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“The scene in Shawshank Redemption where Andy Dufresne comes crawling out of the tunnel into the rain. That is me today. Crawling through foot after foot, yard after yard, of metaphorical sewage to...” Read full tasting note
“So, I got a notice that someone contacted my old agents to have a showing for my house (we’re trying to sell our home so we can get a larger one), and so to celebrate, I’m drinking some Four...” Read full tasting note
“I somehow didn’t have one drop of tea yesterday. Tragic! So, to make up for it, I brought my Four Seasons and pot to work, and will be trying that throughout the day. I’ll post a comment to this...” Read full tasting note
“Four Seasons pisses me off. Don’t get me wrong—this isn’t a bad tea. It’s actually quite tasty. But it’s just not that special. It tastes, to me, like an average Tie Guan Yin, but missing the...” Read full tasting note
Origin: Nantou, Taiwan
Flavor Profile: The initial infusions of this oolong have a distinctive, fresh, buttery flavor with a heady floral aroma. From the third or fourth infusion on, our Four Seasons exhibits a creamy, flowery finish of morning gardenias and warm milk. Think gardenias, sweet fresh-baked bread, warm milk, and dew-dipped clover.
Tea Story: This lightly oxidized tea hails from the oolong-gurus of the mountains of Nantou, Taiwan. Meditate on the clarity of its smooth, golden-green infusion.
Four Seasons gets its name for the tea leaf varietal whose name translates as “Four Seasons Like Spring” because it produces four flushes (or harvests) each year that have a flavor and quality of that of a spring flush. This varietal was cultivated in Taiwan form a strain of Tie Quan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy), in the 1980’s.This delightful oolong varietal has been cultivated for its sweet, floral flavors and expertly processed by hand. Bless your mouth with its fresh buttery forward flavors and its lingering flowery finish of morning gardenias and warm milk.
This two ounce package will make 40 servings with several infusions each.
Samovarian Poetry: From the oolong-gurus in Taiwan, this profound brew has tiers of aroma and flavor: Gardenias, fresh-baked bread, warm milk, and dew-dipped clover.
Food Pairing: The delightful, delicate flavors of Four Seasons pair wonderfully with the light and sweet flavors of honey comb served with fruit and cheese.
Samovar's is dedicated to preserving the simplicity and integrity of the tea traditions and inspiring people to practice peace through drinking tea.
Inspired by LiberTEAS “daily oolong,” I decided to have Four Seasons today; it’s a lovely oolong, and I have a nice little tin of it, and there is no reason not to simply indulge on occasion. No hoarding!
Moving on: brief rinse with boiling water, as suggested, then a short first steep. Lots of leaf, a level tsp in my little oolong pot. Color is a saturated gold/green. First sip makes me think of a garden, possibly a vegetable garden in spring. Green, rich, fresh, and just slightly floral; a little bit grassy and vegetal, but somehow in the best possible way.
Steep 2: temp drops from 200 to 190 pretty quickly if I don’t preheat the pot;
Steep 3: still only about 1:30 per steep and going strong
Steep 4 is starting to get a bit more grassy – boo
Steep 5 at 2 minutes was a little weak, but there’s still plenty of room to increase the time. All of these later steeps have been boiling water into room temp tiny glass pot, and that seems to work pretty well
I’ve just spent the entire day working like a madwoman with steep after steep of this tea! Total of seven :) I have to say, if you must sit in your office all day and work without a break, brewing a multiple steep oolong with your kettle by your side is the way to go.
I rinsed with boiling water, and then did my steeps with 195 degree water throughout.
I thought that the first three steeps were a sort of a floral nutmeg and cinnamon flavor. This tea reminded me so much of a lighter, more floral, less sweet Dragon Ball from Silk Road Teas! Very delicious. I was getting a not quite milky flavor, but a sort of coating that was like milk in my mouth, if that makes any sense?
The fourth and fifth steeps were a bit less cinnamon and nutmeg, and the milky feeling became even more pronounced. By the 6th and 7th steeps I was getting a light and pleasant tea flavor.
I think this is a great tea, and probably would have flipped if I tasted it before the Dragon Balls, but I prefer the Dragon Balls! They have more gusto and sweetness.
Can I ask how much leaf you used and what sized cup? I had bad luck with this one until my very last cup so I never got a chance to figure out what would work best. So I’m trying to collect info because I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to give it another try!
Sure! I used a teaspoon of leaves and 8 oz of water each time. I do want to experiment with my little oolong pot but it’s at home. I used my tea for one pot that I have at work.
Awesome – thanks for the info!
@Auggy – did you do what it said on the container? My tin said 1 tbsp for 16 oz of water, and I thought that was Hella Strong. I like it a lot better at a reduced level of leaf.
I didn’t have a container of it, just a generous portion takgoti shared with me. I can’t remember what instructions she put down but I tried it that way (which may or may not have been Samovar’s suggestion) and then the way I would normally do greener oolongs and one or two other ways, trying to tweak it just right. My last cup was really good but I’m not sure exactly why. If I knew I could repeat that experience, I’d totally get a tin of this.
Turned on Pandora, Spa Suite radio. Nice. Warm the tetsubin. Light the tea light candle.
Measure the leaves, change mind about basket wanting to give leaves more room, get confused about which basket, drop tea all over counter beside salt pig, which for the first time I have ever seen has salt around it on the counter. Sob! Wash leaves, discard the ones closest to salt pig.
Steep. Read reviews and realize you have used too many leaves and for too long. Sob! Drink anyway, not bad, but a ittle astringent. Steep leaves again briefly and add to tetsubin. Burn fingers on lid. Cast iron is very hot. Replace lid. Cast iron is STILL VERY HOT. I refuse to be undone!
The tea had a wonderful floral aroma as I poured the first water on the leaves, and upon steeping smells very vegetal, like something we call tender greens here in the South. With the second short steep added to the pot now the astringency is somewhat abated. Very nice tea. Lovely floral upper note. I shall endeavor to enjoy every sip. It was hard won.
Thank you, Quiltguppy! Today is prep day for school starting and I was determined to enjoy a little peace before I begin!
love Pandora! I will have to listen to Spa Suite.
Ditto on the music choice … I forget they have pre-picked channels. (My choices lean toward the weird and eccentric.)
I am loving Pandora! I am fairly new to it, but Spa Suite was perfect for today. In all I ended up having about forty ounces of this. Youngest enjoyed it, too.
Gmathis: I think my taste in music is pretty eccentric, too. I went to a music school that focused on opera, but took a course in experimental techniques that allowed me to meet Bob Moog and participate in a 24 hour John Cage tribute concert. I grew up singing in churches and performing show tunes, but I love almost all kinds of music.
Would you like me to send you more to try again? :D It’s not a problem!
have been and am currently listening to Spa Suite, it’s lovely.
I’m excited to finally try this tea which has reached a seemingly mythic reputation here on Steepster. Thanks to
Cait
, I’ve brewed my first pot. I expected to smell spinach or asparagus or new-mown grass. Instead, the first aromas of this lovely delicate amber brew convey a buttered flower-garden. The taste is smooth, butterly, fragrant, and my tea-drinking has taught me to be totally NOT non-plussed about putting flowers in my butter or buttering my garden. Delicious! I need more.SECOND STEEP: A nice fragrance which is more subtle. It seems as if there’s only 1 stick of butter in this and not an entire pound. I do like creamy and buttery teas and this is excellent. The second steep is a bit more vegetal; I can see that we’ve moved down the flowery garden path to the vegetable garden. I steeped this for two minutes which seems about right for a 2nd steep. I’m still liking this tea and will have to order it someday. But today I got: 4 boxes from Andrews and Dunham, a big box from Upton, some generous samples from Norbu, and an order from Pangea tea which also calls itself the Lavender Tea Company. Not to mention a genuine, old-fashioned letter from a friend.
I’m looking forward to trying this as well, my sample arrived yesterday!
Have a been drinking too much tea if a buttered flower garden sounds delicious?
A letter!! :) I love letters and have two pen pals. I noticed in your profile that you are a fountain pen aficionado too! I only have one but I love it :) I hope to get more. I also love the J Herbin inks – I have the one that is purple and smells like violets :)
“…putting flowers in my butter or buttering my garden”—I love that! So Lewis Carroll. Bread and Butterflies. :)
I mug-brewed two bits of this with a few wild purple chrysanthemum flowers, and it turned out very nice. The heaviness of this tea brought the chrysanthemums down to a more afternoon-tea level, I think.
However, here’s the crazy part: when I finished my mug, I took a look at the unfurled leaves, and then I went and got my camera and some fresh tea for a comparison shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cait_tea/4585160941/in/set-72157623664718933/
How does that fit?!
I’ve had this sample for a while now, but I just checked Samovar’s website and I can’t find this tea … are they just sold out? Anyone know if they’ve discontinued it?
Anyways, This is a very pleasant Oolong. A very strong floral essence to it. It is sweet and flowery. It is creamy, but there is also an astringency to it that seems to cleanse the palate from the creaminess so that it doesn’t overwhelm the palate. Very smooth, very mild. I like it very much.
The Oolongs that I have tried have yet to measure or render to these descriptive of notes, I am shame to say. But then mine have been tea bags perhaps why.
@seule771 – I believe that is the reason why. There is a big difference in flavor between bagged and loose leaf, I find this to be especially true where Oolong teas are concerned. How it is brewed is also very important.
This morning, I decided to try something new. I wanted to get away from the flavored teas having ingested way too many yesterday. So, I took out Samovar’s Four Seasons Oolong. I set it up in the Breville for this morning, which means that I didn’t do a rinse. Boiling/2 min 30 sec.
The scent of the dried leaves is woodsy, but not overwhelmingly so. The aroma, once brewed, is much more floral in nature. It almost has a hint of the milk oolong scent in it as well, buttery. The taste is nice. Floral, definitely. I can taste magnolias, that stiff, slightly bitter taste. The oolong tea is nice. It’s strong enough to discern among the floral notes. I do not taste any fruitiness or butter taste. It’s good, delicious even.
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 750ml at 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, toasty
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal
Flavor: toasty, silky
Body: Light
Aftertaste: nutty
Liquor: Translucent yellow brown
Not as nice as when made in the store.
Resteep:
750ml at 195°F for 2 min 30 seconds
floral, vegetal, sweet, tangy aftertaste
Resteep:
750ml at 195°F for 3 min
I believe the leaves could have gone a few more times, but time to leave work
Rating: 3/4 leaves
Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/02/06/samovar-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-four-seasons/
Thank you QuiltGuppy for the sample! The tea leaves smell really yummy as I ready them for my infuser. After I poured the water (and treated my hand after spilling said water on my hand) the aroma got even BETTER! I’m very new to oolongs – meaning I’ve had maybe four. It tastes smooth and earthy if that makes any sense. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to taste like, but I like it all the same!
