Golden Moon Tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

90
drank Vanilla Mint by Golden Moon Tea
243 tasting notes

I got this tea with the iced tea set. I bought the set for the Coconut Pouchong and the the iced tea pitcher and the Vanilla Mint was an added bonus. I like green and black tea blends, when they are combined with sweet vanilla mint it makes for a fantastic tea in multiple ways.

I first had the tea hot with no sugar. It has a sweet vanilla flavor with the cooling mint aftertaste. The mint can be tasted upfront in the tea, but it is the cooling mouth feel after that is the selling point.

The tea is also good hot with sugar, however the sugar actually makes it too sweet for me to enjoy.

However, my favorite way to enjoy this tea is iced. The flavors are the same, a rich green and black blend with vanilla and mint, but iced it is sweet, cool and refreshing.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

I love blends, but I can’t figure out how they expect it to taste as good as it should when black and green teas have different steeping parameters. Good to see it turned out well in spite of that!:)

Cinoi

Yea, I agree, that especially concerns me when I make my own blends. But nonetheless, this one seems to work with the median brew time.

Cofftea

For my own blends I’ve been known to steep one tea, decant, then use that tea as the liquid to steep the other… but that’s insanely putzy!

Cinoi

That does make sense and it is how it should be done, but I am very lazy so I usually go for the median brew time. :)

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82
drank White Ginger by Golden Moon Tea
243 tasting notes

So I decided to open up the Golden Moon Tea Sampler today. The first one I tried is this one. The leaves do not have a strong aroma, but I also do not have a lot of tea to smell here.

I steeped it hot for four minutes. I tried it with and without sugar, but really found very little difference between the two. The tea is very simple. It is a complex white tea in that it makes a pale liquor, with delicate veggie fragrance but a strong white tea flavor. The ginger is mostly lost in brewing, but you do find it as an undertone note in the tea. Which is good, because overpowering ginger would not be enjoyable.

Overall, I found this tea to be very enjoyable. I would definitely buy a tin of this.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

This is the tea that got me really interested in Golden Moon, but unfortunately my local tea shop doesn’t carry it. I’m getting the sampler as soon as I have cupboard room. I love ginger:)

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63

Auggy ruined this tea for me, and I mean that in the nicest way possible!

I have a feeling I would have loved this tea, had I never tasted the sample Auggy sent me of SerendipiTEA’s Colonille.

But let’s talk about this tea alone. Anyway, when opened, the little packet exuded a scent of warm vanilla. Not very overpowering at all, but pretty natural-smelling. Very, very happy-making indeed. No sad panda over here! The leaves are fairly standard sized, and you can clearly pick out the vanilla bean. So far, off to a good start!

The wet leaves and the infusion itself smell surprisingly similar to Colonille! So I was pretty excited. Could it be? Another Colonille? Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Make no mistake, this one tastes really good at first. But the vanilla is pretty mild, and the black tea base here is nothing special. I actually think it’s the Vietnamese black in Colonille that elevates it to awesome heights. So rich and with a lot of depth, and even cocoa hints. Here, the black tea doesn’t really serve any purpose except as a backdrop for the vanilla.

As this cooled, I liked this a bit less. A too-sweet aftertaste comes with every sip, almost syrupy. This flavor began to completely overtake the entire taste of the tea, until all I was tasting was vanilla syrup and no tea. It’s not the most pleasant flavor, either. It feels too heavy for the type of light tea that this is. It’s a weird type of flavor that I can’t wrap my head around, but it’s lingering for a bit too long to be welcome.

I definitely would not have been so nit-picky about this one had I not tried something better, but the truth of the matter is that better vanilla tea does exist. Colonille is all I could even want in a vanilla tea. This one is definitely better hotter than cool.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec
Ricky

Ohhh, I have to try this one tomorrow. Forgot I had another vanilla I could have done a comparison with!

Cinoi

I am super excited to try this one!

takgoti

Colonille is good. Mmm…gonna need to revisit that soon.

Auggy

Glad I could do my part to ruin a tea for you! Yay! Hehe. I had pretty much the same experience with this one and I blame Colonille as well!

teaplz

Colonille is just far too good of a vanilla tea. It’s going to win every time! It’s also the taste of the Vietnamese black there, that gives that subtle cocoa taste… that mixes with the vanilla… drat it, now I’m craving a cup.

Auggy

Mmm. That and City Harvest Black (which has a bit of orchid in it) always make me think of buttercream and Cadbury Creme Eggs. Mmmm.

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95
drank Vanilla Mint by Golden Moon Tea
251 tasting notes

I made a big pitcher of this last night to drink iced. (Hot brewed, poured over ice.) It is a really good iced tea! I can’t decide if I like this tea better iced or hot, but either way, it’s a winner!

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95
drank Vanilla Mint by Golden Moon Tea
251 tasting notes

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95
drank Vanilla Mint by Golden Moon Tea
251 tasting notes

I can’t believe that I’m first again!! This is really, really nice. It reminds me a lot of the creme de mint Altoids. Kind of tastes like you made a cup of really good tea and put in creme de mint altoids to sweeten it. (I’m drinking it sweetened, I just prefer my tea that way.) As the tea base is a mix of gunpowder green and black tea, it can take the vanilla and the mint flavors and still come through.

I like this, and may order of a tin of it someday after I reduce my tea inventory somewhat.

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82

This tea is the most glorious amber color. Even my husband commented on the pretty color of the tea! It has a nice flavor, but I’m not able to describe the undertones. I taste something I familair, but I can’t quite pin it down.

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64
drank White Ginger by Golden Moon Tea
911 tasting notes

The dry leaves smell pretty boring with nary a hint of ginger until I stuck my nose deep into the bag.

Only 1.8g of leaf – look, it’s an ROT teabag! – so I’m using the whole thing. We’ll see how it goes. The leaf looks pretty dry and un-fresh so I’m not expecting angels to sing or anything.

Post-brewing the tea smells like a mix of powdered ginger and a little fresh ginger. Not 100% fresh ginger but there’s enough of a fresh smell that it makes me happy.

I’m… mixed on the taste. I like the ginger. It’s warm on my tongue and gives my mouth a lovely tingle after I swallow. It’s really not overpowering which I almost find disappointing. But I’m not so fond of the tea base. I’m getting a little hint of green bean water with it. Though as it cools, it becomes more floral and that melds with the ginger better.

I really wasn’t expecting a lot out of this, but the more I sip, the more I like it.

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

Ahh, I should really start measuring my tea. I used 8oz of water for the entire packet. Yep, it’s definitely not fresh ginger, but it’s pretty similar to what they use for ginger snacks / ginger candy. Give it a longer steep, the ginger kick gets stronger =D

Fred

I normally use 2 tablespoons per 16 oz of water because I like my tea taste to be a bit stronger, unless otherwise specified.

Ricky

Auggy wasn’t able to because the sampler only gave her 1.8g of loose leaves =(

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72

Not very strongly flavored, but I really liked it. It’s sort of scented rather than flavored with the carmel flavor. I kind of wish the tea had a more assertive flavor overall. I hadn’t tried this before (it’s a sample) and this wasn’t quite what I wanted for this afternoon. I’m probably going to try another infusion.

fcmonroe

I let it steep longer the second time around, and I liked it much better.

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59

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59

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59

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59

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72
drank Sinharaja by Golden Moon Tea
251 tasting notes

A nice black tea with a mild taste. I’m enjoying it, but not as much as the Irish Breakfast yesterday. Could be I didn’t steep it correctly, but to me this was good, but not great.

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67

This reminds me more of an Assam, with its chocolate notes and deep brown color. I was surprised to find that it is a Ceylon origin tea. It doesn’t taste or look as bright as Adagio’s Ceylon Sonata, for example. It is rather bland to my taste – not quite as rich as an Assam, nor as bright and thirst quenching as a Ceylon. Nonetheless, a pretty decent cuppa, but I have other teas in my cupboard I like better.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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79

I’m actually really enjoying this one this morning.

When you bust open this package, lemme tell you, this tea smells delicious. I kept inhaling. There are some cocoa notes overlaid with honey smells, and a dash of a floral component as well. It smells three-dimensional and it beckons you out of that awful stupor upon waking up.

And the dry leaves themselves? People have mentioned this before, but they’re absolutely adorable! Very wiry with golden and brown hues. So pretty! Little curls, some in almost an eyelash shape. So I put a tsp. of this in my IngenuiTEA (which I just marked with a Sharpie in increments for 6 oz. and 8 oz., so I feel pretty special) and watched it steep up. I figured that the leaves wouldn’t do much and… they didn’t. Just sort of floated around.

The wet leaves smell more like a regular black tea with some honey blended in. And the infusion smells just as good as the dry leaves. The cocoa is a bit subdued, but the honey and floral scents are still there. Now, I’ve never had lotus or sandalwood anywhere near me, so I can’t speak from experience of those two scents/flavors. But I’ll try and explain how it tastes.

It’s fairly light with a bit of spice. I’m not getting any bitterness, but many floral and honey components, melted into a traditional “default” tea taste. This almost tastes similar to the Keemun Imperial I had by SpecialTeas the other day, if you tripped out the smokiness and added floral/honey components instead. At points I’m thinking this is full-bodied; at other points, it feels a bit watery. My cup doesn’t really have any astringency; Ancient Emerald Lily had much, much more than this. There’s a subtle sweetness underneath it as well, and some spicy qualities. I can’t pinpoint what spices, exactly, but it’s that feeling of warmth that comes from some of the more comforting spices out there.

Overall, really enjoying this cup. I’d rate it higher, but I don’t think the flavor profiles and components are really going to stick in my mind. It’s like that one acquaintance that you have that always remembers your name. They come up to you and say, “Hi, teaplz!” And then you feel awkward because you can’t for the life of you remember theirs. So you stand there and go, “Hi…. hi.”

And then the rest of the night you’re trying to deduce their name. You’re eavesdropping on their conversations with other people just on the sheer chance that someone might say their name. And if someone does, you’ll remember it that night. But after that night, it’ll be gone. That’s sort of this tea. I bet two weeks from now, I’ll probably forget I even tasted it.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Angrboda

I have that problem with my Nepalese Top Oolong as well. I can only remember that given how expensive it was, it was fairly disappointing on the first go and it had something to do with the noticably lack of aftertaste. Other than that, I’m lost. My notes on it seem to be fairly inconsistent. Maybe it has something to do with the region.

teaplz

Tea from Nepal comes with memory-nuking properties! It’ll start slowly. You’ll forget how the tea tastes. But then you’ll forget larger things, like your mother’s maiden name and if you like ice cream. Eventually by the time it’s through with you, you’ll be rocking back and forth in a corner, wondering WHERE the hell you are. Beware.

Angrboda

OMG HALP! I bought a 100g bag! They wouldn’t sell me less. Maybe it’s a ploy to make sure that I can’t remember that the really expensive oolong wasn’t living up to the price so I’ll buy more because it’s from an uncommon area and uncommon areas intrigue me.
I’m pretty sure I like ice cream. And I still know what my Mum’s name is. (It’s ‘Mum’. What else? ;p) Maybe I’m averting disaster by passing out a few samples.

Ricky

Haha, I was tempted to mark my IngenuiTea as well (8oz,12oz). But after making so many cups of tea, I know 8oz is before the words and 12 oz is right over the words. =D

I liked the smell of the tea a lot. The taste was decent, but it didn’t taste as good as it smelled. Nothing remarkable other than that stuck in my mind.

I never remember people’s names the first time they are introduced to me. It goes in one ear and out the other =(

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96

Did I mention that I ordered the sampler from Golden Moon? The one with a sample of every tea they carry? It comes in a really pretty box as well.

This tea is wonderful!! After it brews it smells like TEA. I think that when the aliens come to earth and ask about tea, this might be a good one to give them.

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83

They say scent has the power to trigger memories, and the rose scent of this tea is wonderfully evocative. Years and years ago, in my hippie herbalist days, I gathered several pounds of wild rose petals, and made a wild rose conserve. The memory of the scent of that jam is still with me, and this tea has exactly that scent. It also reminds me of locoum, or Turkish delight, a sweet confection made of roses.

Once brewed, there is a distinct flavor of rose, but no cloying sweetness. The tea, which tastes like a Ceylon, is clearly present and not overwhelmed by the rose.

It’s not a tea I would drink everyday, but it’s definitely going to take a permanent place in my pantry. It would go well as a finish after Middle Eastern food, I think.

Much thanks to Ricky and to Auggy – your reviews talked me into buying this.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Ricky

I agree with you there. I use to hate Rose tea till until I had this one. I could definitely see myself ordering this again.

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65
drank Orchid Temple by Golden Moon Tea
359 tasting notes

No notes yet. Add one?

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

Yeah, I’m definitely going to try this one at a lower temperature, similar to Auggy’s… but I doubt I’m going to have that great of an experience with it. I’m pretty sure that I scotched/cooked my leaves though! :(

Ricky

I think the scorched tea leaves brought out the shortbread smell. If I had more leaves I’d be tempted to burn mine as well. I mean it didn’t sound like the taste was any different. GM was just not meant to make plain tea.

teaplz

Except for pu-erh! That was nommy.

The buttery smell was delicious, which was why this was very disappointing to me. And then my later steeps tasted like water that crabs and lobsters had swam around in. Ew.

Ricky

Hahah, agreed! Even the second steep tasted like water. Gunpowder was delicious too!

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91

I really enjoy the nose on this tea. It smells of toasted coconut and has a very subtle and sweat taste. The flavor is not overpowering, but it’s just enough to make this tea one of my new favorites. Certainly not something I would drink every day, but a really good late night tea if I’m in the mood for something different.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 15 sec

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62
drank Kashmiri Chai by Golden Moon Tea
127 tasting notes

I decided today would be CHAI TASTING DAY. I’m saving a sample from each one that I make and will do them all together at the end – it easier for me to taste subtle differences that way.

There’s a spice in this one that I’m not fond of. I’m not sure what it is, though. Perhaps when the husband gets home (and I do all of the samples together) he can help me identify it.

It’s a good chai, just not as good as Adagio’s Masala.

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45
drank Orchid Temple by Golden Moon Tea
187 tasting notes

Upping the rating on this one from 25.

So, this one has really been nagging me. After a lot of advice from various Steepsterites on how to correctly steep this one, I lowered the water temperature and took the rest of my sample to task!

The leaves this time definitely didn’t unfurl all the way on the first steep, which I figure is due to the lower temperature not scorching them into submission. And the infusion was about the same color, with the same aroma. Buttery shortbread with floral notes. Very mouth-watering.

The taste here is loads better than the first time! I’m getting a bit of a buttery afternote, but it’s mostly floral. There’s no astringency, and no ….

AHHHHH! I just got a call from a place that I interviewed at, and I HAVE A JOB! WHEEEEE! So now I have no idea…

Um, yeah, um. Tasting note. Um… Okay, it tastes pretty good, but it should taste better, Something’s missing, and I’m not quite really sure what it is. It’s almost weaksauce in flavor, although it feels like it should be thick and rich, it’s sort of missing that mark.

I have no idea what I’m typing anymore, because I’m SO excited that I HAVE A JOB!

I. Have. A. Job!

WHOOOOT.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 30 sec
JacquelineM

Congrats!!!!! :) Make yourself your fave tea to celebrate!!!

Auggy

YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!

LENA

AWESOME! Super congrats! I hope it is doing something you will enjoy.

sophistre

Grats on the job, you!

If it makes you feel any better I felt the same way about this one, and I’m really oving oolongs generally…it was just not as savory as I thought it could be.

wombatgirl

WOOO! Yay job!!!

teaplz

YAY! Thanks guys for the LOVE! Much hearts for you! All of you! <333333333 See these hearts? They are for YOU!

Man, I am so GIDDY right now!

denisend

CONGRATS!

Jason

Yay! Now you can buy more tea! ;) haha, jk. Congrats!

fcmonroe

Congratulations!

Jillian

Congratulations hon! _

teaplz

You guys are all awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And Jason, maaybe when the first paycheck comes in! :D

Shanti

Congrats teaplz!

Ricky

Yayyyy! Congrats!

Angrboda

Cool! :D Congratulatiosn.

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45
drank Orchid Temple by Golden Moon Tea
187 tasting notes

First Infusion (2:30, boiling)

So today is Oolong Day! Why? Because I said so. I’ve picked out an oolong and I’m pretty much going to be drinking it all day. This is my first non-flavored oolong in loose leaf, so I’m pretty excited.

So I opened up the little packet for orchid temple, and the smell that comes out of the dry leaf is … toasty. In a black tea sort of way. The leaves here are rolled, in a very schizophrenic, oolong sort of way. Not quite little pellets, very asymmetrical… but a pretty green. When I poured the water over them, there was a bit of a frenzy, and a verifiable forest grew in my pot. I can see why people want to brew oolongs in glass, because the leaves are quite beautiful, and they expand very nicely.

The wet leaves smelled a bit vegetal, but the medium-gold infusion… oh. my. gah. Seriously. It smells delicious. Buttery and warm and a bit bake-y, like shortbread. Or butter cookies. With a bit of a floral undertone. Very, very mouthwatering, indeed.

My first sip, as a result, was very disappointing. This oolong, on first steep, tastes absolutely nothing like it smells. The taste is actually pretty toasty, and vegetal. A similar profile to a Chinese green. There is barely the vaguest hint of the smell (but I’m probably imagining it, because I want it so badly!), and a fair bit of astringency. My mouth feels pretty dry. Even as it cools down, there’s really nothing to write home about. The flavors are very bland and unpronounced. Sad panda face.

But I know that oolongs tend to get better on their second and third infusions, so I’m giving this one the benefit of the doubt. I’ll be drinking lots of it the entire day, and recording the results, right here!

Second Infusion (3:00, boiling)

So I steeped this again, and the infusion was a bit darker this time. The smell from the wet leaves was completely veggie-like, and it had creeped into the smell of the juice this time. There was still a buttery component, but it was balanced by a very cooked green smell.

So the taste has evolved a little bit, but nowhere that I wanted it to go. The aftertaste is now really sweet (the flavor hasn’t left my tongue since I stopped drinking it 10 minutes ago), but the taste on the forefront of the sip is pretty vegetal and slightly bitter. The astringency has definitely smoothed out, but it certainly doesn’t taste like it smells, which is extremely disappointing. Even when I slurp the tea, and run it along the different parts of my tongue for taste sensations, there’s no fireworks. Funnily enough, I swallowed the wrong way and ended up coughing a lot. Only then did I taste buttery goodness. Bah. We’ll keep going, though…

At this point I’m feeling that boiling water might not have been the best idea for this tea. Golden Moon specifically states boiling, but this oolong is definitely on the greener end of the scale. Most of the flavor profile is kind of like a weedy Chinese green. Not the most pleasant taste in the world at all, but we’ll see what happens.

Third Infusion (3:30, boiling)

Here we go again… I’m seriously starting to get more and more disappointed. This steep was around the same color as the other two. The smell, however, was almost completely green. And there was a metallic tang of an undertone that made me wrinkle my nose.

The taste… the taste is bizarre. I think I might be getting a bit more of a creamy taste now, but it’s mixed with a very oceanic, briny taste. Like it’s been steeped in water where crustaceans have been frolicking. So strange. As it cooled, the marine component became more pronounced. The sweetness is still there in the aftertaste, but it’s a bit muted, and the astringency is back. I threw out around 3/4 of the cup. Now I’m just curious to see what subsequent steeps will taste like. If this is oolong in general, then I don’t think I’m a fan, and I’m starting to get discouraged. :(

Fourth Infusion (4:00, boiling)

Last steep for me. Just dumped the leaves, because I’m really sick of this, and it’s not getting any better. At all. I want to give a shout out to the leaves here, because they’re beautiful and complete once unfurled. If only the taste matched it!

So on this last steep, the leaves actually smelled buttery again! And when the tea was piping hot, it too shared that buttery quality! I was pretty surprised, so I was excited to try it. Annnnd… the taste is really strong bitter. I thought I might have tasted that butter for a second, but it was completely gone once the tea cooled. Not good. So these leaves are being dumped.

Overall, I’m really disappointed with this, and I’m sad that my first oolong had to go this badly. Hopefully my next one will be better!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec
Auggy

Poor teaplz. That sounds traumatic. But good job you for going so far with it. I admit, I poured out my second steep. It… wasn’t good. I think my first steep was probably closer to the yummy smell than yours, but I find that I cannot physically put boiling water on a green oolong, no matter how many times I am told to. Sometimes, I’ll do them at 175, too. It brings out more floral typically and I like that. Anyway, I admire your fortitude for making it through 4 steeps!

Carolyn

I’ve found that boiling water (no matter what the company says) is a terrible thing to do to an oolong. I didn’t like a single oolong until I learned to use water at about 175.

Jillian

I’d definitely suggest NOT boiling water the next time around.

Auggy

I’ve found a few that really seem to sparkle at 195 but 175 is really a better temp as a general rule. So much prettier tasting. Though I doubt it could have saved this puppy. Poor puppy.

teaplz

I just followed the package instructions… sorry for my ignorance, guys! I’ll definitely try what I have left at 175. Maybe the rating will go up, then! Because that first steep smelled delicious but tasted… not delicious.

Auggy

Nah, I don’t think that’s ignorance. Just a lack of accidentally boiling your leaves and then trying to prevent it. :)

Ricky

Aww, sad panda indeed. Hopefully some delicious Samovar Oolong comes your way and makes the experience all better. Strike two for this tea, sounds scary! It sounds like the Organic Green Tea.

Ricky

Your not alone teaplz, I almost always use boiling water for my oolong. Woaps, I always thought it was more black than green so it was okay to use boiling. Silly me.

Carolyn

@teaplz And this is one of the frustrating things about tea company’s brewing instructions. Very few companies bother to really explore the individual tea and give a recommendation based on that. Quite a number of companies seem to search the Internet (that well-known compendium of all that is good and true) for standardized rules for tea preparation. Some of these rules are insane. And when we try what they recommend? The tea tastes awful and we think that all those people maundering on about “delightful fruity, honey, floral” tastes are out of their minds. All we taste is something like boiled spinach water with greater bitterness. Gaaah!

Carolyn

Not that I have a strong opinion on this topic or anything.

takgoti

Blerg. The way this smells sounds like what a good oolong tastes like to me, so hold onto that thought!

I’ll cop to having a tendency to put boiling on my oolongs because I boil the water, but by the time I get it into the cup or the teapot or whatnot [I get distracted] it’s probably closer to 195. I’m also face-palming right now because I completely forgot that the greener oolongs often sing at a lower temperatures, which is perhaps a testament to blindly internalizing vendor instructions from time to time. I’ve actually seen Samovar say that x temperature gets you this while y temperature gets you that, too.

One last thing, I’ve found that oolongs often benefit from a quick rinse of the leaves to open them up a bit.

And everything that everyone else said, too.

teaplz

Thanks for all of the support, everyone! I’m glad to know I’m not alone in making a mistake like this… the GM package actually says “freshly boiled water.” So… yeah. It just stunk even more because I was all pumped for my first oolong, and then I was wrinkling my nose through almost all of it.

Angrboda

OMGosh, I think you just set a new post-length record! O.o Shame it didn’t live up to your hopes of it though. :(

teaplz

Angrboda, I was so excited about this. I was like, YAY, multiple infusions! I’m going to go crazy!

… And then it went downhill. :(

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39
drank Orchid Temple by Golden Moon Tea
911 tasting notes

In my attempt to be productive today, I put on a load of laundry… and made more tea. That counts as productivity, right? Especially since that removed one more sample from my pantry.

Let me preface this by saying: I’m picky about my green oolongs. Because I love them. A lot. And have had some really awesome ones. Because of that, I honestly wasn’t expecting that much from this one It’s not a cheap tea at $20 for a 4.5oz tin, but I’m in love with some that cost four times that so I really don’t think this will be a fair comparison. But it’s a green oolong so I can’t not compare.

The good news is, I wasn’t really disappointed by this one. I mean, I didn’t expect great things and I didn’t really get them. That’s not to say that is it a bad tea. It’s not. It was pretty good for what it is, actually. Has a nice light, floral scent to it – sweetly vegetal with a hint of creamy. The taste could be a little thicker – I used 3.5g/6oz so I know it isn’t my brewing that made the taste thing (or it shouldn’t have been) – but overall it’s pleasant. The aftertaste is somewhat heavy – not a light floral aftertaste or thick, chewy green flavor that I’ve had and loved in different oolongs, but rather somewhere in the awkward middle.

By far the best thing about this tea is the scent as it smells really wonderful. But for me the taste is just… lacking. I want fresher, richer and more vibrant tastes. I think if I had had this tea a year or so ago, I would rate it a lot higher but now I just want more out of my oolongs than this one can give me.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec
teaplz

Ah! I’m drinking this one now… just finished the third steep, and I’m really not liking it. I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that I boiled the water… but yeah. This is not gelling with me at all.

First steep smells fantastic, though!

Auggy

Yep, the smell of the first steep is awesome. Actually, the first steep seems to be where the action is on this. The second steep wasn’t all that hot – no floral or creamy, just kind of dull. Meh. Must drop rating.

Ricky

Now I’m scared. Will I like it? Will I hate it? I’ve never had green oolong. I think I’ll like it though. Seeing as I’m perfectly happy with tea that’s a bit bland.

Auggy

Hey, if you want stale and flat teas, more power to you. More good ones for me!

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