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Number 7
I had a little bit of a hard time with this tea. Definitely complex, but it was a little too astringent for me. I did the entire bag in flash steeps beginning this morning. I got a nice combo of a citrusy dried grapefruit with char, roast, burnt wood, and minerals. Yet the minerals were so strong that I felt like I was licking shea salt covered rocks. This salty profile dominated the tea and rendering me hesitant to finish.
Number 6 and I’m diggin’ the hell out of the roast. It’s taste is near a Red Jade Black or a Moon Lake Assam. It’s like a barely lighter Taiwan Assam overall. Even though I know that this is an oolong.
It does have a little bit of a potato chip aroma going around the dry leaf, but there is a little bit of a plum note sweetening the liqour’s amber body. I still get a nice roast in the taste.
And this tea paired quite well with salty pickle and dill potato chips, and lord does the combo feel great on my throat.
One of the top teas from Butiki on steepster was a Taiwan Assam. I think. Unless it was a Vietnam. Crap. I do know that What-Cha has some solid ones.
Number 5
I am pretty damn sure this is an OB. Maybe a Darjeeling or some sort of Nepali/Indian/perhaps Himalayan tea, but I’m still leaning OB.
I did not get a lot of taste other than peach in the first steep. Then I did not treat this tea as neatly as normal after the first three steeps and overbrewed it after being nocked out for sickness. I drank it when I woke up, and got a nice cool muscatel cup with a little bit of roastiness in the aftertaste. Otherwise peach like fruity and dry like a red wine.
Number 4
Uh-oh-a Taiwaneese jade oolong!
My love!
Well, all near 5 grams are being drank and the aroma is awesome. It reminds me of rice pudding with cinnamon. I very rarely get the cinnamon note. This makes me happy.
First steep was sweet, floral and creamy with a little bit of an edge. Second so far has more honey sweetness in its creamy texture and taste. Three is more fruity, a little bit asian pear like.
I know I said that I probably wouldn’t guess on all of these, but this one screams to me as some kind of Li Shan. It does remind me of Da Yu Ling, but Li Shan or perhaps Ali Shan is what I recognize overall. More to come.
Another steep and more of the same thing. The smell reminds me of Nag Champa somehow. Weird connection I know. Could just be another thing that my brain is playing with.
Two more cups in, and I just get grassy florals with a slight honeyed end. A part of me wanted more, but I was still pretty happy.
Do you mean different from a usual Jade oolong? I did notice that it was a little bit stemmy with very light amounts of roast on the surface.
ah yeah thats another thing I never know about the US, do you get next-day shipping on most things? or is that really expensive? anwhere in the UK next day is pretty normal (not guaranteed though)
Not necessarily. Things ship pretty quickly to Ohio from both my University and my home. Andrew will get his package by Tuesday because of Labor Day is a Federal Holiday. As for companies like Whispering Pines, it can take a while to get to my house-sometimes six days with a four day average, whereas orders get to my dorm 3 days or the next day. Next day shipping can be expensive if it is a large package-something like $14-20 dollars for next day shipping.
Backlog of Rasseru’s Number 3
I went with his advice to Flash Steep all 5 grams.
The results were pretty coo. Char, dired fruit like apricot, plum, or citrus, a hint of florals, and some smoke were what I got throughout. The taste fluctuated between those notes as sweetness. I got six cups out of it-again, all short sessions. It vaguely reminded me of a Da Hong Pao, but I could be wrong.
I did.:) I’ve had my Yanchas like that before anyway. I was using less tea the first two times two save the tea anyway.
yeah like I said the amounts is literally because thats all I have had left of some of these & id rather share them with people who can appreciate
I’m on Rasseru’s blind #2
I do not remember the parameters well other than half the bag in my 6 ounce Xiang Fu pot. So assume that I’m gong fuing it with it some mastery.
I will keep the description short to what I noticed about the tea. For one, the smell. I loved the smell. It was a complex creamy, floral, and mildly nutty scent with pops of vanilla. Every brew was incredibly clear, with the first being indistinguishable from water until the first sip. The taste was very light with a present mouth feel. I mostly get florals with a bit of the literal flower grassy texture. Flavors were more on the creamy/citrusy side with a almond accent. I was surprised that this was more floral than nutty, but overall quite nice. Light Bamboo describes the tea overall.
I got five solid cups out and I could probably yield more bamboo water tasting tea. Cheers.
haha this is great being this side of the coin, im also drinking them & its cool getting different vibes. Light bamboo is a great description
wait are talking me or Daylon. Has he been awol too? This site needs modern emotes I want to express myself in picture form
omg! I didnt even notice the joke! I actually dont go there. I like the feel of steepster with live tea reports
I was awol awol, like festival season ending in the UK & me taking a long time to adjust myself back into a square shape kinda thing
I got home on a holiday after the first week of school, and I got Rasseru’s very thorough blind tasting packages, 1-8 in two sets: one set for me, and one for Andrew.
I’m not going to guess the variety so that I can just enjoy the tastes. With the exception of number 8. I have a feeling about that one.
So…
Tea Number 1
Steep 1
I used half the package, so something less than 3 g.
40 sec first steep at a lower temp of 175 F, and grapefruit and white grapes. Citrusy.
Steep 2 at 20 sec, more fruity goodness. Like grape juice almost. It still distinctly tastes like tea, but again, fruity an citrusy
More later…
Steep 3 at about 55 sec. More or less same thing and a little grassier/lemony. Overall, this is actually a sweet tea with a little tart after taste. Is that were you get the strawberry note from Rasseru? Clean tasting overall.
Steep 4-brewing…3 min.
Well, citrusy and more tea than anything else. I think that’s all I can get for now.
Final thoughts: I liked this one. The citrus clean taste was very nice. It’s not as complex as some other Yanchas or Dan Congs with not a super long brewing life, but it is enjoyable. I would not mind having a cup of this every now and then, but something I’d gladly drink.
I’ve been trying to brew teas in a Teavana glass tumbler lately, and I’ve found that certain varieties don’t do so well. Only one of my green oolongs was tasteable, while the rest have taste like overcooked spinach. My black teas have also been really dry, and my whites have been okay. I thought the problem was the water, but I’ve changed it out several times and cleaned the tumbler itself. I’m thinking that steeping in the glass is changing the flavor. Is this just me, or is there a science to this?
I did however find a few websites that recommend porcelain almost across the board, with glass being specific to the white teas. I might give one of my whites another go.
I drink everything western in a bodum yo-yo mug 12oz. The walls are thick, but I love it. does everything fine, darjeeling/oolong/white/green.
ive got a thin glassed gaiwan at work that I hate & need to change. It burns me, but the only sciencey thing I can think of is something messing with you due to heat retention/lack of it?
OH wow, just read up and apparently the heat escapes from the top, thin/thick walls doesnt matter very much at all.
is it a thin opening at the top? I dont know teavana being from the UK
Just read someone else saying thin walled loses heat quicker (what I first thought due to conduction)
& the shape of the rim & how it distributes the tea on your tongue can have an affect.
And another site which states that bone china vs glass vs porcelain, the glass was the most ‘in the middle’ of taste while the porcelain v& china varied in body & aftertaste..
so no idea at this point – glass should be pretty neutral right? im thinking the thickness of the wall & opening might be oversteeping your tea – thick-walled & thin opening means most heat retention, maybe try dropping the heat a bit as you know its going to be in there longer?
It’s gotta be a heat thing. I’ve left the top open and it is a double wall, but the it’s like the tea is overheated by the water at first, and then it cools way to quickly. Here’s the tumbler I’m talking about. https://www.google.com/search?q=6+dragon+symphony+tumbler&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKyKb2-fDOAhVY7GMKHX3CDv0Q_AUIBygC
Some websites say that glass is good for pretty much any tea while one other recommended glass ONLY for white. I tried white again and it tasted dryer than usual. The main flavor remained thank heavens.
Two I did over steep, but they are teas that can usually handle it. I’ve been brewing at lower temperatures to see if it helps, but so far, it hasn’t.
I’m probably over-complicating things, but I am pretty damn sure it is a bad distribution of temperature. Granted, the Teavana tumblers were infamous for exploding…
lol at least it didnt exlode
Yeah man, its got to be heat retention – the vacuum, no conduction from the tea to the outer wall as well?
READ THIS EVOL
I’ve written so much for random…
Well, since it is no longer on the site, here it goes.
Wicked Tea-Scottish Caramel Pu-Erh
Well, this is one of the ways that I like my teas: smooth, creamy and naturally sweet. It actually tastes like a vanilla caramel tea with a very silky Pu-Erh body. There were some tid bits that reminded me of really dark cocoa and espresso, but otherwise, it was the Pu-Erh.
This also just shows my really weird relationship with Pu-Erhs. There is a select few that I enjoy as straight teas, but for whatever reason, I tend to enjoy them as blends. I’m hoping that will change when I try something like Poundcake or a Da Xue Shan. The change really began with the Bang Wei thanks to Andrew. And thanks to you, Evol, I get to enjoy a lovely sample.
Oolong #5
Nice creamy texture with some fruitiness in the background. Steeping it in shorter seconds at a higher temperature made it a little more to my light liking. The fruity qualities were a little more obvious. Only thing bugging me is the aftertaste from the roast. There’s something woody about it-like green wood. Maybe it’s vegetal. If only my language was more precise.
It’s pretty nice, but I don’t think it be a daily drinker for me.
#7
Interesting. This one tasted sweeter to me. Almond popped up in my head with some florals and minerals. Otherwise, I just taste almond.
#8
It is smooth, but roasty. It has some more Dan Cong qualities-it’s especially nutty for me, a little sweet, but loads of mineral and vegetal. Not a Dan Cong though. Who knows, I could be making this crap up.
Well, I think that concludes it. I gong fu’d each one, and #3 appealed to me the most because of how close it was side by side to Mandala’s Milk Oolong. The main difference was the quality of leaf selection, with # 3 not discriminating the stems. I got the same tastes with the same brewing parameters by using very short steeps of like 10-15 seconds. There were a few that I liked and thought were pleasant, but only #3 and BTTC’s Golden Lily would be ones that I would actually purchase. However, I’m not even sure that I’d get more than a sample of either. #3 i want to know the price of. Maybe I’m biased to things like BTTC’s Dong Ding, Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin Xi, or jade oolongs in general. Or just a lot more snobby than I anticipated.
#9
Yes, I’m skipping around. And this also tastes like potato chips. Gong Fu’d it and served up smooth cups after a few seconds, but I did not like it. I used to think I liked medium roast oolongs considering that I enjoy Dan Congs, but now, I’m thinking otherwise. I’m sorry that I’m writing a bad review Andrew. Or you probably didn’t like this one either since you are picky with roasts. I do appreciate the smooth, consistent body this had, but I really did not enjoy it.
That is all for now.
by ‘that is all for now’ you mean ‘im finishing these up today so we can find out wth they all are, even if it makes me illegal to operate heavy machinery’
#6
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT READ THIS RASSERU UNTIL YOU’VE HAD IT.
LP partially spoiled this one when he recommended to let it cool. I will also guess that this is a Dan Cong. But I could be I wrong.
I’ve only had three cups so far, so I will add more details when I edit this note.
The dry leaf smells nutty, and a little bit salty. Maybe some florals. Reminds me a little bit of the Bai Ji Guan in smell and taste, though it’s not nearly as bitter, floral, or rocky.
First steep 16 seconds in my same little small vessel, 190 F, and I get nutty and again something like a potato chip, but smooth and pleasant.
Second steep 22 seconds, and some florals pop out with the nuttiness and a thing that I call grapefruit. Even when I sipped it again reminding myself its just tea, there were still those slightly different qualities. Rasseru might call the fruitiness cherry, I don’t know. Again, I could be very wrong.
Third at 30, and more fruitiness especially as this cools. More writing will come. Maybe.
I’ve had two other teas this morning and three cups of Kona. Eh…
The tea is still pleasant and light at a fourth cup after 35 seconds. My headache is too strong for another.
Verdict: One of the better teas in the OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLONG Blind Sampling so far.
I found this one quite light on the flavour – im guessing low priced dan cong but cant tell which aroma it is. Im not good with flowers though so I cant grab at anything in particular.
#4
Well, I did not like this one. I brewed it 190 F, in my little 3 ounce vessel, slightly less than 2 grams, beginning with 15 seconds, upping 5 seconds each time. I’d guess it’s a Dan Cong because it has the same type of barely citrus fruitiness with a distinctly burned wood tea taste. Though it’s not quite fruity, grapefruit comes to mind anyway. That could just be me. Otherwise, it tasted like charred up woodsy tea. There was also a fishy astringency in the last 30 second steep. The fishiness was still there after another 15 second steep.
I’m interested to see what you get Rasseru in all of this subjective fun. :)
Onto number 6.
Every second the sun was up, my body urged me to sleep. I agreed with it once, disagreed with it twice, and acquiesced to it thrice. Yes, I used the pretentious word thrice. The word sounded better than three times.
Well, my morning started with oolong #3, which I’m still pretty confident it’s the same tea as mine with a few lower grade leaves thrown in.
I began more blind sampling for #4, but then changed my mind to #5. #5 was a greener roasted oolong, so I had some of it.
It was a light oolong that I could get decent notes Gong Fu. Mineral throughout with some of the sweet nutty finish that is typical of this oolong, but the body was light and fairly smooth throughout. Noticeable and pleasant are the words that come to mind. There was also a lingering fruit-honey after taste to describe the sweetness. It’s not something I mind having around every once in a while, but not a tea that I would want to own.
Yet my need for some semblance of order beckoned me to #4, a yancha. And foolishly, I used the same vessel that I drank the Cypress Dong Ding from. The first 15 second steep was char, wood, and cypress. Not quite as pleasant. Then I tried again, and more woodsiness with something citric and tart in the astringency. I failed to treat you properly #4. But I am in an odd mood today, reading an odd book known as Welcome to Night Vale, and thus am drinking odd-numbered teas.
#3. Good Tea 600.
Yeah, I knew I was going to drink more than two samples. And I’m pretty sure Andrew was confident that I’d grab this one.
I’m dead certain that this is a flavored oolong. And it has the exact same dry leaf smell as my favorite.
So I drank this side by side with the stuff I had. I started off with the same amount of leafage, and HIGHLY approximated similar water amounts. Same temperature.
First three steeps were the same timing. They were almost the same. I had to get a palette cleanser each sip. #3 only had a slightly woodsier profile whereas mine was smoother-but the difference could be attributed to using less water for #3. And psychology because of the stem that was caught in the brew.
So to remedy my bad experimental modeling, I used longer steeps closer to 45 sec for mine and 15 for number 3. Again, so close to being the same. The body for 3 was smoother, but still had a hint of the woodiness. Mine tasted more vegetal, but that’s it. Both were creamy, buttery, and lighlty fruity and floral.
I’m strongly sure they are the same tea. I looked at the leaves side by side, and they looked like they were processed the same way. Both had a few roast marks and serrated leave ends, cut into random uneven leaves. Some were large, others medium, others small for both teas. Back to the dry leaf, the only difference was that one woody stem. I could be totally wrong, but I have a strong feeling.
20 sec rinse, and woodsy. Like bamboo.
Upped to I don’t know how long, maybe 45 seconds-could not be more than a minute, and it had a really nice honey sweetness and thick body. Fruity-maybe peachy-but still a roasty in the back ground. More on the fruity side than the nutty side.
Steep 2
30 seconds, more roast, but still fruity. Mineral and salt.
Steep 3.
45 sec.
Cooling down from the 180 F…
Honey buns. Thick, sweet, a little buttery honey buns.
Steep 4
30 seconds
Honey, mineral and roasted vegetal background. Needs more time…
After 35 more seconds, more honey buns. Sweet after finish.
Oh lord, this has staying power…
Let’s see what else this can yield.
And more honey buns. But it could go more. I want a break into the BTTC Golden Lily. But I don’t want to waste this. Complain, complain, complain.
So begins the sample tasting.
#1
A medium roast oolong. Reminds me a lot of what a few vendors has called “caramel oolong.”
Anyway. Could not decide between western and Gong Fu, so I did a combo of both testing out the first steep in a few seconds.
Steep number one had a lightly creamy and moderately thick texture with a slightly fruity aftertaste, and a nutty taste overall.
Steep two was more salt and nuttiness with a slight fruit after taste at 55 seconds. Reminded me of toast and homemade potato chips.
Much the same in the later steeps western with a little bit more fruitiness, but more salty potato chip. On the sweeter side with what some people might call caramel, but overall just smooth to me.
It was quite pleasant, but not my preference. I used to think I liked the medium roast oolongs, but I don’t like them nearly as much as I thought. There’s been a few exceptions, though.
As for guessing, I’m leaning maybe towards a Qin Xing varietal because of the fruitiness, maybe a dong ding, but it did have a creamy quality that reminded me of a Jin Xuan. I still lean more towards Qin Xing, but more than likely I’m totally wrong.
Thank you Andrew!
I should probably do a full page, but I did not feel like it. Anyway.
There was a loose leaf tea sale at Kroger for two 90 g bins for $4 each. Jasmine Green was one and I was able to Gong Fu it WELL which impressed me. It actually compared to the Taiwan Sourcing Cape Jasmine. The Kroger is a creamy Jasmine Green Tea with bare astringency Gong Fu, and the Cape Jasmine is sweet and nutty with a little bit more of a spinach quality. If only I got the Jade sampler from Taiwan Sourcing instead when everything was on sale.
Back log yesterday morning.
Finest Da Hong Pao White 2 Tea.
I have not been able to find this exact tea name on their site on steepster, so I’m writing it here. I got eight cups gong fu starting out with 15 seconds with water at 190F.This was one of the best sessions I had with a Dahong Pao. At the beginning of steeps 1-4, there was a stone fruit taste beginning each yancha roasted, woodsy, and nutty liquor. As each cup cooled down, the tea had the infamous cocoa and chocolate tasting note I very rarely get with yancha’s. And it was awesome. The cocoa taste waned into the later infusions. Otherwise, yancha tea continued.
Thank You LP for giving me the opportunity of trying a high quality Da Hong Pao. It turns out I like them but am really picky with them. I probably would not drink them all the time though.
Drinking a Tie Guan Yin sample for the morning in a mega leaf gong fu session. I think this is a Berrylleb selection.
Anyway, many steeps and many notes that were all floral. Lilac, orchid, vanilla, spinach, and rain come to mind. Very clear, and very light. This type of refreshing floral clarity was why Tie Guan Yin’s were my favorites. Now, they are actually too floral for me. I continue to love my florals-but I need something fruitier or sweeter with the florals. Nevertheless, this was an awesome soothing morning tea for the summer.
My sights are set on Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin Xi. Just a week to wait. BUT I also really want more of Mandala’s Milk, or something just as good for a better price. Andrew has suggested Beautiful Taiwan’s Golden Lily which I was leaning towards, but I don’t know. This decision is unevened by me wanting to send some of the same pricey milk oolong to my friends. Anyone had a milk oolong comparable to Mandala’s?
Have you tried the one from ys which is a mix of two varietals? I’ll have a look for the name. Also if the golden lily is the same as whispering pines then it’s tropical fruity
I’ve had the Golden Lily from Mandala before and its pretty good. Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin Xi was similar in the tropical fruit notes, but was WAY fruitier with a weird apple taste. I’m waiting for it to be released this week to get a solid sum of it unless Andrew has a better idea in mind. I’ve been wondering about Jin Guan Yin’s as well.
Ahhh I knew the Golden Lily would be out of stock after I mentioned this, saw it getting low a while ago. Have to wait for next autumn with that one! Its super nice – the most fruity one ive had to date – im also interested if golden lily is an actual thing and others have similar, or its a name that is given by whisper pines (like jabberwocky, that isnt a chines name, right)
A Fuding White Tea sent from LP. Thank you Andrew! And it is very peachy. Nice.
YEP! I wish I had another to properly Gong Fu. The heat has been nasty in Michigan, so I’ve been ignoring my tea. It was still awesomely peachy WESTERN, but I feel like I’m missing something by not doing it Gong Fu.
If you got the sweet notes than you realized it wasn’t a normal fuding that taste hay’ish :), this stuff is wonderful
With the Wild Dianhong from Berylleb, I got three teabags of a pu-erh with rose petals and flavors. It was a little closer to a black tea than a pu-erh, but that’s because of the rose flavor. Otherwise, it was like drinking earth, leather, smoke, and dominant rose. Not too impressed, but fairly pleasant.
Finest Dahongpao:
First tea from White2Tea thanks to LP again, and since I’m lazy, I’m putting it under random steepings for now.
It’s definitely a good yancha that is caramel thick with sweetness, little bit of chocolate in the aftertaste, and overall mineral like with a smooth ripe fruit smell. I gong fu’d it and did notice difference in each steep, and it was pretty nice against the cold, but I think I picked the wrong tea for the occasion. I was honestly kind of bored. That, or like others have said, yancha’s start tasting the same after a while.
I could tell you the difference between a Quilan, Dahongpao, Rou Gui, and a Dan Cong for sure, but they are all essentially on a spectrum of woodsy, nutty, roasty, fruity, and floral. When the occasion calls for one like a great fruity Dan Cong, I’m happy and love it without hesitation. But I’m at the point where I wouldn’t want to drink Yancha all the time, or not nearly as often as I do some green oolongs. I’d say I prefer waking up with them in the mornings over a black tea since they gently nudge me into alertness, but eventually, I want a good black like a Dianhong. That is all for now. Enough introspection of preferences for the day.
Wow. 501.
So, this is a back log. Andrew told me to wait for a day lacking sunshine for it, and today was that day when the thermometers dropped to 30 and the snow blew in. I only had a light Darjeeling, and was needing some more liquid motivation granted to me by Liquid Proust.
It was a Yancha. That’s all I knew. It smelled like a Yancha…but a very nutty one. Brewed it very lightly Gong Fu, with around a tablespoon in 6 ounces. 15 seconds. Nuts, mineral, creamy, leather, and some ripe fruit here and there. It was a little bit roasted, but the roast taste was incredibly smooth. Creaminess dominated. Pretty much the same could be said for the next seven cups which gravitated a lot more to Western style. It didn’t kick me ass like I thought it would, but it gave me clear energy to stave off the white murk.
I’ll try it again to see if I missed anything. Overall, it was between being a Dan Cong and a Da Hong Pao. The mineral profile was closer to a Da Hong Pao, but the nuttiness and occasional popping florals struck Dan Cong. LP will probably provide commentary soon.
Some of these are fussy, thats really true. Interesting you get salt, I never got that from this one at all
even more interesting as this one I thought you love, and it turns out maybe its your least favourite of the bunch
I did not like the way I brewed it more than me disliking it. It was just too strong in that session. I probably would have loved it if I used less leaves.
I’m also sick, and the texture was making me cough a little.