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“I am revisiting this tonight and not enjoying it quite as much as I remember. I don’t know if there is something up with my steeping parameters or if I just have not been drinking this fast enough...” Read full tasting note
“Sipdown, 228. This is one that I have for some reason have had for a while but never got around to sipping down. Oof, first sip was a little too hot… usually I am not so impatient but I wanted...” Read full tasting note
“‘Tis the Season to GIVE :) I’m really making a dent in my stash today! Woot! Passing this one on to Alphakitty and Azzrian One last cup to say Goodbye to this gem!” Read full tasting note
“This tea was certainly a welcome part of the Oolong October Steepster Select box. I haven’t had a Naivetea tea for a while, and I’ve missed their exceptional quality Oolong. Toasty and warm. A...” Read full tasting note
Layered flavor, notes of toasted rice and caramel, lingering refined sweetness.
Mouth Feel: Soft with medium and smooth body
Aroma: Subtle, roasted aroma with hints of cane sugar
Ingredients: Ching Shin Oolong
Oxidation/Fermentation: Medium, 30%
Roast: 30%
Origin: Dong Ding, Central Taiwan
Elevation: 700 meters/2,296 feet
Steeping Instructions:
Hot
Prepare one level tablespoon per 6 oz pot or cup. Bring water to a boil and let it cool for about one minute to 200-205° F. Steep first time for 50 seconds, second steep for 40 seconds, third steep for 50 seconds, fourth steep for 60 seconds, fifth steep for 70 seconds, sixth steep for 90 seconds and seventh steep for 2 minutes.
Cold
Measure 1 1/2 level tablespoon for a 50 oz pitcher. Steep tea in room temperature water and place in refrigerator for eight hours. Take out leaves and serve. Drink within two days.
Company description not available.
I am revisiting this tonight and not enjoying it quite as much as I remember. I don’t know if there is something up with my steeping parameters or if I just have not been drinking this fast enough and it got somewhat stale. But then I checked my email and I got this last November so I have a feeling it may just be me. How long do oolongs stay fresh? This one is 25% roasted too…
I have done 3 steeps and my leaves are fully opened and unfurled but not feeling the love as much. I got the burnt caramel flavor but the nuttiness and sweetness have gone. I did lower the rating a bit but I will not lower it anymore because it might be partially my fault… might need to cold brew this one too just to see.
Speaking of love, I have written a blog post about two novels of Theodore Dreiser if you are up late and just want to read it, here it is. This is what I do with my free time when I’m not on Steepster. :)
Sipdown, 228. This is one that I have for some reason have had for a while but never got around to sipping down.
Oof, first sip was a little too hot… usually I am not so impatient but I wanted something to drink right away. I feel like there is something stuck in my esophagus low down and it won’t go away, but clearly there is not.
I enjoy this tea, even it if is on the roasty-toastier side of things. I don’t know why I am not a big fan of toastiness in tea, but it seems to be generally the case. Still, this one is toasty in such a way that it works for me, accompanied by a light sweetness. A pleasant afternoon tea.
This tea was certainly a welcome part of the Oolong October Steepster Select box. I haven’t had a Naivetea tea for a while, and I’ve missed their exceptional quality Oolong.
Toasty and warm. A delightful tea for the approaching autumn. Will write more about this one as I spend more time with it…
Tea of the afternoon……
I decided it was time to go forth with another new oolong. I have had this from the second Steepster Box?, but am just getting to it now.
It is similar in mothfeel to other oolongs; It tastes thick. It really kind of reminds me of Genmaicha as there is a little bit of a toasted rice taste. But it has a sweeter finish than Genmaicha. Good, but I tend to prefer a more floral type oolong. We shall see what subsequent steepings bring to the table.
Steeped according to the label (even though I see better suggestions on the main page for this tea…will try that next time)…. 2 tsp tea in about 12 oz. filtered boiled water for 3 minutes. No additions.
This is another tea that I won recently! This is the first tea that I am trying from Naivetea. I’m having this after some popcorn (plain-ish) so hopefully that doesn’t interfere. This smells lovely dry. There is something about it that I can’t quite put my finger on; woodsy maybe?
I’m having a hard time letting this cool! It smells lovely; roasted and sweet. Wonderful! It is very roasty without too many malt tones. It has a sweet edge at the back of the sip. There are green notes midpoint in this that remind me of deep spinach. I really enjoyed this one!
Toasty, ricey, little hints of vegetal flavors here and there and pretty smooth. Not silky or creamy, just smooth and soft. The leaves expand quite well, as expected for an oolong.
This is my first Dong Ding oolong. Not sure I am enough of a fan to keep it around, but it seems to be a very nice tea and I wouldn’t turn it down if it were offered. And I will not make it through 7 steeps. I will probably never get through 7 steeps of the same tea in a row. :) Too impatient, too many teas!!!
Again, thanks for sharing, Tamm!
The tea turns out to be a beautiful,striking golden yellow liquor. The first flavors in the tea I taste is a lightly roast quality. I also taste some nice sweet, toasted notes, which remind me a lot of a genmaicha’s sweet/ toasted notes. The combination of both of these flavors is very pleasing to my palate.The tea is light and smooth in my mouth, and is not excessively heavy at all in my mouth. The tea rolls into my mouth and smoothly around my palate, which I like.
for the rest of this review, as well as pictures and a video; check the link :) http://bit.ly/hqt369
Phew, I’m so backlogged in tea reviews/adding teas to my tea cupboard it’s not even funny. Since it’s a long weekend here, I’m going to try and get through all of my backlogged reviews…
I was very lucky and won one of the Steepster Select boxes for October and this was included as one of the selections.
I steeped this in boiling water for 3 minutes (directions on the Steepster package, which is different than the directions on Naivetea’s website) and the leaves produced a beautiful light-amber tea with a toasted aroma with a slight herbaceous quality.
The taste was much softer and smoother than I had been expecting due to the aroma and there was a slight caramelized sugar and (very slight) floral finish. The roasting of the tea definitely comes through when I drink this tea and like LissaMarie commented, it reminds me quite a bit of genmaicha.
Though I enjoyed being able to try this tea, I don’t think the roasted oolongs are for me, so I really appreciate being able to try a bit of it without having to commit to a 50 or 100g purchase. My rating of 80 is due to the fact that it really is a lovely tea, just not my cup of tea (sorry, had to! :-P).
I don’t know if I’ll ever read Dreiser (for no particular reason), but I enjoyed your synopsis, and your post. :))
You said this oolong is 25% roasted, which means it is fairly green for an oolong. I like greeer oolongs, and darker ones, but find that ther greener ones do not resteep as well, IMO.
I’m with Scott here. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the two stories. I’m not sure they would be some thing I’d like to read. I really like older history, like ancient cultures. They seem so foreign they are mysterious for me.
I’m not opposed to reading Dreiser, I just never have. Here’s another example-I’ve always wanted to read WAR AND PEACE, but I never have. There are counless other Classics I would like to, but have never read. I just end up reading other things. :))
That’s ok – I read a lot of stuff that nobody else seems interested in reading. Just started something by Alexander Pushkin. ;-)
Scott, I also find that green oolongs do resteep very well, especially if you use the gong fu method.
well I have to admit I’ve only had 3 green oolongs and managed 3 good infusions. I’ll bet some of your better steeped green oolongs are from Asha.
Compelling enough to send me to the Kindle store (both are free there btw). Thanks : )
@Cheryl – that’s one reason I got the kindle, a lot of the classics are free!
I still like to hold a real book when I read, but they do take up alot of space. I used my Niece’s NOOK, and really liked it. What made you two decide on Kindle?
Greener oolongs are like green teas (and silver bud whites) … a lot of goodness is lost by the 6-month mark, unless vacuum-packed, frozen, or both.
DPD- thanks, I am thinking the same thing… live and learn. oh well!