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I got this in a Steepster Select box sometime last year. Well, it delivers in it’s promise of roasty, woodiness. On the other hand it looks like a bunch of sticks. I thought it was just rolled to be in that shape, but even when I steeped it for a long while, it was still just stems. I don’t know how I feel about that! The sample was 8g, and it says 4g per cup. So two servings.

I do like it, it has a mellow nuttiness to it that I don’t usually reach for much, but is pretty satisfying. I just can’t get over the fact that it’s a bunch of twigs. I wonder what the leaf would taste like?

I got this one in my February (January?) Golden Tips Tea subscription box.

I think I like the greener Darjeelings better. This one is pretty dark, like English Breakfast dark. I guess the closest descriptor is smokey, which I didn’t expect at all in a Darjeeling.

It’s a good tea, just not really to my taste.

This sample from Tea Ave came with a lovely little surprise that certainly altered the way I was going to try the sample: an aroma set! I had to youtube how to use it though. It’s certainly an interesting way to taste tea.

I brewed in a 24oz teapot. The packet recommends 15G to the 750ml (there are several sets of steeping parameters, depending on your vessel), but when I weighed it out, 1: there wasn’t enough tea in the sample (only 9g), and 2: that seemed like wayy too much leaf to me. I decreased the amount to what I would normally add of a rolled oolong to that teapot (because I expect a lot of unfurling), which ended up being about 4g or a rounded tablespoon of dry leaf. If I were using my big teapot (45oz), I would be out of luck. So I made a decision, as I brewed it as I would normally brew it. Excepting the temperature. Normally I brew oolongs at 185F, this called for boiling water. OK, I’ll make that change. I might try it at a normal temperature next time though. After the first steep the infuser was pretty full, although I can tell the leaves are not yet fully unfurled. They are a medium-ish leaf size, not as big as the Lupicia fruity oolongs.

Using the aroma set: So the aroma is where you get the Ginger. It’s a more matured ginger taste, not quite deep enough to be savory, but not so sweet to be called candy either. That only appeared in the first aroma cup though, when I did it again the sense of ginger lessened. The smell of the hot brew however was kind of vegetal, and dare I say it?: malty. The taste of the steep was quite the same as the smell, but soo smooth. The steep had not the slightest bit of astringency or drying. It was like velvet.
If you drink it hot hot! The overall sensation was like drinking really really good (although hot, and flat) beer. THIS is what I would imagine a perfect beer to taste like. Hmm. (My cousin is convinced that malty beers like stouts are horrible and really hoppy craftbeers, mostly IPAs, are the top of the line – I say the opposite. I dislike hops, but malt is the bomb.) When it cools down you get the sense of ginger, which gets more spicy and yet more sweet the more it cools.

With a normal teacup: After it cools down some more the malt taste goes away and you’re left with a green oolong with cream and ginger notes, with mild floral notes. Still good, but I think I’ll try to drink this one pretty hot. (How different is this from the experience above… man, that aroma set really changes things up, doesn’t it?) I probably would have gotten a more pronounced taste if I followed the recommended amount of leaf, but the intensity was just fine for me.

The oolong itself is pretty green, but well rounded. The scenting process that they claim is new to me. The results however they did it, is quite spectacular. I would buy this. (Probably lots, I hope my wallet can afford it). They are set to open shop this month. Maybe there will be a grand opening sale? (A girl can hope.)

Thank you Tea Ave! Good luck on your opening!

I was planning on doing some oolong tasting today, but I’ve been looking for my wallet all day, and didn’t want the tea to go cold. This stuff though, I don’t really mind if it’s cold.

I used to really enjoy this one, but now it’s not so special. A little honey makes it nicer.

Hopefully I find my wallet soon, I’m starting to get worried about it. I don’t even know when it disappeared. I carry all my cards and stuff in a small magic wallet, but that bigger one has all my insurance cards and stuff in it, so I really should have kept better track of it.

Steepster keeps eating my tasting note… not in a good way.

This one I ‘ll have to try again. I brewed 3 steeps to take to work with me (in separate thermoses) and for some reason was convinced that I was drinking mango oolong all day. Not even like Lupicia’s Ripe Mango oolong, but it tasted like the mango hichew candies. Yeah… I don’t know. I had more notes but I’m too tired to think of and retype them at the moment.

This was pretty sweet. After having oolongs for awhile, the sweetness in this made them seem downright savory (which they aren’t really). The peach isn’t really prominent though. There is a certain creaminess to it, which is where I suppose the brulee part comes in. I like it, but it’s definitely a dessert tea for me. I probably won’t be reaching for this tea often.