218 Tasting Notes

86

This Jade oolong is my afternoon tea today. Very vegetal, almost grassy with a hint of citrus. It leaves very clear and cool aftertaste, almost in a way that mint does, which also makes it very refreshing. It’s kind of hot out there today, so this works great, even though it’s warm. I bet it would also work great iced but as it is now I am trying to “get rid of” teas I care less about by cold brewing them for work. This tea I definitely care more about, so… it stays as a refreshing but hot drink!

The reason I don’t rate it higher is because I consider jade oolongs to be a little too… unsophisticated in general, although this one is definitely the most sophisticated of the ones I’ve tried. Good stuff!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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drank Golden Needle King by Shang Tea
218 tasting notes

I must say, while this is definitely a delicious black tea with the aroma of honey, it is a little bit too ‘dark’ for my tastes. By ‘dark’ I probably mean bold, but also slightly bitter and tannic-y? I wish I knew what I mean most of the time.

Anyway, there’s just something about this tea that doesn’t sit well with me. I think what happened is that I actually brewed it wrong, overleafed or oversteeped. I am not sure. I think I will try to resteep the leaves for a rather short time and see what comes out of it.

EDIT: Okay, so I let the re-steep brew for 2 minutes. Now the tea came out a little on the bland side but it doesn’t have these bitter elements in it that I didn’t enjoy. I think I will have to brew it at a slightly colder temp next time for a shorter time with less leaf. I am not rating it yet either.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Cameron B.

Hmm, that is odd. I think I did a 3 minute steep at 200 degrees when I had this tea.

Kat_Maria

I might try that next time. What I initially did was 3 min. @ 205. Now I am having a re-steep that steeped only for 2 minutes, when it cools down I will add to this review what I think of it.

Cameron B.

Huh, I wouldn’t think 5 degrees would make that much of a difference. Maybe I got lucky? :P

Kat_Maria

Haha, I think it’s a combination of things! But it won’t hurt to steep it at a little colder temperature next time. Did you like this one a lot?

Cameron B.

Apparently I liked the resteeps better, so many try a 2 minute steep the first time? I thought it was very grainy and delicious and it kind of reminded me of white tea.

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86

Another apple tea that is absolutely delicious!

It seems like Lupicia is kind of a hit or miss for me (although the misses are never truly bad and the hits are usually SUPER hits) but this one I am definitely enjoying. I am not sure if this is better than Nina’s Marie Antoinette or not… I wish I had more of MA in order to compare but the little sample I had I drank ages ago.

So, yeah, I guess Tsugaru is not just any apple but a special Japanese apple, probably slightly tarter than an ol’ granny smith (or maybe not, the google search came up with the information that it is “a cross between a Gold Delicious and Orange Pippin”). But I really don’t know. All I can say is that the tea is damn refreshing, tasty and smells super appley. I mean, really, it is an apple-crazy tea. It might not be an instant re-stock when I am out of it, but I will definitely want to have it on hand from time to time.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 30 sec 3 tsp 20 OZ / 591 ML
Cameron B.

Yum! There are way too many Lupicia teas that I want to try. :P

Kat_Maria

They have way too many of them to choose from :D

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96

This babe I am always very happy to sip on! I wish I had ordered more of it because I seem to be running low right now. And I just placed a huge Butiki order, too… Let’s hope this is available for the Black Friday craze.

Amazingly sweet and rich, with notes of bread and honey. I am enjoying my every sip and I am ready for a re-steep! I am also upping my rating from 91 to 96.

Flavors: Bread, Honey, Pastries

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88

Aaah, it’s good to be on Steepster again. And this tea is, as always, marvellous.

I hope to be here more often now that the autumn is approaching. I haven’t been buying a whole lot of new teas recently but I am planning a few bigger orders in the near future. It’s good to read your posts and tasting notes, guys! I’m so glad this community exists.

(And I hope Stacy won’t mind I hi-jacked one of her tea’s pages to write a mostly personal post ;))

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86

TTB&C 2

So good! This oolong is more on the grassy side with some minor flowery notes. The mouthfeel is not exactly creamy although it might get there with the next steep. Very refreshing and “green-tasting”, perfect to sip on on a rather warm afternoon here in PA. I am ready to make another infusion!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Ost

I love this tea! :D

Kat_Maria

It’s pretty awesome!

TheTeaFairy

My favourite green oolong!

Kat_Maria

You mean this specific one from Tealux or Da Yu Lings in general? I must check it out from other places.

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92

TTB&C 2

If there’s a Butiki tea in a traveling box, I am totally having it!

This Assam is not as malty as I expected it would be (because the dry leaf looked so cunningly Chinese golden tips like), at least not upfront. And I think I would be quick to designate it to the space of “Assams that don’t really do it for me” except this aftertaste… The aftertaste is doing this whole tea for me! So imagine this, upfront you are getting a slightly astringent, basic and ascetic kind of assam notes and then from the background emerges this creamy kick of sweetness that lingers on your tongue like a caramel candy. It’s such an amazing trick you want to pause whatever you are doing for every sip of this tea that you take. I am totally getting an ounce of this next time I shop at Butiki!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Ost

Sounds amazing! :O

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91

TTB&C 2

So… There’s a bit of a mess-up and the description for this darjeeling says the flush is from 2012. The one I have is from 2014 but there wasn’t any separate page for it, so here I am.

I am finally getting to try the famous Margaret’s Hope darjeeling! Even though I generally prefer second fluhes, this one is really superb. Fairly malty, mostly sweet with pleasant astringent undertones. It is also kind of earthy and woodsy. Kind of like a forest after the rain – if you could eat the aroma that it gives off, this is how it would taste like. I am digging it!

I also love the first flush darjeeling dry leaf, the green and straw yellow of it with glimpses of darker brown. It’s beautiful.

I am really happy that I could try it!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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75
drank Dragon Pearls by Capital Teas
218 tasting notes

TTB&C 2

I absolutely adore the look of these pearls, but I adore the look of any tea pearls it seems :D Unfortunately, the flavor is not as exciting as the looks of the dry leaf, although it is not by any means a bad tea. I notice an interesting note of buttery sweetness. Something I rather like in green teas. It is slightly too weak, however, and sinks quickly in the overall correct but sensationally uneventful (?) green tea taste. I would definitely be happy to accept a cup of this when offered but probably wouldn’t need to stock it in my cupboard.

It was really nice to try it, though. Thank you, whoever placed it in the Box (Nicole?) :D

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Nicole

That was pretty much my conclusion: I’d accept a cup but wouldn’t stock it. And yeah, I forgot to put my name on the stuff I put in :P

Kat_Maria

That’s okay! I thought it might be you since there was only your tasting note on the tea page before I wrote mine :D

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94

TTB&C II

This is such a delicious tea! From the aroma, that seemed more on the fruity side, I expected a fruitier and tarter assam but this is more like the malty one that I love. I find some chocolate notes, too. It has a very creamy and silky mouthfeel. And now that it cooled down, the aroma actually corresponds with the taste much more…

I am off to make another steep! Thanks, Sil, for including this one. This is my first Taiwan Tea Crafts tea ever :D

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Sil

YAY! glad you had a positive experience with them. TTC is a really nice company for taiwanese blacks if they’re your thing

Kat_Maria

They are definitely my thing and for a while now I have had TTC on my list of “companies I need to order from and somehow haven’t yet” :D I am glad I could try something from them through the Traveling Box.

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Profile

Bio

ME & TEA

I started drinking tea when I was a teenager, my dad used to make tea a million times a day as it was (and still is!) good for his health. So he would make it for the entire family. Usually it was Lipton with a teaspoon of sugar per cup and a slice of lemon. I was fond of it made this way then a lot.

Then I would have occasional loose leaf teas, I slowly got into green tea… I would mostly stick to bagged tea though. It was just convenient.

Only recently, in the middle of 2013, did I start getting seriously into all kinds of loose leaf tea.

My cupboard only reflects what I have in ‘regular’ (non-sample) sizes. It could be that I have some tea you’re looking for, just in a smaller amount, even though it is not in my cupboard, so you can always just ask when swapping with me :)

[LOVES]:
- Chinese & Taiwanese black teas
- second flush darjeelings
- malty assams
- green oolongs
- Chinese green teas
- super-fruity rooibos/honeybush “teas”

[LIKES]:
- Japanese green teas
- white teas
- dark oolongs
- interesting dessert teas
- earl greys
- pu-erhs

[IS INDIFFERENT ABOUT]:
- chai teas
- herbal teas
- fruit teas

[DISLIKES]:
- mint in blends (it’s ok as straight mint)

JUST ME
Apart from tea, I love reading, board-gaming with my husband, learning foreign languages (currently Spanish and Portuguese) and listening to lots and lots of music!

And if we just stick to food-related stuff I am also a great aficionado of good craft beer and dark chocolate :)

MY FAVORITE TEA COMPANIES (so far):
Butiki
Golden Moon Tea
Harney & Sons
Lupicia
Shang Tea
What-Cha
Whispering Pines Tea Co.
Yezi Tea

You can also find me here:
On Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/dairy_queen
On Last.fm http://www.last.fm/user/poziomka
On Untappd https://untappd.com/user/poziomka

Location

PA

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