1741 Tasting Notes
Finishing off Andrews What the Heck Birthday Oolong. First time, it was a mess of dry, nutty pecan water, but this time, it was a floral, creamy and sweet oolong with a pecan taste along the lines of a Dong Ding. I would not be surprised if he used that for the base, maybe a jade or jin xuan, but more so on the Dong Dingy side. Oddly, it was very refreshing. Good oolong= a happy Daylon.
After begging to sample this from Evol, and so much waiting, I am trying it. I love me some longan fruit teas, and when Evol described it, I was hoping for it to be very similar to the Ailoashan from Whispering Pines, which was and is one of the most popular teas on this site, and is blended into the OTHER TWO most popular teas on this site. And yes, I read the other reviews hitting at the lychee, the rose, and the allusive cocoa note that Evol and others pick up on.
It definitely has a malty, dark chocolate body for a tea that is a little bitter, but bittersweet like dark chocolate. This would make a good pair for that kind of desert in the after noon. But the cocoa-chocolate thing was the background of the tea for me, and the longan fruit was the leading heady star. If I were to have tried this blind, I would have guessed this was a rose black tea. The lychee, which is pretty damn similar to a longan fruit, is more of an accent for me than anything else though I taste it. This cup is like someone decided to pour some cocoa in hot rose water. The rose makes me think of candy wax for what-ever reason because it is so sweet.
For the brew that made me babble this way, I more or less tried to Gong Fu it beginning at 20 sec, 30, 40, 45, and the current cup at a minute. The third cup was a tad bit too strong, so I splashed the smallest amount of milk and it was actually pretty nice because it off set the bitterness and helped push the rose taste along. I could probably get another cup for a longer steep, but since I have more left of the sample, I am not too worried. I am getting more rose and dryness towards the end with a continual smooth body.
As much as I enjoyed it, I am not sure that I would drink this often. A part of me liked it more with the splash of milk. Yes, I liked a tea more with milk. This was sweet enough for me personally to not add sugar because the longan fruit processing is VERY STRONG, but some might add a dip of sugar. Next time, I think I’ll use just a little less leaf, more water, and try it western to see if that smooths it out. I do recommend it, but essentially, this tea is a rosy black type of tea with some UMPH. If that is what you’re looking for, this would be a good stop along the way.
hahahha, so much waiting. :)
Sorry, I always do come through, but sometimes it takes a bit of time for the stars to align.
No need to apologize. I was talking about how long I waited to finally try the tea.
I’m so glad that I saved the teas for this winter though, holy crap.
Yeah, this is very wintery stuff that you are drinking from me now. This weather for me is perfect for drinking the kind of teas that I like.
Used the right amount of leaves for the right time. Again, florals you would associate with luxury soaps, but this time, the florals were light and balanced with the snap pea green vegetal taste. I finally got a little bit more creaminess later on. I am glad to have some for today and some for later. Oddly, I can see this tea being just as good for the summer as it is right now in the winter. That’s what a good oolong can do anyway :) I do wonder how the Yu Lan Xiang compares.
Another review with pretty close notes to what I get: Butter, Fruity, Malt, and White Raisins. It also had the usual dry basil smell and taste that I associate with Darjeelings. I got two solid cups, and one third lighter cup western starting out at two minutes fifteen seconds, 6 oz of water, one medium teaspoon. I loved that this was a lighter black. Thanks Evol!
Impulse buy. I dig cocoa shells and cardamom, plus I’ve never had a coffee fruit tea. This is heavily marketed as a pick me up alternative from coffee and some teas, but mostly black coffee. Given the blend, I figured it might taste good, help with my cold, and was worth a shot.
The taste is not too bad, but it is way too close to the Smooth Move herbal tea with cocoa shells. Surprisingly enough, this tea is better for me to just let it sit at the bottom of a cup, thermo, or tumbler. I was able to get a tad bit more nuance from it. I like the cocoa shells, but since I did not add honey to it, the tea was a flatter herbal. I could definitely pick up on the cardamom, but it was sloshed a little into the elderberry and licorice root. The coffee fruit has a very light taste that you can barely tell is there. Cascara, or the shell, is like a cross between cherry and vanilla, but is very light and wispy as a flavor with very little sweetness. I will definitely try it again with some honey.
I did enjoy a few aspects of it: the energy it gave clarity and focus more than anything else. A few people on here can get that from certain oolongs, matcha’s, and white teas, but this one is really balanced. Think of the effect of gingko without the mega pump of circulation going into your head. The herbs were also noticeable enough to alert my senses with mild pleasure. So for me, this tea delivered on it’s market promise. I also like that it is almost impossible to over steep.
I personally think it would be better with some vanilla added to the mix to bring out the chocolate flavor more because the shells alone make the water cocoa-y and muddy. In my limited experience with blends, vanilla really brings out chocolate tastes. I might change my mind when I sweeten it, but my western pallet says otherwise when it comes to chocolate. The price is also a bit high for an herbal-$7.99 for a box of 10! I wonder how expensive sachets are… Despite my dismay, I have project fuel and study fuel for the next few days.
Cocoa, Malt, Plums, Smoke, Vanilla, and Muscatel are all pretty good descriptors, though I would add “Leather” to the mix. Malt, Leather, Smoke, and Cocoa are the best adjectives in my opinion. I am loving the brewed leaf smell, though it reminds me of the blends its often mixed with like English Breakfast and some rose blends. It is also very smooth and has a solid amount of natural sweetness, but dry bitter-sweetness like cocoa.
Evol, you might gasp, but I decided to power steep the entire sample Gong Fu. It actually turned out really nice with super short steeps. Cocoa almost every time. First was 14 due to timing of pouring, and the second 5, 7, 8, 10 and then stop. I actually liked this tea more cooled down closer to 170 F instead of 180 F since I caught more of the nuances with that temperature. The last steep was more malt than anything else with the fading cocoa and leather.
I feel a little buzzed and weighty after this one. A little bit of pressure on my skull…I am mildly tea drunk or too frickin’ drunk of caffeine lol. I did randomly look up that this has a higher concentration of geraniol, an alcohol in the essential oil of roses among other plants. That is what makes me think this is a bit rosy. I don’t know if it is contributing to the mild delirium.
As much as I as I enjoyed the smoke and the cocoa, I am not sure I would drink this often. I pretty much have the same opinion about Keemums in that they are good teas if I am in the mood for mega malt and if it’s good quality. This one comes to that mark for me ’cause of cocoa and leather, but it might not for others. I liked the body a little bit more than the Nepal, but the honey note in the Nepal off sets its dryness. Again, thank you so much Evol! Now, for some water!
Evol sample, thank you!
I wondered if this was right since the tips were more gold making me wonder if it was a union, but the dry cocoa powder and peach seed smell of the leaves make me feel otherwise. Like I said before, Nepal needs more love. This is a good case as to why and was a good pick for me.
I brewed gong fu and the qualities were closer to a Yunnan black in a mega powdery cocoa mouth feel and taste with a dried and roasted fruit finish. It reminds me of a Darjeeling in the dryness, but since I’ve had Nepalese teas before, it’s really a Nepal dryness that I associate with the terroir. Picking up a bit of a honey aftertaste as well. Malty overall, and a bit dry, but very pleasant.
Excellent. I’m feeling very self-congratulatory now following my own instincts on this. If we ever do another swap, I’ll just ignore your specific preferences, beyond general guidelines, of course, altogether and send you things that I think you should try, just because.
I’m glad you liked this one.
You know I like to try new things. :) I could not drink all these blacks all the time though. Oolongs are easier for me to power than blacks though I can handle around two hong cha sessions in a given day. I think that might decrease with time. Some greens can be way harder though.
One oolong can be an all day long thing for me. Blacks are less of a commitment: two steeps and I’m done, most of the time. I can be a bit fickle too, going through my phases of mostly this or mostly that.
You know I am teasing you.
Yeah XD
It’s so awesome to have a roommate open to trying tea…and listening to my lecturing about terroir. I got him to try a Bao Zhong and he really liked it. This was all the while we were watching Legend of Kora. He wanted to get through the series since he was a huge fan of the original Avatar. I liked the original more of course, but I warned him that Kora could have been better if the execution of its ideas were better. It infused so many political ideas central to East Asian “modern” history and had interesting dialogues about spirituality and industrialism, but they were not developed to their full potential. The true Iro, Andrew, had to listen to me rant about this on Facebook lol.
So with my roommate’s liking of the Bao Zhong, I used this tea to push him a little further in the world of oolongs. He liked it, but was satisfied with one cup. Fortunately I brewed the remaining leaves even better bringing out a little bit more of the honey floral notes. I saved the rest for this morning and put it in the fridge – which I should not have done to preserve flavor consistency- but the cup certainly was not bad for the sleepy morning. I’m at least alert enough now for a few push ups before the full morning workout. Arms, chest , or legs with a pinched nerve….hmm…
It’s so awesome to have a roommate open to trying tea…and listening to my lecturing about terroir.
omigosh, does he know what exactly he is agreeing to? :)
He has a pretty good idea. He’s seen my collection. I get tea to share so he’ll mooch off of me lol. He has more self restraint than the average American and is more strict with his caffeine than the usual business or finance major. He prefer’s fruity herbals for the most part, but the fruitiness would sell him to the oolong. He is well aware of my own problem with it, however, and I think he’ll just consider trying oolong with a roommate as another part of his college education.
Last hawkband1 sample to try, I have all of them to keep! I’ve always wanted to try a dan cong from Bitterleaf, and I’ve wanted to try their hong chas. Thanks to hawkband1, I get to try it.
I’m not sure if this is the higher grade leaf, but I think it might be the regular one based on the image. I’m not too picky about leaf grade and I love me some Dan Cong especially if it is from a good source.
Gong fu as instructed on the website, maybe less leaf. The honey taste and fragrance was strong on this one with the orchid floral, some definite fruitiness that leans more towards apricot and grape than grapefruit. The grapefruit is still there. Who knows, imaginary approximations are always fun. Second steep had a honey-oatmeal like taste that I thought was pretty coal. I don’t always get oat notes and they are fairly welcomed.
This was a pretty typical Dan Cong, but a high quality one. I think I’d let a newbie try, but this is for someone trying oolongs for oolongs specifically.
