Tea Trekker

Decent. I’m not a big drinker of oolongs, but this one falls somewhere in the middle of my oolong experiences. It is of the style that i prefer, but this one just didn’t wow me. Solid, just not very memorable.

I taste a lot of pear in this. Lots of fruity notes and more floral after the 3rd steep. Very enjoyable.

Truly awesome tea – so aromatic and robust. Took a while for me to truly appreciate it =)

Experience buying from Tea Trekker http://steepster.com/places/2820-tea-trekker-online-northampton-massachusetts

Age of Leaf: Harvested spring 2010. Received spring 2011, brewed up summer/fall 2011.

Brewing Guidelines: I have brewed it four times so far: three times on its own, and once with another green tea (Specialteas Yunnan Silver Tips). I tried brewing it at both my standard green tea temperatures (170, 175, 180) and at my standard white tea temperatures (160, 165, 170). Each time was a full pot (six 8-ounce cups) in my glass Bodum with metal infuser/plunger. Stevia added.

Appearance and Aroma of Dry Leaf: Very large and fluffy (two TBS for each serving). In some ways it looks more like a mid-grade Bai Mu Dan white tea with its large multi-colored leaves—a mixture of whitish, light green, and dark green looking leaves. Smells somewhat like a black/red tea, thus it does not have that vegetal and sometimes sweet smell typical of a Chinese green tea.

Appearance and Aroma of Tea Liquor: amber colored, with a somewhat smoky aroma.

Appearance and Aroma of Wet leaf: The largest leaves of any green tea I have seen, yet. Even the buds are huge. A sight to see!

Blends well with: Specialteas Yunnan Silver Tips.

Flavor: The flavor profile is unusual for a green tea; in some ways it tastes similar to a black tea, especially on the later steepings. It is mildly smoky, and somewhat sweet, not astringent.

Value: Good. Sale price: $10 / 4 ounces. Normally: $14 / 4 ounces.

Overall: Since it undergoes light withering—warm air-dried—I am not sure it has the theanine content in a typical green tea (which is a big reason why I drink green tea).

I have had brewed up this tea at least four times so far (as of this writing). The first time I was a little disappointed in the flavor as I was expecting something like a more standard green tea flavor profile (using my standard green tea temperatures). The second time I recognized the similarities of the flavor to that of a black tea and opened myself up to the possibilities of a more complex flavor profile (again using my standard green tea temperatures). Now I have brewed it at least four times and I am really starting to like it (although, ironically, my wife is now decidedly against drinking it). Recently, I brewed it using my standard white tea temperatures, and it seemed to brew up a good tasting cup.

I have never experienced this kind of swing in how I experience a certain tea. Previously, I have been brewing it up and enjoying it on occasion. Now I that see this tea in a more favorable light I have been brewing it up more often. This change in how I experience a particular tea over time gives me hope that other teas I do not currently like may gift me with some hidden treasure at some later date!

Meng Ding Gan Lu or “Sweet Dew” definitely belongs to one of my Chinese green favourites, this high grade tea needs a special care when being prepared, IMO, might taste a little strange (somewhat sweet-bitterish at first), a palette of tastes later develops. I prefer preparing it with Gongfu style, 4-6g / 100ml, first two infusions 20-30s with water rather colder, 65-70 °C. It is a delicate tea and might evoke many forgotten memories, I wouldn’t recommend it to green tea beginners though.

Really great, light, fresh green tea. Reminds me of a nice Bi Lo Chun.

This review is for the 2011 Early Spring lot:
Really great stuff, and for a very reasonable price. Delicious, bright, refreshing green tea. Fantastic bargain.

Jungpana (Darjeeling 2nd flush) From the Mahandi Valley comes this award-winning Darjeeling tea. Its small, silver-tipped leaves produce a deep caramel brown liquor with spicy aroma, smooth body, muscatel notes and a bright finish. This tea won the competition for the best 2nd flush Darjeeling at the 2008 World Tea Championship.
Dry Aroma: spice, caramel, rich heady citrus depth
Wet Aroma: dark honey, floral, hint of fruit Leaf: larger leaf than standard Darjeeling, with color that resembles golden beauty (dark, rust, silver tip), lots of pollen
Cup: rich golden, champagne color with green cast legs. Clean, sweet, floral depth with almost pollen-like astringency and totally lacking in bitterness or spicy bite. Silky mouth feel, with lingering sweetness. Offers 2-4 extractions with consistent depth of flavor.
brewing method: Standard cupping set – used 2 grams (1 rounded tsp) per 6oz in 190 degree water, steeped for 3 minutes, but allowing for following extractions by raising the temperature of the water and extending the steep times.

Have been tucking into the 2010 harvest of this tea lately. My perspective on green tea aging has changed a little bit. I don’t think every green can handle time, but some of them manage to keep much of their character and evolve a little in pleasant ways. This one is drinking fine after a year. I eventually burn out on the charcoal, toasted chestnut, and mineral-forward elements of almost any Chinese green, but in the meantime, this provides a light, crisp, refreshing spring brew.

I’ve been drinking this regularly for the past few weeks to sate my craving for green. It’s done well, but in my estimation is far from exceptional matcha. Standard, workable, and without flaw, but does not excel. Whisks up a nice dark green frothy cup, with minimal bitterness, and some solid cucumber and melon tones.

Really surprised to see I hadn’t review this tea yet, I’ve been enjoying it’s delectable greenness for a couple of weeks now. This tea appears to be an easy brewer, as I’ve tried a wide range of leaf ratios (up to 2.5g/oz!) and temperatures and it seems to stand up to most of them. At the cooler range, the tea comes across as pretty bland. But even with a high ratio and warmer temps, there’s never any aggressive bitterness. Flavors stick in the melon and cucumber notes, especially in the finish. It also has a fantastic returning sweetness. A good value, I think.

Finishing off my sample of this tea with a heavy amount of leaf. This is a very nice clean, bright, juicy and straw-like Yunnan green. Tons of strawberry, melon, and peach. Tends to get a little terse, grassy, and bitter if treated too heavy and too hot, but otherwise produces a very spring-like beverage. I found it a little aggressive in the vegetal, herbal, planty spinach notes, something I don’t think works as well with the basket roasting or the light fruit notes, but more with the kelpy, cholorphyll heavy styles of green tea. Nice buds in the steeped leaves.

This is the last rating under my old scheme.
Tasty, just discovered that the amount of tea to use in my new tea cup is less straightforward than I had previously thought. In this case I used two teaspoons to achieve the suggested “generous teaspoon”. The taste is mellow and dirt-like, maybe a muddy version of the frontal bright Darjeelings. The astringency is coming out, but that’s due to oversteeping and cooling. Good for a rainy mild day like today.

I am still at a loss to describe that “white tea” tea flavor. Much like Darjeeling has its special flavor, the white also has its own special flavor. It’s kind of creamy and it kind of reminds me of the taste in the air around a wood-shop when fresh hardwoods are being cut. Maybe “resiny” is the right word, but it has a light somehow lumber like taste. It’s a, shall we say, delicate flavor though. Better for mid morning or even evening. Yes it can be resteeped, and several times, but it is just a much mellower kind of tea than what I would start my day with. Something like a cruising speed type tea, but not something to turn over your engine if you know what I mean.

I couldn’t be precise with the temp as my thermometer is on the fritz (and in the waste bag now), but the water was definitely in the 165-180 range.

This tea impressed me. I think my previous experiences with Wuyi teas have been with poor quality tea. Instead, this has a fantastic texture, little to no astringency, and only the slightest bit of sourness in the mid-steeps. There’s a long, incredible returning sweetness with hints of plum and spice. Delicate and floral in aroma, but robust, caramelized and sugary in flavor. I used Wrong Fu Cha’s “Brewing Rock Tea” (http://chahai.net/brewing-rock-tea/) as a guide and it helped me produce some really fantastic tea. Great tea.

I drank this last night, had to have something right away from my quarterly tea restock. Definitely much less hearty than my usual Assam, but not a wilting flower of a tea at all. Raisiny, earthy (but like dry earth, not loamy soil). Nice flavor. I’ll do another note when I’ve tasted it again.