88
drank Banyan Da Hong Pao by Zen Tea
350 tasting notes

Oh, yum. You know when a tea just really hits the spot? That was this tea for me, tonight. After sampling a whole bunch of straight black teas in a row, I wanted to try something different and decided on a roasted oolong. This is one from my Zen Tea order that I hadn’t had a chance to try yet. The scent of the dry leaf is sweet and floral and definitely roasted. The liquor is also roasty-toasty and sweet, with an underlying minerality as one would expect from a rock oolong. It’s like… toasted multigrain bread drizzled with honey. So far I’ve steeped it three times: 2min, 3min, and 7 min (I checked after 5min and it seemed light, so I gave it another couple). I’ll probably give it one more ultra-long steep via the “pour boiling water on and then forget about it” method to see if I can wring the last bit of flavour from these leaves. I’m drinking the 3rd steep right now, and it’s noticeably more mineral than the first two, but still very sweet. Nom nom nom.

Flavors: Honey, Mineral, Roasted, Toasty

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 g 10 OZ / 295 ML
Fjellrev

Nice flavour profile!

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Fjellrev

Nice flavour profile!

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Well it has been over a year and everyone I know thinks my tea obsession is a bit out of hand, so… I guess I’m not a total newbie anymore. :)

I’m drinking a lot more pure tea these days, though I still love a good flavoured blend too. Current favourites: Chinese and Taiwanese blacks, fresh Chinese greens, oolongs both green and roasted, sheng puer.

I really love companies that buy directly from tea farmers, and have an emphasis on quality and sustainability. Favourites: Verdant, Whispering Pines, Eco Cha, White 2 Tea. I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, so I buy almost all my tea online.

For hot tea, I’m usually brewing in either a 100ml gaiwan, or a 10oz mug with a steeping basket. For cold tea, I cold brew overnight in 500ml mason jars.

My cupboard on Steepster doesn’t include small samples, just the ones I have at least 15g of. So if you see something you’re interested in, I probably have enough to share. :)

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Northwestern Ontario, Canada

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