2201 Tasting Notes

73
drank Coconut Cabana by The Tea Spot
2201 tasting notes

The first time I had this tea I was sick with a stuffed up nose but I just couldn’t wait to try it. It wasn’t that long ago, but I still don’t remember it very clearly, so I’m excited to try it again now. I’ve been craving a creamy oolong lately, so hopefully this will fill that.

Now that I can properly smell it… the steeped tea smells coconutty in a fruity way. There is a creamy buttery note, as well as a toasted nutty note as well. It’s got a little bit of a popcorny—scratch that, kettle corny—aroma to it as well. Flavor wise it’s pretty tasty, and I stick by my original note that this is pretty fruity, with a creamy, smooth coconut background that lingers. I think this time it’s creamier than before (I have to make myself wait until these cool down a fair bit so I get the most out of them), and the mouthfeel is smooth and lovely. Overall this is really very delicious, but I’m not sure quite where it fits into my hypothetical standard panel cupboard. It lies somewhere between Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong and ATR’s Milk Oolong, but those are two teas that I totally adore, and I’m not sure I need one that fits in between them. Still, I will enjoy this sample for now especially since I have neither of the above mentioned teas in stock and I said I wouldn’t buy any tea in the next couple of months!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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81
drank Li Shan Oolong by Naivetea
2201 tasting notes

I think this may actually be the last un-tested tea of my high-altitude sample pack from Naivetea. Woah, progress! This has been great because I feel like I know a little more about different types of green oolongs, though I have a ton more to learn. My goal is to have a decent sense of the most popular types of green oolong and which ones I like most before I go to China in late March, knowing that when I get there I will likely be overwhelmed in varieties I’ve never heard of. :)

The dry leaf smells green and vegetal and a hint floral. Steeped, the florals come out more and are joined by a light creamy/buttery aroma. The flavor is a nice balanced between fresh green leafy notes and soft florals. There is the slightest hint of sweetness toward the end of the sip which gets stronger as the tea cools. There is maybe the slightest hint of butteriness in the flavor, but this is really a much more fresh, green floral tea than some others.

I do admit that it’s difficult for me to keep all these Li Shan/A Li Shan/Shan Lin Shi green oolongs separate in my mind! They are all very tasty but none of them has really stuck out as spectacular to me. Maybe I’m a more of a Tieguanyin kind of girl. :) I have some others to try from thepuriTea, so my oolong journey is far from over.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec
TeaBrat

I feel much the same way about Li Shans and Ali Shans…

Dinosara

Yeah, definitely lovely and pleasant to drink, but nothing that I will likely be craving.

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83
drank Dragon Flames by Sanctuary T
2201 tasting notes

I usually don’t drink green tea in the morning, but this isn’t your regular green tea… this is jasmine pearls blended with maté. I recently had a groupon-style deal for Sanctuary T that was expiring, so I went shopping to figure out what teas to buy. They offer samples for a few of their teas, but none that I was really interested in, so I had to go for a couple of 2oz teas. They had a number that sounded interesting until I took a closer look and realized that I had tried a bunch of them under different names from other companies. This was one that I had never seen anywhere else before and it appealed to me.

The dry leaf smells minty and green, with a hint of jasmine underneath. I think that maté can smell a bit minty, and it definitely reminds me of my recent travels to Argentina. The tea came without a temp for steeping, but I used a green tea temp because of the jasmine pearls. Also, I don’t know how hot the water is that Argentinians usually use for their maté, but I’m pretty sure it’s not actually boiling (at least, it wasn’t for one girl I stayed with). I steeped it for 1.5 min (based on their 1-2min recommendation), but I’m pretty sure I’d be happy with 2 minutes.

The tea smells more jasminey after steeping, though not overwhelming. Still green minty and that herbaceous maté aroma. It’s pretty faithful to that in the taste as well, though the jasmine is just a hint. Looking in my infuser it looks like the jasmine pearls didn’t get much chance to expand, so I guess I’ll be resteeping this one! The flavors remind me of an Argentinian herbal tea I brough back with me (not a maté blend), actually. It’s not a combination that I would expect to like, but it’s pleasant and I do really like it.

Second steep was a tiny bit hotter (180°F) and for 3 minutes. The jasmine pearls are really unfurling now. It’s decent but I liked the first steep better; there seems like there’s less flavor in this one. I think using these parameters for the first steep might yield my perfect cup of this tea.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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76
drank Osmanthus Oolong by Naivetea
2201 tasting notes

This is the last of my infused oolong sampler from Naivetea that I have yet to try, though I do have a few of the high-mountain ones left. I put this one off at first because I remembered not being totally taken with the aroma of the dry leaf, but then when I just smelled it now the scent was a strong, lovely floral. I’m not super familiar with osmanthus as a flower, though I’ve had a few different osmanthus oolongs that I believe I’ve enjoyed. I feel like they all taste pretty different, though, so I never know what to expect.

They weren’t kidding about the intense osmanthus aroma. Steeped, this tea is incredibly floral to the point of being perfumy. There’s a slightly buttery vegetal aroma hiding somewhere underneath those flowers, but it’s being swamped! The level of florals reminds me of the Rose Violet Calendula Oolong. The flavor of the tea is slightly sweet and super floral. Wow, it’s even a little strong in the florals for me, and that’s saying something. I feel like I am drinking a bouquet, or perhaps even some osmanthus perfume. After reading Amy oh’s tasting note for this, I’m thinking that this is one that definitely needs multiple, short steeps. One long steep brought out so much osmanthus that the rest was kind of overwhelmed. As it cools, the florals calm down a little (or maybe I’m just getting desensatized to them), but it’s not so perfumy. I’m defintiely tasting more sweet, buttery, creamy notes. Not my fave from the pack by a long shot, but I think once I get my oolong gongfu set up, it will be a great tea for that.

ETA: I’m starting to wonder if somehow my samples of the floral oolongs were more heavily scented than others have tried… all these tasting notes talking about light osmanthus, hah! The Rose Violet Calendula oolong seemed stronger than I had before, as well. Odd!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec
TeaBrat

AH, I recall I loved this one for some reason… :)

Dinosara

I know, it’s crazy because you loved it and you’re not a fan of strong florals, but I am and I’m kind of lukewarm about it. I guess you can never tell. :)

TeaBrat

yeah for example the Rose Violet Calendula was way too much for me. :)

K S

I think it was TeaEqualsBliss that commented in a review that they put flavored samples up for a few weeks before tasting so the flavors have time to work into the leaf. I tried this with some Empire Tea Services teas and it did make a big difference…. Worth a try.

Dinosara

I do agree that flavored samples sometimes change, especially with fresh blended ones, but these samples have been sitting in my cupboard for almost 2 months now, lol.

K S

In that case, nevermind! lol

Spoonvonstup

Maybe your tongue is just morphing into a super-tasting instrument? Interesting experience! I also find that what I drink before a tea can really influence my tasting.

Kashyap

I generally find when my taste buds go into overdrive its either a dietary shift or a cold coming on…but I hear what your saying about those teas, but after having suffered through many versions of osmanthus, I felt that this was about the best balance of creamy, buttery, green and fresh oolong and bold, swanky osmanthus…and the osmanthus didn’t come off as synthetic, but rather, it was a saucy, sauntering “take me as I am”….I liked the Lychee (of the flavors) best of the bunch…and ordered a pound and have been using it in cuppings and talks to the stunned ‘wow’ of the crowd…if you have a chance that one is amazing

ashmanra

I had my first osmanthus in late December in the osmanthus puer from purepuer.com. It must be very mild because I don’t taste it very much, or even smell it all that much, though it is pleasant enough. It just isn’t overpowering. My kids liked plain ouer better, though. I received a sample of Osmanthus oolong from Dammann Frères. Maybe I should give it a try today. It is the tiniest sample I have ever seen, definitely just enough for one small cup, so I hope it resteeps well!

Dinosara

I have a sample of the Lychee as well and agree that it is awesome, but my fave is actually the Passion Fruit. They’re all quite delicious, though!

Dinosara

@ashmanra- ooh, an oolong from Dammann, I am interested to see how that is! Not that I need more things to add to my wishlist there… :D

TeaBrat

I thought the Passionfruit was great too. :)

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68

Tea #2 of the Tea from Taiwan Jin Xuan (milk oolong) sampler. This is an all natural, no flavoring whatsoever milk oolong, although based on my experiences with the “flavored” one of this pack I am not really expecting this to remind me of a milk oolong.

This time I threw the entire package in my mug, which is a little more leaf than I would normally use, but I realized I wouldn’t really be able to get another cup out of the sample with the leftovers. To compensate I steeped it for 2 minutes instead of my usual 3, and I don’t think it came out too strong. It does have a slightly milky, slightly buttery aroma to it, but that definitely doesn’t come through in the flavor. The first thing I think of when I take a sip is a big pile of sauted spinach. It’s very vegetal, and some florals come out in the tail end of the sip, but not many. Honestly, this is really not the oolong for me. But they can’t all be the tea for me, otherwise my cupboard would explode!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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92
drank Caricias para el Alma by Tématyco
2201 tasting notes

I just got a new infusing basket in the mail last night, and I couldn’t wait to try it out! I use a Tea Forte Kati Cup for 90% of my tea, but the handle on the infuser basket for it broke off a while ago, so I’ve had to pry the basket out with the tip of a dull knife at the end of each tasting, and sometimes it’s really hot! Finally I broke down and ordered a new ForLife infuser basket (this one: http://preview.tinyurl.com/7we6l5v) that is kind of a tall, narrow, use-it-in-any-mug deal with a nice sturdy handle. I’m also excited that since it’s a ForLife the holes are way smaller than the metal screen of the basket I had before, so that should mean less bits in my tea now.

This is a pretty decent tea to try it out with because the leaf is CTC and very small. And indeed, only the finest of tea dust escaped the basket. This tea is just amazing to me because it totally doesn’t look like much, with it’s tiny little pieces of leaf, but it is so tasty. Last time I brewed it for some unknown time because I forgot to start the timer, but I think I could actually brew it for longer and not get bitterness because this time it seems a tiny bit weak. Still, I love the combination of flavors (bergamot, jasmine and red currant), and when I run out I will probably have to make a blend myself since it is unlikely I will find it again. But for now I have a pretty decent sized tin that will likely last me a while, yay!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
SimplyJenW

I have a whole herd of ForLife teaware. A 24 oz.pot a 45 oz. pot and a 15oz. mug. I love them all and the infusers are interchangeable. I do think the infuser is the best part, though!

Dinosara

I love how sturdy it is, and the tiny holes make me realize how much stuff was getting through my old infuser. It’s also way easier to clean than the old screen mesh one too.

Cheryl

Thanks for that link (added to Wishlist, which is growing w. tea related stuff).

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80

Ah, white tea, my old nemesis. Hah, not really, but still, I haven’t had a ton of luck with white teas in the past. Not that I have brewed white teas that I’ve actively disliked or couldn’t finish the cup, but I have always been a bit disappointed. But this is a tea that a lot of people who say they have had problems with white teas have liked, so I am interested to try it.

To me the dry leaf smells a bit like alfalfa hay. The leaves are fluffy and I used about 2.5 perfect teaspoons in my 12oz cup, though of course the fluffy leaves mean probably less leaf ended up in there, but hopefully it was a decent amount. Steeped, the scent of the tea reminds me of fresh-cut grass, and a bit of cooked vegetables. This is definitely a smooth, relaxing, and pleasant tea. The flavors are light but distinct; a little grassy/hay-like, a tiny bit floral, and a very smooth mouthfeel. Am I a white tea convert? Maybe not quite, but at least now I “get” more of what it’s all about. Thanks again to Angel Chen & Teavivre for the sample! (Finally, one of my boxes of samples that I got over the last couple of months is all tasted! I am running far behind on trying my new teas…)

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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75

I used the rest of my sample of this for my lunch-time cold brew. It made a really nice cup of iced tea; very jasminey but not overwhelming. As much as I missed the golden buds flavors in the hot tea, I really didn’t get any here… it was hard to tell I was even drinking a jasmine black as opposed to a green, even. Somewhat surprising! Still, it was a tasty cup of tea.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more
Spoonvonstup

Hmm.. a yunnan-black based jasmine sounds like an interesting idea! Too bad this one didn’t sound like it used the base. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for something like this.

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80
drank Mango Black Tea by thepuriTea
2201 tasting notes

I can honestly say that I haven’t been bowled over by my samples from thepuriTea like I was expecting to be. However, I had yet to try this tea. See, thepuriTea is the source of what is still my very favorite passion fruit black tea; none of the others I’ve tried have really compared. And apparently, there mango black is just as good.

The dry leaf smells like dried mangoes. There aren’t any dried mangoes in the blend or anything, and it’s nice to smell a fruit flavored tea that doesn’t smell like fruit candy, but rather the fruit itself. The addition of hot water has turned the dried fruit to fresh, because the steeped tea smells like a lovely, ripe mango. Not one I would get in the grocery store here in NY, but rather one I would get from a market in Africa. Turns out that I brewed this one a little hotter than I brewed the Passion Fruit Black for some reason, but this tea still turned out super smooth without a hint of bitterness. The mango flavor is juicy and lightly tart without being too tart, and the black tea base adds to the honeyed, lovely taste. Totally awesome. Even if I find no other teas from thepuriTea to buy, these will always have to be in my cupboard.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
thepuriTea

Hi There,

Sorry! We ran out of sample bags and were using what we had lying around.

I’m planning on changing the sample packaging. Would love to hear your suggestions. Feel free to contact me directly, [email protected]

Thanks for shopping with us.

Best,
Nav

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72

So a little while ago I was going through old discussion threads about milk oolongs and I saw the Tea from Taiwan Jin Xuan (milk oolong) sample pack discussed. As I have found out most milk oolongs are “flavored” by subjecting the growing plants to various things, but because this is done on the growing end of things almost all places that sell milk oolongs don’t mention it, if they know. Personally I don’t really think of that as “flavoring” in a normal sense since it’s all done while the plant is growing, nor do I have a problem with flavoring tea anyway. I was curious about the difference, though, and this pack has samples that you can actually compare. It has three milk oolongs: two that are all-natural, no flavoring added at any point, and one that is flavored. This is the flavored one.

The dry leaf does smell nicely creamy, slightly fruity, with a hint of greenish florals… in short, not unexpected. The steeped tea builds on those, with more florals and a definite buttery note. If I breathe in really deep I get a distinct vegetal note. At no point does this tea smell like acutal milk or sweetened condensed milk, which some people say is a tip-off that it’s been flavored. This is clearly a very lightly flavored one, so I’m interested to see how the unflavored ones compare. I can tell it’s a milk oolong from the aroma, but you could have fooled me by the taste. I probably steamrolled over the nuances in flavor by brewing it western style, but that’s how I brew all my oolongs. It’s fresh, green, vegetal and a bit buttery. I don’t really get a creaminess from this… actually almost the opposite as it’s a hint astringent. There is certainly none of the light sweetness you find in some oolongs (whether they’re natural or not!). I was honestly expecting a bit more from this one, and certainly expecting something a bit different. Oh well, it’s still pretty tasty.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Kashyap

I would be curious to learn where you found the information on milk tea growing (natural flavor)? I presumed since I had only been exposed to highly flavored ‘cream’ milk teas that they were all topically flavored..I would like to learn more about this. Thanks.

Dinosara

Well there’s a ton of hearsay and rumors and whatever about milk oolongs out there… turns out it’s a pretty controversial topic! What I know I learned from this discussion thread and links contained therein: http://steepster.com/discuss/1403-milk-oolong

ashmanra

I noticed the teavivre’s milk oolong is natural. I know Angel would be happy to answer any questions or direct you to a good article, Kashyap!

Dinosara

That is definitely a milk oolong I want to try!

Kashyap

thanks! I appreciate the info

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Bio

I am tea obsessed, with the stash to match. I tend to really enjoy green oolongs, Chinese blacks, and flavored teas with high quality bases, especially florals, bergamot-based teas, and chocolate teas.

In my free time I am a birder, baker, and music/movie/tv addict.

Here are my rating categories, FYI:
100-90: Mind-blowingly good, just right for my palate, and teas that just take me to a happy place.
89-86: I really really like these teas and will keep most of them in the permanent collection, but they’re not quite as spectacular as the top category
85-80: Pretty tasty teas that I enjoy well enough, but definitely won’t rebuy when I run out.
79-70: Teas that I would probably drink again, but only if there were no preferrable options.
69-50: Teas that I don’t really enjoy all that much and wouldn’t drink another cup of.
49 and below: Mega yuck. This tea is just disgusting to me.
Unrated: Usually I feel unqualified to rate these teas because they are types of teas that I tend to not like in general. Sometimes user error or tea brewed under poor conditions.

Location

Ohio, US

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