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Revisiting this tea this morning, it has developed a yam tone and has a great floral spicy gardenia note mixed with ginger, cocoa and a good dose of malt, mixed with honey and red fruits. The spiciness seems to have increased as it’s aged. It’s not quite as fruity as when I first opened it, but right now its a lovely warming cup and a great way to start the day. The last time I resteeped it 5 times so I look forward to spending more time with it this morning.

This is a dark roast Sumatran grown oolong, with small tightly rolled nuggets of tea that seem to have been allowed to rest as there is no smoke or charcoal notes apparent.

After a rinse, the tea yields a maple coloured brew that maintained a fairly consistent flavour profile.

I used 1 TSP of leaves in 150 ml of 95°C water.

The first three steeps (35,30,25s). maintained a scent profile consisting of apples, and a sweet floral at times cocoa, malt and cinnamon were present.

The tea tasted of an empire like apple, sometimes with skin, cocoa, butter, malt, a floral note, and cinnamon. Often the darker more bitter notes would be most apparent when hot and then gave way to a more balanced tea full of fruit, floral and spice notes. In the last steep of this set an oatmeal note appeared.

I then did 2 steeps of 35 and 45s, that were fairly weak. Next time I would increase the steeping time by more than 10s at this point. The tea at this point had more oatmeal and malt, less cocoa and fading apple.

The last two steeps were 60s and 2 min. These steeps had tones of apple, oatmeal, malt, cocoa, cinnamon and a hint of honey.

Altogether an enjoyable oolong with good and distinct apple tones. Thanks Nicole, I’ve been wanting to try more of Mountain Tea’s dark Oolong’s.

I think this is the correct tea. I received this as a sample from the seller. The little snails are very furry and reasonably tightly curled. They are mostly all bud but some have a single leaf wrapped in the snail as well. Once brewed most of the leaves look like lobster claws with two buds present or a very immature furry leaf and one bud.

I’ve had the sample for a little while, but it is still very nice.

I took i1 TSP through 6 steeps ( 45*2, 50,65,90s and 4.5 min) in 150 ml of around 85°C water.

The tea brews up a pale yellow and smells sweet, fruity and spicy, with peach, a hint of smoke, and a slightly sweet savoury spice mix with cinnamon a hint of oregano and time.

Flavour wise the first steeps are a mix of honeyed fruit and sweet cooked vegetables, with cream a bit of zest and faint floral spice. In later steeps the nature of the vegetable notes change first to a fresher green pea and then to artichoke and the floral spice notes become stronger.

Flavour notes I noted include: honeyed plum, peach, sweet but indistinct vegetable notes, fresh green peas, artichoke, cream, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, orange zest with orange juice at times, and a spicy but bright floral note.

A nice medium bodied, creamy and resilient green!

http://instagram.com/p/ru-dx-mK2x/

This tea is lovely with good fruity lychee notes that persist through many steepings over cocoa, butter, honey and malt. It has immediately gone on my wish list!

The pearls are about the size of a medium large natural pearl on a pearl necklace. The dark leaves are fairly tightly wound and are very fragrant. I used 7 of them in 150 ml of boiling water.

Once brewed the lychee is strong in scent, very fruity, slightly raisiny and a bit perfumy. The tea underneath smells of cocoa and a bready malt note and butter.

1.2 min: The flavour is soft and creamy, the lychee is very fruity with a hint of dried raisiny fruit among the lychee, there is a good note of honey, and cocoa and butter in the base. The flavours blend well together. The colour is ranging towards oak.

2 min. The tea has a more balanced blend between the fruit and base tea scents. The cocoa is stronger and the lychee smells rich and voluptuous.
The balance is well met between the originally listed flavours as well, with the lychee remaining strong, the honey intensifying and the cocoa and butter notes remaining uunderneath, but are strengthened. A grainy malt note is also becoming apparent.

3 min honey, lychee, cocoa, malt, butter
Lychee is slightly perfumy, cocoa,butter, mmalt, mineral note , opens up to lychee honey and cocoa.

5 min: lychee and honey dominate scent. The base has thinned out and the flavour is of lychee, honey, cream and malt. This steep is a little more tart than the others.

If you enjoy lychee this tea is well worth trying. Thanks JustJames for the sample!

I really liked this tea and feel it would also appeal to those who enjoy Jasmine black teas as it shares some characteristics with the more fruity, candy like style of jasmine that I enjoy.

The dry tea of my sample has dark tightly wound leaves with some golden tips. It smells a little like orange starburst candies( a creamy almost vanilla tone mixed with a soft sweet orange), mixed with a creamy green floral.

I brewed 1 TSP in 150 ml of 95°C water.

The broth is a pretty golden red orange colour.
http://instagram.com/p/rpiWJwGK_i/

1 min: a floral tinged orange that tastes a little like a sweeter more candy like orange blossom toner. It smells and tastes like orange blossom water over dissolved dark brown sugar. It is very smooth at first. As it cools a tart malt note appears underneath and it finishes with a bready note created by the malt, tannins and a mild astringency.

1.5 min: A candy grape like note is mixed into the scent. It is slightly more malty. The overall taste is of orange blossom water over a hint of honey and less brown sugar.

2 min 10 s: The candied floral is evolving into an almost candied jasmine note. The sugar and honey notes remain. The malt is fading.

3 min: Orange blossom water over honey and very light malt.

4.5+ min: The tea smells like candied rose petals. The malt, floral, and honey tones are well blended into each other.

All together this is a really enjoyable tea for those who enjoy sweet floral teas!

Thanks Nicole for the chance to try this tea. I really enjoyed it!

White tea tends to leave me feeling cleansed and refreshed more than any other tea I drink regularly. There is something about its creamy thick texture and its soft yet bright flavours that just do that for me, so I was very happy when Angel asked me to participate in this round of tastings. Teavivre generously sent 3 packages of each tea, more than enough to try it several ways and to possibly share with friends!

The intact leaves of this tea include a stem bearing a silver furry bud and 1-2 intact leaves, but as is common many of the leaves are broken and loose from the stem. The leaves are mostly spruce to a light green live tree leaf colour. A few of the leaves have undergone a slight oxidation and are edged brown. They smell of hay and something tart.

I’ve steeped this tea twice now once at a lower temperature of around 75-80°C throughout the session and the second time aat 85-90°C and they both have a slightly different flavour profile.

I used Teavivre’s intervals for gongfu brewing of this tea ( rinse, 25,45,70, 90,150s)
And used 3 TSP of tea ( I usually use 2, so this is slightly more leaf than I usually use for this tea) in a 150ml open Gaiwan.

The broth was a pale, green, tinged gold which deepened to a deeper gold colour with longer steeps and hotter temperatures.

The tea smelled of cucumber, hay,tart fruit and when brewed at lower temperatures a faint hint of cocoa.

These notes are for (75-80°C)

1st steeping: The tea had light crisp fresh notes up front with cucumber, hay, and clover nectar notes. It finished with tart fruit over a mix of nectar, cocoa and fermented grain notes with a creamy texture. The nectar could be interpreted as honey but it was more of a sweet floral tone. the nectar was slightly spicy as it cooled with hints of cinnamon.

2nd steeping: The flavours were more blended. The cucumber was not as distinct. The broth was thicker and sweeter with cream being added to the blend of cucumber, clover nectar, hay, and grain notes. The cocoa was absent.

3rd steeping: Less grainy notes were present. Citrus note were stronger, the cucumber was more distinct and was mixed with cream with a faint hint of vanilla. Cream and honey lingered in the aftertaste.

4th steeping: Cream, with cucumber, nectar and a hint of tart plum and a slight reference to grainy notes.

5th steeping: Similar flavour to above, with a mineral note and a lingering sweetness.

85-90°C: The clover nectar flavour was stronger, the cocoa was absent and the grainy notes were very faint.

Here is a picture of the tea brewing: http://instagram.com/p/rpTv8pmK47/

This tea was gentle and cleansing and quite enjoyable. Thanks Teavivre!