Tyler

I love Yunnan tea. I mostly drink Yunnan black teas. So I was excited when I saw a green tea from the Yunnan province. At Teavana they always have me smell the tea before hand and show off the look of the tea. This Yunnan Emerald Buds looks just like the black tea except lighter. I couldn’t really tell what the tea smelt like at the store.
When I got home I opened it and took a long whiff of the tea. It also had an old floral aroma to it. It somewhat resembled a Dragonwell tea.
The tea tasted much like a low grade Dragonwell tea, yet it was much more delicate than a Dragonwell tea. I got four different steepings out of the tea. The last two were a bit bitter, which is weird since the water was cooler on the last two steepings than the first two. I wouldn’t buy this tea again. For the price there are much better teas. If you are at Teavana, instead of this tea go for a Japanese green tea.

I’m am now on the 8-10 infusion. This tea still has a lot of flavor to give. This tea has great value. Only 3 grams of tea and I have had over 60 ounces of tea from it. If you can buy this (I think Rishi is already sold out) then by all means, get it! It has a lot of plum notes with cinnamony sweetness to it.

Simply phenomenal! What a superb tea.
I brewed in a gaiwan. I got multiple steeping; I lost count but I think it was 4-6. Each steeping just kept getting better and better. The dry leaf has a strong sweet plum scent. The aroma of the steeped leaves were a more mellowed out version on the dry, more intense leaf. I leaves are larger, oolong like leaves. I noticed in the first 3 steepings the leaves didn’t open up too much. However, after each steeping the leaves unraveled more and more. I think next time I’ll brew in my 6 ounce glass container to see if the leaves open up more.

This particular Darjeeling tea resigned me up as a Darjeeling fan. It was fantastic. However, I ashamedly admit I did very poorly brewing it. Therefore, I confused this tea with the 7/10 micro-lot from Makaibari 2010. The 7/10 micro-lot had notes of pepper and and a bit briskness. When I was brewing this tea (3/10) I was getting those peppery notes as well. However, I was using about 2 grams of tea in my 4oz gaiwan. I then looked up on the internet and found that “industry tea standards” are 2.2 grams per 8 oz of water. So I bought a gram scale (it was difficult finding a scale that goes in tenth gram increments). I then measured out the tea and found the subtle peach notes were then coming out. It probably also helps that I lowered the steeping time as well.
But, yes, this is a fantastic tea. And I look forward to the Makaibari estate first flush and second flush for 2011. Hopefully Rishi will also sell their micro-lots as they did in 2010. I don’t believe you can buy this from Rishi’s website anymore but if you find it at a coffeeshop it is a high recommendation. Just remember 1.1 grams per 4 oz of water ;)

2nd note: The leaves have a woodsy aroma after being steeped. Delicious earthy taste. I’ve been able to get four to five really good steepings out it in a gaiwan.

I enjoy good earthy teas that aren’t harsh and this tea is definitely one of those. It was well said in Red Blossom’s description when they described it as “Fresh earth”. It was a fresh earth, malty, with slight hints of smooth chocolate.
The smell is pleasing and tastes even better. I am slightly biased when it comes to Shou Pu-erhs. Since they are one of my favorite teas. I recommend this tea to anyone who enjoys Pu-erh.

I used two teaspoons of dry tea leafs in a 4 oz gaiwan. The tea was very delicate, as most white teas are. It had definite notes of chestnuts; slightly astringent. I timed three minutes for the second steep. The second steep was much more mellow and less astringent. The steeped leafs what I would describe as a “warm” floral aroma to it; something that reminded me of holidays late in the year.

This note if from the last of the tea from my cupboard. I still say it is one of the best teas I’ve ever had. It just taste so fresh and refreshing. As before, it has notes of roasted asparagus and a very vegetal taste to it. But I do miss the traditional roasted nut taste that the majority of other dragon well teas have.

I brewed this tea in a 4 oz gaiwan. I then poured it into a 12 oz cup. I steeped it 3 times and mixed each steeping together. I sipped each steeping and thought the first 2 together were the best. Putting multiple steepings into one cup kinda gives it a more full round flavor. Now, onto what the final product was (the 3 steepings together):
I enjoyed the aroma of the steeped leaves. It was sweet, yet not as sweet as the the smell of it dry. It had a sweet barbecue/roasted vegetal taste to it. Delicious if brewed properly. A good green tea.

This was more a vegetale tea like most Japanese green teas rather than a nutty taste of other Dragon Well teas I’ve had. Strong notes of asparagus and subtle notes of celery. This is the purest tea I’ve ever had. You can really taste the quality. It was smooth and had a slight sweetness to it that I couldn’t quiet put my finger on. Only wishing I would have bought more.

I’ve had this tea for 4+ months in a bag. I’m not sure how that effects the tea. This is also the last of my supply of this tea. Brewed a 20oz pot of tea. The first cup tasted like paper. The second was much more pleasant. It was refreshing, clean, clear. It would pair well with shortbread or shortcake. This tea would be fun to add stuff to. I was thinking about adding some dehydrated tart apples or possibly strawberries. If you are looking to tweak a tea then this is your best bet for a white tea.

I’m happy to have this one in my cupboard. The first steep was a bit astringent so I added some rock sugar. That’s a no-no. I didn’t care for it after that. Second steep was much more enjoyable. Doesn’t have the astringency the first steep has. Has a lovely yet complex taste in the second steep.

Fantastic roasted barley notes. One of the more refreshing Oolong teas I’ve had. This one reminds me of genmaicha but is not as forceful. It smells good. And doesn’t really have that “sweet” after taste that other Oolong teas have.

I really want to like this tea. I just can’t get it to taste like it did the first time I made it.
I used 2 teaspoons for an 8 oz cup. It wasn’t as mellow as the first few cups I steeped. The delightful after-notes weren’t as noticeable. I’ll use less tea for the next cup and leave the 3 minutes steep time and the same water temperature.

I’m upping my rating on this tea. It is really good. It has this really nice natural sweet taste to it. Really smooth. I would say it’s a winey tea. No signs of any bitter tastes to it, which is huge. Gotta be one of my favorite black teas. This is a winner.

This tea didn’t taste too much like a Darjeeling, except in the aftertaste. I was also surprised how small the leafs where. I did 2 teaspoons for 20 oz of water. The tea leafs expanded a whole lot; so much so that they rose above the water (this teapot has a tiny strainer :( But even for it the expansion of the leafs were significant. It’s kinda weird to say one of the biggest things that stood out to me about this tea was the growth of the leafs during steeping but that’s really what it is. I wasn’t too fond of the tea. It was bitter but that could be mostly controlled by the steeping time and water temperature. There are many better Darjeeling teas out there but this one was dirt cheap so I bought it. I think it was $5 for 8oz. For that price you can’t beat that quantity.

I never thought I’d give a tea such a high rating but this simply is the best tea I’ve ever had. It brewed a light brown, dark orange color; a very appealing color, something I haven’t seen in a tea before. The first taste was so bright yet mellow. There are a hundred different undertones to this tea. The only reason I didn’t give it a 100 rating is because when I left the tea in my mouth for a little while I began to get some slight astringent tastes, which I don’t like in teas.

Sweet aroma. Slightly malty like an Assam but not as malty. Back notes are earthy/pine. I put about a 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in it but won’t be doing that again. Could be good steep a little longer. Maybe 2 minutes 30 seconds. If you like malty teas this is a good one.

Looking in my tea cupboard I realized I mostly have Rishi Tea. It’s a great brand and I highly recommend them. Yet I’m thinking maybe I should diversify.
This still is among one of my favorite teas. I steeped this one for 3 minutes. I think I enjoy it more around 4 minutes. Great nutty flavor, not grassy like most green teas. I really like it.

Heated 16 oz of water to 185 F. 2 teaspoons of tea in an open glass teapot.
A grassy white tea. Light. Almost fruity. The closest thing I could think of is a pear. Very enjoyable. I wouldn’t steep it more than 5 minutes.

Great tea. But I disliked the first steep. Too bitter. I only steeped it for 2 minutes with boiling water. I then took a few sips, was unsatisfied, then poured it out. I then steep the tea a second time for 4 minutes with boiling water. I was much better but didn’t seem to have as much maltyness to it. Next time I’ll steep it for 5 minutes for the second steep. I think that would be fantastic.

I was surprised at how good this tea was. It is a bagged and what appears to be a dust grade tea. I didn’t expect it to be good. I just made it for some caffine. However, this tea was really good. It was not bitter like other dust grade black teas. It was slightly malty, and just plain good. I didn’t add anything to it. I would recommend this tea above Lipton and PG Tips bagged black tea.

I’m surprised every time I drink this tea. I expect a Darjeeling that isn’t as good being that it’s not a first flush (probably not a fair presumption). I’ve yet to brew it in a way that makes it astringent. I really that it’s a full bodied. Overall a surprising good Darjeeling tea.

Amazing Chai. I prepared this the “traditional” way according to the instructions Rishi gave. I put 2 tablespoons of tea in a pot and then put 1.5 cups water and then 1 cup of whole milk. I put the heat on low and let it come to a small boil.
Last time I used sweetened condensed milk for a sweetener but thought I’d try something different this time. I used German rock cane sugar which I thought was significantly better than using sweetened condensed milk. It didn’t taint the flavor as the SCM did. From now on I won’t use SCM in this tea ever again, unless that’s all I have.
Note to make it better next time: Keep the heat low (about 2) and let it boil at that heat to be steep it longer for a more full chai flavor.