Long Life Oolong

I got three steeps out of this today. The first one was perfection… fruitiness coming out in all the right places. The second was ok, not great but ok. And the third, well it was weak and had an odd taste that made me dive for some water. Another one steep wonder, it seems. Kindof expensive for that, with the heavy fruit chunks and all… boo!

So… I think I need to take a break from Steepster for a few days. Too much going on for me right now… I’ve had a bunch of emotional upsets and there is an illness in the family causing all sorts of drama.
Not to mention that I’m dealing with the trauma of a big milestone tomorrow, and Friday. One that I’d really rather not face but am getting dragged through anyhow. So yeah. I need to make some space in my head, clear out the cobwebs and tears.
Could really use a hug right now.

I am sitting here in anticipation of this tea which is politely steeping just feet away from me. I believe I have sampled this before, or maybe I did not. I know at one point someone said that since I liked Happy Kombucha I would also enjoy this.
I just got my first ever David’s Tea order in and am very excited! This is the first one I am steeping.
The smell in the bag is A MA ZING!
I love a really strong peach flavor.
Almonds are a true love of mine in teas as well.
So much fruit I had to pour the bag into a bowl to be sure there was any Oolong in there!
I found it.
I just hope that the oolong flavor can come through with all this fruit and nut!
I am also really hungry right now and have not made time to prepare any food so this is going to be food for me right now as well.
Yes, why I could be making food instead of writing this up while my tea steeps but come on Steepsters you all have done this a time or two right!?
There are about 20 things I should or could be getting done right now but alas, I had orders come in today. Which would be an excellent excuse if I didn’t have orders coming in almost EVERY day.
OH OH Its done BRB!
Ahhhh my tea is not resting beside me in a cup – cooling just a little before I indulge.
Well so I was saying … I have orders coming in almost daily.
That will be stopping for a while as we are going to St. Louis for a few days soon and I didn’t want precious teas sitting in the hot weather or getting snached up off my porch.
I would have my mother bring them in – as she will be here many times a day to check on things but I don’t need her seeing that many boxes so I cut off all orders and to police myself send any money I get into my PayPal (which is where all my earnings come through) right to the bank so I can’t play with it!
First sip:
hum a little on the weak side. :( Maybe I didn’t use enough leaf although I used what was in he directions.
I will let it cool a bit more.
No no I fear this won’t do.
The only thing I didn’t do was steep as long as it said to.
Well I was within the parameters but I could have let it go a bit longer.
I decided to pull the basket out of my Breville, grab a steeping basket, put that in my cup and took about half the leaves out of the basket from the Breville and put it in the strainer basket in my cup. This has to steep longer. If it still is not flavorful I will not be a happy camper.
I feel this tea is far too expensive to be this weak so this MUST be an operator error I pray.
There was just not enough time to think so this was the best thing I could come up with.
Maybe there is a way to lower the basket into the Breville longer without reheating the water – as I didn’t want to burn the leaf.
I just don’t know how to if there is but that is something to look into soon.
Regardless I did not want to waste two cups worth of leaves since the Breville only brews in two cup minim therefore this was my plan.
We will see.
…
Well okay … now we’re onto something here.
This is MUCH better and the leaves are not burnt – much more flavor now, I do get the oolong which is lovely and the peach.
Still you know I guess Im spoiled but for as much good looking yummy stuff is in this dry blend I guess I was expecting to be BLOWN out of the water.
I am just enjoying floating on this nice little raft here but certainly not blown out of the water.
I am withholding the rating FOR NOW because I never believe in rating when there is an operator error. I mean its not fair to the tea right?
I will try this again soon and see what comes out of it.
For now I would give this around a 70 and would not pass it up if offered but I would not re-stock based on this steep.
Total steep time was 6:30 minutes between Breville steep and basket in cup steep.
Brew temp 200f
As for comparison to Happy Kombucha – from what I recall anyway I prefered Kombucha!

I stopped by David’s Tea today to pick up some stuff for a friend who lives overseas. I also used this opportunity as an excuse to pick up some samples of stuff I’ve been wanting to try. They finally got those teas I wanted back in stock! Yaaaay! And since Steepster has been acting better lately, you’ll likely be seeing my thoughts on those teas soon!

After chatting with my tea helper and sniffing teas, I got a bit thirsty. So I ordered this iced to go. It’s only ok. While the icy cold drink was very refreshing on a hot moist day, the flavor was only so so. The peach was too candy-like for my taste and the oolong was a bit too grassy and metallic. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t taste like high quality oolong either. And there’s supposed to be some almond in here? Hmm…didn’t really notice.

I don’t regret this tea. I’m happy i tried it, but I have better things waiting for me.

Also, if I lived or worked closer to David’s Tea, I’d be all over their iced tea promo! $1 iced teas all summer long if you bring in their own special travel cup. The cup is $9ish. Tempting…veeery tempting….

Edit: looking at my receipt, I suddenly realized that I got this iced tea for free! That’s so awesome! What’s the trigger for a free tea to go? Thank you so much, tea person!

I really need to clear out more tea. Back to drinking things I haven’t tried yet! I was feeling like an oolong and this one was at the top of the oolong box. I knew it was peachy but I did not realize it had almonds in it so hopefully it tastes okay to my annoying taste buds.

And it does! It reminds me of Prosperous Peach Oolong from Teavana which I still have 2485729 pounds of (roughly) but less oolong tasting. Of course I use more than the instructions state for that one but I wasn’t sure how this one was going to be. Very peachy is the answer! I also like the more subtle apricot in there too.

There is this underlying nuttiness as the fruit flavors fade. Not really a fan of that.

I can’t decide yet if this is something I will want to drink again but I think I at least have to try it iced.

Thanks Kittenna!

Also this just made the onion chopping ninjas appear in my apartment or there’s a localized shower on my face but just…UGH I have to share. http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/stories-that-prove-animals-have-souls

I had this one a LONG time ago before I had joined steepster. This was one of the first teas that I ever tried.

Anyway, having another go with this tea. It is just as good as I remembered. Peach and oolong are such a stellar combination. Sweet and the apricot adds a whole new dimension all together! The nuts also add a little bit of nutty sweetness! I love this one!

I resteeped this at 95 degrees for 7 minutes and it was wonderful!

I got a tea package today from a friend in NYC. Yum!

This is one of the ones she sent me. It’s a really peachy oolong, and there’s some sort of spice to it too.

My tastebuds are kind of on the fritz, but this is still good!

And I was surprised and happy to see that she’d included a blend with ginger… as much as I hate ginger, it’s good for sore throats.

So um….I thought I’d really like this one since I’m a fan of peach and such. Turns out I’d rather drink a really oolongy oolong than this one. While It does have a peach taste to it, there’s something in here which is turning my stomach. Is not even peach like peach drink…it’s just. Yeah….it smells lovely…fruity and like it would be super tasty….but no.

I made this horrible mistake of leaving my tea and steeper at home when I went to work. With a 10 hour day ahead of me I had no idea what to do. Then
I remembered that our student helper had bought us the Sweet Indulgences set when he left. So, that solved the tea crisis. . . but what on earth would I use to infuse it? All I had was my timolino and NO infuser with it!
My inner CaveMama leapt out and I decided to use a triangle coffee filter.
I would not recommend this at all. The paper is incredible thick and it took like 10 minutes just to fill my mug. BUT, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Now, there was only this tea and very small amounts of Jessie’s Tea left. Not only does that not have caffeine, but I just plain don’t like it. This was a decent tea, all things considered, the peach was nice.
I wouldn’t have picked under normal circumstances though.

I was given a teabag of this tea last year and it was my first David’s Tea item that I received. Since I found that I couldn’t buy them here in the UK I kept it as a special treat for one day in the future. Well that day is now, my nan passed away 8 years ago next month and today would have been her birthday. I was very close to my nan and her passing has been extremely difficult for my family and not a day goes by that I don’t think about her.

My nan was a very strong woman and at only 63 she was taken away from us all much too young. I sometimes think that she was taken to cook for her beloved cowboy and Indians (her house was decorated with pictures and statues and she loved Western films).

To celebrate her life I am drinking this Long Life Oolong. My nan (Jean) was more of a coffee drinker than tea but I know she would love my quirky tea addiction and see it as being healthy and interesting. She was my best friend.

The tea comes in a see through square with easy to see ingredients. A sweet and peachy/apricot scent is subtle but there.

Once brewed the tea is yellow in colour with the same but much stronger peach/apricot smell that really is quite mouth wateringly good.

The taste is similar to the smell but with added extra’s. While the peach and apricot are the most dominant there is also a hint of waxy citrus orange and something slightly dark and gently toasty which must be the Oolong. Even though it’s rather fruity it still remains refreshing and light with a fair balance of flavours and sweetness.

It’s a shame I only had the one bag of this because it really is quite tasty. I may have to see if this re steeps well. Plus the cooler it becomes the more I can taste the Oolong and smooth almond. Yummy.

To my nan Jean West, I hope you have found peace and eternal happiness. We all miss you down here but we know you are watching over us. Know that we all love you and will miss you until the day that we are reunited. I am trying my best to make you proud of me. Even though it was short I’m thankful to have had you in my life. I love you nan.

I love this tea! The peach flavors are very natural and it’s just a joy to drink. Live Long Oolong is the kind of tea that I could see myself ordering again and again.

I have the lovely DaisyChubb to thank for this sample as well as for reminding that I have a bag of this tea that I’ve yet to open. I’ve been suffering from tea overload recently which is bliss, but I clearly have to pay closer attention because there are gems that I’ve been overlooking. Must drink more tea!

ohhh em gee, my first Oolong what do I do?! It’s steeping!! What do I do! It smells so good :D
It even looks buttery, oh my gosh I love peach! IMSOEXCITED

Why yes, I am dramatic. and yes, I do have a bachelor of fine arts degree. I studied 4 years to be this dramatic so deal with it! :D That’s what I tell my poor boyfriend anyways.

Speaking of anyways – THIS TEA

First steep: A little over 4 min.
The colour of this tea is so vibrant! The smell is more muted than the dry smell of course, but it’s gorgeous and I want to bathe in it. My first Oolong o: It’s very tasty, and I really didn’t know what to expect! It has a very full body, I feel like I could use this tea as a lunch replacement when I’m still full from breakfast haha.
I like it, it is earthy, as it the way of the oolong I suppose. I can’t wait to compare this to the milk oolong I also purchased.
It’s sweet and hits the spot! I’m very impressed.

Subsequent steeps to come. I’m savouring it in the meantime.

Sometimes after I eat something rather rich, I crave fruit teas. I don’t have any without a black tea base & I’m all out of any fruity herbal teas. This one seemed like a good pick! There is a strong scent of peach and apricot together and something a little bit like pastry in the background. It’s not exactly like puff pastry… but resembles something like a sweet bread.

This tea is a nice balance of flavors. I do taste the apricot and the peach (neither one by itself) as well as the oolong base. The oolong works so well with these flavors. There is a flavor in the background that I can’t really identify and I think it belongs to the almond slivers. The finish is tangy and bright.

I’m trying to drink all of the tea I have to make room for new ones I have ordered this past weekend (Oh, the sales!). It seems like the perfect time to try new teas that I’ve had for a while.

I’ve always been a little indifferent to oolong teas, neither loving nor disliking them, but seldom choosing them above other options. I’m not really sure why? After seeing the fairly strong steepster ratings this tea had, I thought I’d give it a whirl. Of course, it was purchased along with a pile of other Davids Teas. So when I brought my selections home I chose what I felt was the most exciting option first, and so on…and so on. This eventually left my “untried” stock of Davids Tea with two lonely sample bags, both of which were oolongs. Really, what is it with me and my indifference to oolongs? I cracked open the sample bag and sniffed it, meh…the peach scent is kind of nice I guess, but it didn’t smell like something I’d immediately love. I waited for the tea to brew, with a definite lack of excitement that I usually experience with trying a new tea. By time I poured it I was so distracted I completely forgot I was trying something new.
First sip – whoa, o.k. well that got my attention. Hmmm…keep going sip, sip, this isn’t bad. In fact it definitely boosts my thoughts on oolongs from indifference, to “hey I kind of like this”.
But wait, oolongs are known to sometimes get better with multiple brewing. Alright well let’s see how that works for me…
O.k. so now the peach is taking more of a backseat, and is riding in as more of an aftertaste. Or maybe that’s just what I taste because my palette is already primed. – huh! Pretty good
I wouldn’t say that this tea is the holy grail of oolongs for me, but it was enlightening to discover that I am no longer justified in approaching oolongs with such indifference. In fact, now I’m actually looking forward to trying that last oolong in my untried stock. Well done DT!

Tea of the afternoon….

And tea 19 of 24. Man, the numbers are getting bigger and that means there is sooooo much to do! This sample is from DaisyChubb. Thank you very much!

I really like this. I do get the peach and a hint of almond. It is almost the perfect flavoring for this tea base. The flavor is light so that it does not overpower the base, and really does not need any additions. Would I buy more? Yes. The next time I order from David’s, this will be in my cart!

Mug method at 190 for 5 minutes.

It’s an oolong! And it’s peachy! And it’s.. OK. I may have misteeped it. It doesn’t wow me.

The dry tea is very pretty though. So many fruity bits.

Weird. This is the…I think 4th? tea I’ve tried from David’s Tea and with exception of the Mango Madness, all of them had the Graham Cracker taste. In of itself, that isn’t a bad thing…I like Graham crackers. But I was hoping to get a nice peachy flavor to this tea, but I don’t taste any fruit let alone peach. Plus not to mention I like tea for variety of flavors, so got to admit…starting to annoy me.

Something went wrong. So wrong.

I only have small sample of this, but it’s the first oolong I’ve tried that I can actually drink! yaaay! I would recommend this for first time try of oolong! After some of the instore trials (dr. chocolate, skinny, milk oolong) I was worried but no worries anymore!

Finished off the last of the sample of this one that Courtney sent me. It’s very, VERY fruity, and I thoroughly enjoyed the infusions I had, but not one that I will need in my cupboard.

At least not right now, while I have Coconut Oolong and Vanilla Orchid Oolong, which I prefer.

Meh…normally I like this tea, but today, not so much. I think it is partly as this was a tea to go today, and it was put directly into my timolino. First, I don’t think there was enough agave in it; second, it took forever for it to cool, and that was with the lid off, that even after about 30 minutes or more of chatting with my friend, it still burnt my tongue(!); third, it got bitter after being in the main compartment under the strainer for so long.

None of these things are the fault of the tea, just the circumstances that they were prepared and drunk in.