Silk Road Teas

A pleasant green that has a mild vegetal notes with a clean finish. I’m glad I picked it up (I bought mine from Infusions of Tea), but I might aim for a tea with a bit more character. I would echo the sentiment that it seems a bit “standard” — in a blind taste test, I would have trouble distinguishing it from, say, a weakly-brewed, inexpensive Sencha.

Even after multiple steeps, the tea continues to hold its flavor and remains very smooth. Definitely a favorite.

An amazing green tea to say the least. Once steeped, hints of cinnamon are given off as well as a sweet haylike aroma. So far, no other green tea i’ve had is as complex and full as this one. Definitely one of the best green teas around.

Can’t say I was very impressed with this Bai Mu Dan, which is too bad because the dry leaves looked and smelled incredibly lovely. The aroma was full-on “grape”, not just a hint of grape – bold. That trait, however, only translated partially to the taste; a flavor I liken to smoked vegetables by way of melons. I don’t think I over-brewed this, for I was well within the steeping parameters. It just wasn’t my usual cuppa. Still on the decent side, though.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/09/review-silk-road-teas-white-peony/

I’ve been screwing around with this tea a lot lately, trying to bend it to my will. It has beautiful leaves, great liquor clarity, exhibits a good range of flavors, has a decent balance of body and liveliness, and produces a very distinct flavor set some people may adore… I’m just not a huge fan of some of the characteristics it possesses. I can’t justify rating it as a simply “okay” tea or as though it is “lesser-than” some of the teas I love, though, because of the steadfast, clear flavors and aromatics it produces.

What I dislike is a fairly heady, almost-overripe dried fruit aroma/nose that is reminiscent of what I get from certain Sonoma Valley Chardonnays. Also, there is a flavor that reminds me of the smell of old glue that has failed over the years to hold the spine of an old book – to me it tastes a bit like the air of my local public library. Tweak these characteristics a bit more to the grapey side, and you’d wind up with a nice, somewhat woody Darjeeling-like character. Tweak ‘em a bit to the malt side and you’d have a fruited and elegant Assam characteristic. Where it stands, I’m not particularly fond of it… I’m sure there are folks who’d fall head over heels about it, though. A rinse lowers these tones a bit out of the almost-cloying range into base characteristics of the nose.

Aside from these bits, it’s a very pleasant, approachable light Chinese red. Medium body feels like it ought to be a bit heavier to accommodate the flavors that are expressed, but this is a trait I’m used to in Fujian reds as a whole. Liquor color is a stunning deep red orange like the color of recently made bricks. Plucking standard is pretty darn uniform and comprised exclusively of young, intact leaves and buds (plus a small twig here and there). Torn leaves are still young and the sizing conforms to the length of the rest of the material.

Unlike the dried apricot fruit notes of many other Golden Monkey reds (and inherent in the dry fragrance of four others I tasted along side this in a cupping earlier) this one exhibits more of a white nectarine skin fragrance alongside the wood and cocoa. Wet aroma brings out the aforementioned chardonnay note with more of a wet cocoa powder characteristic. The overarching characteristic of the liquor aroma is malt.

Cocoa jumps forward in the flavor, though it isn’t an exceptionally chocolatey tea. Interestingly, I get a good amount of rose and rosebush foliage notes in the flavor and aftertaste/afteraroma. Very ripe white peach hangs around as a dull perfume both in the cup and transferred from the mouth up into the sinuses for a double-dose (fortunately, it isn’t intense or pervasive). Drinking from a gaiwan using a rinse and 4g per 115ml in 90 degrees C water, mostly malty and woody flavors run through the bulk of the flavor. In cupping with 2.5g per 125ml water just off a boil (5 min steep) I get more cinnamon raisin bread as a base and a primary high note of ripe stonefruit peel (again, white peach/nectarine or maybe even pluot skin). Leaves a crisp impression and very faint sweetness to the breath hanging deep in the throat like that of chewing a bit of dry oak wood (little less grassy than a typical toothpick or stir stick). Nose is mostly floral with those light cocoa notes but there is a base of wet clay and malt serving as a backbone and rounding it out.

Overall, very approachable and smooth. Not a ton setting it apart as a red tea, but a distinct step in flavor clarity above many of this group of teas. When cupped alongside four Golden Monkeys sold by Plymouth Tea Company, this one stands up with the best tactile balance and has the easiest identifiable character to it. Not sure whether it’s the case or not, but it tastes “fresher” despite being the same harvest or older. I suspect the fairly strict plucking standard of very young first flush leaves and relative lacking of broken material is largely responsible for this effect.

Personally, I like the Golden Monkey I bought from Silk Road a few years ago much better, and probably wouldn’t buy this for my personal satisfaction; however, I highly recommend fans of easy-drinking red teas to give this one a try and have no qualms giving this as a gift.

Will be pitting this against Red Blossom’s two Golden Monkeys soon…

This is actually the second “Monkey Picked” oolong I’ve had. The first didn’t impress me much, but this had a lot going for it. First off, it was the green kind of oolong. I tend to prefer those (with the exception of some charcoal-roasted varieties), and second, it had me on scent – a milky aroma with a floral bite. Those same traits translated to taste. However, if I was to steep again, I’d probably do so for another minute. It was very light the first time around, reminding me of a Bai Mu Dan. Thankfully the flavor was robust enough to compensate.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2010/12/29/review-silk-road-teas-monkey-picked-ma-liu-mie/

This was a very surprising black tea. I sort of expecting something with the earthy characteristics of a Dian Hong but got something more in line with a Nepalese black; a very creamy, caramel-like, and nutty brew with no dryness or bitterness. Definitely one worth a revisit.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2010/12/26/review-silk-road-teas-golden-monkey/

Awesome!

I am a recent tea convert, and this introduction which is quickly becoming an everyday go to tea

I really enjoy this tea! Nice green tea flavor, refreshing. My go to green tea of late. I will be buying more

I really enjoyed this tea. It has a nice malt flavor, which forgave my neglect as I let it steep too long. I will be buying more

Just got this one yesterday…It’s growing on me, though I’m still working on the optimum brewing time. The taste is good, slightly vegetal and nutty. A good all-around green tea.

light and refreshing, very nice

Tried it at 185F for two minutes since the Zojirushi was cooling down from a 205 steep, but I didn’t think it was much different than the brew I did a few days ago. Not bad, but not worth the additional expense though Silk Road calls it “competition grade”. Maybe that grade is wasted on my uneducated palate? I still have a lot of this tea left so maybe will try a cooler than 175F steep and see how that goes.

I have never had Lu An Gua Pian before so I don’t know what to compare this to except other green teas. No particular smell to the dry leaves except a faint clean cucumber type. The steeped leaves smell vegetal with a scent I would describe as spinachy. Flavor is kind of minerally, earthy and very light. Considering this was more than double the price of the Organic Dragon Well, I like this, but won’t be purchasing it again. Too expensive.

OK was some of the best Lung Ching I have ever had at the cheapest price I have ever paid for it! First of all, I was hesitant to order 4 ounces of a tea I hadn’t tasted but having read in Heiss’ new book that this was a reputable company, I got 1/4 pound each of four different Chinese green teas. Dry leaf smells like a classic Lung Ching…toasty goodness! The leaves were larger than most Dragon Well I’ve tried before so I added an extra teaspoon to about 10 ounces water at 175F. Brews golden and smells delicious. Taste is toasty-almost yeasty breadish with a nutty background. I can’t wait to try the second steep. Second was not quite as flavorful as the first — having been spoiled by oolongs lately, I have to remember the greens don’t last as long. :( Oh well, at the price of $2.25 an ounce, two steeps is good. I like that all the teas came in resealable containers too because presently, all our Teavana containers are full.

Just to confirm, used water at 180. Not as good as boiling water. This oolong is a very dark brown, almost black. Maybe it does need to be treated as close to black tea.

This time, the steep was short, but the water maybe too hot. However, the tea is delicious. A light tan, slowly darkening. A smooth smokey, woodsy flavor.

Got distracted, so the steep was quite long. maybe 15 minutes. The roasted flavor comes through quite strongly, but the astringency makes the tea undrinkable for me. But no rating, since it was an unfair tasting.

(backlogging)

I’ve had this tea a few times since my first try in my hotel room coffee pot. Now, I just throw the pearls (usually 4) in my mug and leave them there. I’ve resteeped up to four times with no loss of flavor, and it never gets bitter, even without removing the leaves.

The leaves are extremely long and narrow. This tea is by far the best Jasmine-scented green I’ve had to date.

Steeped 6 pearls in water that was a little too cool. It’s a little tricky, as I’m in a hotel room so my water comes from the coffee pot. (I know, I know). It took about 5 minutes for there to be any evidence of a liqueur.
Jasmine-y, but the tea taste is not completely lost. Like it! Will do a second steep very shortly, as I have just about downed this mug.

Taste is definitly both nutty and sweet, but slightly dry as well. Aroma is a little nutty also, not grassy has I have had with other green teas like this. Color is a nice green-gold.