Hillside Tea
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Honestly, this is far from my favorite thing that I’ve tried out of the TTB. Not the worst, just… not as good as it should be.
For starters, it’s annoying that there’s not a lot of practical information about what type of oolong this is or how to brew it. Based on the available info, it seems to be a high elevation mountain tea from Nantou County, Taiwan. No brewing instructions/recommendations are provided by the company. The leaves are tightly rolled, very dark green, and smell sweet and floral rather than roasted. So I took an educated guess and brewed it like an alishan oolong. Unfortunately, in 3 hot steeps and a final attempt to make iced tea with the leaves before tossing them, the best I could do is identify that 195f is the best steeping temperature for this tea to avoid any bitterness. But it never quite delivered on the promise of either its pleasant smell or what a high mountain Taiwanese oolong should generally taste like. It was just sort of… generic. I can smell and taste other things today, so it’s thankfully not an early covid symptom, it’s just the tea – or else I never landed on the perfect steeping parameters to bring out the best in the leaf which is why it’s important to provide brewing suggestions!
Vallhallow thank you for this sample! This appears to be a Dragonwell. Flattened leaves of comparable size. I would say a lower-grade Dragonwell based on the coloring of the leaves but not a low-grade knock-off based on the taste. It tastes very similar to a Dragonwell. Notes of sesame, dried grass, and slight mineral touches. Vegetal wet leaf aroma. Overcooked peas and asparagus. Overall it’s not a bad Dragonwell. Good for coffee shops and on the go but it is not one I will seek out to buy.
Their main website is currently down but here is the interview from the company on www.teatiff.com
This will be an objective review. I will not provide a scoring because I feel that this matcha has great potential but may have been influenced by outside air for too long. So the coloring is pretty poor. A good matcha color should be emerald green for the ones that are higher quality. If they are being used for cooking or latte (mixing of any sort) then the coloring matters a little less, though I do find a brighter green latte is more desirable than the olive-colored ones, such as is the color of the matcha in front of me cuyrrently. That being said the taste is good. This leads me to believe that at its prime the coloring was better. The astringency is medium with bits of grassiness and slight metallicness. The mouthfeel is also quite smooth with minimal grittiness even in the final sips. This will be one I will want to try fresh for sure but I am also excited to give this one a go in latte form.
Trade with Vallhallow. #2. Tea experiences take a pivotal role in the lives of many Steepsters. They can range from tea shop experiences to something as simple as being blown away by the first sip of tea. That was me with this tea. Something about that first sip just made me go, “Whoa I need to write a note righ now.” Malty flavors surrounded by chocolate and woodsy notes. Maybe a bit of rosewood and a slight smokiness as well. This is after steeping it a little longer to see what I would uncover. The first sip had some lighter fruity tones. No astringency as of now. In a way, this somewhat reminds me of the Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea. The dry leaf has great coloring. Dark choclate/ umber tones with specks of golden threads. A sign of high quality and well-processed leaf. And cute tiny trichomes sticking to the inside of the bag.
