iTeaworld

I seriously debated for weeks about whether to purchase this tea, some more of Mrs. Li’s Dragonwell from Verdant, some of the disappointing One River Tea’s stash because they supposedly have good greens, or splurging on the exorbitant offerings from Bitterleaf that garner so much praise online. Safe to say, I settled for iTeaworld’s offering and I cannot be more disappointed. The tea is not repulsive, but has none of the characteristics that I think represent Longjing and is a sad excuse for a green tea overall. I’m surprised to see positive comments about this from other reviewers here. Maybe this year is just a bad batch? I mean, this is far worse than all the other’s Ive tried, including TeaVivre’s.

Anyways, because I can’t go another whole year without some Longjing, I went ahead and made an order from Verdant. Let’s hope that one is much better.

Harvest: March 25, 2025
Origin: Shengzhou, Zhejiang, China | 600-800m Elevation

April backlog and sip down

I’m thankful to my past self—likely drinking tea and working—for making one single note and rating on the package. 90% of the time I’m drinking tea is while working, and the other 10% is when I allow myself the time over the weekend.

Tasting Notes: Cinnamon stick

April backlog and sip down

Tasting Notes: Peas, green beans, & buttery.

Cold Brew!

Honestly this was a surprisingly deep and intense feeling cold brew with some incredibly lush, potent floral jasmine notes. However, it had a very clean and crisp finish to the sip. Not uncommon for me personally, but I tasted a lot of grape alongside the jasmine. Less common, but I also got the tiniest hint of banana too!? Overall I thought this was nice and refreshing, though!

Not bad for a DHP, especially for the price! This was a free sample with my iTeaworld order.

Was glad to get to try a different tea category from iTeaworld. Will have to try more from them in the future. Now just waiting on my Long Jing pre-order from them…

This was a sample I ordered from iTeaWorld with my pre-order for some of their pre-Qing Ming Long Jing. I chose this company for this years’ Dragonwell purchase given the good reviews some of their tea got on Teadb recently. They actually shipped this 10 g sample out separately from the pre-order, which I think is strange, but whatever.

I’m not crazy about this tea. It has too many herbal notes for a white tea. Otherwise, it’s not bad. However, it does not have much sweetness going for it, but the complexity is decent and the mouthfeel is thick.

Aroma: Buttery, nutty, seaweed, umami

Color: Slightly yellow

Tasting Notes: Shitake mushroom, umami, collard greens, cooked spinach, & buttery.

If you want to develop a palate for certain teas or terroirs you really have to stick more so to that grouping. When you wander too much your palate really can’t pull the distinctive notes that it needs to. Or at least that is what I’ve found. In order to determine the subtle differences you really have to batten down the hatches. But it’s difficult…. because I want to try all the things! This has been sitting for a while. I keep meaning to try it but I’ve been on a Japanese tea binge. I am glad though that I seem to be tasting some subtleties that I thought I would miss. This is a nice one.
Dry aroma: Strong ‘typical’ pu er aroma. Dried, aged wood. Slight cherry wood.
Dry Appearance: Tightly twisted but more of a smushed and pellet appearance. Some stems. Dusty. Dark brown.
Quick rinse.
Wet Leaf aroma: 1800s house. I love that scent. Slight smoke. Sweet and leather.
Flavor: Cream. Dark wood, smoke. Old wood in an old house. Makes me want to hope on Ancestry! Its my other passion.
Mouth feel: Smooth with a slight astringency
After tasteCharcoal wood.

The run of the mill TGY starter tea that would hook one into the tea game. It reminded me of the first time I sipped on real tea that wasn’t a Lipton bag or can of Arizona…Now, it’s quite a nice green, freshly floral tea, but it’s far from where I am now. Perhaps I’d share with someone new to the craft or wanting to dive deeper into tea, but it’s too green for me.

The session wasn’t anything extraordinary. The tea had a mildly buttery taste, but overall, the tea fell flat after 5 infusions.

I actually love all the teas in this sampler but I think my favorite is the rose tea. I am defying the rules but I drank it gong fu style and it’s just lovely! The rose is not overpowering but definitely present, just enough to make it incredibly fragrant and vibrant. The best part is the lasting power, the flavor lasts through many, many steeps! I love this sampler pack!

he dry leaves had a tart aroma, and after rinsing, they smelled tart and smoky. For the first steep, I brewed it for 40 seconds. The liquor turned a beautiful amber color, with a light smoky aftertaste, a hint of brandy, and some sweetness.

Backlogged

My brief notes: A nice roasted and warming tea. Intense in the body, creating tea sweats. There’s a nice lingering sweet note on the tongue.

Was very excited to get this tea. The tea was very fresh and had a pleasing floral aroma. As far as the taste it was light with a touch of fruit, flowers, and sweetness. I would definitely reccomend this tea.

The dry leaf aroma is very sweet and fruity. The brewed tea was a lot milder than I expected based on the dry leaf aroma. The taste is mildly fruity and floral with some roasty notes and a slight sweetness.

When I opened the pouch, the dried leaves hit me with the smell of grilled vegetables and sweet pastries. I brewed western style and was quite pleased with the result. This tea has notes of grilled zucchini and umami with a slight hint of apple in the aftertaste. It left me feeling like I had just eaten a satisfying summer meal.

I received the sampler for free, but my opinions are entirely my own.

My notes are based on gongfu steepings, and it was brewed at 80C.

This is a really nice tea. It’s full-bodied, mellow, and bright. The flavor has a gentle vegetal character, reminding me much of freshly steamed spinach and young greens. There’s a natural sweetness that becomes more noticeable as the leaves open up. I also picked up some strong umami notes, similar to those in Sencha. The tea’s complexity is evident but not overwhelming, making it an enjoyable and approachable choice for both seasoned drinkers and newcomers.

This balanced, but still very nuanced profile makes it an appropriate choice for any time of day. I typically drink in the morning and afternoon, but this would certainly make for a great evening tea as well. You may want to experiment with temperatures and brewing styles to figure out what works best for you if you pick up this tea. Gongfu at 80C is what I liked the most, but greens are versatile and can taste very different depending on your methodology.

Overall, this tea is a really great value in its price range and I can recommend it.

The dry leaf aroma is very nice. So fresh smelling. Freshly cut bark and new green twigs. The suckers that don’t burn if you accidentally gather them. Other floral and woody notes in the background. I’m sure the first infusion tasted great but I’ll never know because the table stole it from me. I guess I could make a tiktok about licking up the spilled tea on the table but no thanks. The second infusion is nice. Dark wood notes. Black cherry, walnut, and a bit of oak. I’m also picking up a hint of walnuts but mainly the bitterness that you get with their soft crunch. The wet leaf aroma is enthralling. The moment it hit my nose after pouring out the liquid so many thoughts ran through my head. Black raisins, cream, lacquer, sweetened raisins, raisin bread. You can get so many infusions out of this one. I have no idea of what number I’m on.

Researching cheap airline tickets to SMF for my cousin’s wedding while I’m doing this. Man I miss my flight bennies. ^^;

Dry aroma: Pomelo. Honey and honey-dipped cantaloupe.
Initial aroma: very mineral. Wet stones and granite.
Wet leaf aroma: Makes your mouth water. Raisins. Green grapes.

Liquor appearance: Slightly cloudy. Slightly dark amber.

Flavor: Surprising. Not nearly as vegetal or honey-like as I would have expected based on the aroma. I would say it is closer to being woody. I would try again but this has been my least favorite so far.

A quick swipe along the edges of the inside of the packet with your finger. Preferably. When you pull your finger out you will find it somewhat covered in white hairs. These glorious beings are trichomes. Aren’t they cute?

Dry aroma: This smells like a typical white tea to me. If someone were to ask me when you think of white tea what comes to mind? It would be this scent. Obviously, there are plenty of different white teas with different aromas so I’m not saying they all smell like this. Just saying overall, this is a popular white tea aroma. Sort of a barnyard mix of scents. Dry bale of hay and tall dry summer grasses.

Dry appearance: Very beautiful. Various hues of green ranging from dark green to olive green and plenty of silvery hairs. The pluck seems to be standard with bud, first, and second leaves present. Long stems, some also covered in hair. Actually, a lot of them are.

Inital aroma: Intense and saturated barnyard hay. Shifting slightly to summer floral and fresh spinach notes.

Flavor: 30 seconds. I know it’s longer than the package recommends but I wanted to give it a little push. Slightly bitter with notes of herbal liquors. This would pair well with 43. Very fresh broccoli and kale. And now let’s push a little more. We took the same water from the one above and just steeped it a bit longer for one minute. The bitterness definitely ramped up. Though there is a lot of leaf in there so I know that’s part of the bitterness issue. Can of green beans? Creamed green beans? Something like that but mainly lots of barnyard hay.

This is a good white tea. But I’m not finding anything overly special about it.

This tea has a thickness to it and feels smooth and silky in my mouth. It has notes of flowers and vanilla, with a lingering powdered sugar like sweetness. Great white tea.

Wild Oolong from iTeaworld offers a complex flavor profile. It features a floral and fruity aroma with a hint of wild forest fragrance. The taste is smooth and balanced, with notes of honey, fruit, and woodiness, leaving a lingering, slightly sweet aftertaste.