Single Origin Teas

(From the UTTB.)

First steep: The aroma of the tea is kind of like Laoshan Green—it’s beany. The taste doesn’t quite match. It’s savory and a little grassy. There’s a fruitiness that reminds me of lychee fruit and citrus…as I’ve said in other notes, I often think of colors when I’m tasting something. Especially tea. This one is like citrus because it makes me think of citrus colors: bright green, yellow, and orange…it doesn’t necessarily make me think of citrus fruits. It’s bright with a savory-bitter background that’s like vegetables. There’s a floral creaminess to the aftertaste, but it’s not very noticeable.

Second steep: It smells like…squash? There’s a little more tang and a little more vegetable in this cup. The citrus/lychee is stronger, too. It softens at the end of each sip, turning once more into a flowery, creamy flavor. Predominantly it’s grassy and vegetal. I left it to cool and returned when it was lukewarm. The cooler temperature made it seem more creamy, with a bean-like softness to it. This makes me wonder how it would taste cold-brewed.

It’s not a bad tea, just not for me!

(From the UTTB.)

This is everything I imagine when I think of an Assam. It’s bright, vibrant, and a little fruity with a touch of caramel sweetness. It’s cheerful! The first cup was more bold and drying on the tongue. Not very astringent, but definitely drying. I’d say it’s a medium-bold tea. The second cup mellowed out a bit to allow some of the sweet caramel notes to peek through. (Wasn’t getting much in the first.) I think it’s a good breakfast tea. I prefer my calm-chocolatey-floral-sweet evening teas, but this was still quite nice! I drank it straight but it could definitely stand up to some milk and sugar.

(From the UTTB.)

This is a gentle and unassuming tea. Lightly roasted, with a buttery taste and floral background. It’s clean. Fresh. Green. It’s like spring water and flower stems to me. I prefer more oxidized oolongs, but this is still nice. It’s just not something I could see myself craving.

(From the UTTB.)

The leaves are very pretty: tiny, curled little things that are a dusky brown color. Some have an orange tint, others are touched with silver. As soon as the leaves hit they all turn a deep autumnal orange. They’re still dark in tone.

The smell…wow, to describe the smell. Very complex. I kept sniffing while it steeped because I was so surprised by all of the scents I was picking up. At first it was fruity with this tart, astringent undercurrent. Then it was like bell peppers. It was peppery, both like crushed black pepper and bell peppers. Kind of earthy. Then it was sweet and fruity again. Now, it’s sweet and spicy on a backdrop of cinnamon. It smells kind of like bread. There’s also this other quality that I can’t describe…I’m guessing it’s muscatel. It reminds me of olive oil. It’s blowing my mind over here.

I’m sipping now and it’s not going to be any easier for me to describe the taste! There’s so much going on. Here are my impressions, in order: light body, green, fruity, sweet, cream, olive oil, more fruit, silkiness, soft, bread, lingering sweetness. It’s even a little malty. It covers your mouth with softness and a sparkling fruity taste. There’s also a certain earthiness to it. That bell pepper thing I was talking about. It’s got spice and pep. It has the qualities of both a black tea and a white tea! I love it.

Second steep, smells light with a little fruitiness and spice. It has a roastiness about it. It tastes like fruit with the same olive oil/muscatel notes as before. There’s more spice and pepper in this cup. There’s a touch of nutty roastiness too. In the aftertaste there’s something that makes me think of apple skins…the crispness of them, the fruit taste matched by a sort of darker, bitter note. (The tea itself is NOT bitter.) There’s some earthiness with a lingering sweet cream flavor. It’s soft with a guava-like sweetness.

I’ve got to run but I’ll probably be back for a third, or even a fourth steep. This is just too good. No words can describe. None. (:

Woohoo! This is the first time I added tea to the database.

Unfortunately, it won’t be a too positive review :(

I received 5 different teas from Single Origin Teas for review and I loved three so far (Amba Ceylon, Mokalbari Assam and Four Seasons Oolong) but I had a problem with this dragonwell.

As you guys know, or maybe not know, I adore dragonwells. It is easily my favorite green. I have a feeling that this sample was probably not from the recent harvest, which is fine. All the other dragonwells I had before weren’t pristine either. Their website info says that this was harvested in April but it doesn’t tell you the year.

Anyway, I made it in my gaiwan first. Since I am still new to the whole gong fu steeping, I didn’t get the hang out of the loose leaf ratio yet and I think I overleafed this one terribly as the first 15 second steep came out bitter as all hell. I got rid of some leaves after that, but it still wouldn’t steep right. It had this terrible astringency that makes your mouth dry. So I gave up after like 4th steep. I thought “Well, I am sure this dragonwell is fine, I just suck at making it in a gaiwan”.

So the next day or so later I tried it western style. Hmm… the first steep was okay, there were these buttery and sweet notes that I love about long jing the most but they were kind of… generic. Not very sophisticated. And then there was this astringency again. Not as bad as with the gaiwan session, but pretty disturbing nevertheless. The second steep was not very favorable either and I don’t think I even cared to finish the cup.

OH WELL, all them teas can’t be yums. Deal with it, girl.

Thank you, Single Origin Teas, for letting me try it, though! I really appreciate the chance :)

T&C TTB Tea # 19 Backlog May 28

My Netflix account is down so I can’t continue my SOA binge, so here I am being productive and entering all my TTB notes. Before the next TTB comes my way.

I already logged this one out of order because I was so impressed with it.

I had enough for about 3 cups in the little baggie I got out of the TTB, and I enjoyed every one of them. Flavorful, not flat. Yummy with milk. Not super bold but a great breakfast tea for me, stood up well to milk. Resteep was light and probably not worth it though.

I would buy this for sure!

I shouldn’t be posting this out of order, because technically my first review would be in my little notebook and I haven’t transferred it online yet.

However, I drank some this morning, and really enjoy it as a breakfast tea.

Today’s circumstances were a little different, because I needed something comforting. If you google “#prayformoncton”, you will understand. We have made the news worldwide.

This is my city, my family and friends are in the lockdown zone, trapped in their houses.
This began last night at around 7:30pm….
The guy killed 3 RCMP officers and wounded 2 others.
I went to bed last night hoping to wake up to some good news but he’s still out there.
The only thing that makes me feel better is that he doesn’t seem to be targeting civilians.

I’ve never felt so violated and unsafe. Stuff like this is not supposed to happen in our safe little city.

RIP to the officers who lost their lives trying to protect us. May they catch this idiot without anymore losses.

If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. :(

Quick review before bed! Another one from the UTTB.

(2 min)
It’s surprisingly jammy and fruity upon first sip. There’s also maltiness, notes of dark chocolate, and a lingering sweetness. It sits thickly on your tongue. There is a touch of bitterness that doesn’t detract from the other flavors at all; it comes with the impression of dark chocolate, simply adding to it.

(2min 35sec)
Very fruity and peppy with a heavy caramel sweetness. (It reminds me of a Yunnan tea—Zhu Rong. It’s certainly similar.) My favorite kind of black tea. (: It’s juicy and sweet and decadent. Simply delicious! Little to no bitterness in this cup either.

(3min 20sec)
More bright and fruity. The caramel is a little softer. A little buttery, even. Becomes more pronounced as it cools.

Overall a very lovely tea. I’m glad I got the chance to try it!

Thank you Sil for the tea you’ve so delightful and accurately described as looking like rabbit turds. (233)

Well, believe it or not I actually enjoyed it. It was a dark and roasty oolong and the ginger was strong but not overwhelming. The roasty/ginger was actually a pretty good combo.

I’m happy I tried it, but I doubt I’d buy it. I’m not that much a fan of ginger.

Drinking this one right now! It’s from the Unflavored TTB. (:

(2 min)
Wow is it good. The dry leaves are gorgeous: large, delicate, and beautifully colored. It was difficult to measure out a teaspoon, so I had to use some guesswork. When I added water to them the pale green leaves flared into a bright avocado green. The aroma was like citrus fruit. They were “deep” notes rather than “light” notes—if that makes any kind of sense. It was distinctly citrus but it didn’t make me think bright or sparkling; it was something entirely different. Anyway…sipping, I’m first hit by the citrus flavor, then an brief mineral interlude before a smooth, sweet creaminess. It’s so good.

[I should interject here that I’ve never been a big fan of white teas. They always tasted a little too mild. They were a little too light. But that’s not the case here—this is GREAT. Is this what I’ve been missing the whole time? Maybe I’ve been drinking straight tea long enough to pick up on the nuances of white tea. Who knows.]

(2min 45sec)
Second steep, the citrus aroma is still present but it seems more juicy and full. It’s definitely still in the taste but it’s a little subdued, and it’s sweet. There’s little to no discernible mineral taste. And that creamy aftertaste. Oh my gawwddd it sticks to your tongue and just stays there. It’s like clouds. (A taste will often remind me of a color, and this one makes me think white. Or maybe a very pale, soft yellow.) It’s kind of like marshmallow but it doesn’t punch you in the mouth with marshmallow, it wraps you up in a blanket soft as kittens. I love this. As it cools to lukewarm I think I’m catching hints of buttery floral notes. It becomes even sweeter.

(3min 15sec)
Very much like the second steep. Juicy in a way that makes my mouth water. Still creamy and sweet. The aroma is difficult to discern. I guess it’s still citrus with a little mineral earthiness? Very light. It has lost some flavor, but not a lot. (:

Overall it was a positive tea experience! This one and Butiki’s White Rhino have made me reconsider my relationship with white teas. There’s a lot there that I guess I had been missing before. I think this would taste excellent iced. I’ve gotta try it! Thanks so much Single Origin Teas!

Long time, no see. I’ve been away, and when I wasn’t, I was at work. So there. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to drink tea either. I tried a few new ones though, and I’ll try to write notes about some of them.

This tea completely surprised me because it’s really a ceylon. And I never thought a ceylon could taste like this. Very malty with the best bitterness that I have experienced in tea. It’s a kind of bitterness you would get from honey, where you can almost taste the pollen and this honey’s very early planty origin. I am probably not expressing myself clear but OH WELL. ;D It was bittersweet, like the most beautiful goodbyes – does that make more sense?

Anyway, I really loved this tea and I will be definitely getting more of it. It resteeps fairly well, too, although loses a bit of its beauty in the process. I also think that I have to revise my approach towards ceylons. They are not all boring…

Thank you, Single Origin Teas, for sending me a generous sample to try!

T&C TTB#15: This smells like tons of grapefruit but the flavor is much milder. It could be a bit stronger in flavor and the base could still handle it, I think. But this isn’t artificial in anyway and as noted in another review, it would make a good EG substitute if you didn’t care for bergamot.

I just absolutely adore the appearance of most green oolongs -individual, jade green leaves curled up into beads. And this one is just like that, too. It is so easy to measure out tea leaves shaped in this way.

Since I am a huge fan of green oolongs, even though I definitely haven’t had all of them, I thought there wouldn’t be too much that could surprise me about this one. Yet, the floral notes of this bright and sunny yellow concoction seemed quite unique! There was something delicate, but not necessarily I’m-striving-to-find-the-notes mild, about it. It is definitely not as fragrant and perfumey as the dong ding from Eco-Cha, it seems in some ways like its shy sister.

It is a delicious oolong and the only reason my rating is a little lower than I initially planned is because most of its sophistication is gone on the second steep. While second steep was strong, it just tasted pretty mundane and generic-kind-of-oolong-like. Perhaps I should try different temperature / time for the resteep next time?

I should definitely revise my approach towards assams, because I’ve been mostly straying for them. I just got this idea in my head that they are awfully bitter. And the weird part is that I love Butiki’s Caramel Vanilla Assam.

This tea made me want to reconsider and start getting into assams more. The dark leaves with specks of beige steeped into clear, mahogany liquor that smelled surprisingly sweet. It was honey/malt sweet aroma with a hint of bitter to it.

I must say that there was something, at least about this particular assam, that tasted a bit like Chinese teas to me. It must be the sweetness and a slight hint of chocolate. There was also some astringency, especially by the end of the cup, but I didn’t mind it. I think I love this kind of “bite” now. Very specific, astringent, slightly drying mouthfeel.

Thank you, Single Origin Teas, for sending me some of your teas to try!

Thanks to Single Origin teas who provided a sample for review!

This is a nice green oolong! A little nuttier than I am used to. I am enjoying the nutty flavor but I tend to prefer brighter greener oolongs, I think. Ones with a tangy note. This one has a gentle floral element that I like though!

This one is nice and pretty sweet though! I steeped it western style.

Last tea for Oolong Week! This one is a nice medium roast Dong Ding. This Dong Ding has really nice roasty flavor, nutty sunflower notes, savory elements with a sweetness that shows up in later infusions. Very crisp, clean and fresh tasting tea.

Later steepings has a bit of bitterness, similar to nut shells, and a hint of astringency.

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/dong-ding-oolong-single-origin-teas-oolong-owl-tea-review/

Water: 8oz

Leaves: tiny copped leaves

Steep: 5m

Aroma: not good

Color: Coppery orange

Taste: The first time I brewed this tea i wasn’t fond of the aroma it didn’t smell good like the other teas I had. Surprising upon brewing for a total of 5 minutes the flavor wasn’t as bad as i thought it might have been due to the scent.

I have had a fairly generous amount of it for a while now and I believe it I obtained it at Shadowfall’s stash sale. I think I had it at least once before, but it is only a few days ago that I actually got around to focusing on its nature.

I must say that I really liked it! I remember that the aroma was absolutely gorgeous and sweet. The flavors I got from it were a cross between a lightly roasted oolong (perhaps dong ding?) and a delicious, not-too-strong darjeeling. I think this is a very unique tea and I wouldn’t mind getting some more in the future, whether from the Single Origin Teas or other place.

Oh, and the dry leaf is SOOOO beautiful. It’s silver-lined light green, wiry and thick leaves.

TTB&C #10

This one jumped out at me tonight. I didn’t read much about this one before brewing a cup and to be honest I am not sure what to think. It is not like any oolong I have had. It has the musky darjeeling taste. It is sweet at the finish of the sip, and there is a hint of oolong. Not a favorite, but not bad.

Nicole sent me a big package of yunnans as I can taste several of them. Until now I didn’t really explore this type.

This one is delicious : malty, smooth. I am afraid being too much urban to detect the fresh brushed horses unfortunately but I get a kind og leather note.
Leather is a note I particularly appreciate in perfumes (like Calèche of Hermès or Cuir de Russie of Chanel). No exception for tea.

When drinking unflavored black teas I generally don’t go for a strait Assam, I usually prefer it in a blend. This tea is an exception.
It has a really nice smooth full flavor. It tastes like you would expect an Assam to taste, yet it has none of the bitterness/astringency often associated with Assams. There is a nice floral note that I find usually is overpowered in other Assams I’ve had. This also does a really nice re-steep. The flavor becomes lighter, sweeter, and more floral.
I don’t use milk/sugar in my tea, but this would handle those nicely. An overall good cuppa.

Wow, this takes me back. I had a horse when I was in junior high/high school. Add another vote for a match on “fresh brushed horses” and “barnyard aroma.” Lightly sweet, golden malt… this is a really good, really smooth Yunnan.

I was at my cousin’s last night for dinner and drank some red wine which is something I hardly ever do. Sure enough, I woke up this morning with a headache and didn’t sleep so well last night. I don’t know what it is about red wine that bothers me, maybe the histamines? So I guess today will be a pretty mellow day unless I manage to go back to sleep!

I’m having a pot of this ceylon this morning along with a bowl of steel cut oats. This is one of the best ceylons I’ve ever had, it puts the others to shame that are still languishing in my cupboard. Such wonderful richness with cherry flavor and evergreen sort of notes. It’s very distinctive and I’m sure I will want more once this package is gone!