. Thanks to Charles for the recommendation.

Wow, really what more can I say about this one? Well, I’ll try to say something!

I ordered this on a hunch I would like it just from reading the description. To me this is like oolong perfection in a cup. I’ve steeped it now for 3 times in the gaiwan and it’s a rich, golden tea. Mouthfeel is similar to a really nice gyokuro. Very buttery and rich! The slight roasting I believe brings out the nutty flavor. I am getting macadamia nuts and mangoes, a slight taste of corn.

Upon my initial steep I got a tiny trace of bitterness so I would recommend not oversteeping this one if you can possibly help it.

You can just tell this is a great quality oolong, totally off the charts in my opinion. I have hardly met a formosa oolong I did not like but this one ranks up there very high as one of my all time favorites. Very well done, Asha!

hmm. So I still think Alishans are kind of wimpy but I wanted to try this one anyway and it certainly seems like one of the better ones I have had.

I’ve been steeping this in a gaiwan at around 180 F for 60 seconds or so. My impressions of the first two steeps are it’s very light and citrusy with an elegant creamy element. I am reminded of lemon meringue.

The third steep is usually my favorite with oolongs and I’m also getting the coconut milk element that Geoffrey described in his tasting note. I think I will need to try cold brewing the rest of this sample as well, that would probably bring out the sweetness in this tea a lot.

About the fourth infusion I’m getting some sugar snap peas in here, I’m thankful this tea is not overly flowery in any way. A gentle and elegant way to start my day.

Hurray – I’m the first one to log this. Nyah, nyah nyah! :-)

Today I am an oolong fiend. I got this as a freebie with my order from Asha Tea House and I’m very grateful.

I only have had one other oriental beauty oolong and this is another one that evidently gets its’ sweetness from the assistance of insects. So I’m defintely not an expert. And I’ve heard it can be difficult to find a good quality oriental beauty oolong but I believe this is a good one.

It brews up darker than a green oolong but is not really roasted. The flavor in infusions 1 and 2 reminds me a bit of grain with a light floral quality and some lingering sweetness. A bit of honey. This falls very softly on the palette and is moist and refreshing in your mouth.

Steep #3 is getting a bit sweeter with something like a light touch of caramel or brown sugar. Mmmm. This is really lovely, I’m so glad I got the chance to try it. It’s luxurious!

Wow…David at Asha Tea House always delivers on the oolong. I am always amazed by the quality of oolong that he provides his customers. The dry leaf looks big and tightly rolled.I have never had a San Lin Xi Oolong before so this will be my first. So buttery! Smelling the wet leaf I could not put my finger on what else I smelled until I took a sip. Tasted like buttered cinnamon toast. I know strange…but thats what I got. Light and clean.

David has done it again for me. This is just the first of the San Lin Oolong, I still have the “slightly roasted” and the “charcoal roasted” to go.

About to start the second infusion…:)

I was in the mood for this. It really is a luxury. It makes me wonder what will be coming our way after the spring harvest. What new treasures in our world of tea? This tea is so aromatic and full of a flavor that tastes like sunshine and is so relaxing. What a beautiful tea….

I posted the wrong tea a minute ago. I was I drinking this and I guess the tea was getting to my head. This is dark and earthy with a nice purple-brown liquor. I truly heats the body. This is a very affordable aged Shu that I recommend.