Tea from Taiwan

Great quality tea, Leaves are tightly rolled. Very clean and mild, it has a buttery earthy pea flavour, like some Longjing at first. Next infusions are also nice, but not so impressive though. No astringency on overbrewing. More sour and tieguaninish. A nice tea.

Another random Oolong sampler from Tea from Taiwan. My husband is away all day at work and then poker tonight so I’m all on my own…roll on my Criminal Minds marathon. Dr Reid ;)

The packaging for Tea From Taiwans Oolongs is always cute and shiny. Plus the foil backs make for good freshness. This particular Oolong is dark and medium brown with a green tinge. It has a dark, slight smoky and floral scent. Similar to a few of the mature Oolong’s that I have tried before but on the lighter end of being mature.

Using my Gongfu for 1 minute – first steep this tea is yellow/brown in colour and has a light wood and floral scent. Very woodsy really…like being in a carpenters shop.

Flavour is sweet and wooden, medium strength with a green, floral after taste. The sweetness is honey like but is made darker by the dominant wooden taste. It’s starting to remind me of pencil shavings.. that dark, dusky, wooden scent that they have…very similar to this Oolong.

Steep 2 – 2 minutes – Remaining amber in colour with the same wooden scent. It’s perhaps a little thicker now with more sweetness than previously.

I really don’t know how I stand with this tea…drinking wood shavings is not my ideal Oolong but at the same time it’s not disgusting. I suppose I can say it’s not something I would buy again. I can see why this has such mixed reviews. Sorry but I think this one is just not for me.

No notes yet.

Another random Oolong sampler from Tea from Taiwan. My husband is away all day at work and then poker tonight so I’m all on my own…roll on my Criminal Minds marathon. Dr Reid s not something I would buy again. I can see why this has such mixed reviews. Sorry but I think this one is just not for me.

Another random Oolong sampler from Tea from Taiwan. My husband is away all day at work and then poker tonight so I’m all on my own…roll on my Criminal Minds marathon. Dr Reid s not something I would buy again. I can see why this has such mixed reviews. Sorry but I think this one is just not for me.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Okay, I’ve had this sample for over a year. I’ve been afraid to try it. The other notes on this tea have been terribly discouraging. But I just have to do this once and for all.

The leaves are balled up but pretty dark. I find that the dark oolongs tend to be long and twisty and the green ones are balled up like tiny wads of spit balls. (Maybe I should have used a better example…) But these are dark and balled up. It’s a crazy upside down world.

First, the the smell of the brewed tea is like roasted brussels sprouts. It also tastes like brussels sprouts only it’s weird at first because of that honeyed fruity flavor on the front of the tongue. This also reminds me a bit of chrysanthemum tea. The flavors in this tea clash for sure, but I don’t hate it like I feared. I wouldn’t say I liked it either though.

Will have to try a few more steeps. You never know an oolong unless you infuse it a few times. But first, I’ll take my pups out for a walk before the sun goes down. They didn’t go out much in the winter cause they are so tiny that they’d get too cold, even with coats. They are loving this warmer weather. :)

EDIT: Okay, no resteep because I’m an idiot. Took the cup and infuser basket into the kitchen area so that I could pour the hot water over the leaves. Except when I got to the kitchen, I dumped the leaves and started washing out the tea ware. Half way through scrubbing the infuser basket my brain went, “….wait…wasn’t I supposed to do another steep with those leaves? …those leaves that are sitting in the garbage can? …I suck.” I’ve got enough leaf to try again, but that will have to wait for another time. It’s time to move on to herbals and other decaf/noncaf teas.

The Bao Zhong oolong I have is called “Branches of Serenity.” I purchased it at the Tea Centre in Courtenay (it is exclusive to them). It consists of the stems, sticks, and leaves remaining after processing Bao Zhong oolong. I brewed this in my iron teapot for three minutes, but decided to leave it for the full five, as the flavour was too light after three. Taste is almost imperceptible, though there is a faint fruit note to it. It is very refreshing, and perfect for a quiet evening.

annd I forgot to drink this tea yesterday, which I drank a couple steepings of 2 days ago. EEEP!!!!

So, I steeped the leaves western style for like 5 minutes. Might be kinda crazy waiting 2 days, but ehhh. Flavor is okay, a little light, but still kinda vegetal and kinda sweet.
Goes very well with my Okonomiyaki which I made with my husband’s homemade bacon!

I decided to sip down my sample!

I drank 3 steepings – all light, buttery and vegetal. Now I’m full of caffeine, like I feel my eyes are huge but almost tired. I wanted a nice oolong before dinner, maybe this was a little too much before dinner!

Well, hopefully I’ll do another couple steepings tomorrow morning. Very tempted to have them right now, but I’ll be going crazier than normal at jiu jitsu tonight!

I haven’t forgotten to review this one! thanks for the samples! The oolongs from Tea From Taiwan are the best quality. It’s amazing that even though they are so similar, they are also very different. This one smelled very sweet in the package! Also, even in the samples there are these little packets of something to keep the oolong fresh… almost like how new shoes come with that in the toes! Not to liken this tea to shoes or anything!

First steep // water is very cooled // 45 sec. First and foremost this is very sweet and smooth, silky! It’s almost like a lighter milk oolong, though I don’t think this is supposed to be a milk oolong. It doesn’t have any of the floral/peachy characteristics that oolongs usually have. It’s very good, even on the first cup!

Second steep // water is cooled // 50 sec. This cup is still very much like the first… still no peach/floral/vegetal. The flavor is stronger though. The water might have been a bit too hot. It’s just very sweet, sugary, and creamy!

Third steep // 60 sec. This still isn’t very peachy/floral/vegetal but this time there was a little hint of a cinnamon sugar flavor. It couldn’t have been any actual cinnamon sugar, since my cup stayed the same the whole time. And the last of the cup was a hint of peach! This one was a very light flavored oolong… not as complex and changing as so many of them are.

Sipdown!

Reading my previous tasting note, it seems that I am definitely enjoying the last of this sample much more than I did the first cup! I used the remaining ~half of the sample in about 8 oz. water, and gave it my standard oolong treatment (3 min in just below boiling water) and the result is creamy (but not milk oolong creamy), sweet vegetal, and absolutely delicious! I’m really not sure what went wrong last time; I would definitely love to drink this again, although I think the price point may be out of my range.

Thank so much to Tea from Taiwan for this sample! Hopefully I will eventually be able to make a delicious oolong order, and pick up some of this and the other oolong I enjoyed.

Sipdown!

Hmm. Brewed this up today with what I thought was a good leaf:water ratio, but it’s very weak. Luckily, I just took a look at my previous tasting note and I wasn’t the biggest fan of this one, so I suspect that’s just the case here (although I wish it had a bit more flavour!) Ah well. Thanks again for the sample, Tea from Taiwan!

The first thing that hit me soon as I open the bag is the aroma of this tea I’ve tried many teas with this same type of aroma but the aroma of this one was just so much stronger and much more I dunno beautiful? can you describe an aroma as beautiful? I just did :) it smells floral and green and just awesome.
The taste was really nice too, it was nice and greenish and floral at first then creamy and almost buttery with some hints of fruit like apple or pear by the third infusion it developed slightly spicy notes almost like cinnamon that really played well with the fruity notes that were still there, the creamyness was present the entire time, very interesting and super good tea.
If I had some more of this one I could play with my steep times and preparations and probably discover lots of other wonderful flavor notes notes from it. Even tho this greener type of oolongs are not my favorites I have to say that this is one of the best ones I’ve tried from Tea from Taiwan so far :)

Working from home today, which means time for a comfortable tea break in bona fide sunlight. Leisure tea and sunshine are going a long way to ease the gloomies that have plagued me (and, with apologies, the folks who have graciously read my grumpy and cantankerous tasting notes) all week.

My first note on this one had lots of floral references in it. Today, without monitoring temp very carefully—it was somewhere under boiling, how’s that? and a 2 minute steep, it is the color and flavor complexion of a Brach’s butterscotch candy, sans sugar.

Now I’m craving Oolong and I have a song playing over and over in my mind (White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane) whilst I’m sat here wire wrapping Quartz crystal points. This was the first Oolong I grabbed from my cupboard.

I can’t recall having much aged Oolong before but it sounds rich and deep which I’m finding delightful. In 1990 when this tea was made I would have been no more than 2 years old… wow!

As I open the vacuum sealed packet I am greeted by small dark brown almost black small tea pieces that have a strong and deep fragrance. I’m finding it difficult to answer what it smells of but it’s very familiar … soy sauce maybe?

Steeping 3 times in my gongfu for 1 minute, 2 minutes then 3 minutes.

Steep 1 – Burnt orange in colour with a smell that reminds me of cigar smoke. The taste is smoky and rich but also earthy and astringent. Sort of like Lapsang Souchong mixed with Pu Erh but on a weaker basis. Roasted chestnuts is a fairly good description.

Steep 2 – Brownish red now in colour but with that same cigar smoke scent. My husband smokes a cigar at birthdays and Christmas so I am quite used to the smell but it’s surprising how similar they are. It sort of tastes like cigar now too which is how it smells. I still like roast chestnuts though as the comparison but now it’s almost like burnt chestnuts. If Lapsang Souchong is the smokiest tea then this must be second.

Steep 3 – Again it’s burnt orange in colour with the same scent. Other than cigar or chestnut I’m finding it really difficult to describe. Muddy perhaps? Smoky and muddy? There is a little sweetness which helps to keep it on the rich yet light side. It’s also a little dry and nutty.

I think this may be one of the strangest teas let alone Oolongs that I have ever tried but I’m really getting a taste for it now. I may have to order some more of this :) Thinking about it I should have kept it for my birthday… I want some Pu Erh that is from my birth year too but money is low at the moment :( Maybe next year?

It’s been a while since I have been in the right mood for an Oolong but I am craving something light and floral at the moment. A while ago I bought a sample of most of the Oolong’s from Tea from Taiwan’s website and this one was chosen at random for my steeping tonight.

Raw this tea consists of dark green leaves that have been rolled into small balls with a sweet, creamy and vegetal scent. Just what I have been craving.

Steep 1 – 1 minute infusion – gongfu style
Pale yellow in colour with a sweet and creamy with buttery notes. It reminds me a little of fresh cabbage water so it is vegetal and green tasting but also sweet and light.

Steep 2 – 2 minutes
Increasing strength this is now very vegetal and reminds me of sugar snap peas. Also getting a bit of dryness on my tongue. Still very sweet.

Steep 3 – 3 minutes
It’s definitely sugar snap pea’s, I snack on them from time to time and it has the same flavour and sweetness. I can only describe the flavour as green but cannot explain what that means…natural…vegetal…a little floral…when you see green planted food you imagine what it tastes like and this is the same as that. Not sure if I made sense there :/

Overall it’s a nice Oolong in taste and quality but at the same time it’s very similar to plenty of other Oolong’s available on the market. I would not go out of way my to buy this again but if I ordered from Tea from Taiwan again I would seriously consider it.

These jade green with hints of yellow buds smell sugary and vegetal. Normally I hate sugary vegetables (ie: coleslaw. Ick, but I’d love coleslaw without sugar). But if a tea smells like that, I love it.

First steep: Waited a while for the water to cool, steeped for 50 seconds, didn’t think that was long enough, then steeped for 35 more seconds. The taste is mainly sweet, much less vegetal than the leaves smell. It’s more of a mildly floral flavor. Very complex but very good.

Second steep: may have been too hot for two minutes. This one really does have a complex & sweet flavor. It is different from all other oolongs I’ve tried, but I can’t begin to describe how. Not quite peachy, floral or milky… but very sweet.

Third steep: …I kind of forgot about, so I have no idea how long it had been steeping. The flavor seems to be lacking, but that may be due to the oversteeping. I’d say unlike most other oolongs, this one didn’t change flavor as much. I definitely didn’t get anything smokey out of this one, like the description says. It’s very hard to describe, so try it for yourself!

Nice oolong appearance, sour caramel and ginger notes, nitrogen undertones. This tea is strange, it has some chemicals note, but maybe it’s good for my health… :)

Read more here: http://www.teablr.com/2012/12/gaba-oolong-from-teafromtaiwan-shop/

This tea is pretty darn good, it’s one of those that changes with each cup it was floral and grassy and sweet and really good, it smells vegetal sweet when steeping very much like sweet corn :)

What a lovely well mannered tea! So many wonderful notes to savor! From sweet, like sugar cane and vanilla, to buttery, toasty, I mean really if you have a favorite flavor note you are likely to find it in here!
It is complex, and gong fu really IS the way to go with this one.
Sip it when you have enough time to enjoy everything it has to offer!
Full review on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 12th.

Smells very milky, taste very creamy and smooth with First steep is very milky with slight buttery notes and has a nice creamy mouthfeel and aftertaste. Second steep is almost the same only with an added slightly sweet vegetal note. The creamy mouthfeel is great this is another tea that just feels good in the mouth :)
Even the Third steep is very good still creamy and milky but slightly roasty and nutty almost , very interesting, lingering flavors.
Fourth steep is pretty much same as the last and by the sixth steep I needed warmer water, steep six was nice more roasty, nutty notes same creamy milkyness, this tea is not going to give up soon I had to stop at six steeps :)
Superb Tea!