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I’m still plowing through the accumulation of samples from my recent purchases. For some reason, the folks at Harney & Sons always seem to send me samples of herbal teas when I order from them. Unfortunately, I don’t tend to drink too many herbal teas these days, so they tend to sit around for awhile.

I prepared this tea using a one step Western infusion. I steeped 1 sachet (again, I’m guessing that there is around a teaspoon inside) in 8 ounces of 212 F water for 5 minutes. Obviously, I did not attempt additional infusions.

After infusion, the liquor showed a dark amber in the cup. I detected fairly balanced aromas of spices and rooibos. In the mouth, I immediately noted a contest between the toasty, malty, herbal notes of rooibos and the intense spicy notes of cinnamon and clove. The aftertaste was both spicy and medicinal, with muddled traces of herbal, toasty rooibos on the back of the throat.

First things first-I tend to absolutely hate chai. I simply cannot stand it. Understand that this tea was going to be a tough sell for me from the start. Second, I really don’t like the layering of flavors here. The rooibos and the spices seem to fight one another, creating a muddiness in the mouth that is really unpleasant. Of course, I have also yet to mention the aftertaste, which was medicinal, as well as a bit bitter and harsh. I have no clue what the teamaker was thinking with this one. I’ll definitely avoid it in the future.

We have another oolong sipdown here. This one was a little different from the unflavored oolongs I normally consume. I grow ginseng at home and I am familiar with the smell and taste of it, but had never had a ginseng tea prior to this.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. I have been experimenting with my brewing methods lately and wanted to try something new for this one. I remember reading somewhere that the first infusion for Taiwanese oolongs should be about 30-50 seconds following the rinse and that the steep time should be increased by about 10-20 seconds per infusion after that. This method is supposed to produce a minimum of 5-8 strong infusions. I decided to try it. For this session, I conducted a rinse of approximately 10 seconds and then steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 30 seconds. This infusion was followed by 6 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 10 seconds, 1 minute 20 seconds, 1 minute 40 seconds, and 2 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the leaves imparted a slightly floral aroma that was overpowered by the herbal character of ginseng. After the rinse, the floral and ginseng aromas were joined by touches of cream and butter. The first infusion produced a floral, creamy, and herbal nose. In the mouth, I got strong notes of flowers (lily, saffron, magnolia) and ginseng up front and a smooth creaminess and butteriness on the back of the throat. There was also a lingering sweetness. The next 5 infusions really continued to emphasize the interplay of fresh flowers and ginseng against a backdrop of cream and butter. A slight minerality had begun to sneak in by the fifth infusion. The final two infusions were very mild. I detected fleeting aromas and flavors of ginseng, butter, and flowers with a more pronounced minerality evident. At that point, I cut the session short.

Overall, I enjoyed this oolong. I think it did a very good job of presenting the aroma and flavor of ginseng, and I also thought it integrated this very distinct aroma and flavor fairly well. Due to the simplicity of the tea aroma and flavor, it was rather obvious to me that this was not exactly the highest grade oolong in the world, but it was appealing in its own way. More importantly, however, it worked well with the ginseng, which meant that it accomplished its intended purpose. In the end, this struck me as being a good tea to try for those who are maybe considering taking the plunge into ginseng oolongs.

We have another sample sipdown here. For some reason, the people at Simpson & Vail always send a sample of a flavored tea when I order from them. I normally end up stashing them at the back of my tea cabinet and it seems to take me forever to work through them. I think I had this one for at least 3-4 months before I drank it. I’m glad I was in no rush to try this tea. To this point, it is my least favorite tea from Simpson & Vail.

I prepared this tea using a one step Western infusion. I steeped 1 teaspoon of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 212 F water for 3 minutes. I did not attempt additional infusions. I really did not see the point.

After infusion, the liquor showed a clear amber in the cup. I noted muddled aromas of caramel, toast, cream, malt, coconut, butter, and raspberry. In the mouth, I got a muddy rush of caramel, toast, cream, malt, coconut, butter, floral, and raspberry notes. There really was not anything else to this tea.

I’ll be blunt. I did not like this blend in the least. I did not feel that the flavors on display in this tea worked together at all.

It’s hard for me to believe, but I put off trying this one for nearly a month. Master Zhang’s two other Anxi County takes on traditional Wuyi oolongs did little for me, so I really was not interested in rushing to try another. The thing about this one though, is that I really could not bring any baggage along with me when I tried it. When I tried the rolled, roasted Anxi-style takes on Rou Gui and Qilan, I was already at least a little familiar with both cultivars. Dan Gui, on the other hand, is a newer cultivar, and until today, I had never tried it. My lack of familiarity with this cultivar meant that I could not impose any previous impressions on it, and that most likely played a big role in my enjoyment of this tea. Another factor that contributed to my enjoyment of this tea is the fact that I thought this tea just flat out tasted better than the Anxi Rou Gui and Qilan.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. I once again followed Verdant Tea’s suggested brewing method closely. Following a quick rinse (approximately 3-4 seconds), I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 10 seconds. I then conducted nine additional infusions, increasing the steep time by 2 seconds per infusion. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 14 seconds, 16 seconds, 18 seconds, 20 seconds, 22 seconds, 24 seconds, 26 seconds, and 28 seconds.

Prior to the rinse, I sniffed the dry leaves and noted mildly spicy aromas with a hint of vegetal character. After the rinse, I again sniffed the leaves. This time I noted clearer aromas of clove and cinnamon. I also noted scents of wood and butter, as well as an indistinct touch of fruit. The first infusion produced a similar, though slightly more focused aroma. In the mouth, I picked up on a fairly well-integrated mix of cinnamon, clove, wood, butter, sweetgrass, honeydew, and toasted rice notes. For me, the next 4 infusions emphasized the fruity character of the tea. I noted a spicy, buttery aroma on the nose, as well as notes of spices, butter, wood, toasted rice, and sweetgrass in the mouth, though fruity notes of honeydew, canary melon, and cantaloupe really began to pop at this point. I also began to note a slight mineral taste that was most apparent on the finish. The next three infusions saw the aromas and flavors merge once again. I noted that the butter, wood, sweetgrass, and mineral notes were slightly more amplified. The final two infusions were very mild, offering mostly grassy, buttery aromas and flavors balanced by minerality and fleeting impressions of melon and spices.

I found this to be a rather interesting tea that was also very pleasant to drink. I kind of wish the spice character had been a little stronger, but I really did not expect it to be. One of the effects of Daping’s terroir on these Wuyi oolongs seems to be a reduction in the spice and mineral characters and an amplification of fruity, vegetal, and floral characters. With that in mind, I was expecting a fairly mild, balanced tea with a somewhat more pronounced sweetness than its Wuyi counterpart, and that is exactly what I got. Compared to the Qilan and the Rou Gui, this tea worked for me because the combination of aromas and flavors was novel and relatively harmonious. I just wish that they had been a little more pronounced and stuck around slightly longer.

Rou Gui is generally known as a strip style oolong from the Wuyi Mountains, yet it is grown and harvested elsewhere. I have noticed that Verdant, or at least the individual tea producers who supply them, have gotten into experimenting with the effects of different terroir and different production methods in the production of some of their oolongs. This tea and the Dark Roast Anxi Qilan are both Anxi County takes on traditional Wuyi oolongs, while the new Wuyi Jin Guanyin is a Wuyi take on a new Anxi cultivar. As with Qilan, I have come to discover that I tend to prefer Rou Gui as produced in the traditional manner.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse (about 4-5 seconds for this one), I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 10 seconds. I followed Verdant Tea’s gongfu method very closely this time around. I conducted 9 subsequent infusions, increasing the steep time by 2 seconds per infusion. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 14 seconds, 16 seconds, 18 seconds, 20 seconds, 22 seconds, 24 seconds, 26 seconds, and 28 seconds.

Prior to the rinse, I noted that the dry leaves emitted a mild aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg with a light vegetal undertone. After the rinse, I noted a strong spicy aroma. The first infusion produced lovely aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, and flowers. In the mouth, however, the taste of the tea did not follow the aroma. I got strong notes of grass, basil, and Buttercrunch lettuce underscored by mild traces of cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, marigold, and chrysanthemum. The next several infusions heavily emphasized aromas and flavors of honey, chrysanthemum, marigold, cinnamon, and nutmeg underscored by lettuce, basil, and grass. At this point, I began to note that the tea was settling and fading faster than I would have liked. The final series of infusions began to wash out quickly, though I could still detect distinct impressions of grass, basil, lettuce, marigold, and spices underscored by traces of honey and minerality.

To be perfectly honest, this oolong did not do much for me. Again, I tend to like oolongs produced in the traditional manner. It was quite obvious to me that the influence of Daping’s terroir produced a much milder, more floral tea, and that is not really what I look for in a Rou Gui. I can understand why some people may like this tea-I suppose that if you find the spice notes of traditional Wuyi Rou Gui overpowering, then a milder, smoother version such as this may hit the spot. For me, however, I just do not see the point. I’m glad I had the opportunity to try this experiment, but I think I will stick with traditionally produced Wuyi Rou Gui variants from here on out.

Oh no, I am almost out of Laoshan tea! It always makes me so sad when I don’t have something from Laoshan in my tea cabinet. Now that this one is gone, I only have small amounts of four other Laoshan teas remaining. Anyway, this tea is yet another strong offering from the He family. So far, the 2016 harvests have yielded some strong teas.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse (2-3 seconds), I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 205 F water for 8 seconds. I followed this up with 10 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 15 seconds, 19 seconds, 22 seconds, 26 seconds, 29 seconds, 33 seconds, 36 seconds, 40 seconds, and 50 seconds.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaves gave off a dusty aroma that momentarily obscured rich scents of malt, dark chocolate, roasted grain, and black cherry. After the rinse, the malt, cherry, chocolate, and roasted grain aromas became much more focused. The first infusion yielded a similar, yet even richer aroma. In the mouth, I picked up robust notes of roasted grain, dark chocolate, black cherry, malt, orange, and honey underscored by a hint of caramel. The following 5 infusions produced a tea that was more mellow in both aroma and taste. The caramel notes became more pronounced, providing a nice balance to the touches of black cherry, dark chocolate, roasted grain, malt, orange, and honey. I also noticed a slight creaminess chased by very light minerality on the finish. The final series of infusions presented delicate aromas and flavors of malt, roasted grain, cream, honey, black cherry, and dark chocolate. The orange notes became increasingly floral and fragile. The minerality was also amped up somewhat, though not significantly.

This is another of the samples that I have been working my way through for the past week. I got what was supposed to be 1 sachet of this as a free sample with a Harney & Sons order a couple months ago, but upon opening the packet, I realized that 2 sachets of chamomile had been mistakenly packed inside. Rather than having one glass of chamomile tea before going to bed last night, I ended up having two.

I prepared this tisane using a one step Western infusion. I steeped each of the silken sachets (I’m guessing there was around 1-1.5 teaspoons in each) in 8 ounces of 212 F water for 5 minutes. No subsequent infusions were attempted.

After infusion, I noted that the aroma of chamomile flowers was very strong. I also picked up on scents of dust, cotton, straw, and green apple. In the mouth, I noted a wash of straw, chamomile, dust, cotton, and green apple with a lingering floral, fruity aftertaste.

Chamomile teas are always hit or miss for me. Sometimes I really enjoy them, other times I really cannot stand them. This one did not thrill me in the least. I found the aroma and flavor too dusty and drying for my tastes. I can see why some people may enjoy it, though I highly doubt I will ever willingly revisit it.

After surprising myself with how much I enjoyed the Autumn 2015 Laoshan Gongfu Black, I decided to power through the Spring 2016 version of this tea. I found that I did not enjoy it nearly as much, though it was quite likable in its own way. It struck me as a smoother and subtler tea overall.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. Following a quick 2-3 second rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 5 seconds. I followed this infusion with 9 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 8 seconds, 11 seconds, 14 seconds, 17 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, and 50 seconds.

Prior to the rinse, I noted that the dry leaves produced a delicate and slightly dusty chocolaty aroma. At that point, I could already tell that this tea was going to be quite different from the Autumn release. After the rinse, I noted the expected chocolate aroma, as well as delicate scents of toast, malt, and orange peel. The first infusion produced a similarly malty, citrusy, chocolaty aroma. In the mouth, I detected a smooth blend of malt, cream, toast, dark chocolate, candied orange peel, and honey. The next four infusions were fruitier. The expected chocolate, toast, malt, and orange peel aromas and flavors remained, as did the honey and cream notes, though I also detected traces of golden raisin, fig, and dates. A mineral presence had already started to emerge by this point as well. The final series of infusions was increasingly mild, as the tea faded earlier than I expected and wanted. By the final infusion, I was picking up on mostly fleeting toast, mineral, orange peel, honey, and raisin aromas and flavors balanced by a lingering hint of dark chocolate.

In my experience, this tea lacked the staying power of the previous release, yet I still found it at least somewhat enjoyable in its own way. It is a far smoother, fruitier, and subtler tea, lacking the robust char and roasted grain aromas and flavors of the Autumn 2015 version. It is a very balanced tea, though I do wish it retained its character a little longer. Of the two, I definitely prefer the Autumn release, though this was also pretty good. I think people who enjoy very balanced teas that present subtle, graceful variations in aroma and flavor over the course of a single session would perhaps find quite a bit to like in this one.

I have been looking forward to this one for awhile now. While I liked Mrs. Li’s First Picking Shi Feng Dragonwell, I tend to prefer the stronger aromas and flavors presented by the later pickings. I know that the Chinese generally feel that the first picking is the highest quality, but I tend to like heavier, more vegetal green teas, so a tea like this is far more appealing to me. I am a big fan of Dragonwell, and predictably, I really enjoyed this tea.

I prepared this tea using a two step Western infusion. I tend to use this method for most Chinese green teas. I do not perform a third infusion since I find that I normally like the first two infusions best. I steeped 4 grams of this tea in 8 ounces of 175 F water for 2 minutes and then performed a 3 minute second infusion.

On the first infusion, the aroma of the liquor was lovely. I picked up strong scents of grass, asparagus, green beans, chestnut, hazelnut, and cashew. I also thought I detected a very subtle floral touch. In the mouth, I detected lovely, well-integrated notes of grass, straw, asparagus, artichoke, green beans, chestnut, hazelnut, and cashew with slight mineral, honey, and floral underpinnings. The second infusion produced an aroma that was much lighter. I noted mild aromas of green beans, grass, asparagus, and straw balanced by nuts and minerals. In the mouth, the nutty, grassy, and vegetal notes remained, though the mineral presence was much stronger.

I really like this tea, but then again, I almost always enjoy Dragonwell. This one, at least, is a very nice one. The layering of aromas and flavors is superb, and the tea displays a very pleasant, lingering aftertaste. I would have no problem recommending this tea to anyone looking for a tasty, reliable Dragonwell to use for regular drinking.

I have been meaning to get a review of this tea up for awhile now. I was just looking back over my notes and realized that I should probably go ahead and post this while I have the time. This review references the Autumn 2015 edition of this tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. I more or less followed Verdant Tea’s suggested gongfu brewing method, though I did make a few slight alterations. Rather than using 205 F water, I used 208 F water. I did not really mean to do this, but unfortunately I just glanced at the suggested temperature and ended up misreading the number. I did not realize my mistake until after I had finished the session. After a very quick rinse (approximately 2-3 seconds), I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 5 seconds. I followed this infusion with 10 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 8 seconds, 11 seconds, 14 seconds, 17 seconds, 20 seconds, 23 seconds, 26 seconds, 29 seconds, 32 seconds, and 35 seconds. I could have easily gotten 1-2 more infusions out of this tea, but decided to cut it off a little early since I did not see any surprises coming down the pipe.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaves presented a slightly dusty aroma. There were also fairly strong scents of dark chocolate, black cherry, and roasted grain. Following the rinse, I picked up on strong cherry, chocolate, roasted grain, malt, and toast aromas. The first infusion presented a similar aroma, though there was a slight honey presence that I did not pick up on before. In the mouth, forceful notes of dark chocolate, roasted grain, black toast, toffee, char, black cherry, clover honey, and marshmallow swirled around the palate. Subsequent infusions saw the roasted aromas and flavors recede momentarily, allowing a balance of dark chocolate, black cherry, clover honey, toffee, and marshmallow to envelope the palate. By the fifth or sixth infusion, this had turned into a very mellow tea, presenting a balance of the aromas and flavors previously described and a hint of minerality on the finish. The final series of infusions saw the tea gently fade. It lost a good deal of its grainy character, as milder aromas and flavors of toast, malt, cherry, chocolate, honey, and minerals flitted across the palate. By the final infusion, everything I was picking up on was very mild, though the tea was not quite flat.

I am a little bit surprised to see that this tea has an aggregate score that is substantially lower than the regular Laoshan Black here on Steepster. I found this to be a very good and very interesting tea despite a few rough edges. To me, this tea seemed a little more focused and a little more powerful than the regular Laoshan Black, though I also felt that it had a bit more heavy-handed of a grainy, toasty presence that I could see being a turnoff to people looking for a sweeter, lighter tea. Still, I thought this one had a lot to offer.