Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company

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Recent Tasting Notes

This is probably the most delicate green oolong I’ve ever seen. The smell and taste both make this a green tea to me though. It may have some viscosity that I would say oolong has in character that green tea may not, but that’s about it.

Really enjoy cup of tea during the spring and summer for sure, but I think I’ll stick with the normal baozhong BTTC has because I don’t foresee having the time to sit down and just enjoy sipping at this as it has subtle notes that need concentration to notice and I will miss out on them for the moment. However, I was able to rebrew this four times which I wouldn’t do with a green tea so that makes it more valuable to me as I look for a nice tea for spring when I do have the time for a hike; which will always include BTTC dragonwell because it’s hands down the best I’ve ever seen, tasted, or heard of.

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70

Of the five teas I purchased from BTT, this was the least impressive. I have to agree with the other reviewers, this Golden Lily pales in comparison to Whispering Pines. It has a very buttery quality, as in someone dropped a pat of butter in my cup. Steeped gongfu there is also a bit of floral and a touch of sugarcane sweetness. But there’s no real complexity to this tea. It’s drinkable, but kind of forgettable.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Sweet

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 140 ML

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82

Thanks for this sample a while ago, Nicole! These ominous leaves, large and twisty, sure make for a light, sweet and fruity green tea! Somehow this is the starchiest green tea, I’m not sure why. The color of the brew is the palest of yellow. The second steep also becomes buttery, while still tasting sweet. I love a green tea like this type once in a while!
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 32 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 30 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep

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99

My go-to tea right now and one I foresee becoming a perennial favorite. This isn’t just tea, it’s an experience – one I would describe as walking through a fresh meadow of flowers on a spring morning. It’s very versatile and forgiving to any steeping method. Different brewing times and temperatures reveal different qualities and flavors. Grandpa steeped, it brims with lovely florals, creamy vegetal tones, and a luscious aroma. When gongfued, it transforms into a high mountain tea with a richer, full-bodied flavor and that distinctive gao shan aftertaste. Other times, it can resemble a light TGY. Personally, I think continuous steeping gives the best flavor and is economical to boot.

I’m impressed by its longevity. I get 4-5 awesome steeps from just a smattering of leaves in a tall glass. To me that speaks volumes about its quality of the tea and makes the price point more palatable.

I can’t help but compare this to the other competition-grade bao zhong I tried from Taiwan Tea Crafts. That too was an excellent tea but to me BTT’s has a more complex and ethereal flavor. Then again, the other one is a spring harvest so it’s probably not a fair comparison.

Flavors: Flowers, Gardenias, Orchid, Rainforest, Sweet, Warm Grass

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
Zennenn

I’ve never done continuous steeping successfully but I want to try it again after reading your review! With this tea of course. :]

Daylon R Thomas

How does it compare to the main stock on BTTC? That one was too vegetal for me personally, but I’ve really enjoyed Baozhong’s from the past especially in coconout/pineapple blends.

LuckyMe

@Zennenn – try using slightly lower temp initially and refilling with boiling water when its 1/3 full. works for me with most teas

@Daylon – never tried their regular bao zhong, but this one is more floral and buttery

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60

I am brewing this gongfu style. Putting these leaves into a warm gaiwan, the scent is of chocolate, earth, and a little but of must. The wet leaves smell like red wine, grapes, and prunes.

The tea tastes a bit woody, and like bread or oatmeal. It’s smooth and subtle. There are tiny notes of cocoa and mushroom. This first infusion is so light and I really enjoy it.

On the second infusion this tea still has a somewhat light flavor. It’s enjoyable in that sense. I have to say though this isn’t the type of flavor I’m used to in dianhong. This one has more of the muscatel and wood flavors I’m used to in Assamica varietal teas from India and Sri Lanka.

I infused it more strongly on the third infusion. I have to say at this point I’m feeling a bit let down, flavorwise. Even brewed more strongly, it’s awfully light, and while the flavor is smooth, it’s also rather two-dimensional. Still getting wood and muscatel flavor mostly. The tea is not very sweet, and only has a tiny bitterness in the end.

The fourth infusion yields must, wood, and squash flavors now. It’s still smooth and easy to drink, but not particularly intriguing.

As for the age-old inner battle of how to numerically rate this tea, and using those little smiley faces as a prompt, I will say, this tea was just above mediocre to me. The first infusion was the most enjoyable and beyond that it didn’t open up to reveal much more complexity or flavor like I’d hoped it would. And if I’m comparing this tea to every other dianhong I’ve had before, I feel even more secure in not rating it more highly, unfortunately.

Flavors: Butternut Squash, Cocoa, Muscatel, Mushrooms, Musty, Wood

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

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88

Backlog.

One of the more interesting BTT oolongs, I enjoyed how the flavor evolves from steep to steep. The tea starts off vegetal and flowery with a light body and clean taste. A wonderful orchid and honeysuckle aroma wafts up from the gaiwan. A pear like fruitiness develops in the second steep growing stronger as steeps progress, followed by a lingering floral aftertaste. Lots of sweet notes and an occasional hint of tropical coconut. Around the fourth steep, the mouthfeel becomes thicker and more minerality comes into play but it loses some complexity.

To me, this tea straddles the fence between light and high mountain oolongs. Earlier steeps are lighter, and closer to low-oxidized oolongs in taste and goes on to become fuller and more viscous later. Just an all-around wonderful tea and a keeper for sure!

Flavors: Coconut, Flowers, Fruity, Pear, Sweet

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 45 sec 3 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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The name of this tea reminds me of the book by Kerstin Gier (translated by Anthea Bell), which I re-read last month. It’s a kind of corny time traveling adventure (and seriously, the poetry did NOT translate well from the German) but it made my re-read list so there must be something about it. (On Goodreads last year I completed a 365-book reading challenge, although I did cheat a little at the end by reading some short novellas because I got a bit behind. Anyway, of those 365 books only about a dozen books/series made my re-read list, not counting the ones that were already re-reads, of course).

Anyways. I tried a tea from Taiwan yesterday and liked it, so I thought maybe trying another today would be fun, although I notice they have very different flavors listed. And unfortunately this one was about gone; there was only half a serving left. Oh well. I used about half as much water as usual to make up for that.

It brews up a lovely reddish-goldish-brown color and has a very bold flavor with almost a bite to it. It’s mostly smooth with a little astringency and a little bitterness (at least on the first steep). And it has a jumble of other interesting flavors too that are hard to sort out. The strangest one that I detected had almost a menthol feeling to it, which is new. I also think I can taste a little of the sweet potato flavor that I found in yesterday’s Taiwan tea, but maybe I’m just imagining that. It’s okay (though admittedly a bit strange) with milk and sugar too, and holds up to at least two steeps. I’m not really liking the menthol flavor so much though. I don’t think I’ll put this on my re-read list.

Preparation
2 min, 30 sec 1 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
tea-sipper

Oh my gosh – good job on reading that many books! I wish I could read a lot faster. :D

sensiblyscript

Haha thanks! One of my resolutions this year is to read fewer books, lol.

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80

I had this tea a few days ago. Looks like I am the first to review it.

At first I didn’t even know this tea was green. With a name like Wild Ancient Tea, I figured it would be a black tea. I checked out the website for a little insight into why it’s called Wild Ancient Tea but nothing there. I am guessing it’s come from some old trees that’s gone wild.

It’s a very smooth green. Not astringent at all. A bit nutty and green bean tasting. No grassy or green taste to this tea at all. Good for those ones who enjoy a non-astringent green. I like them either way.

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82

There is just a trace of bitterness in this, but it’s not unpleasant, and it’s not the sort of bitterness I associate with oversteeping. It actually reminds me of the bitterness that you get in salted caramel, and while this tea is salty, it’s definitety not that salty. It’s vegetal, with spinach and seaweed notes.

This is particularly flavorful for a green tea, so if you’re looking for a green with lots of character, I’d recommend this one.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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85

2015 Spring
I woke up craving some greens, so I decided to brew this up. Its taken me a long time to figure out where this tea came from, for the packaging has no name only the company’s logo, but with some good detective work I figured it out. The tea consists of some very small tightly rolled green pebbles. This tea gives off a fragrant scent of flowers and dry grass. This is a very “springy” tea. I warmed my gaiwan up and dumped a decent amount inside. I shook the gaiwan up and took in the syrupy aroma. My senses were filled with a nice thick nectar and grassy scent. I was noting a little bit of watercress and hydrangea in the background. The taste is sweet, crisp, and smooth. The flavor is dominated by floral qualities and grass. The taste progresses to a slight astringency and drying sensations. The body is healthy and full with spring qualities. The pouch was vacuum sealed, but it still has faltered a lot in the past year. I enjoyed this tea, but it was far too floral for me.

Flavors: Dry Grass, Floral, Flowers, Geranium, Grass, Nectar, Smooth

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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82

Sipdown. This was a pleasant dragonwell, but it didn’t really distinguish itself from other dragonwells in flavor (though it looks quite a bit different from the ones I’m used to). I will probably continue getting my dragonwell from Teavivre.

Also I am down to 24 teas now. At first the downsizing trend seemed like a good thing, but it’s not funny anymore. Really looking forward to getting my Quarter to Tea order in and being all set up for fall with some Syrupy Pumpkin Pancakes.

Nicole

Starting to have tea anxiety with such a small stash? :)

Tamarindel

Yes! I shudder at the thought of running out :[

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82

Hooray, TheLastDodo sent me a nice pouch of this, and I bet it will tide me through till the spring harvest, so I won’t be dragonwell-less after all :)

So this looks a bit different from the dragonwells I’ve tried before. The leaves are REALLY long and they’re a dark jade green. The taste, though it still predominantly has that chicken broth note that dragonwell is known for, also has a slight floral aspect that you don’t normally see in this type of tea.

I think Teavivre’s buttery approach to dragonwell is still my favorite, but this is a very nice one, glad I got to try it :)

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Plunkybug

I agree, I love buttery dragonwells too. The one I am having right now from Silk Road is a little buttery, but I’m having it with purple potato and brown rice ramen, and the broth is a little spicy, so I think it is throwing off some of the notes I’m tasting. Though it is a very clean green tea, and it is cutting into the spice of the soup nicely.

Tamarindel

Wow, sounds like some nice soup :)

Plunkybug

It is! It’s from Lotus Foods. My grocery store carries it, but it is more of a brand you wood find in a healthy food store, tbh.

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91

Another stellar oolong from BTT. I am surprised at how good it is considering this is a budget tea.

Steeped grandpa style, it bears a resemblance to bao zhong – flowery, light bodied, and very fragrant. Gongfu style though is where it really shows off its flavor. First steep bursts with lilac and gardenia and an unexpected sugarcane like sweetness. Intense floral aroma and honeyed notes. As the steeps progress, the sweetness subsides, a subtle milkiness sets in and it develops a slightly thicker mouth feel. The florals continue to get stronger leaving behind a lingering orange blossom like aftertaste.

Really enjoyable and miles above the four seasons oolongs you’ll find elsewhere. A great daily drinker at this price point.

Flavors: Flowers, Honey, Sugarcane

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 45 sec 3 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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99

I’ve never understood the fuss about dong ding. I know its a prestigious tea and all, but none of the ones I tried ever made an impression on me. So when I received a sample of this tea with my recent BTT order, I kind of groaned. My cupboard already had two other dong dings which I practically have to force myself to drink.

But when I opened the envelope and took a whiff, I knew this tea was going to be different. Unlike dong dings of past, this one was unroasted and had a sweet floral fragrance. The flavor is true to the aroma. This is such a flower packed tea. Wet leaf smells like hyacinth in full bloom. There is honeysuckle and lilac at the beginning of the sip and a strong osmanthus note as it goes down. The floral overtones are harmoniously balanced by a sweet nectar goodness, which Daylon Thomas correctly describes as tropical fruit. I’m impressed by how natural the tea’s floral tones are.

And boy does it have staying power. It held up admirably through 8 steeps with minimal loss of flavor. Even though I steeped it at high temperatures there was no bitterness whatsoever. Just a tangy lip smacking sweetness that lingers in the mouth.

As someone that regularly drinks jade oolongs, the distinction between them can sometimes become blurred. This one really sets itself apart with its unreal flavor. Thanks to Paul at BTT for an awesome sample!

Flavors: Flowers, Honeysuckle, Nectar, Osmanthus, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 45 sec 3 g 100 OZ / 2957 ML
Rasseru

Sounds like I need to try some of this, I am the same and never took to dong ding from the ones I have tried.

Rasseru

is it full leaf or are the edges trimmed off like in modern tieguanyin?

Rasseru

and has a lot of branches?

LuckyMe

Yup, green dong ding tastes like a totally different tea. Roasting seems to strip much of its flavor.

This tea has whole, full leaves. Didn’t examine the branches but there didn’t seem to be any more than usual.

Daylon R Thomas

Plus the leaves are pretty big.

yyz

Oh yum.

Daylon R Thomas

Have you tried this one grandpa, LuckyMe? I’m considering it for my tumbler if I am to get more.

LuckyMe

Would love to try it grandpa style but unfortunate I got a bad batch and had it throw it out. :-(

Daylon R Thomas

Man that sucks! Was it from a previous harvest?

LuckyMe

You might want to hold off if you’re thinking of ordering this tea. I just bought some again during their Chinese New Year sale and for a second time, the tea was stale. This was the Winter 2016 harvest. Thankfully, BTTC was very good about refunding me.

Seems there could be a problem at the farm that supplies them. I’d wait until they can sort out the issue.

Daylon R Thomas

Thanks for telling me. I had a gut feeling about it and was glad I went with another option for some Gaoshan.

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83

This oolong is pretty good. It has long and twisty leaves. Brews up sweet, buttery & floral. The 2nd infusion wasn’t as good but I think that’s only because I just brewed it in a cup. This tea needs gongfu brewing.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Sweet

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84

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #26
Very happy there were some of the Taiwan #18s in the teabox to try! Unfortunately, this one doesn’t have enough of the lovely ‘roman nougat’ flavor that I love from these types of teas (cherry, nuts). The light brew has a little bit of that though. Otherwise a little caramel and a little squashy. The second steep had more depth. I love that this type of tea has the most intimidating leaves but the lightest and sweetest of flavors. :D
Steep #1 // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2 min steep

Ubacat

I have a sample of this tea. Will have to try it soon. Which are your favourite Ruby Red’s ?

tea-sipper

It’s hard to tell which one is my favorite, as it really depends on the harvest. My favorite one would have the most ‘roman nougat’ flavor!

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93

Didn’t really check the temperature or steeping time today. I overslept, and was a little too tired to think about those details. This pouch sort of jumped out at me, so i went for it. Put the water to heat for about a minute forty, and put about a teaspoon of tea into the tea ball, and let it steep. Some time later (maybe about 15-20 minutes or so), I took a sip. It was still warm, but not hot.

The tea tasted beautiful.

It reminded me of green chai, really, even though there was nothing but the tea leaves in this, I think. I don’t know, maybe there was a bit of mint in there. That’s what it tastes like, anyway. No sweetness, but a little bit of tingle like from mint.

I love it. I’m going to have to steep this a few times today, too.

Flavors: Mint, Tea

Preparation
8 min or more 1 tsp 11 OZ / 325 ML

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80

I got a sample collection from Beautiful Taiwan Tea company and they sent a sample marked “Raw Pu-erh” with no details. Based on their website and how the tea looks, I think this is the one. Strange that they didn’t provide more details on the package.

I brewed up gongfu this afternoon and found this tea pleasant enough. Brewed at 90C. It was a bit weak compared to some other young sheng’s I’ve had. That can be a good thing or bad thing depending on what everyone wants. I didn’t mind but missed the stronger apricot notes. They were there but not very prominent. It had a freshness to it closer to a green tea, a slight sweetness , & only very slight bitterness. Overall, a nice light sheng.

Flavors: Apricot, Sweet

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80

Enjoying this one this afternoon.

The dry leaves look so unusual for a white. Long dark think spindly leaves with a white stripe on each.

It brews up bold for a white tea. Maybe because it looks like a black tea? Or looks something like the moonlight teas. It’s malty with sweet caramel notes. There’s the typical hay I usually get from most whites. Also a bit of fruitiness.

Loved this one but it reminds me of some of my moonlight teas so it’s nothing that I haven’t had before.

Flavors: Caramel, Fruity, Hay, Malt

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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BTTC is one of my favorite and I poured about $500 into them last year so saying this isn’t so easy for me: After having Whsipering Pines golden lily…. everything else will probably compare as lesser. While this is a wonderful product, with subtle sweet notes of fruit to it, it’s
These are nicely rolled mid-range green oolong pieces with a decent aroma level that makes you aware that it’s a variant of milk oolong. The brewing of this tea is quite simple and can get decent four steeps out of it. I really enjoyed the second steep the most with it’s more mellow notes and more oolong’ness comes out as the leaf unravels. I’m pretty sure this would make for a nice cold brew as well, but I don’t cold brew often.

Equusfell

Yeah, most other Golden Lilies don’t reach the heights that WP’s does, but the two that come to mind for me are Mandala’ (very different, extreme buttery-ness!) and American Tea Room’s (the classic milk oolong flavor, punched up to 11). WP is unique with its coconut-milk overtones, which are crazy good!

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73

Hm. This is no longer on the BTTC site. I know I got it in one of the rounds of Kickstarter rewards. Anyway, it’s a nice, smooth, light oolong. Not really vegetal, just a nice, light, mellow flavor. Little bit of floral, tiny bit of mineral. Tried to use some gong fu techniques I’ve been learning. But all the steeps were very consistent for me.

And I’ve given up and gotten on Instagram. Dunno how much I’ll be active, but…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBLc-bNLquq/?taken-by=nicoleburriss

boychik

Glad you finally did it ;)

Nicole

There were just too many pretty pictures to not. :)

TeaExplorer

Your cats are adorable! :D

Nicole

Thanks! Your huge kitty is so pretty! :)

TeaExplorer

Thanks! He is the best lap cat, draping over you like a blanket. He’s gone on to his adoptive home now and is sorely missed (the downside of fostering).

Nicole

Aw… I could never foster for that very reason

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55

This was a lighter tea. I did a steep of 4 minutes, 5 minutes, and about 8 minutes. The liquor barely got past a golden butterscotch yellow. The flavor was lighter overall as well. I couldn’t really pick out anything too distinct. This was a very non-offensive tea. An absent minded sipper, I suppose.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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83

Dry leaf smell is malty. Beautiful long twisted black leaves.
First infusion, 10 seconds. Liquor comes out a dark blonde color. Thought that was surprising until I realized the leaves didn’t get a chance to open up. The flavor is delicious and buttery.

Second infusion, 10 seconds. Liquor is a slightly darker blonde. The wet leaf smells a bit like… burnt grass? There is a green/hay smell but also a smokey scent mixed it with it. Hmm. Flavor remains smooth and buttery with a hint of fruitiness on the back end.

Third infusion, 20 seconds. Color remains the same. This is one of the lighter colored black teas I have ever seen. Looks like a lightly oxidized oolong. One thing is for sure, thus far this is a consistent tea in color and flavor.

Flavors: Butter, Fruity

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 4 OZ / 110 ML

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