Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company

Well, I’m going to do my best with this one. Let’s start with three things:
Thing #1: This tea isn’t for me.
Thing #2: I have zero experience with teas this old. No idea what I’m talking about. Inexperienced, rookie aged puerh palate right here.
Thing #3: I would recommend anyone exploring puerh to give this one a shot. No excuses with an affordable 10g sample provided by BTTC.

OK, so since this isn’t my cup of tea, let me just offer my objective notes.

The tea is incredibly earthy. Compost, wet leaves, potting soil, and fresh earthy mushroom are primary flavors. When brewed more strongly, a medicinal, slightly bitter note arrives, not unlike acetaminophen tablets. As far as the prized “camphor” note that seems so desirable, it’s there. What is camphor? Basically, mothballs: bitter, aromatic, woodsy, medicinal.

The tea does not progress much from infusion to infusion. Flavors remain consistent. When brewed more strongly, more medicinal/pharmaceutical (camphor) notes are present.

One other objective note – the label is interesting. Combining “Yiwu” with “old arbor” with “spring” with a 25+ yr. age statement should put this tea near or into the four-digit price range. Not sure why it is so inexpensive.

It is intriguing. Despite not being to my liking, I did keep on with the session because the flavors are certainly different. If you are on the hunt for your camphor fix, this seems to be a very affordable means to get it.
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Dry leaf – potting soil, fresh earthy mushroom, forest floor, compost

Smell – potting soil, mushroom, compost, old wet leaves

Taste – potting soil, mushroom, compost, camphor, medicinal/pharmaceutical, old wet leaves

TL;DR: dirt and Tylenol

It seems that I’m starting to fall behind on my reviews once again. I did a multi-step Western session with this tea a couple days ago and then a gongfu session with it last night. I was not at my best during either of these sessions. For one, I have been extremely busy with work, I’m preparing myself to go back to school in the fall, and I have jury duty about to start, so my review sessions have been a little rushed as of late. Second, I have been a bit stuffy for the past two or three days, so neither my nose nor my palette have been at their best. I also did not take notes during either session (very unlike me), so I have to do this exclusively from memory. This review will likely not be representative of my best work.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After an approximately 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. I normally start with a 10 second infusion when I drink Tieguanyin, but I decided to try to shake things up a bit here.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of dark wood, banana, coffee, vanilla bean, and char. After the rinse, the aforementioned aromas intensified and I began to pick up touches of wet stones and graham cracker. The first infusion produced a similar bouquet. In the mouth, I detected strong notes of caramelized banana, vanilla bean, coffee, wet stones, char, and dark wood underscored by fleeting sensations of spices, cocoa, and fruit. Subsequent infusions brought out impressions of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, cream, butter, ginseng, minerals, and bruised mango. The later infusions were dry with dominant mineral, dark wood, stone, and char impressions balanced by touches of vanilla bean, cream, coffee, butter, and spice at various points.

Everyone who has seen any of my reviews of similar teas to this point undoubtedly realizes that I love traditional Tieguanyin variants. As a matter of fact, I tend to prefer them over jade Tieguanyins. This one, however, while good, did not entirely sustain my interest. Part of that is likely due to me spending so much time focusing on roasted oolongs this month and part of that is probably due to the circumstances under which I reviewed this tea, but I cannot shake the impression that this tea faded a little quickly and was missing a certain something. It did not seem to be quite as layered as some of the other teas of this type I have tried. It was still pretty tasty, but there have been other traditional Tieguanyins that have struck me as being more memorable.

Comparing this to the roasted Dong Ding from BTTC.

First, I prefer this version to the roasted Dong Ding. More complexity and flavor. Also, the tea evolves a bit between infusions, with more spice and fruit notes showing up as the session progresses.

Second, based on previous reviews, this tea has quite a fan base! I certainly enjoyed it, but I found the flavor to be a bit light compared to other green oolong options. Just like the roasted version, I would consider this to be an approachable easy drinker. I would recommend those exploring their Taiwanese tea options to pick this up along with BTTC’s Baozhong. The Baozhong has a more powerful and assertive flavor profile, so you can determine what your own preferences are. Personally, I think Baozhong or a Tie Guan Yin are more interesting to drink. But don’t take my word for it!
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Dry leaf – honey floral, cilantro, coriander, perfumey floral. In preheated vessel – buttery green vegetables, “popcorn” roastiness like Bi Luo Chun

Smell – green vegetables – snow peas, buttered cooked zucchini, sweet floral, honey butter, hints of cinnamon-raisin bread

Taste – Arrival/development: buttered fresh green veg (snow peas and zucchini especially), honey butter, buttered cinnamon-raisin toast. Finish/aftertaste: peach, dried apricot, strong lemongrass lingering finish

I compared this to BTTC’s “Old Style” Dong Ding (i.e. green Dong Ding), just to see what’s up.

The roasted version is pretty good. I have to say that I don’t find it particularly active or dynamic in the mouth. The arrival and development are pretty much roasted peanut and some dry minerality. A little flat for my palate, really.

The finish and aftertaste become more dynamic. Sweetness and fruit flavors arrive and stick around for a while.

I’m no Dong Ding expert (any Dong Ding experts out there – feel free to chime in), but I did have a similar taste experience with another Dong Ding from a different company. A little flat in-mouth, a much better finish and aftertaste.

I can see the appeal of Dong Ding, as it is definitely an approachable easy drinker. If you are searching for a wallop of flavor, though, I don’t think this is your guy.
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Dry leaf – roast peanut, dried parsley/dill. In preheated vessel – roast peanut gets stronger, notes of cherry-infused dark chocolate

Smell – roast peanut, black tea blend, some slight phenolic and medicinal notes, but pleasant

Taste – Arrival/development: roast peanut, black tea blend, slight minerality. Finish/aftertaste: hints of cherry chocolate and Mexican hot chocolate (cinnamon); sweet citrus, lemongrass, some pleasant sour candy flavors.

Since I have been spending my time primarily focusing on Chinese oolongs lately, I figured I should shake things up a bit and try out a new Taiwanese oolong. More than anything, I wanted to give Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company’s Li Shan offerings another chance. I, personally, did not enjoy the last Li Shan tea I tried from them and wanted to see how another of their offerings from that area fared in comparison. I am happy to report that this tea was a smashing success in my eyes.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was chased by 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted pronounced aromas of honeysuckle, gardenia, lilac, sweetgrass, cream, butter, and vanilla balanced by a hint of vegetables. After the rinse, I detected emergent scents of sweet cinnamon and magnolia balanced by green apple, watercress, and fresh pear. The first infusion produced a similar, albeit considerably more balanced bouquet with hints of petunia, lily, marigold, and fresh daylily shoots. In the mouth, I detected gentle, somewhat timid notes of vanilla frosting, cream, butter, freshly cut flowers, watercress, and sweetgrass. Subsequent infusions allowed the cinnamon, daylily shoot, green apple, and pear notes to shine, though I also began to catch hints of honeydew, white peach, oats, minerals, and leaf lettuce. The later infusions were increasingly mineral dominated with balancing notes of cream, vanilla, watercress, green apple, oats, pear, honeydew, sweet cinnamon, and flowers.

This was such a nice Li Shan oolong. I honestly was not expecting the floral intensity or the unique mix of aromas and flavors displayed by this tea. As far as I am concerned, this was a notable upgrade over Pear Mountain Premium. Check this one out if you haven’t already.

Wonderful tea. Big roasted nut flavors, with some fruit and floral notes that lighten everything up and make it quite an interesting session. An interesting note that popped up was a fruity, floral, waxy scent that reminded me of mulberry-scented French soap I got in France a while back. That’s a new one!

Absolutely delicious and worth its price. The only drawback is that there are other (non-Taiwanese) black/red teas that cost half the price and can compete with this tea’s complexity and flavor. That said, it is still very reasonably and affordably priced, and well worth picking some up.
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Leaf – malty, sweet potato, honey floral, waxy sweet fruity floral (mulberry). In preheated vessel – big shot of clover honey, blackberry syrup, berry compote

Smell – roasted pecans and almonds, sweet potato casserole (sweet potato, bruleed marshmallow, baking spices), waxy fruity floral again – mulberry

Taste – primary notes of roasted nuts (pecans and almonds), warm roastiness, cooked blackberries, and sweet potato casserole. Secondary flavors of malt, dry milk chocolate in the finish, and spearmint, mulberry, and blackberry notes in aftertaste.

For those wanting to delve into Taiwanese oolongs, this right here is where you start. Frankly, despite the risk of committing oolong heresy, I would say this easily competes with high mountain options. The taste is a bit more burly and “big” than high mountain teas, but it is extremely well balanced and has no rough edges. If you lined up this against three gao shan oolongs, I would have picked this one. It is PACKED with flavor. At half the price of gao shan, the price/value ratio knocks it out of the park.

The taste develops vigorously in-mouth, and maintains its dynamic flavor profile throughout many infusions. Green veg to marine saltiness/umami to creaminess to a fruit explosion at the end – it is a rollercoaster of a ride. I really can’t recommend this tea enough. Excellent offering from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company.
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Dry leaf – fresh parsley and cilantro, floral. In preheated vessel, roasted nut and popcorn-like notes (not unlike Bi Luo Chun) arrive.

Smell – peas, spinach, savory herbal, creamy milkiness

Taste
- Arrival: VEGETAL – sweet peas, and fresh green veg
- Development: MARINE – some savory marine saltiness and umami like a sencha, mineral/rock; VEGETAL – sweet grass (sencha-like again); CREAMY – milky flavor envelops original vegetal notes and starts to sweeten them up
- Finish: CREAMY – milky flavor overtakes other savory notes, CITRUS – lemongrass notes present
- Aftertaste: FRUIT – papaya, pineapple, peach; HERBAL – spearmint; FLORAL – light floral, just a hint of sweet flowers.

GCTTB this is a decent enough oolong. It’s not roasty, and like i think it was evol, said…it’s comes across a little bit like a straight black tea. This didn’t knock my socks off but it wasn’t a bad cup of tea. sort of average for me :)

Picked up some of these bubbles a bit ago, and they also threw one extra into my order.

I probably should have used a teapot, because this was one seriously oversized bubble compared to what I was expecting. 11 grams! Gave it a rinse and a rest before the first steep, which poured out a deep red.

For me, this tasted of mushroom and some alcohol…not sure which exact one. Nice dark fruit notes, good smoothness and an all around enjoyable session!

Received as a generous sample from the proprietor. I believe this is the 2015 harvest, but no idea on the season.

Brewed in my porcelain Jingdezhen gaiwan with Los Angeles municipal tap water, boiled and allowed to cool to ~185ºF before steeping. One quick rinse.

8 steeps starting from 35 seconds and eventually working up to 2 minutes.

Pale amber-tinged liquor (difficult to assess color in my stoneware cup); moderate roast is central to the aroma in the cup, while slightly sour oxidization notes dominate the leaves. Wet stones, forest floor, black walnut, and faint raisin flavors emerge on the palate. Smooth, gentle mouth-feel, no tannins, and lacking any char or bite (the bake accentuates rather than overwhelms the underlying qualities of the cultivar). Decent longevity to the flavor, tapering off slowly and evenly over subsequent infusions.

Excellent quality leaves without a doubt, though I find my curiosity about their potential for aging/re-roasting almost surpasses my enjoyment of them in their current form – Tea Trekker and Floating Leaves appear to have very similar offerings at wide ranging price points, so I would shop around a bit before ordering larger quantities of this.

Another fine high-mountain experience.

Great balance – savory herbal and veg notes, floral (not overly so – very pleasant), fruit, creaminess. In fact, the more I drink this, the more I am reminded of kabusecha (Japanese green tea – grassy, sweet, fruity).

Quick comparison to Shanlinxi: Shanlinxi had a few nutty notes and more citrus. Lishan had more herbal and sweet grassy notes. Both were creamy, floral, and fruity, with excellent balanced umami to round everything out.
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Dry leaf – dried parsley, fragrant floral, hint at butteriness and creaminess

Smell – pungent green leaf; bread pudding(!) (creamy, bread-like, baking spices), buttered green veg

Taste – ARRIVAL: dried parsley, fresh cilantro; DEVELOPMENT: creaminess; sweet, fragrant floral (lily of the valley), tomato vine; FINISH: pina colada, sweet grass, kabusecha; AFTERTASTE: pineapple juice, strawberry compote, sweet grass, mint leaf

A nice springtime treat. Has a balance of earthy, sweet, and floral notes that is just like digging around in the garden on a spring day! The tea seems to have aged nicely over the past 2-3 years, and brings some interesting notes you won’t find in fresh-picked whites.

The flavors evolved nicely from nice, deep honey notes, to hints of fruit blossom, to pleasant earthy nuttiness. Good complexity, and a nice tea to show off white tea’s potential for aging.
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Taste: SWEET: honeysuckle, dark honey, light caramel; EARTHY: light incense/sandalwood, milky black breakfast blend tea, fall leaves; FRUIT: later steeps reveal cherry and plum flavors, fruit blossom; NUT: final steeps have an earthy woodiness that transform pleasantly to almond and pecan notes.

I got this one as a sample from a tea friend, who also happened to have done the art for this tea. Thanks, Steph!

My notes weren’t too in depth, but this was an easy drinker. Clean fermentation, earthy with a sweetness that built gradually throughout the session. I’m still working on my depth when it comes to analyzing shou, but I think this one is worth a try for fans of ripes!

Dull and flavorless maybe a bad batch ?

Received this one as a free sample with my order from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company I have not been impressed with any of their teas so far other than this one very clean tea very mild great daily drinker.

I’ll be exploring some of the offerings of Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co. in the coming days. I needed something green, but couldn’t wait for the spring batch to arrive. So I impulse-bought a bunch of samples to cure my spring fever!

This is a great tea. Delicious complexity – fruit, floral, creaminess, with just enough savory edge to round everything out. Great lasting citrus/fruit aftertaste that is every bit as strong in the final infusions as it is in the beginning. Also very dynamic – the tea changes not only from infusion to infusion, but also develops substantially in the mouth from arrival to finish.

The only drawback is perhaps the price, but that depends on your wallet and your budget. However, BTTC’s 10g sample is very affordable and well worth getting so you can treat yourself to a high-mountain experience! The tea is long-lasting enough to go many infusions, so a little 60ml gaiwan is perfect to stretch out the 10g sample over three solid sessions.
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Dry leaf – HERBAL: fresh parsley and cilantro; NUT: dry roasted peanut; CREAMY: salted butter. In preheated vessel – NUT: beautiful, rich roasted peanut, very Bi Luo Chun like.

Smell – FRUIT: tropical fruit, stone-fruit, citrus; FLORAL: lily of the valley; VEGETAL: buttered green vegetables; NUT: roasted peanut. Hints of marine saltiness, even notes of cinnamon-raisin bread.

Taste – VEGETAL/HERBAL: green leaf, green herb, cilantro, lemongrass, buttery sweet green veg; FRUIT: lychee, apricot, coconut, citrus; CREAM: sweet cream, salted butter; NUT: roasted peanut. Some marine saltiness and savoriness.

Winter 2016 version.

Vernal equinox at hand, and feeling vaguely renewed after attending a wonderful Nowruz family luncheon, I thought this tea might serve me well as a way of demarcating the seasonal shift.

Filtered Santa Monica municipal water, to glass cha hai, to my Taiwanese purple clay tea-pot (mostly used for heavy roast oolong), back to the glass cha hai, into my porcelain cup.

Rinse: Once the leaves are wet the aromatics come to life dramatically: butterscotch, chestnut, fresh bush/wax beans, freshly cleaned wood, etc.

45sec: Greenish lemon chiffon liquor; aromatic but weaker than the wet leaves held under the nose; very delicate nectar-like sweetness emerges from the depths of the finish. Wild grasses, with hints of melon as well.

60sec: More of the same. Fresh cream flavors accentuate the mouth-feel, and suggest hints of butterscotch as well. Lots of floral notes in here, though they largely remain secondary to the gentle sweetness up front and rounding things out.

90sec: Pushing the leaf a bit, liquor darkens slightly to a canary yellow; a hint of spice perhaps (coriander? stale dried mint?) develops, finishes slightly more herbal – otherwise consistent with the initial steeps.

4 – 5 more steeps from 90 seconds up to 3 minutes before the sweetness fades and the floral complexity is diminished/muddled.

Overall – light, floral, creamy, and moderately energizing. Looking forward to trying the roasted version from the same vendor…

Continuing my series of high mountain oolong reviews this morning, we come to this Ali Shan oolong from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company. Curiously enough, I actually used 4 grams of this tea to do a multi-step Western session Saturday evening, but wasn’t thrilled with the results. I spent Sunday focusing on What-Cha’s excellent Ali Shan and then used the remaining 6 grams of this tea for a gongfu session early this morning while preparing for a conference out of town.

After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was followed by 11 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted subtle aromas of butter, cream, grass, and leaf lettuce. After the rinse, the leaf lettuce scent emerged more fully, while subtle floral and vanilla scents also began to make themselves known. The first infusion produced a more balanced bouquet with slightly more vanilla and more distinct floral scents of lilac, hyacinth, and honeysuckle. In the mouth, I picked up surprisingly muted notes of grass, butter, cream, and vanilla chased by a ghostly floral note. Subsequent infusions were a little more assertive, offering fleeting impressions of lilac, hyacinth, osmanthus, honeysuckle, apricot, coconut, mango, and hay at one point or another. The later infusions were smooth, yet rather bland, offering subtle butter, cream, grass, and leaf lettuce impressions underscored by faint fruitiness and minerals.

Honestly, I have had a few hours to process my feelings regarding this tea and I’m still not thrilled by it. This tea was so soft and clean on the nose and in the mouth and the more interesting aromas and flavors were so elusive that I found it difficult to remain interested in it over the course of the session. I pretty much stopped taking notes a little after the halfway point. Even the feel provided by this one was very timid and restrained. Compared to the Ali Shan from What-Cha, I found this one to be boring. It didn’t strike me as being bad, just boring and somewhat lightweight, maybe even a little bland overall. I would still recommend that curious drinkers give it a chance, but I do have to say that there are better Ali Shan oolongs out there.