Taiwan Ginseng (Lan Gui Ren) Oolong Tea

Thanks to Teavivre for this sample!

I’ve never had a ginseng tea before, and never really had any ginseng. I’ve only really ever seen it on commercials “With ginseng for extra energy!” or whatever ginseng is marketed to do So I don’t know what the ingredient tastes like. But we’ll give this one a try!

The dry leaf smells kind of like a rock oolong. It’s dark and toasty. The feel of the leaves is different: they’re coated in something (probably ginseng). They’re uniformly dark green and almost matted together. The leaves feel sort of rough to the touch, like moss growing over asphalt.

Steeped in my tasting cup (I really want to get my hands on a gaiwan!) for short infusions.

Wet leaf smell – I’m picking up that same rock oolong scent, but stronger. There’s also a bit of a walnutty smell here. I’m hoping that doesn’t come through in the taste, because I’m mildly allergic, and I’d like to avoid starting the day with a headache.

First steep – 10s

The liquor is a rich golden color. It’s not pale at all, the way I’d expect a 10s steep to be. It looks like I’ve steeped it for a lot longer.

Nope, no walnuts in the taste! Excellent. The first few sips were rather tasteless, as I was focusing on the nuts and trying to separate the ginseng taste from the rest of the flavor. I gave up on that, and a sweetness started hitting me incredibly strongly at the back of my mouth. It was like a regular, unremarkable oolong, and then – BAM! Sweet! It’s all aftertaste. Interesting.

Second steep – 20s

The liquor has the same golden honey color as before, but it’s a little darker, a little more bronze. The leaves in the tasting cup have mainly unfurled, but they’re still rather crinkly. Reminds me of my wardrobe after it’s come out of a suitcase… :)

There’s a bit of astringency in the flavor here. The utter sweetness of the aftertaste has abated, and it just reminds me of a more astringent rock oolong.

Third steep – 30s.

Smooth, a little bit nutty. I dunno. This tea just isn’t doing it for me today. Thankfully, Teavivre’s samples are large enough to try a few times, but maybe this one just isn’t for me.

Ah. Another day, another Teavivre sample to try. Life is good.

This selection was hand rolled into little balls of green leaves. The pre-brewed smell was fresh and aromatic. I was excited to add hot water and see what developed.

I brewed this blend for two minutes at 212 degrees. I always choose the maximum recommended steeping time to get the strongest tea possible without (hopefully) bitterness.

There was just a light and subtle tea smell wafting from the pot. The color of the liquid was golden amber.

At first taste, the flavor was bright and sweet and very smooth. With each subsequent sip, a sweet, honey-like flavor remained on my tongue. Bitterness does not exist anywhere in this tea.

This brew goes down so pleasantly and smoothly that I had to restrain myself from chugging it. All of the sweet and tea flavors are in perfect balance. I could drink this tea all day.

Thanks to Teavivre, my horizons have been broadened. I am rapidly becoming a big fan of other teas besides basic black. This Oolong tea is nothing short of WONDERFUL!

I have finally discovered the right treatment to masque the floral notes of green oolongs.

Ginseng.

On the one hand, this is sweet. Not a leaf with a sweetness to it, but actually sweet. I assume part of the ginseng treatment involves a sugar of some kind. This is not just on the tongue, but there is a burnt caramel sugar aroma both in the cup and from the liqueur.

Alas, I radically over steeped my second cup. :-(

Free sample fro Teavivre! Haven’t gotten around to reviewing many teas recently, have just been enjoying old favourites on the run.
This tea tasted very gingery to me, an interesting flavour but pleasing none the less. My first steep was very sweet, the leave barely unfurled. After that the colour got darker and the earthy flavour became more dominant over the sweet notes. A very yummy brew, definitely unique!

Gah, why am I not a fan of this tea? This tea is from Meeka from our Steepster meetup.

I always wanted to try this tea – the appearance is pretty cool! I used my gaiwan for this tea and it was a treat to watch the dusty lumps expand into large deep green leaves!

Taste? ehhh. I was getting a delicious smooth, savory ginseng medicinal but also with licorice and sweetness. The sweetness hits my tongue similar to stevia and was a big turn off. I’m not really into licorice either. Ah well, I’m happy to of tried it!

I really like this combination. I was just reading today about the weight loss benefits of oolong (helps to burn calories faster, according to the poster in a local shop, by increasing energy expenditure (EE)). I suppose this is why I typically was served oolong tea while practicing t’ai chi back in the day. But I digress.

I don’t tend to be that into the taste of ginseng, but it goes quite well with oolong actually. The result really, really reminds me of Tulsi (holy basil) tea, if you’ve ever had that. It’s herbal and a bit grassy, tasting predominantly of hay, or fresh straw. If this sounds off-putting, give it a shot, because I am enjoying this and finding it refreshing even on another abysmally hot Texas day. Woo, ginseng power!

I’ve only tried ginseng oolong once before, when I received it as a sample in an ebay order. But during that tea session my husband tried it and instantly fell in love with it’s unique aroma. Maybe it is because we live in Canada, but we really have not been exposed to the ginseng flavour before. So our first encounter with it was full of exotic charm.

So I was delighted to see that Teavivre was selling ginseng oolong. I have been wanting to place an order for more of their teas lately, and this one got added to our latest one. _{(As a note, I am also receiving some samples in the future. Like always, I mention in tasting notes whenever I am reviewing free samples)}

Moving onto drinking the stuff;

The first steep is good, not too overwhelming. Nice sweet almost licorice-like flavour from the ginseng hits the roof of my mouth and the back of my throat. What I can taste of the oolong base is nice, subtle.

Second steep is still quite nice, I like the extra short steeps to get just hints of ginseng in each cup. It has a powerful effect on me, so I’d rather not steep it all out in one long brew. And with each of these short steeps, I get a bolder ginseng flavour at the back of my throat. Which is a nice sensation. :)

Third steep continued to get more intense, and looking inside the gaiwan the leaves have yet to completely unfurl.

Fourth to sixth steeps had consistent flavour. I’ll end my tasting note here even though I will be resteeping this throughout the day.

To be honest, I did not have high expectations with this tea. I’m not sure how you could screw up oolong + ginseng. Although now that I say that I am sure there are bad examples out there!
Anyway, I quite liked Teavivre’s ginseng oolong and I’m sure my husband will be delighted to take this to work.

_{100ml gaiwan, 1 generous tsp, 6+ steeps (rinse, short steeps starting at 3s-ish and increasing slightly)}

Thank you Teavivre for this sample.
I had a long day in the lab yesterday (and today.. and tomorrow..) working on my research project.. and came home to find a parcel notification.
This was followed by an immediate email from Angel telling me to check my mailbox and go pick up my parcel. Some people do have lives… and sometimes the post office closes after you finally get home from a long days work. I do not appreciate this urgency. Especially when I paid for tea from them only a day or two after accepting their offer for samples, only to have it not even trackable in Canada yet (‘sent’ one month ago to date). Perhaps they should be more concerned about that instead?

Anyways. Onto this tea.

2 minutes, 100˚C Sweet non-identifiable flavour in the mid-end sip. I take this to be the ginseng. Almost a black licorice flavour actually.. anise/fennel.. when breathing in after a sip. It takes a few sips to understand the flavour, but I enjoy it a lot. It’s almost tongue-coating.. The oolong definitely tastes oxidized, with a sweet and nutty flavour to it. Really lovely.

3 minutes, 100˚C Sweet.. very similar to the first steep in all honesty. No wavering in the intensity of the licorice/toasted sweet nutty flavour. The oolong is very similar to their monkey picked oolong, but I enjoy this much much more. The tongue-coating flavour of the ginseng is really nice and balances out the toasted qualities of the oolong.

Overall – this is a really lovely, enjoyable tea.

I discovered ginseng-covered oolongs several years ago, and I have always enjoyed the strange sweetness that comes with their “alterting” properties. As I sit outside, watching the sunrise (sadly over other houses, not over the mountains, I breath in the ginseng powder aroma and wait for the water to boil. As I am at a location other than my home, I do not have an electric kettle here, instead opting for a stovetop, whistling tea kettle to prepare my hot water. Setting out my travel gaiwan set, I glance up as the sun breaches the horizon. Rinsing the leaves, the rinse water is discarded into the lawn, and I briefly smile at how much easier it is to drink tea outside, where anything may be disposed naturally.

My first steeping is for a mere thirty seconds, yet I feel that it captures the essence of this tea quite well, albeit weakly. The flavor of the ginseng has already begun to release itself from the oolong leaves. The smell is sweet, with a touch of the buttery essence of some oolongs. The flavor, too, is sweet, a bit weak, but refreshing, nonetheless.

Steeping number two brings out more oolong flavor, as the initial intensity of the ginseng has been diminished. The flavor is a bit darker, not quite so sweet, yet the leaves have only now begun to fully open, leaving much room for evolution.

In the third steeping (all have been for thirty seconds), I notice now that the ginseng and oolong flavors are blending together well. One can see that the oolong leaves have all but unraveled themselves, releasing their flavors. The diminished sweet taste is reminiscent of light honey or, perhaps, agave nectar. It is quite pleasant.

After the fourth steeping, I place all of the leaves in a large mug and pour hot water over them to leave them for an extended steep. The fourth steeping itself is wonderfully smooth, as though it has at last matured. This was quite tasty, and it seems the sunrise has been overwhelmed by rain clouds. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea an 87/100.

Dry Leaf: Has a sweet ginseng smell you can even say grassy.
Wet Leaf: Has a warm wheat aroma or even a slight nutty aroma.
Liquor: Is a dark golden color when you pour it in your cup you see a yellow tint to it maybe even a slight green color in there. Sorry guys for making this liquor color so complex. LOL!!!
Taste: I get a refreshing sweet ginseng and green tea ( slight vegetal) flavor with a slight astringency in the tea.
Overall Opinion: I give this a 90. I think it is of quality since the ginseng flavor stayed with the tea for a good 5 infusions.I have found that the flavor seems to peak on the 3 infusion. This tea has a clean feeling in the mouth. I have also found that this tea is good hot or cold. I think this is a great morning tea or a tea when you need a good pick me up tea beside the other numerous health benefits ginseng offers.
Vessel: SAMA DOYO Gongfu/Kungfu teapot. 7 grams of leaf for 220ml or 7oz. of water in the inner cup of the pot.

Well, I have to be honest and say I was a bit dubious when this sample came from Teavivre to try. I love oolongs but was not sure what to think about ginseng with oolong. So, it’s been sitting at the back of my tea cupboard waiting until I drank my other samples. But, with the release of the new straight teas from DAVIDs, my interest was piqued. The description and the picture caught my attention. Perhaps there was a picture and description on the Teavivre site, but I must have missed it or not looked. Anyhow, in light of it all. I decided to break out my sample and try.

Initially, I read the most recent reviews and thought I was in for a treat. And then someone commented on undertones of anise, menthol and something else…I wanna say camphor or eucalyptus. Anyhow, I was worried at they point. Those are not things I care for. At all. I didn’t really detect any if those tones when I smelled the dry leaf, but I could taste them when brewed. So, unfortunately, this is not my preference in oolongs. Luckily, as the tea cooled, the licorice and mint tones were more subtle.

I will probably not have the rest of my sample, but I will scout out my friends who have a palate that likes those flavours.

TeaVivre provided me with this sample, but I feel that I cannot properly review it. I brewed this in a gaiwan and rinsed before trying a sip. This is just too strong for my tastes. The scent and taste of the ginseng is what bothers me, I think. I appreciate the diversity of samples provided by this awesome company, but this is unfortunately not my cup of tea.

This tea is interesting. I have never had any ginseng tea before. The only reason I know what ginseng tastes like is because I have had the Arizona green tea with ginseng before. I used what came out to be 2 teaspoons because the first teaspoon and the last teaspoon were half spoons.

I brewed the first steep for 3 minutes. It is a light color and doesn’t smell like much. I had this with some Nature’s Harvest veggie crunchers and I think that is bringing out a more savory element to the tea. The aftertaste is very ginseng. There was a while there where I started to taste some pepper. I let it cool down and that is gone now. Cooler the aftertaste is less sharp and the tea is smooth on the tongue. I think I’ll wait a while before making the second and third steeps on this one.

I have no idea what ginseng is supposed to taste like, but I really like this tea! It’s sweet, vegetal, roasty, seaweed-y. This is a nice change up from what I’ve been drinking lately! I can’t decide if this tea is more vegetal or roasty; because of the sweetness I’m leaning towards vegetal. However, most of the green Oolongs I’ve tried were also quite floral. This is not the same- the sweetness could be a floral taste I suppose. Oh, who knows. This is what happens when I try to describe a new oolong, ESP Oolongs! I just confuse myself!
Sum up, this is nummy. Thank you TEAVIVRE for this delicious sample!

I used a heaping teaspoon worth for my 12 oz cup.

thanks for the sample!
This tea looks like little nuggets! I think that the smell of this one has wheat and roasted notes that remind me of Rishi’s Tie Guan Yin. It smells wholesome in a way. Maybe the smell reminds me of wheat flake cereal a bit.
I brewed this for approximately 2 min and I’m pretty surprised about the strength of the smell. It smells really nice and familiar.
This tastes really nice! I’m not 100% sure I’m in on what the ginseng is supposed to taste like. I’m getting a surprising amount of sweetness and grassy notes. The toasty flavored are there, but they are not in the forefront of the sip. This tea is really, really great! I’m really enjoying this steep and I look forward to the rest of the sample!

Thank you Angel and the Teavivre team for the wonderful samples!
I’ve had this tea from a few different companies. But in my opinion.. Teaviver does it the best! Most other ones have a SUPER strong licorice taste and that’s all there is to it. This one starts out as a warm, dry flavor I honestly can’t explain. Then there is a mild aftertaste of sweet licorice. I got about 3 steeps out of it. I followed the steeping directions on their website..
1st- 1 min.
2nd-2 min.
3rd- 3 min.
Turned out wonderful :]

The dry tea looks like small, dark green nuggets. The smell is strongly vegetal green tea. I am getting a hint of the ginseng.

On brewing, the smell is very strong also. Moreso green tea than oolong. The tea brews a solid dark yellow colour.

The initial taste is vegetal green tea. It is smooth and thick. There is a little kick of ginseng towards the end of the sip. It gets sweeter the longer it sits. It gives a great warming sensation.

The nuggets of this tea only barely unfurled on the first steep. There are many more steeps to get out of them I think. I steeped for 1 minute the first time, but I think I would go less time and do more steeps on subsequent tastings. There is a ginseng type aftertaste that lingers for a long time.

I have found that I quite like oolong teas and am attempting to try many different kinds. I am finding I like my oolong a bit more oxidized, more towards black than green.