Pouchong

I love Pouchong. When I saw this one was a GREAT TASTE GOLD Winner in 2009 I had to try it!

After I received it I took a look at the ratings on steepster and I am a little afraid…altho there are only 3 logs – one is a really low rating, one isn’t rated but commented, and the other is an 80. So…could it be one of those teas that are all across the board!? Not sure.

Here are my findings…

I know the term “Agony of the Leaves” is to describe the unwinding and unfurling of the tea leaves but I have always found it to be somewhat of a downer…I mean really…think about it…it sounds PAINFUL. Most of the time I say the leaves dance because it’s more positive and it sounds happier! Well, these leaves are somewhere inbetween. It seems like they want to dance but they are struggling…perhaps a sign of good multiple infusions!? Maybe…time will tell.

This isn’t much for aroma. It isn’t much for color…very pale. Heck it’s not really that strong in taste and I went 5 minutes. It’s a really tasty taste – what I CAN taste of it…but it’s VERY mellow. It IS very clean…I will say that.

I’m going do a 2nd Infusion before I rate…

Here is another from the box o’teas from LiberTeas from way back when. This is one of the samples that had some smell contamination but as it is an unflavoured tea I don’t imagine it will be as much an issue as it was for the flavoured teas.

I actually don’t know anything about pouchongs, and was a little wary when I read that they are a mix of green tea and green oolongs. Those are my two least favourite kinds of tea, both prompting queasy stomache on occasion which leads me to stay away from them.

This is beautiful though, long twisted leaves that open up to be very full and have a very sweet smell without any of that vegetal aroma I dislike so much. The liquor is a golden yellow and smells almost of mild cinnamon sugar. The first sips echo these smells and are really quite nice. I get a sense of creaminess, and it is a very full flavour, much more than I expected by the aroma.

Despite my dislike of green tea and green oolongs, this is really nice. I am very impressed, and look forward to enjoying the rest of the sample. I’m not sure if this is an authentic tasting of this pouching, but man is it yummy. There is hope for me yet!

Edit to add: This is tasting note 600. Yippee!

This was my wake up tea. I love the sample size packaging of the Canton Tea Company. It makes it so convenient with using the Breville. Enough for a cup at home and a travel mug.

I forgot to make notes about the dry leaf scent; however, nothing remarkable either way stands out. (I set this one up the evening before I drank it… and it was a long night for my sleepless toddler.) 195/3 min.

It smells floral. I can pick up on that as I come close to the teapot. The taste confirms the floral notes. I’m not certain, but I’m picking up an aftertaste of plastic. I’ve had this happen to me before with certain floral teas. This one is a delicate oolong, so I guess I’m not surprised. Still, it’s a nice tea. I like the slightly sweet finish.

This was what I received for week 2 of the Canton Tea Club but unfortunately due to a bad cold I had to postpone the tasting. It didn’t dawn on me until yesterday when I received week 3 that I was behind and thought I should get a move on with the logging.

Firstly upon reading about the origin I found it super fascinating that this is considered by some to be a green tea and others to be an oolong tea. Imagine it…an oolong tea with a green effect (or a green tea with an oolong effect), it sounds so marvellous and magical!

Whilst raw the tea itself consists of very dark green and very dark brown twisted leaves that smell strongly floral and very green. Not especially grassy green but fresh and slightly sweet.

Once brewed this is very light yellow in colour and it smells toned down from the raw leaves. There is still a slight sweetness to a smooth floral smell but it’s very delicate. At this point I am still not sure whether I would class it as a green or an oolong…hopefully I will be able to make a decision at the end.

Alright lets get down to the nitty gritty of the taste test. This is very light and fresh, subtly floral, slightly green tasting as it’s slightly bitter (very slightly) and a little buttery. Due to the gentle nature of this tea I think it’s going to be something you either love or hate.

This does get stronger half way down the cup but still remains super smooth and light. Great for a mellow, relaxing drink. I have also been contemplating what I would categorize this as and the type with the most ticks is oolong BUT I feel that if the farmer himself grows and sells it as a green tea then it may technically be classed as a green. It says on the leaflet I received with this tea from the club that Xu (the farmer) sells it as a green personally but people claim it to be a slightly oxidised oolong.

Regardless this is very nice and cleanses the pallet wonderfully. My last few cups have been flavoured black tea’s and this has completely neutralised any remaining flavours.

In a few words this tea is: subtle, light, floral, buttery, green, and naturally sweet. That spells WINNER to me.

I love Pouchong tea, and this is a fantastic Pouchong!

The flavor is sweet, mildly vegetative and smooth with a fruit-like aftertaste. I am getting a very nice creamy mouthfeel and only a hint of astringency. A nice nutty note to this too.

Very smooth tea. The smell is sweet and reminds me of cinnamon toast crunch mixed with honey. The taste is very clean,green and enjoyable. It’s a laid back cup for me, which is exactly what I am looking for at 5pm. However, I would have liked to have a bit more flavor, it isn’t strong, but it could be stronger,imo.

The leaves on this are large, vibrant green and mostly whole. The fragrance is clean and very sweet.

When brewed, the fragrance is grass and hops, but there was also an unpleasant very slight bleach-like note. I even did a “do over” on this and had the same result the second time.

In taste, this was light and sweet with a mild and lingering fruit and honey aftertaste. I would have scored this higher if it wasn’t so difficult getting past that off-note on the fragrance.

(Yes, my prep gear was clean and has never been in contact with anything resembling bleach.)

Okay, I have to admit I’m a bit worried about this one. I love oolongs (dark ones) and I love green tea….but the last and only green oolong I had was vile. So vile and stinky in fact that I could seriously smell it for days (after I had gotten rid of it all!!) The scent was seriously stuck in my sinuses and it was horrible. I’ve read somewhat encouraging reviews about this one…so here we go…

The dry leaves are nice, long, and various shades of green. They are quite beautiful much like Dawn….but even better because green is my favorite color. The scent is not overpowering, but smells very green almost like seaweed. Thankfully, the aroma did not intensify while steeping so I think I can do this.

The scent has turned very floral and almost reminds me of roses. The tea itself is very smooth and almost buttery – but not as buttery as a Sencha. Wow, unless this starts to turn on me as it cools I think I like this. I will be updating later and perhaps adjusting the rating up or down as I see fit.

Okay, this turned on me. Big time. Not as bad as my previous experience but I just don’t like green oolongs. BIG ratings drop as I couldn’t even finish my cup.

I resisted trying a Pouchong (Baozhong…whatever) because I thought it was just another type of oolong. Turns out that in some circles – and according to the Almighty Wiki – it’s sometimes given its own classification; like yellow tea. Canton’s offering smelled like a grape-rich green tea, but tasted like a green-style oolong. The flavor was smoky, non-astringent, fruity, kelpy, and all-around decent. Quite a feat for a “gr-oolong”.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/20/review-canton-tea-co-pouchong-4/

I felt that this tea was going to be a very unique experience. After all, pouchong is not a very common type of tea. The people who grow it refer to it as a green tea, yet in reality, pouchong is actually a type of oolong. The oxidisation process is such that the tea is supposed to be very light in flavour.

For preparing pouchong, water of a temperature akin to that which is used for green tea should be used. According to Canton Tea Co’s website, the tea is very forgiving, and they recommend using anywhere from one teaspoon to one table spoon of tea per cup of water. As I was making this tea in a 150ml gaiwan, I chose to just go with their recommendation and use 1 teaspoon of leaves. In keeping with their description of it being a very forgiving tea, they recommend 2-4 minutes for steep time. I went with three, just to be safe.

The dry leaves and the wet leaves smell much the same. A hint of fruitiness and a lot of fresh, light, oolong scent. Even after three minutes, the brew looks incredibly pale, but has a wonderfully light, floral aroma. The initial flavour, when the tea first touches the tongue, is light, too. While it may seem ridiculous, it is almost feathery in how soft the flavour is. One is then surprised when the finishing taste is bolder than expected. In fact, it seems that the finish is bolder than the foretaste.

I can see why this tea wins awards. It really is good. Canton Tea Co’s website says nothing regarding resteeping, but I decide to try anyway, increasing the steep time to four minutes. I cannot say that the resteeping has improved or changed the flavour. If anything, it is a bit weaker than before. However, this tea still maintains its soft mouthfeel and light flavours. An indefinite steep is probably called for in order to get all the vestiges of flavour from these leaves.

I enjoyed drinking this tea, and it is certainly one of Canton Tea Co’s very nice offerings. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 77/100.

Wow. I like this tea. It’s so fresh and green. oolong-y and green. Yum.

gorgeous dark twisted leaves lead to a very light green brew. The liquor smells like roasted broccoli to me. vegetal but roasty, with some seaweed thrown in. the taste is of kelp, asparagus, and a little bit of honey thrown in. it is mild and refreshing. i prefer a stronger pouchong, but this is a great all-day tea.

My first pouchong. Upon opening the package, the tea smelt sweet and floral, like I would expect a normal green to smell like.

After steeping, the tea is a pale green and still smells floral, but also toasty. It tastes like a green, but without the grassiness I find in many normal greens. It is a lovely taste, but it is very astringent, to the point where it actually hurts my throat. Maybe if I used less leaf (I did use quite a lot, admittedly) this would get better. I will hold off rating this until I’ve had it again.

My batch is pretty good. Buttery, ever so slightly floral, distinctly vegetal, yet mild with a lingering sweet aftertaste of cucumber.

It’s a pretty straightforward green oolong, in my opinion. As long as you don’t kill it with boiling water (treat it like green tea) it should be ok.

Another one from the Canton Tea Co sampler – as their description notes, although it’s called a green tea, it’s actually an oolong, and I think that comes through in the flavor. But I’m getting ahead of myself – the dry leaves are twisted but not as tightly rolled as gunpowder tea, and are a deep green in color. The scent is vegetal and fresh.

I gave the first steep one minute at 190 degrees, and got a much bigger burst of the vegetal scent right off the bat. There is also a sweetness mixed in, and I’d have to agree with the previous description of it as apricot – it’s a nice highlight. The flavor is walking the line between green and oolong; we’ve got the seaweed/buttered vegetables thing going on, but I’m also getting the sweet, juice-like flavor of a good oolong in there as well.
The second steep went for two minutes, but I found the flavor surprisingly muted this time. The vegetables got a little deeper, but the sweetness has receded into the background. It still has a pleasant amount of substance in the mouth feel though. Overall, a nice tea, but I’m wondering if my sensing it as neither fully green nor fully oolong might make it less than satisfying in the long run.

Review by Jamie: “I like green tea but it’s never the first tea I reach for. I generally oversteep it and then fight to get past the bitter taste of my own forgetfulness. A friend of mine swears by the bitterness of green, says that you don’t get the full benefit without oversteeping it…. erm I don’t know…”

Read the full review at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/694/tea-review-canton-tea-co-pouchong/

This is a very light oolong/green tea. I was expecting a bit more punch in color and taste of this tea, but it is not bad. Almost refreshing, it is a tea I could drink on warmer days. Expect a pale brew that is not heavy at all.

Beautiful dry leaf. I’ve been steeping longer than the label recommends. Doesn’t seem to get at all bitter which is always the risk you take. Good for 2-3 infusions.

Great tea. Very clean and smooth.