190 Tasting Notes

84

Long Jing Dragon Well. Tealyra.
FB: 11-2026.

This is a fresh, new supply of my favorite green tea, just before Tealyra sold out of it. Prepared as directed, Western style, with 2.5g leaf in a stainless steel infusion basket with 8 oz spring water at 175°F for 2 min. Delicious and every bit as good as the Adagio dragonwell I reviewed yesterday, so I’m raising the rating to 84, to match. A resteep at the same temperature but running 15 min. was equally wonderful. Comments in my prior review four months ago (of a very old bag) hold true, http://steepster.com/TeaEarleGreyHot/posts/457401 .

Flavors: Buttery, Chestnut, Edamame, Savory, Umami

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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15

Da Hong Pao Superfine | Big Red Robe. Tealyra.
Lotsa names for this tea, but a rose by any name… or a turd by any name… smells the same. I brewed as directed, Western. I brewed gongfu. I went for multiple steepings. Yes, I could taste the “mineral” essence, and I definitely got the astringency. I did not get the promised sweetness. I did not get the floral notes in the finish. I did not get fruitiness as it cooled. I did not get the promised “mouthwatering” flavors. I really wanted to, and I’ve returned to this tea repeatedly across seven years, always wanting… hoping… praying… that it would finally pay off. It is said to improve with age. But in the end, I just feel duped. Minerality is another name for rocks (and one name for the tea is rock oolong); the effort of charcoal-roasting the leaves is another way of saying you tried to smoke-off the defects; aging the tea also ages the drinker, whose sense of taste eventually declines; multiple steeps extract out astringency, and the mouth feels faux-sweetness at the relief of not being puckered up by another cup of this swill. Ultimately I became tired of trying to find goodness in a mouthful of wet rocks tasting of carbonized wood. THE KINGS NEW CLOTHES ARE REVEALED! It is as if they took the discarded, spent leaf from an RTD black tea factory and baked it dry, then repackaging it for sale with a hundred promises and a fast getaway car on standby. This tea is a waste of time, money, and spring water. Do not buy this tea, which I rate as 15. Do not waste your money, time, cupboard-space, or friendships with this farm byproduct. I am not only disappointed, I’m angry.

RTD = Ready To Drink

Flavors: Astringent, Charcoal, Mineral

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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84
drank Dragonwell by Adagio Teas
190 tasting notes

dragonwell. Adagio.
Lot no. 90718. FB 09/2029

Brewed as directed, Western style, in a stainless steel infusion basket. This is a really good dragon well tea! I bought this bag at Adagio’s store in Naperville, IL. The aroma was vegetal and nutty, and flavors included chestnut, light grassiness, edamame, pleasantly astringent, and as the cup cooled, flashes of sweet fruit, possibly grape. Everything I expect from a lung jing! A re-steep was similar, but less potent and non-astringent but still enjoyable, probably because both steeps were 2.5 min. In the future I would simply combine both liquors and enjoy a large mugful, or shorten the first and lengthen the second, to balance it out. Recommended, and rate as 84.

Flavors: Astringent, Chestnut, Edamame, Grapes, Grass, Sweet

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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24

I’ve been trying a number of different ginseng teas from Tealyra lately, and bought this Imperial Ren Shen Genseng Oolong because of its unique composition: rolled oolong, with a coating — almost a shell — of ginseng and Chinese vanilla. I steeped this as directed, western style in a stainless steel infusion basket, and re-steeped twice for a total of three clear light-amber infusions that each had some fines settled at the bottom of the cup. I don’t know how Chinese vanilla differs from other vanillas, but I don’t think I tasted it. Nor did I really get a strong ginseng flavor—just a bit of warm gensing in the aftertaste at the back of my tongue and roof of my mouth, following vigorous slurping and swirling. Only the mildest of toasted oolong flavors was to be enjoyed. The oolong aroma was better than the flavor. The first infusion had almost no flavor at all, and after steeping, the oolong leaves were still encased in the shell. In fact, the oolong leaf never fully escaped the shells, and that may have been an issue. So I smashed the spent material with a spoon and gave a fourth steep, which resulted in a very dark olive green liquor, muddy with fines, almost like a brown, gritty matcha. This 4th, final, steep had only mild woody oolong flavor and aroma when vigorously slurped, but did finally offer some ginseng at the end of the finish. I have attached a photo of the spent, smashed pulp, which did show some intact leaf amidst the debris. The net result of this experience was four disappointing cups of tea with few notes of oolong or ginseng and no vanilla, that represent a wasted quart of my spring water. I would not recommend, and will rate this 24. (And yes, this was freshly purchased, with a BestBy date still 15 months in the future.)

Flavors: Ginseng, Roasty, Tea, Wood

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 30 sec 3 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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45

Lot no. 85439
Single-serving portion pouch from sampler box; brewed Western, as directed.
The dry “leaf” is all chopped stems & twigs, as usual for honeybush, and has a pungent “hazelnut” aroma that overwhelms any other fragrance, as did the steeped liquor which was a nice clear amber in color. Flavor was sweet and roasty-woodsy, with strong hazelnut taste FAR stronger than that of actual roasted hazelnuts. This tisane is all about the strong hazelnut taste and smell, and would go well with strongly-flavored desserts like chocolate cake, etc. The only other note I sensed was occasional whiffs of cigarette butt. I would rather enjoy dessert with a creamy hazelnut liqueur that would more closely match the taste of the nuts. This tisane is pretty one-dimensional, and good if this flavor is your thing. Given the saturating taste and cigarette sensation, I’ll rate this only as 45, but withhold from recommending or belittling.

Flavors: Artificial, Ash, Hazelnut

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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65

Lot No: 85419. BB: n/a.
Single portion pouch, of Adagio’s Formosa Oolong prepared as directed: Western style.
Mild, toasty oolong aroma on the dry leaf as well as the liquid. Nice clear dark amber liquor. The roasty-toasty flavor may have been from charcoal roasting, but I don’t really associate a flavor with charcoal, per se. There was no flavor of smokiness, or pine. Nor of raisin, nor malt, nor chestnut, nor anything floral or fruity. Just a basic oolong flavor, slightly woody, smooth, pleasant, with notes of roasted wheat or barley. Non-astringent, non-bitter, nothing objectionable to me. But very plain tasting. A 3.5 min. re-steep was very similar. Drink this with a meal, without worry of overpowering any nuance, since there is none. I won’t recommend nor discourage, because I’m that ambivalent about it. Rating? let’s say 65, since I rate Lipton black the same. Both have (differing) inoffensive flavors and caffeine, but that’s the best I can say.

Flavors: Charcoal, Roasted Barley, Smooth, Toasted, Wheat, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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1
drank Rooibos by Adagio Teas
190 tasting notes

Brewed as directed, alongside green rooibos for comparison. Nauseating. Tastes like dill mixed with cedarwood sawdust and cured kalamata olives. And, oddly, strongly of coffee; I love good coffee, but the notes in red rooibos are, to me, more akin to yesterday’s spent, sour, wet grounds from a stale, cheap generic. YUCK! Exactly as anticipated, based on a blend from another vendor, so I don’t blame Adagio. This is the worst beverage I’ve had in my life. Rate 1 and not recommended. Disclaimer: my tastes vary from the typical, for example stevia tastes unsweet and bitter to me, which I understand to be a genetic thing, similar to how some people dislike cilantro or asparagus. So your impressions of red rooibos may differ from mine!

Flavors: Cedar, Coffee, Decayed Wood, Dill, Sawdust

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
rosebudmelissa

Absolutely agree. Red rooibos is awful. Have you had honeybush? It’s a related plant. I find it much more pleasant. I wish it were more popular for commercial blending as I vastly prefer it.

TeaEarleGreyHot

Yes, in fact, at the suggestion of other sippers here! I was initially put off rooibos by a blend from Harney & Sons. But recently I received a pouch of Adagio’s Honeybush Banana Nut and loved it! Consequently it was suggested to try some green rooibos blends.
http://steepster.com/TeaEarleGreyHot/posts/458730
So now I’m giving a variety of Adagio Honeybush blends a try, along with green rooibos blends. I realized I needed to try the unblended bases so that I could parse the flavors, hence my green/red trial today. Thanks for raising the question!

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20

Oh, rooibos, how I dislike thee. But green rooibos? I’ve had a couple green rooibos blends that I liked, so it was time to give the straight green rooibos a chance. Brewed as directed, Western: 3 g leaf in 8 oz boiling spring water for 5 min. The aroma was unusual and unidentifiable. And the liquor was bright pumpkin orange (in full sunlight). It didn’t strike me as being sweet, so much as lacking sourness, astringency, or bitterness. And as others have written, the flavor of the hot tisane was mild and nondescript. I didn’t get pine, but perhaps the slightest note of cedar, so I’d say more like a non-oak hardwood sawdust. Perhaps maple? (Perhaps Aspalathus sp. sawdust?) As I continued sipping and the liquid cooled, I noticed notes of red rooibos, which is reminiscent of dill, kalamata olives and spent coffee grounds to me. And, actually, I thought there were some darker flecks in the powder, possibly accounting for that impression. Okay, this stuff is definitely not my favorite by itself. However, I can see how it can make a good base for blending, and even work as a carrier for flavoring agents. I will not choose to drink it again my itself, and must rate it lower than my starting spring water, as a 20. Nothing greatly offensive, but nothing much more than sawdust, either. Can’t recommend it. No fault of Adagio, however!

Flavors: Cedar, Dill, Rooibos, Sawdust

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
rosebudmelissa

Green Rooibos isn’t something I often drink alone but I do on occasion so Iust enjoy it a little more than you. It’s wonderful for blending, and I often have it with about 1/2 tsp of rose water. The Green Rooibos definitely adds something in a blend that often makes it taste more well rounded without stealing the spotlight.

TeaEarleGreyHot

@rosebudmelissa: if it were possible to click a “like” button for your comment here, I would. ;-)

Skysamurai

I top find those odd dilly notes.

TeaEarleGreyHot

@Skysamurai, yeah, I have been describing it as dill pickle, but it’s not a perfect match for that. There’s not a vinegar component like a pickle would have. And dill isn’t quite right. I realized this evening while eating my salad that it’s somewhere between dill and the cured Kalamata olives, which were on my salad. :-)

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50

Lot 88740, BB 05/2029.
I love muscat grapes and muscat raisins and dry muscatel wine. I found nothing of that in this tea— nothing even remotely of grape. No fruitiness whatsoever, and just weak notes of black tea flavor. I brewed as directed, Western style: 3 g leaf in 8 oz boiling alpine spring water for 3 min. in a stainless steel infusion basket. As it cooled, bitterness arose along the sides of my tongue, and the already astringent quality strengthened. And it began to taste more like wet cardboard. Even discounting the lack of expected flavors, this tea was unpleasant at best. I would rate Lipton Orange Pekoe and Pekoe cut black tea bags superior to this, and so this merits a rating of only 50. It’s destined for the garden compost heap. Not recommended.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Cardboard, Tea

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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50

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Profile

Bio

Life is too short to drink bad tea!
Pan-American: Left-coast reared (on Bigelow’s Constant Comment and Twinings’ Earl Grey) and right-coast educated, I’ve used this moniker & Email since the glory days of AOL in the 90’s, reflecting two of my lifelong loves— tea and ‘Trek.

Now a midwestern molecular biologist (right down to the stereotypical Hawaiian shirts), I’m finally broadening the scope of my sippage and getting into all sorts of Assamicas, from mainstream Assam CTCs to Taiwan blacks & TRES varietals, to varied Pu’erhs. With some other stuff tossed in for fun. I enjoy reading other folks’ tasting notes (thank you). I’ve lurked here from time to time and am now adding a few notes of my own to better appreciate the experience. Note that my sense of taste varies from the typical, for example I find stevia to be unsweet and bitter. My dislike of rooibos may be similarly rooted in genetics, which impacts perceptions of many flavors, from asparagus to stevia to cilantro.

I don’t work for a tea vendor, and I’m not a professional tea sommelier. And I don’t taste every nuance, hint of flavor or note of aroma, nor am I trained to describe those that I do detect. But I taste enough to have opinions, and do my best to be descriptive. Sensory preferences can shift from day to day and person to person, so numerical ratings are kinda bogus, especially between and among various people. But there are individual trends, and I try to reflect that. As reference points for my ratings, I give Lipton Black Tea bags “orange pekoe and pekoe, cut black” a score of 65 because it is widely available and profoundly consistent. I view it as just okay. I would give plain, hot, quality spring water a rating of 25, and I buy Crystal Geyser brand for brewing because my local well water is stinky and discolored, and my filtration & softening system leaves it salty and unpleasant. Tea should make the commercial Spring Water better, not worse, so a rating below 25 speaks for itself.

I am conversationally friendly but absolutely not here looking for dates or money, nor to sell anything. If I’ve started to follow you, I don’t mean to be creepy, it only means you recently posted something I liked reading, or it was about an interesting tea or event. And I’ve recently discovered that the Steepster system only notifies me of new posts written by people I follow. If you follow me, I won’t assume anything. If I do not follow you, it isn’t a snub—you’re still a good human being!
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