The Jade Leaf

Not sure I’ve ever sampled a baozhong before, but reading up on the variety, “fragrant” seems to be the common denominator, and it was. Very flowery scent, which I was afraid would be far too strong in the cup, but not so much. It was smooth, understated, and slightly sweetly grassy. Sitting in my sunny spot with the cup was a nice substitute for actual spring.

Oolong just doesn’t get a lot of attention under this roof, so this packet has been neglected and unattended for several months. However, it was a pleasant accompaniment to a quiet, warm but blustery afternoon: lightly roasted with a little mineral up front. I need to pay better attention and see if there are facets of its personality I haven’t coaxed out yet.

I’m still deciding what I think about this one—perhaps that the second steep is better than the first. The mineral wash that reminds me of pu-erh is gone by then, and you’re left with a darker, richer oolong that leans toward the roasted side of the spectrum.

Those of you far too young to have experienced the 70’s don’t have a point of reference, but as I was sipping, I was trying to decide whether it evoked the proper sensory memories of dark walnut furniture, shag rugs, entertainment centers with built in TV’s, and record players, and plaid double-knit pants. Oh, and cuddling up in a comforter while reading through the Trixie Belden mysteries for the fourteenth time. Maybe it does.

There’s another era slightly dearer to my heart, but what would a tea from your favorite decade taste like?

This needs far more attention than I gave it. After several gray and gloomy days, I spent a good hunk of the afternoon basking in a warm sun puddle and let the cup get cold before I properly considered it.

Furthermore, this is no longer on The Jade Leaf’s website, so I can’t compare my puddle-headed observations with an expert description. So you’re stuck with puddle-headed.

The dry leaves smelled deliciously roasted, and my first sips led me to compare it to a good pu-erh. A little minerally in the forefront; a little brown sugar sweetness in the back. Since I’m a pick-a-tea-by-the-mood drinker, I think this one would be more appropriate for a chillier day. Plenty more to experiment with.

You have to play “Where’s Waldo?” to figure out the “Caramel” in the name of this nice oolong. It’s definitely not in the finished cup—which is comfortably toasty and cereally. Caramel it is not. But when you sit with your tired feet up beside a finally-decorated Christmas tree and close your eyes and stick your nose in the cup, the scent finally gives itself away.

I am grateful for the extra time off that the holiday allows so I can putter with teas that I don’t want to rush through, like this nice fresh oolong, which was tightly vacuum packed and double bagged to hold in the goodness.

First, wow … talk about expanding leaves … two scant teaspoons unfurled to the point of almost crawling out of the steeping basket of my little tetsubin teapot.

Second, forget your pre-conceived notions of “caramel.” There’s no sticky candy flavor happening here, although after several sampler-sized cups, I’m getting some caramelized scent when I sniff the dregs in the bottom of the cup. You can tell it has been nicely roasted and it’s mildly, toasty sweet (reminds me a little of mown fescue from my farm-kid days) without too many flowers in the mix. Very good quality stuff I would not have tried had it not been a thoughtful gift.

An arachnid-free sipdown of this nice Taiwanese tea. (See prior review for the gory details.) Final conclusion: really good stuff. One of the fruitiest unflavored black teas I’ve ever tried.

The only new thing I have to say about this elegant, peachy, plummy Taiwanese beauty is that it is strong enough to conceal the flavor of a house spider that somehow made its way to the bottom of the cup…yep, I drank the whole thing and
(everybody sing):

I know an old lady who (almost) swallowed a spider…

Santa left some tea treats in my stocking (but he looks an awful lot like my husband): some fancy-pants oolong from The Jade Leaf, a proprietor I had never checked out. They kindly chucked in a couple of additional samples; one of which is this lanky, long-leafed beauty—leaves almost too long to fit horizontally in the little steeping basket I used.

Its flavor personality is distinctly fruity—imagine you crossed a Darjeeling (which this is not) with peaches and plums. A lovely afternoon treat while soaking up some much-needed winter sunshine.

Once in a while a tea comes along that challenges your preconceived notions about that category of tea. For me, this Taiwanese black redefines what black tea should taste like. It’s a magnificent tea, delightfully fruity with a smooth and highly refined taste.

The smell in the bag is heavenly; like tangy, fresh strawberries and dried cherries. A brown sugar aroma like appears after dropping the leaves into a warmed teapot. The first steep was sweet with fruity notes of dark berries and a light malty finish. Second steep was richer with more brown sugar sweetness and notes of bergamot and musk. Next two steeps were silky smooth and had a hint of white grapes.

This was an exquisite tea with fantastic aromatics and a refreshing quality that made for a very pleasant drinking experience. It’s quite different from the full bodied blacks I’m used to. I know Taiwanese blacks are highly regarded but the ones I’d tried up until now failed to impress. Having experienced this tea, I get the hype now. I must say I’m impressed with both of the teas I’ve sampled from The Jade Leaf. I wouldn’t have thought to use them for tea since they are known for teaware. Emilio sources some excellent tea and I’m grateful to have been able to try a couple of them.

Man, it’s already June and the weather in Chicago is still wonky. Seems like we never quite recovered from the brutal -50 F windchills this past winter. It’s supposed to be summer now but here I am with the furnace on and wearing a sweater. WTH?

The unexpectedly cool weather calls for a roasty tea so I pulled out this sample I received with my recent Jade Leaf teaware order. I grandpa steeped 1.2g in an 8oz glass using 195 F water. The dry leaf had an appetizing smell of chocolate, toffee, and butterscotch. Wet leaf though didn’t have much aroma, kind of had the standard roasted oolong smell.

I got busy with other stuff which gave this a chance to steep good and long. The leaves unfurled to release an incredibly smooth texture and taste of flowers and caramel. Roast was gentle without any char and lent a sweet fruitiness to the tea. It was a tad lighter than I like but that’s likely because I slightly underleafed.

An excellent medium roast oolong, perfectly roasted to give it a nice warmth and sweetness. Eager to try this gongfu next time.