Dobra Tea

Also called Ali Shan on the menu. Vegetal, milk after taste, no sweetness.

Warm, bitter, earthy.

Lipton-esque, brisk. May have been over steeped. Not reminiscent of the sweet maltiness I expect from a Keemun.

First hojicha and the last of the samples I have from Dobra. This is a kukicha hojicha (fun to say out loud haha) that was surprisingly nice and complex! I’ll have to try some more hojicha in the future for sure.

Dry leaf: Barley
Wet leaf: Barley
Flavors: Barley, burnt toast, wheat, sweet, smoke, roasty

Another sample I took home from Dobra. Have been away from my tea the last week as I am in the ICU and worked 90+ hrs last week ughhh. But today is my day off and I’m reunited at last!

This is my first Bi Luo Chun and I’m intrigued. Rolled into curls, but not balls like a ball-rolled oolong. It is primarily savory and not particularly “green” tasting like other green teas. The smallest leaved green tea I’ve tried.

No bitterness or astringency. No sweetness either. I don’t get any fruity notes as some websites say Bi Luo Chun often has. Longevity is 5+ infusions. Aftertaste is rich and creamy.

Dry leaves: Vegetal.
Wet leaves: Same
Flavor: Savory, nutty, grass, creamy.

The first of some samples I bought to take home from Dobra. Haven’t had Long Jing in a while so I couldn’t wait! This one is yummy even though it’s over a year old.

No bitterness with very mild astringency. Lovely savory tea to have on a fall day. Aftertaste is buttery and oily and lasts for a long time. No appreciable sweetness. Longevity is 6+ infusions.

I gong fu’d this one, but will try to grandpa it next time. I’ve heard that’s how you can tell the true quality of a Long Jing :).

Harvest: Spring, 2022

Dry leaf: Artichoke.
Wet leaf: Spinach and artichoke dip, asparagus, popcorn.
Flavors: Butter, artichoke, vegetal, asparagus, savory, cream.

My first time trying a Dongfang Meiren and it was pretty good! This is a heavily oxidized oolong for sure. Not far off from a Yunnan black tea in flavor, but you can definitely tell it is still an oolong. While this was definitely a high quality tea and there are some unique characteristics, it would not justify spending $1/g + as this tea costs on most sites I’ve seen. Very similar honey and sweet notes as a Yunnan black, but with strong floral notes that tell you it is an oolong.

No bitterness or astringency and very smooth. Easy to down this tea quickly as it is tasty and nothing off about it. Medium-low sweetness. Lasted 5-6 infusions.

Sad to leave Asheville, but it was a great trip! Can’t wait to go back for more hiking, great food, and yummy tea :).

Wet leaf: Floral.
Flavors: Floral, honey, cream, stonefruit, sweet.

Granted, the reviews for this one are 9+ years old, but it’s way underrated on this site. Best tea I’ve had from Dobra for sure. My first time trying yellow tea (the last of the categories for me to sample :)) and I see why people like it! Definitely a hybrid between white and green tea flavors, although perhaps this one leans a good bit closer to white tea notes.

I get very little in the way of vegetal notes here unlike other reviewers. Mostly sweet and sort of fruity. Definitely a note I can’t place either. Would generally describe it as a savory note. Most similar tea I’ve tried is FL’s moonlight white tbh.

Wet leaf: Savory, butterscotch.
Flavors: Marshmallow, sweet, cream, fruity, savory.

So glad to be back at Dobra Tea in Asheville! This was where my passion for tea started. It was the first time I tried high quality loose leaf tea and immediately fell in love with it :). This one is quite nice. By the feel of the tea, the steeping temperature seemed around 160 F. I would brew this around 120-140 for longer infusion times. I wonder if it might be even more to my liking with that method.

My first time trying a Kabusecha and I definitely see how it is like a hybrid between a gyokuro and sencha. Medium sweetness, no bitterness or astringency, and a very fresh and umami profile overall. Went about 4 infusions.

Wet leaves: Vegetal, umami.
Taste: Sweet, vegetal, grass, umami.

Whenever we reorder from Dobra, this tea pretty much immediately disappears from my cupboard. It’s definitely the most memorable chocolate tea I’ve ever had, though we’re talking the deep rich bean flavor rather than any kind of sweet notes. Certainly gets a little bit of that hot-chocolate feel if you adulterate it enough, but I tend to be a little gentle applying cream and sugar to this one.

The only reason it’s not rated higher is that I usually expect my teas to brew well hot and cold. The chocolate additives, for whatever reason, cause the tea to go off within 24-30 hours after brewing, limiting my chance to enjoy it.

I tried the 2021 version.

Because of the shape, this requires either a few steeps or a longer initial steep to yield real flavour. When the taste does emerge, it’s roasted yet delicate. The wet leaves smell sweet and toasty. There’s a kind of dark floral background.

It’s nice! However, it is a tad fiddly to prepare. Green tea is always somewhat fiddly for me, but this one seems more sensitive to small changes in temperature and time than others.

Given the age of the tea I had, it was surprisingly good – I’d picked it up about this time last year. It had some typical sencha bitterness, some grassy flavours, and an odd, almost boozy note – not sure if that was present when it was younger. The tastes blended together into a harmonious balance.

A fairly straightforward green tea, more delicate than some other Chinese greens I’ve tried. It has a slightly dry, slighty bitter herbal taste that reminds me of ‘gunpowder green’ tea, but more complex and better balanced.

Ordered in my local Dobrá Čajovna (Dobra Tea tearoom) while I was waiting for last inventory check (part-time job).

I wished for caffeine boost, but it didn’t really come.

Don’t have much details but: In aroma very roasty, nutty… Hints of almonds, little floral.
and:
In taste it is much more mellow and way more floral with hints of nuts and one more message:
It was nice and pleasant tea. Not really energy boosting, but it was really nice. Quite complex in flavour. Haven’t expected floral and roasty in same time

I wrote those points to my friend who was curious about the tea.

When I smelled the wet leaf in gaiwan, I thought it will be very roasty, as aroma said so. But actually it was quite mellow and rather floral than roasty. I was thinking buying it home to use it possibly in the Advent Swap (see below!) but 320 CZK for 50 grams was quite steep for me.

I won’t return there for some time again unfortunately, situation here is worse and worse and as we have distance learning nowdays, we stay in our rooms trying to study. And I decided to stop the part time job as well now, because of Covid situation; as well I need to focus on studies a little bit more.

Check out Tea Advent Swap we are going to do: https://steepster.com/discuss/42125-2020-tea-advent-swap Shae organises it and I would love to see more people taking part!

As last, one funny story overheard there:
I don’t mind you smoke weed, you can arrive here stoned, I really don’t mind. But please, don’t use the crusher for shisha tobbaco for your weed. Please, don’t! said a manager to one of his employees (they serve hookahs there)

Ordered in Dobra Čajovna tearoom in Pardubice as Dian Hong cha. So, that said, I don’t know steeping parameters. The staff prepared a teapot of it and said me I can get second steeping if I want to.

The tea seems not that fresh as I am used to. Taste is honestly quite weak, I notice minerality, salt, little of leather and malt. It is tannic, little astringency.

It’s not wrong, just bit boring.

News section: government shut down all schools except kindergardens. Due to coronavirus. Holidays? I don’t think so.