Taiwan Ginseng (Lan Gui Ren) Oolong Tea

Sooooooo Happy Ice Tea Day! Is it a coincidence that ice tea month is 6 months from hot tea month in January? No celebration is a must. However I’m celebrating with hot tea rather than the iced version I’m having it hot. https://youtu.be/Xf2MNCu5oqM Yes a little Power Station for your enjoyment. I have a great affection for Ginseng Oolong. I love the sweetness the back end of the sip…funny looks and inquisitions from coworkers. It’s harder to get Oolong flavor because of the ginseng but it’s a pretty good base. If it was a poor quality you would taste it. I’m liking this one quite a bit. I don’t know if I’ll get “boost” from the ginseng but, I’m liking it regardless. Maybe next steep will be on the rocks.

I don’t think I like ginseng. This tea was flavorful, sweet, super mineral, and what I assume ginseng-y. It was a bit too much like medicine for me. If you enjoy ginseng, you will likely enjoy this, as the quality is clear.

Thanks for the sample Cameron B

Apparently ginseng is NOT for me. It tastes a little sweet and a little like oolong but mostly it tastes like licorice and medicine. So, WARNING, if you do not like the taste of licorice beware of ginseng!

Backlogging.

I drank this for most of last night. It was slightly sweet and had a clean vegetal note that reminded me of really crisp lettuce. There was also a mineral note that I found pleasant, and again, clean with a really fresh finish. I want to say the finish was minty, but I think it was closer to eucalyptus than mint. At any rate, it was very nice, and the tea withstood seven steeps before I felt that it was starting to lose some flavor. I probably could have continued for a few more steeps before the leaves were truly spent.

This is the last of my free oolong samples for review from TeaVivre. I know I’ve had a couple of ginseng oolongs before, but I can’t remember whether I liked them or not, and I figured anything they can do, TeaVivre can do better. :P The pellets resemble tiny moss-covered rocks, and I find them super cute. They’re coated with a dark olive green powder with a somewhat rough texture. Dry scent is deliciously sweet with a definite herbal, almost minty aroma.

The steeped tea has that same sweet smell, but to a lesser extent. I can also smell a strong grassy aroma along with a vegetal scent similar to raw salad greens. Hm, the taste actually isn’t sweet like I expected it to be. There’s a strong grassy presence as well as raw greens. I think the ginseng is adding a sparkling mineral taste to the tea, and I also get a slight creeping sweetness on the back of my tongue and throat after each sip. Very interesting and unique, and I do like it!

I think ginseng gives me an extra brain boost, so I wanted to try Teavivre’s offering. This oolong looks like little jade pebbles: a ginseng and licorice coating that slowly dissolves with each steep. I know I shouldn’t have put a teaspoon of this in my cramped one teaspoon infuser, but I did anyway. I didn’t think I should use more than a teaspoon because of the ginseng. I wouldn’t want too much.

Steep #1 // just boiled // 3 min
Even though the water is at boiling, opening the infuser, it seems like the ginseng as hardly dissolved, yet there is plenty of flavor from the ginseng even if the oolong hasn’t been able to soak up the water yet. Again, I should have used my basket infuser, but I didn’t want all of the ginseng to dissolve into the first cup anyway. This flavor is very intriguing and different to me, so I could sip down the entire mug really fast if I’m not careful. I’m usually not a fan of licorice but this is delicious. Maybe the flavor alone is refreshing enough to wake up my brain.

Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min
Another cup where the ginseng has barely dissolved, but the color of the cup is a dark gold, so I know something is happening! The flavor is obvious anyway: it tastes grassy, with hints of minerals, the sweet licorice is a nice addition… I think it would be worse without it anyway.

Steep #3 // just boiled // 3 min
I think this could be the tea of a hundred steeps! The ginseng is still mostly there, so I’ll have to try it again in the basket infuser another time. I’m getting hints of the oolong anyway. I’d buy some of this tough ginseng oolong so each steep slowly releases more ginseng for boosts of brain power throughout the day!

Steep #4 // half mug // just boiled // quite a few minutes
This didn’t get too strong at all, even with quite a few minutes. As usual, I think I should have went with Teavivre’s parameters of a few minutes to steep in the first place… they always know how to steep their teas!

Edited to add: Apparently there is no licorice in this one. I wish they would say what it is. Is that just the flavor of ginseng then?

This came in the flavored oolong sample pack, otherwise I probably wouldn’t be trying it as I’m not keen on ginseng. That said, this is the best ginseng tea I’ve had; there’s a cream flavor to it that really smooths out some of the ginseng weirdness, and the oolong is a great base. If you DO like ginseng, you’ll probably love this tea.

This is the 2nd Ginseng oolong I’ve tried, & they were both basically the same. The oolong is coated with a matte finish of powdered ginseng & I think licorice root as well. It’s an interesting taste, & I’m gonna drop the leaf into a mason jar because I think I’ll also enjoy it cold later! This one came from KS, thanks brother!
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Sipdown!

I finished off my sample packet with some gaiwan brewing today. Didn’t track the times for each steep much, but I did use near 100C water and gave the leaves a quick rinse before the first steep.

The first steep was really sweet, but in an unpleasant metallic way, as if someone had added stevia to the mix. The third and fourth steeps were the best, where I got the nicest mix of oolong base and flavouring. However, by the end it was becoming a tad astringent. This is surprising, as the leaves had barely begun to unfurl by the final (6th or 7th) steep.

Not for me, I guess. But it was an educational tea all the same.

I wanted gaiwan but my husband pulled a face and said “Can’t we just use a teapot instead”? so I caved in and steeped this into a large teapot. I had to use two packs so hopefully the level of tea to water will be fine.

I’ve had Ginseng Oolong before but it was a while ago, I remember it being tasty but strange, granted that was the best part of a year ago. Time to re-visit.

Thick bready scent once steeped but with beautiful sweet ginseng behind it. Almost like an aromatic ginseng baked bread that you would find in a specialist shop.

Flavour is light, sweet and floral with notes of ginseng, honey, fresh bread and some sort of herb that I can’t put my finger on. Cilantro? Fennel? It has the same refreshing quality as fennel/aniseed does (if you know what I mean).

I’m still undecided about this one, it’s perhaps a little too sweet for me. I never liked Fennel/aniseed and this reminds me strongly of it, though I love the smell of it. My husband wasn’t sure about this one either, he said it’s nice but strange. Am I just too Western for this one? It looks that way, ginseng I’m sorry but I don’t think we are meant to be together.