Gong Fu Tea Shop

Very nice fruity black tea. The currant and the tea flavors work very well together, having been blended in such a way as to give just enough of the distinctive currant flavor without being either overpowering or muted by the tea itself.

Pleasant, very mild and kind of plain green tea. It’s fine but I don’t love it.

As black teas go (which are not usually my favorite), this is a very pleasant one. It is smooth and mellow, without bitterness. No unusual flavor notes, just a pleasant tea flavor. I could see keeping this one around for days where I feel like black tea.

I purchased this when I stumbled across the shop while I was on vacation. The shop itself has a huge variety and I really recommend a tea lover check it out.
I was recommended this tea by the shop owner, who suggested it was their favourite oolong. When I saw there was licorice powder involved in the process I was not expecting to enjoy it, but you really cannot taste licorice at all.
The tea itself is sweet, metallic, and earthy. It is a little mild for an oolong, and does not have much of the grassy/floral notes that a lot of oolongs tend to have. There is definitely a dessert-like quality to this tea.
I was most surprised by the fact that I liked the Blue Spring tea much more iced than I did hot. Cold, the flavour feels like it has more complexity and dimensions of sweetness. It seems to linger a bit longer in the mouth as well.
It is also especially good with a splash of cream.

I had this in store and really liked it! Lychee flavor comes through well, but doesn’t overpower. Really juicy and fruity. It’s good hot.

I cold brewed this but didn’t care for the overpowering flavor. It reminded me of bubblegum (the unpleasant kind). I’ve tried not to let the cold brew association color my liking for the hot brew.

Basic chinese black tea. Better at a lower temperature 190Fish. Slightly malty and fruity, but neither flavor was strong. I mostly felt like I was drinking hot brown water. It did impart color well during the short steeps. Not impressed with it at 205F where it was metallic and bitter.
I asked for a recommendation for a Chinese tea – this was one of three. Either I chose wrong or it was not a good tea to begin with. Leaning toward the 2nd as it pretty inexpensive.
Hope I’ll go through it quickly.

-4/9/17 I have had plenty of Silver Needle teas before from this place and others, but I do not ever remember one with as bold and robust leaves that are indeed very reminiscent of pine needles. Moreover, the dry leaf has a pliant, supple quality unlike I have experienced before. I have been enjoying several sittings with this tea using a glass gaiwan and a generous quantity of tea. I definitely start lower in temp than the 195 deg. they recommend, and shorter than the two minutes they recommend. The resulting liquor fulfills my expectations of what a silver needle should taste like, and last more steepings than I expected. Sweet with a lingering sweet aftertaste. Very pleasant. Silver needle is by its nature much more delicate than the teas I normally drink, but out of the six teas I recently bought (all different types) this is the one with which I am most pleased.

Fresh, grassy, and somewhat sweet. This is a very bright green tea that feels crisp on the aftertaste.

Had the pleasure of trying this tea in Gong Fu Tea in Des Moines. It’s a very bold tea, which a complex flavor that shifts as it cools. Chestnuts and maples with some rounded astringency at the end. I found it lovely.

This has a very unique flavor, which I find hard to describe. There’s an earthy, possibly smoky aspect to it that is unlike any traditional green tea I’ve had before. The flavor is strong and feels pretty complex to me, with what might be some umami notes, but what I think I’d mostly call it a pleasant bitterness at the finish. In any case, it is unlike any tea I have had before, and in a good way. I wouldn’t drink it daily, but it’s a nice interspersion as a change of pace.

Sip down with my roommate. He likes it a little more than the last one. I still really like it. It is practically like a pineapple flavored tea blend though it’s all natural. Put this on my to go list with the Lapsang if I shop from this vendor.

Floral, pineapple, and thick seconded by me. Definitely some pineapple skin in there. Not super vegetal, but juicy and citrusy. I really like this tea and it also fits the description I was looking for. It’s not as buttery as some oolongs that I’ve had, but I really enjoy it for that fact. This tea was pretty much what was I looking for.

Oddly enough, I did it western and I liked it. The second steep was oversteeped intentionally and it had a very Emergency-orange taste blended into the pineapple. The thick texture was still there. The dry leaf actually reminded me of sweet hearts which is kinda unconventional.

I will have to do the next time I drink this gong fu. It’s a shame, though, that this one is so regularly expensive. Thank you so much for this, hawkband1!

Damn, that smoke is powerful. I see why you double packaged it hakwband1.

Holy sh#t it’s going to be hard not to use flowery language for this tea. I got so many things from this cup. Smoke, yes. Earth, yes. Sweet for a black tea, yes. It was like I was finding a fire among snow covered pine trees. Brewing it up with hot water, the smell reminded of burning sandalwood or dragons blood. Sometimes, it made me think of maple glazed bacon. Tasting it after a minute of brewing, it is smokey and again sweeter than other black teas I’ve had. It makes me think of resin and pine.

Steep two, damn, same thing.

I’ve had Lapsang once before, but that was a long time ago. I am surprised with how much I am digging the crap out of this. I’m not sure I would drink it everyday, but you bet your hind end I will drink it on a cold day and I will save some of it for the next season of Sherlock.

Sipdown. Work tea. Not that memorable, but the package still smells prwtty good.

Backlog.
Sweet and fruity, but overall not memorable. Probably take it to work to finish it off.

Dry – pineapple, pineapple skin, floral, underlying green
195F, 4g, 100ml gaiwan
15s – pineapple 20s, 30s – pineapple, hint of floral 40s, 1min – more floral, more fruit thick coating after taste

Pineapple taste was clear and lasting. More floral towards end of steeps as time increased. Really enjoyed this tea. 90

Rather indistinct, possibly too subtle for me to enjoy. Not much aroma or flavor of bergamot in the brewed cup. I don’t detect much unique character from the darjeeling either; whether that’s due to the bergamot that is there or an inexperienced palate I don’t know. In the end, it has kind of a generic tea flavor. That said, I note very little tannin, so it is a fairly pleasant, smooth cup, but nothing else really stands out to me.

Sipdown. I’ve enjoyed this tea much more cold brewed. It’s been juicy and refreshing. Delicate black tea with hint of sweetness that has been enjoyable to drink at work. Best part about cold brewing – no astringency and dryness.
Not a replaceable tea, but glad I was able to enjoy the rest of my leaf.

Small leaves, some with silver tips. Straight I find this too astringent to be enjoyable. With milk, the astringent edge is muted. Tea is slightly smoky and kind of green tasting.

I’m not going to rate this because I prefer teas without additives. Mostly this note is for me to remember not to buy Ceylon black teas in the future.

Aroma and flavor are pretty good, but there is so much sediment from the ginkgo that it makes for a cloudy cup that gets gritty toward the bottom. Not really worth it unless you really want ginkgo. I can pass.

Sipdown

Iced the last of this, it’s pretty refreshing. It makes me wish it was hot out.

I’m not going to rate this as I’ve lost track of how old it is as well as managing to both add too much tea and oversteep. Plus I’m pretty sure I used too hot of water during the 2nd steep. It’s been one of those nights, but that’s why I chose this tea. It can take a bit of abuse and still be drinkable, even comfortable. It has a light toasty flavor that I associate with other Chinese greens probably from the pan frying. If senchas are spring in the cup then this is a late summer/ripening wheat/bales of hay.

I’ve spent the night trying to wash wool yarn in my tub making an already rainy day more damp and chilly. This has been infusion after infusion of hand warming goodness. I’ll want to use the last of this up soon, but come fall I’ll be wanting something similar, and hopefully by then all of tonight’s work will pay off with an equally toasty wool shawl.