TeaSource

So, verdict, I rather like it, although mildly, my aunt does not. Not because she disliked the taste, but because there’s not enough of it—she complains it’s like having hot water. Admittedly, this is a common complaint for her with Green and White teas, but she did like the Darjeeling Green a bit more, and the Clouds & Mist a lot more. This doesn’t have the vegetal taste that puts me off so many Green teas. It’s mild and sweet and refreshing with almost an almondish and minty note.

This was—Okay. And believe me, after trying the Chun Mee tea yesterday and having my aunt compare it to sewage, not a bad thing. But this is a very light tea—a kind of uber green. Not vegetal, which I dislike, and one we can tolerate enough to get through the two ounces we bought, but not one I’d order again. I found it rather bland. So far, of the five new green teas we recently purchased, the Cloud & Mist is the one we liked best. Tomorrow we’ll see if Pi Lo Chun can beat it.

I share these teas with my aunt, so I try to buy ones we’ll both like. Her reaction was this reminded her of “sewage.” Hardly how I’d describe it. Trying to tease out why she reacted that way, well it is slightly vegetal. I don’t detect the plum-like taste in the description on the packet. There’s an aftertaste that’s a bit metallic and smoky, a sour bite that makes it rather astringent. It’s … well my aunt called it “tolerable” but I think I’m probably going to give this away to my tea-drinking friend and give it another chance to be loved. Definitely not one we’ll order again.

I’m not crazy about this one. I prefer the other Yellow tea Tea Source offers, Wild Kwan Yin. That one reminded me a bit of a cross between green and white teas—in a good way. That one interestingly called for steeping at 190 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 3 minutes, like an oolong. This one called for 160 degrees Fahrenheit for two minutes, more like a green tea. It’s certainly very…er… subtle. Too much so for my tastes. Not quite as bad as Silver Needle. It’s not like drinking hot water, but too close for my tastes. There’s also an odd aftertaste. I don’t know how to describe it. Not quite metallic, but not really vegetable. Maybe this is what the description means by a note of “sweet roasted cornhusks.” My aunt out and out disliked it. Not a tea we’ll order again, although drinkable.

I don’t much care for flavored teas, but this is very good as an iced tea. Especially when sweetened with honey.

No notes yet.

Very nice flavored white tea. The peach flavor is not too overpowering, and it keeps its white peony flavor throughout. Perfect for summer and makes a great iced tea.

Had a few steeps of this last night, and I totally forgot how much I love this one. I was just trying to sipdown on some older tea I had to make room for a few bags I have yet to open, BUT as soon as I tasted this one again I decided that I’d need to order more. Smooth, sweet, and so yummy!

The dry leaves actually seem grayish-blue in color and are very tightly rolled – they almost look like pebbles! Once brewed they expand slowly. The smell of the brew isn’t much, I’ll admit. It’s all in the taste!
It’s a smooth green-ish oolong (it doesn’t have a huge vegetal presence), with hay notes and DELICIOUS licorice aspects at the end of the sip! Goodness, how I love the aftertaste of this one.

Glad to say this is still one of my favorites and hasn’t diminished over my months of tea tasting. Hooray!

On a personal note, I only have two finals left before I am graduated and free from college! Super excited, but super nervous about real grown-up life starting. Gotta find me a real job and say “Good-bye” to Ruby Tuesday. ;)

Good luck on finals for all those in school, and Congrats to all the graduating seniors out there!

i noticed the first steep at 2 minutes was not very strong at all. I steeped a second time at a little over 3 minutes and it was wonderful nice sweet touch but very light. I will try a first steep and 3 minutes next time.

When I want a tea that I can brew for a long time and have no bitterness, this is my go to tea. I put it in my brew cup and just sip it until gone. It gets very dark and flavorful.

No notes yet.

Initially, I didn’t have much interest in this tea, but with repeated tastings, I have come to quite enjoy the mintiness. It is a nice comforting cup in the cold mornings.

This is a tea that one has to be in the mood for. That said, when that moment happens, I thoroughly enjoy the smoky flavor and smell.

I love this tea both hot and cold. It is so pleasant both in the mouth and the nose.

This is a super amazing flavored Assam tea. I like my Assams malty and flavorful without much if any astringency. I control the later by keeping my steep time under 2:30 minutes. I have tried many Assams and some are great and some not so. This one has a variety of flavor notes… yams is perhaps the strongest, chocolate and plum, giving a nice sweet finish. This is one of the best Assams I’ve tasted from the 2012 harvests.

Another Thank-you to Emily M for sharing this unique oolong. This is my final sample from her and it is so different from anything I’ve tried before. When I first looked at the leaves, they looked like little pebbles from a fish tank. haha.

There is a slightly herby, slightly earthy, and a little spice… all in a smooth green oolong base. Its pretty cool. I’m doing a 2nd steeping to see how it tastes next. I was careful to not steep in boiling and watch my times on this one and so far it has behaved rather well. This was a lot of fun to taste, thanks Emily :-)

I need to get more of this tea, I drank the last of it the other day. Either hot or cold it’s good. No sweetener needed. A great tea to drink late in the day without any caffeine to keep you up.

A lot of cinnamon taste, hints of citrus. The cinnamon is stronger with the second steeping.

Pah on milk and sugar! I’ve rediscovered this tea after running out of Darjeeling. I actually quite like it this time around. I’m still not quite certain what it is that is just beyond my reach in aroma. This has turned out to be a tea I can ‘oversteep’ for a little bit and it doesn’t negatively impact the flavor of the tea too much.

It is a good tea, but I don’t care for the added vanilla. It was in the cupboard so I tried it again.

Approaching sipdown already! =(
This one goes so fast when it’s in my cupboard. About two cups worth left, and I’m going to make them last… I hope.

This tea is on the black side of oolongs. In fact, I read that Brandy Oolongs are oxidized from 85 to 90 percent. So if Pouchongs embody the green exteme of oolongs, Brandy Oolongs are at the other end. Personally, I loved the tea, and would rate it at the high end taking only my own tastes into account. But I share these teas (and the expense) with my aunt, and she didn’t like this one at all. The label and description on the site says this tea has a “phenomenal floral/stone fruit aroma.” My aunt doesn’t like flavored teas. I could swear I tasted peach in this. It definitely had a floral/fruity quality more pronounced than in an unflavored tea I’ve tried. Which is a lot of what I did like—and I suspect precisely what my aunt did. So, since I try to rate these to help me decide which teas to purchase again, I’m docking this so it’s just out of that high rated range. But personally, I thought it a winner.

The package label describes this as “medium-bodied, smooth, and slightly fruity with a toasty note in the finish.” Given the name, I thought this might be the TeaSource version of Adagio’s Formosa #8. Like that one it’s certainly one of the darker Oolongs; if I didn’t know better, I would think this is a black tea given the color and taste. I’ve seen Darjeeling and Ceylons that have steeped up lighter in color. I wouldn’t mistake this in taste for either though. The Adagio Formosa #8 is described as “raisiny.” I’d say this makes me think more of caramel or cinnamon. I’d agree with the “toasty” in the description but really am not tasting a floral or fruity note as described. More than a little astringent, too. I think I prefer Adagio’s version. The TeaSource version is enjoyable, but not one I think I’ll order again. Maybe it’ll improve on a second steeping (I’ve read with repeated steepings the astringency is reduced, and the fruity/floral note more pronounced), but I prefer to order those teas that steep up well from the very first.

Description on package: “This classic tea is aromatic with fruity undertones reminiscent of fresh plums, and a toasty flavor in the aftertaste.” I can’t say I taste anything plum-like, but I do agree about the toasty flavor. Otherwise this tastes like what I think of the generic, typical ur-oolong. Very similar to Iron Goddess, in that not-green but not-black way with that astringent, mineral note. It’s a tea I’m certainly enjoying, but not I think distinctive enough that I’d buy it again.

The description on the package says: “This lovely greener oolong steeps up floral, sweet, fresh, with a noticeable silky/smooth/creamy quality usually only found in much more expensive teas.” I definitely appreciated that creamy, milky/buttery quality in it. I didn’t have the mineral taste I don’t adore in oolongs, and despite being described as a green oolong, it didn’t have a vegetal quality either. I just got in a bunch of new oolongs from TeaSource to try. I’ve tried four out of the seven, and so far this one is my favorite. Not just because I like the taste, but it has a taste that sets it apart from the generic Tieguanyin/Tung Ting Oolongs. It doesn’t displace as a favorite oolong Pouchong, Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) or Oriental Beauty. But it’s definitely one I’d order again and would like to have as a regular in my cupboard.