Chef8489

Dong Ding is one of my favorite teas. It is a lightly oxidized oolong with huge amounts of flavor. The aroma is a sweet earthy aroma followed by a floral honeysuckle in the background. The brew is a pale yellow liquor at two min steep. The buds are tightly rolled and blossom into a huge amount of leaves. With the wet leaves there is a bit of a grassy and honeysuckle aroma.

When it comes to sipping the precious golden liquor you are first hit by a sweet light grassy notes followed by the honeysuckle. You get a bit of a dry astringent note on the tongue as an aftertaste, but it fades quickly. After the dry note fades you get a nutty earthy note.
Overall I really like this tea and thepuritea did a great job in choosing a great one.

Received this to sample and was quite pleased. The leaves are a tight hand rolled balls. Its what you would expect from a good TGY tea. The dried leaves have an earthy vegetal aroma with a hint of smokiness. I steeped 212 degrees for 1 min in a large cup. I used 2 tsp per oz. The liquor is a light yellow green clear liquid. The aroma of the tea is slightly smokey but with a nice green tea smell. Does not smell like wet grass that some green and oolong teas can smell like. The flavor is bright and quick on the tongue with no aftertaste or bitterness. You do taste a hint of smokiness and earthiness followed by freshness. It is quite an enjoyable tea and I will drink it again.

Got this as a sample from Adagio. The leaves are a dark tan with red tones. It is not as dark as most pu-erh teas I have tried. I steeped it for 2.5 min in a large Adagio tea cup and infuser.

The color of the liquor reminds me of a lightly brewed coffee.The aroma of the tea is musty, earthy, almost salty fish aroma we love of the pu-erh teas. The flavor is not a strong robust flavor I am aquanted to with pu-erh tea. This has a slightly sweet mild flavor.

The more you drink the cup the more the characteristics come out. I hold the tea in my mouth and swirl it around and the earthieness comes through with a bit of smoke. The after tast is not bitter nor are the tannins overpowering.

Its not a bad pu-er, but it could use some ageing. Its like a above average teenage student that has so much potiental but lacks the time. If someone would take it under its wings and be patient with it, greatness could come through.

In conclusion,
Adagios pu-erh dante is not a bad pu-erh tea, but really needs to be stored away for a while to mature to what it could be. If you are looking for a quick pu-erh it is not bad and I could reccoment it. It could be a gateway drug into the world of pu-erh.

Father in law brought this back from India Last week. He was looking for real masala but the areas of town where the loose leaf was at was a really bad part of town so he brought this back. It comes in tea bags with dust and fannings which I am not thrilled, and if brewed by itself is strong and bitter.

To fix this I do a traditional half milk and half water brew and sugar. It is fairly nice if you are in a pinch for a cup of masala but it is not my ideal tea. It has a bit of cinnamon but the predominate flavors are cardamon and anise.

In conclusion, if you are in india and cant seem to find a chai wallah then pick this up and brew with milk and sugar and it will do.

Very nice light oolong with a great Osmanthus aroma and flavor. Not bitter at all and very forgiving for over steeping. It has a light to golden color depending on how long you steep. There are whole flowers mixed in with the oolong tea to give a nice color contrast in the leaves. First you get a light fruty/ vegetal followed by the Osmanthus. Very clean on the palette and does not linger too long. After the flowers there is a slight hint of nuts and then everything fades nicely. Tis would be a great tea to drink as a palette cleanser in between courses or after a meal. I do not see this on their site any longer but if you can come across it it is a keeper.

The leaves have a sweet smell when dry. I steeped them in 190 degree water for about 2.5 min and get a wonderful toasted aroma of the tea. You get toasted nuts with a bit of earth. It is an amber to darker honey in color and a bit sweet but yet earthy. It has no bitterness that I can detect an does not stay long on the tongue. You are left with a bit of a sweetness and for a second a minute bit of tannins. It is a very pleasant middle of the road toasted oolong. I would call it a medium to medium dark oolong. Probably around a 60 to 65% oxidation.

Steeped in a gaiwan. It is tightly rolled and bit earthy toasty aroma. After steeped you get toasty nuts. Flavor is mild nuts followed by a bit of fruit Not much tannin’s and pleasant tea.

Quite nice toasted oolong. Has a strong nutty flavor and aroma and a bit of dryness. No strong tannin’s that I pick up. Not a very complex tea. Finishes like it starts. Leaves smell of earth and toasted sesame seeds. I like a bit more complex teas but this is a good tea once and a while.

It is a very sweet subtle black tea. I am loving the flavor. I really like this tea. Low tannin’s make this tea one of my favorite blacks. I will add more notes when I can smell and try it again.

This is a very enjoyable pu-erh. I am fairly new to pu-erh but finding the journey adventurous. I got this sample from a friend and opened it up today. Has a nice citrus note with some earthy components. The leaves are very tight and need to be broken up then softened with a rinse then broken up more. 30 sec first steep. Aroma of brew is subtle earthy but no smokiness that I enjoy. Flavor has a bit of citrus followed by dryness then a bit of earth. No pungent flavor or aroma. Great tea but I would like to have a bit of smokieness like other pu’s I have tried.

Just brewed a cup of this up for the first time. It is a nice roasted oolong. Aroma before steeping is roasted earthiness and bit of spiciness. Tight hand rolled balls that unroll nicely. Cooked the liquor aroma is malty, nutty and earthy.When it hits the pallet you get the roasted notes with a dry feel in the mouth. You get a bit of coffee aftertaste and a bit of chocolate. It is not a bad tea and I would drink it once and a while, but I prefer my non roasted oolongs.

Well I brewed this in too much water for first infusion but it still produced a lovely cup of tea. When the leaves are dry you get a bit of floral notes. Once you add the water the creaminess comes through full force. You get hints of almond, milk, flowers from the leaves. The nectar is golden yellow almost honey like. The aroma of the nectar is quite creamy with a bit of sweet cooked rice and some floral after notes. The the tastes come off as a bit creamy but a bit dry on the tongue. I assume that is because it was brewed incorrectly. It has a nice floral aftertaste. I dont get any almond notes in the flavor as I did with some other jin xuan teas. I will brew again correctly and give a second review. This is a verry enjoyable tea even if brewed incorrectly.

Tried this for the first time today. The dry leaves are tightly rolled with a few stems intermixed. The aroma of the dry leaves are earthy with a bit of honey in the background. Wet leaves you get malty and Smokey aroma. The liquor is golden to dark amber and aroma has some lingering floral notes. Flavor of the liquor starts off light with honeysuckle notes but as it cools the maltyness and earthy takes foreground on the toung. Nice oolong but not my favorite.

This is a nice china black tea. I am not fond of really strong black teas such as Assam or Ceylons, and this is not one. Steeped at 4 mins it is a little stronger than a darjeeling second flush I have on hand. Has a good amount of golden and red leaves mix in with the black leaves. The tannins are quite low. It will not be an every day tea but I will drink it a few times a month. I am just not that big on black teas. I would like to add it makes a great iced tea.

Wow what a sensation. This is the first Milk oolong I have tried. Aroma is a warm milky almost almond milk or aroma of a rice porridge I make. Flavor is a fresh floral with a nuttiness. Very creamy in texture and very pleasing. I will be purchasing more of this. No bad aftertaste to speak of. Final notes of cream only stay on tounge for 5 to 10 seconds.

Great green tea with many subtle complexities. Really prefer this to any sencha I have tried thus far. Nice vegetal/grassy notes when dry and great aroma when steeped. Light green to pale yellow when steeped.

Huge fan of earl grey teas. This one has many characteristic that I like. It has a wonderful citrus aroma from the bergamont followed by a nice smoky aroma. It is a very smooth feel in the mouth and flavorful. The extra bergamont balances well with the smoky tea. Great tea and will keep it in my rotation.

Great tea. Does remind me of a Darjeeling Black. Bit of smoke, honey, and a bit fruity. Need to drink it neat or you will loose the flavor. No aftertaste, nice and clean.Bit dry on the tounge but not too bad.

I really Like this Masala. I have tried it many different ways. Neat, with sugar, with 15% milk, 15% milk and sugar, Steeped in milk only, steeped in milk w/ honey, steeped in milk w/sugar. I really like this masala. It has a strong cardamom and cinnamon notes with a strong black tea. Is a great tea for a cold day. If you love a good masala this would be a good start.

This is hard to describe. It is a very pleasant white tea with lots of fruit. I am not big on fruit teas but this is not bad. The apple and acai really come through. Clean aftertaste. I think this would make a wonderful iced tea.

I enjoy many different teas. Tis is a great version of Earl Grey. It has subtle flavors of vanilla and citrus that mix well with the slightly smoky black tea. There was no bitterness that I could detect and would be a good through out day tea. In the morning I enjoy stronger teas to get me going and in the evening I enjoy subtle teas such as whites or light oolongs. If you need strong earl grey blends then this is not for you, but if you want a different change of pace with many subtle flavors this is really a tea to try.