250 Tasting Notes

89

Another really old tea I found burried in my stash, this was actually something like my fourth tea purchase ever way back in the day when Verdant ran off Wordpress. Good time…

Anyway, the first cup was prepared in my gaiwan with 205 degree water for 20 seconds. The result is surprisingly bright, almost juicy yet at the same time buttery. The taste is dominated by some indistinct fruit (reminds me a bit of grapes, probably because of how juicy the flavor is), but with cedar occasionally showing through. This tea is also incredibly thirst-quenching, and is well suited for the wonderful weather we’re having in Virginia today, and I intend to savor every minute of it.

Flavors: Butter, Cedar

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec
Bonnie

I still am hoarding a little too…

Terri HarpLady

As am I! :)

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87

Wow, I didn’t know I still had this tea, let alone the 2 ounces still left in the sealed bag.

Anyway, I put a generous portion in my gaiwan, and steeped the leaves in near-boiling water for 18 seconds. The results is initially very mellow, a bit creamy but not overly so. The flavor intensifies to a kind of woody flavor with a bit of a mineral sensation that lingers on palate long after the tea is gone. Well, mineral might not be quite the right word to describe the sensation, but it’s not silky, or smooth, and there is a hint of stringency associated with it. It’s a bit like a Japanese green in that the astringency makes it more interesting than if it wasn’t present. Other flavors are present, but they are very subtle and kind of hard to describe. I also remember the tea being sweeter, but that’s probably just because this tea is getting rather old now. Regardless, it is well worth tasting this tea slowly to appreciate the complex flavors. Can’t wait to see how it develops.

Flavors: Cedar, Cream, Mineral, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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98

I can’t believe that I forgot about this tea, I’ve barely used any of it! Used a heaping teaspoon and a bit extra leaves in a gaiwan, steeped for 20 seconds with 190 degree water. As I was pouring the water over the leaves it started to fill the room with an amazing aroma that reminds me of when I used to go camping in Pennsylvania. The first sip of the tea starts with the a very mild, creamy smokiness that gradually transitions into raw sugar flavor. The mouth-feel also changes to the really fantastic mineral sensation that Wuyi teas are famous for, which was very pleasant. This is truly a rare find, and I can’t wait to see how it develops.

The second cup was preapred with 200 degree water and steeped for about 8 seconds. I was actually amazined, this time it tasted exactly like the subtle roast Zheng Shan Xaio Zhong I got from Verdant last year. That was an amazing tea, and for this to have ascended to that level put this the top 5 teas I’ve ever had. Wow. Anyway, the difference in taste is that this was a little darker, and there is more of the Wuyi flavor profile present. The tea is also sweeter and a bit less creamy, but everything fits together so well that talking about the individual flavors really doesn’t do the tea justice. I kinda wish I had another bag of this.

Flavors: Cream, Mineral, Pine

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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90

It’s been a really long time since I actually sat down to do a review, these recent semesters have been insanely busy. Anyway, I found this sample packet behind my monitor and figured that I should drink something other than my rapidly-depleting sheng puerh. I opened the packet and was immediately greeted with a pleasantly floral aroma. I steeped it for 20 seconds in a gaiwan with 200 degree water, which was a bit longer than intended but the result was still fantastic. The initial tasting was very sweet, the initial honey flavor giving way to a very smooth lilac flavor. It will definitely be interesting to see how the tea develops.

The second steep was prepared with 200-205 degree water steeped for 8 seconds. The first thing I noticed is that the initial flavor isn’t as sweet yet still very much a honey flavor. There is also a grassiness that I didn’t notice before, and even better the very subtle flavor of saffron appears, slowly coating the mouth in it’s unique flavor. The important lesson to learn here – Tie Guan Yin is to be consumed hot, otherwise the flavors are much less interesting.

Flavors: Grass, Honey

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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84

It’s been way too long since I had time for a proper tea tasting. After my last note, where I mentioned that a fried was seriously sick, I cough either the mother of all colds, a mild flu, or some combination of the two. I had terrible cold symptoms for over a week, and it only cleared up on the 29th. I couldn’t smell or taste tea properly because of the disease, and the decongestants and fever meds certainly didn’t help me stay awake.

Anyway, today is mostly free, so I’m going to try to work my way through this and maybe another of Angel’s samples today. Thanks again Angle!

First Steep
I opened the tea and steeped it in my gaiwan for 15 seconds with near-boiling water. The aroma immediately started to fill the room, even though the gaiwan was still covered. It’s a bit overwhelming for me, I’m not used to tea smelling quite that strongly. Regardless, the taste and mouth-feel are both very pleasant. While the flavor of osmanthus is very prominent the vegetal base green oolong is still present to help balance the flavor out. Also, it’s amazingly sweet, much more so than I expect even from a green oolong. The mouth-feel is a nice balance between buttery and the classic high mountain smooth feeling, which works very well with the flavors of the tea to make the experience very relaxing. The whole experience is very delightful, especially after I got used to the aroma. IT wil be very interesting to see how the flavor develops and how long the Osmanthus flavor will remain prominent.

After Action Report
The next two steeps (Because it was really weak after three) were basically characterized by the osmanthus flavor predictably fading faster than the base oolong. By the third cup the flavor was very generic, but most green oolongs aren’t that great beyond 3 anyways, so I guess that can’t be held against it. It’s a very nice tea, it’s just not great.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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Once again, shout-out to Teavivre for the tea!

First steep – 15 seconds in a Gaiwan using near boiling water. The aroma is pleasantly floral, doubly so since I have gotten over my brief cold. The initial flavor can have a touch of astringency fading quickly to a smoothness that is unique to high-mountain teas. I put this uniqueness down to the minimal roasting and oxidation used in these tea, which preserves the delicate flavors of the tea. The thing that really makes this tea stand out is how long the slightly-mineral aftertaste lasts. it was lingering for over a minute and half with my tea. That’s almost a record, and the other such tea was a big red robe, which is a much stronger tea. Truly remarkable. The other thing in the palate of the tea is a bit floral, which reminds me of some bushes near my grandmother’s house. I’m not sure what they are, but I’ll call her to see. All in all, this was a great cup of tea, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

Second steep – 5 seconds with near-boiling water. The result is much better, the floral flavors have really matured. Oolongs are almost always better on the second steep, peaking on the third, but improvement this pronounced is pretty rare. It’s like the first steep was a sketch, and the second was the painted final version: There are details and nuances that there not initially present. The aftertaste has also improved, becoming much sweeter. The end result is a much more balanced tea, with the right amount of sweetness to accentuate the other flavors.

Just when I think that I have a break, I find out my roommate is very sick with something that it is actually really serious. This has put a severe damper on my plans for the evening, ans so this will probably be the last note I have time for. Anyways, the third steep was prepared same as the second, and the results were actually a bit less satisfying than the second. It lost enough of the sweetness that the flavor wasn’t as perfect as before, which was a bit surprising. I think that the wash I gave it to begin with was actually detrimental to the flavor, so I probably won’t do that next time I taste the tea. It’s still an exceptional tea, but it lost the perfect balance between smoothness, floral flavors, and sweetness that made it exceptional. Anyway, I wish all of you the best, and hopefully the rest of your weekends will be more relaxed than mine.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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First of all, thank you Teavivre for another round of samples. I don’t have that much experience with Taiwanese oolongs, so these samples will be a bit of a learning expereince for me.

First steep – Quick wash with hot water, followed by a 10 second steep. The result is pleasant, the color reminiscent of a fine Tieguanyin. My roommate commented that the aroma was really floral, but I’m a bit under the weather and can’t confirm that. The mouth-feel is buttery smooth, and the flavor of the tea is a nice subdued floral flavor. The really nice thing about this tea is that despite the brightness of the flavors it still retains a great deal of complexity, with some vegetable flavors sneaking in as the flavor develops. As the tea transitions to the aftertaste, it sweetens (again, much like a Tieguanyin) to round off the experience and end on a high note. This is definitely a tea to drink slowly and savor.

Second Steep – I lost track of time, I had sudden inspiration for my AI homework, and rushed out type it out before I forgot. As such, the tea was a bit over steeped, and was actually a bit unpleasant when hot. There was a lot of astringency because it was over steeped, but after the tea cooled down the sweet aftertaste was able to assert itself, making the tea a bit like a Gyrokuro. Other than that, it’s a bit more floral this time, but the flavors are …jumbled, for lack of a better term. Honestly, given how badly I botched the steep, it’s amazing that it turned out this well.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec
TeaVivre

Once tea is over steeped, the astringency comes out and affects the taste.

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Bio

I am a university student, studying Computer Science, who found that I really enjoy a nice cup of tea. I finally got into loose-leaf tea in August of 2011. I am currently in the process of expanding my horizons, and have found that I have a particular fondness for Oolongs in general, and Wuyi Yanchas in particular. The unique mineral taste is very appealing to me, as well as a nice Sencha. More recently, I’ve developed a taste for Sheng puerh, white tea, and black teas. The only things I’ve tried that I didn’t like was Shu puerh, but that might have been because it was quite young. Regardless, I’ve been slowly expanding my horizons, so if you have any recommendations, please feel free to send me a PM.

Just for the heck of it, my other interests include classical musics (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Debussy, Shostakovitch, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Wagner, to name a few composers). I also have a fondness for a bit more modern music, like The Beatles, all Jazz (by all, I really do mean all), Gorillaz (I love Demon Days), and a couple of Indie artists you will never run across unless you play a lot of semi obscure Indie games. Also, I love cats.

Location

Fairfax, VA

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