Lochan Tea Limited

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Recent Tasting Notes

95

Technically, I got this tea from The Pleasures of Tea. (My tea dealer) but it is from the Doke Estate in India. Lochan is the name of the family who runs the estate. This tea is great. Leaves are brownish in color and expanded greatly with each infusion. I do not separate infusions. I infuse, put it in a pot, infuse again until the coloring looks light to me. The liquor is dark amber in color when brewed, It has a bit of an astringent, musky taste. There aren’t many floral notes like a typical oolong. Sweet tasting kind of like a Formosa. Yum.

Flavors: Astringent, Sweet

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88

Backlog:

A lovely, well-defined flavor. I find that the Indian Silver Needle teas tend to have a stronger flavor than the Silver Needle teas from China.

Sweet, refreshing. Soothing. Notes of melon and peach with a dewy freshness. As I mentioned in my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/08/10/doke-silver-needle-from-lochan-tea-limited/ – I had difficulty putting my finger on the precise fruit flavor that I was experiencing until I read the description for this tea “Dried Apricot” and yes, that’s it. It has that sugary sort of flavor that you might experience from biting into a dried apricot. Sweet, sweet, sweet!

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85

The dry leaves have a range of colors from light green to reddish brown to black. The leaves are all small to medium sized fragments. There are some bare stems in the mix. The leaves are rolled. There are a few silver tips in the mix. The aroma is quite sweet, with scents of muscat grapes, cocoa, and roses.

The infusion produced a liquor with a bright golden color with an orange tint, clear and transparent. There were some fine particles. The aroma had scents of muscat grapes, roses, and light wood. The body is medium, with a lively and clean texture, and an uplifting energy. The taste had notes of muscat grapes, roses, light wood, and light spice. The aftertaste is floral, and a flowery essence is left on the breath.

Flavors: Cherry Wood, Muscatel, Rose, Spices

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 3 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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86

Backlog:

I just noticed that this says 2012 … I don’t think that this is a 2012 though. But the other stuff – the estate and the FTGFOP stuff … that’s correct.

I’ve been pretty impressed with the Darjeeling teas that I’ve tried from Lochan. I generally prefer a second flush to a first, but, this is a mighty fine first flush.

Sweet, crisp, with a clean taste. Notes of flower and woodsy tones. Refreshing. This might be a tad more astringent than some of the Darjeeling teas I’ve had, but it’s still quite good.

here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/03/29/dooteriah-sftgfop-1-first-flush-darjeeling-tea-lochan-tea-limited/

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97

I got a good helping of this stuff from Lochan Tea to play with. And play with it, I did. I gongfu’d it, I boiled it, I did a green tea-ish approach with it. Basically, I’ve been rolling in this particular tea for the better part of a week.

But what I hadn’t done was observe the brewing recommendations from another vendor selling the stuff. I looked at the Butiki Teas page, and they recommended a four-minute steep at 170 degrees. That seemed light, but I gave it a shot.

Oh, mama…

So much going on with this oolong. It’s slightly malty – like an Assam. There’s a grapiness to it – like a Darjeeling. And, oddly enough, there’s a bit of pekoe-ish-ness – like a Nilgiri. On top of that, a bit of white tea character also shines through. It’s like an amalgamation of many different teas and traditions.

For this, the lighter approach is the best approach. So much nuance.

Oh yeah, I also did a guest blog for Lochan Tea about Indian oolongs in general. Go looky, if you wanna: http://lochantea.com/index.php?route=pavblog/blog&id=21

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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98

Dry leaf has scents of dried herbs, dried fruits.
Wet Leaf has some really tiny buds that almost look like rosemary needles. It has a leafy woodsy scent. Leaves are brownish-green color and some are chopped.
Liquor is golden color with a light scent of pineapple.
Flavor has a rich mouthfeel but not super rich in flavor. It is a light fruit flavor with some spice and herb to it. I like this.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Dried Fruit, Herbs, Malt, Pineapple

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 4 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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Steep Information:
Amount: 13.8
Water: 1000ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 1 minute 30 seconds
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: slight vegetal, slight roasty
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, roasty
Flavor: seaweed, salty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: malty and slightly astringent
Liquor: translucent light orange brown

Resteep:
1000ml at 175°F for 2 minutes
Light at first, but as it sat it darkened, interesting
grassy, astringent, metallic, tingly

I re-sell this product.

Blog http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2014/02/lochan-tea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-doke.html

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec 14 g 1000 OZ / 29573 ML
Jason

Looks like all your tasting notes are coming in as 1000 OZ / 29573 ML for the water amount. I’m assuming you didn’t put that in? Might be a bug…what was the value you meant to input?

Jason

Oh, looking at your tasting note i realize you listed it as 1000ml. Be sure to adjust the unit when you add your tasting note. Right now it default to oz, so all your amounts are being input as 1000 oz.

AmazonV

@Jason yup keep forgetting to click the thing for ML

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90

This tea is gone! I just used the last of it. I did like this tea but I’m happy to make some room in my stash. It has a sweet note that always reminds me of peaches or apples.

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90

I enjoy this tea every time I have it. It’s sweet, light cocoa notes, light fruity/floral notes. I’ll miss it when it’s gone. I only have about a cup left D:

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90

I cut back the time for this one and it’s so good. It has a really strong dried apple ring flavor. The mouth feel of this tea is kind of dry but I think that’s what gives it that apple ring feel to it. I like this tea a lot more now that I discovered a better steeping time.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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90

Guys… I just slept for 13 hours :\ Not what I planned at all. But I decided to sample this from the Traveling Teabox B. I didn’t really know what it was so I just brewed it like a white tea. It turned out nice. It’s very mellow. It has a sweetness to it that reminds me of apples and peaches. The flavors are very delicate but I still like it. I feel like it’s a good fall tea because it’s smooth but crisp with light apple\peach flavor.

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79

I determined that for the rest of today, I would drink nothing but infusions of this tea, and see how far it got me. The aroma of the leaves is very light, as one would expect from a bai mu dan, and somewhat vegetal. I’m also getting some notes of cucumber and perhaps some pear, although to me it is not as sweet as a pear. Perhaps an underripe pear.
I did the first steep longer than I ought to, because sometimes you just have to pick up and cuddle the fussy baby. (I have a confession, fellow Steepsters: I do not typically use a timer for tea. I should, but I don’t. I am sure one day I will pick up a timer at a Dollar General or something and henceforth never be parted from it, but that day, alas, has not come.) ANYWAY. The brew was a medium peridot kind of color, and the aroma was again predominantly cucumber. The taste was very fresh, like sprouts coming out of the ground in the morning, covered in last night’s dew. I could taste the cucumber as well, very watery and juicy.
The second steep was less cucumber-y, but it was still there. The third steep brought the onset of something almost metallic, almost mint-like in it’s aftertaste. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I decided then that three steeps was enough. If my husband was here, he’d probably have steeped it a few more times, but alack, he is not. :(
Anyway, I don’t think I would buy this one, but I’m glad I got to try it. :)

tea-sipper

I liked this one and took some out of the teabox. Sometimes I just want a light tea!

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67

Another from TeaboxB. I honestly had no idea if this was a black, green or white tea. It looks like a green or white but the description calls it a Darjeeling. I thought Darjeeling was black? A search for ‘Okayti’ on Steepster brings up all sorts of teas. Anyway, I let the water cool a while and steeped for three minutes. The cup color looks like a white tea. The flavor is very light with a hint of apple that shows up more as it cools. It’s a very delicate flavor otherwise, that may be too subtle for my palate. It’s decent though! I think this is a white tea, just based on the fuzziness of the leaves. I really don’t like the fuzzy white teas anyway, since this one left a ton of tiny fuzzies floating around in my cup and sitting on my throat. There really isn’t anything Darjeeling about it anyway. Oh well. There is plenty of this in the teabox for everyone else to try to decipher!

Kittenna

From what I understand, darjeelings can closely resemble (or be?) green/white as well as black. I don’t quite get it myself.

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84

Ancient Alphabet challenge – D

Another good one!  A great quality white tea. Nothing new to say really, and it’s a sipdown.   ALSO another company that I genuinely planned on ordering from and I THOUGHT has now closed up shop, but my virus scanner is telling me is a risk for my computer if I visit their site.
2022 sipdowns:  50

Leafhopper

Lochan Tea is alive and well, and just sent me a huge list of 2022 first flushes. I’ll be doing an order when the SF Darjeelings come out, so let me know if you want anything (though considering the rate at which I send packages out, you might get it in the fall!).

tea-sipper

Leafhopper – that is very awesome & thoughtful of you but I currently have no teas I deem fresh enough to swap with anyone. I have been trying to drink what I have – definitely no orders probably for almost a year now. Thank you though!

Leafhopper

I understand the problem of having too much tea! You could always pay me for the teas plus shipping, but that could get expensive and would make your stash even bigger. :)

tea-sipper

I better not right now, will refrain but thanks again. :D

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84

Another from Momo’s teabox B! To be honest, if I hadn’t opened up this unopened foil package (and then put the leaves in a sealable baggie) I could swear that these were already steeped leaves! But I guess that is just what Bai mu dan looks like. I cooled the water a while and steeped for 2-3 minutes. The flavor is light but lovely. The steep color is a pale yellow. The flavor seems like a light and sweet pineapple or pear. When the water gets cold it almost tastes like something nutty – pistachios? Very nice! I might take a bit of this one out for later.

As a side note, I have no idea how these Lochan teas from the teabox weren’t already in the Steepster system since they are so good!

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94

Additional notes: This one is still a delicious darj. I really wanted to place a smaller Lochan order, but I just can’t right now. I have so much tea at the moment, even if I have one teaspoon left of everything (I don’t) it’s still a lot of tea. I just counted and there are at least 62 teas that will next be sipdowns (I have a sipdown list.) So I’m on tea buying hiatus (though I usually try to be all the time) except for an eventual purchase of teas from Ost. Even though I wanted to buy a few favorites from Tealux, Zen, Steep City (though they seem to be MIA)… I’m trying not to think of any others!

ETA: And Justea! It’s so sad that so many of my favorite tea shops on my favorites list are gone now. Many of them folded this year. :/ Not a good year for tea I guess?

TeaNTees

I think we are all in the same place stash wise! >_<

tea-sipper

Maybe that is why so many tea shops have folded? Tea fanatics already have so much that they try not to buy more? I know I can only drink so much tea. :D

Dexter

Zen Tea is still around: http://www.zentealife.com/
Justea too : http://justea.com/
Steep City’s website is up and running…. http://www.steepcityteas.com/

I know a lot have closed but maybe not as many as you had feared ?

tea-sipper

Oh I know Justea is still open. I guess it looked like I lumped that with the others. But it seems like Zen doesn’t have updates really and I’ve tried to send Steep City e-mails in the past and they aren’t answering. Also no updates.

tea-sipper

I just looked on Zentealife.com’s facebook and they did post on that a few days ago, so they are still around. Just haven’t seen updates to their tea selection as much. Updating my main post.

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94

A TeaBoxB tea! I woke up thinking I wanted a Darjeeling — definitely not usually my favorite tea, but luckily somehow the teabox has a few to try! This one has that classic Darjeeling flavor, very smooth and very sweet. The cup color looks like a light amber. Probably the nicest Darjeeling I’ve had (not many!) It was perfect for my Darjeeling craving, and I think I’ll save a bit of this one in case of any more Darjeeling cravings (there is a lot in the box!)

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This has a greenish, hayish, honeyish scent. Hard to pinpoint but very pleasant.

The taste is also a mix of these. The main flavor is quite green…reminds of spinach or zucchini, but not as heavy. Then there’s the dry, warm, beige taste of hay swirling into the sip after a while. A faint sweetness on the front of the tongue.

The finish is long with the green flavor.

Made at 185 degrees and 2:30 minutes.

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Drinking this again today, I have to mention it having a very light fruity bit to the end of the swallow.

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This is an earthy Assam. Gives the mental tone of reddish-brown. Slightly burnt tasting, but not overwhelming… just enough of the typical Assam edge to let you know that’s what you’re drinking. It’s mildly astringent.

It’s finish is mostly in the back of the throat, that same dark flavor as the mouthful.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 45 sec

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Yum. Rich, deep, malty, sweet. Also, the leaves were so fluffy and soft! I would like a bed made of tea buds, please.

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