TheArchivist Send Message

This was a sample sent with my order. I think this is the one, as it’s a darker oolong than I’ve had. The leaves are a lovely dark colour. The taste was roasted and nutty with some sweetness. The floral tones was noticeable when I let it cool a bit. I made this in the gaiwan with a 15s rinse followed by two 40s drinkable steeps. Quite enjoyable.

I liked the strong bold flavour of this one. After the 15s rinse, so far I’ve had several drinkable steeps at 20s and 30s. I can taste vegetal, astringency and wet hay. Unfortunately I don’t taste the apple peel or corn tastes, or milkiness that others noted.

This was great. After the rinse I did a short steep of 20sec in the gaiwan. It was lighter than other Shou Puerh I’ve had, bright, not so heavy and earthy. So I steeped it 45 sec for the second drnkable steep. Lovely, more complex than other Puerh I’ve had and still smooth. I’d like to say that there is also a slight fruit taste, perhaps plum or prune but I don’t know that that’s really what it is that I’m tasting. Definitely wish I had more of this.

After a short rinse (15sec), I’ve so far had 2 drinkable steeps of 20 sec. I was pleasantly surprised that it was smooth and not astringent. There’s a smokiness and slight sweetness with a hint of peach at the end. I’ve been having a lot of oolongs, so it was nice to get back to a sheng Puerh. Really enjoyed this.

This was my second time with this tea, this time I brewed it western style with one steep of two minutes or so. Seemed to have quite different flavours than when I brewed it n a gaiwan. This time around I tasted more fruity or floral and something that I would call vanilla. Very smooth. Definitely preferred it brewed this way. Drank it straight with no milk.

I wasn’t originally interested n trying this one…untilI heard it had been discontinued. I was lucky to find one location that still had some left. Made it in a gaiwan. After a 15 sec rinse, so far I’ve had two 40 sec steeps. It brewed a pale green-yellow colour. The taste was closer to a green tea. It was mildly floral and vegetal. Very light though. No overpowering flavours or scents. I’m curious to see how this taste may evolve with subsequent steeps. I may also increase steep time though I like the lightness.

I bought this tea from Moonbean Coffee Co. which stocks teas from Metropolitain. I made it in a Gaiwan with a 15 sec rinse, so far followed by two drinkable steeps at 40 sec each. The taste was quite floral, but I didn’t notice that so much in the scent. I also think there is a bit of smokiness, or at least that’s what I’m calling it. I’m not sure I like the type of floral, reminds me a little of perfume. Curious to see how the flavour develops in subsequent steeps.

I’ve not been a Darjeeling fan because my go to tea was always a strong Assam with milk and I found them too light in comparison. But now that I’ve started appreciating Chinese tea and brewing in a gaiwan, I thought it was time to give Darjeeling a fair chance. I decided that my first experience would be to brew gongfu style to be able to experience the subtleties, and to drink it straight, I.e. No milk. I gave it a very short rinse and so far I’ve had two drinkable steeps at 30 and 40 sec respectively. The colour is a light chestnut. The taste is smooth with some tannin and a lot of other things I don’t have the words to describe. There was a slight nuttiness on the first steep which wasn’t there on the second steep. There’s some body. The second steep had a bit of sourness or astringency. There’s some fruitiness but I can’t really identify the scent. Overall, this is a nice light black tea. My next experiment with this tea will be to brew it western style to see how the taste will differ.

I found this pricey, so I expected more. It’s the first Ali Shan I’ve had so I didn’t have a cheaper one to compare it to. I made it in a gaiwan with a 15 sec wash. The next two drinkable steeps were at 40 and 30 sec respectively. The scent was floral, so I was surprised at how vegetal it tasted. Certainly more vegetal than floral in taste. Also a tannin taste. The colour was pale green. It was a nice enough light oolong, but not nice enough to warrant the price. I’m curious what others think of it. Will definitely have to try another Ali Shan for comparison.

I’m in my second drinkable steep. Made it in gaiwan with a 15s wash, followed by 20s steeps so far. The scent was a little earthy but also a scent of sweetness. The taste is similar to the scent. Smooth but also bright. Even though it’s supposed to be a lower caffeine content I definitely feel a stimulating effect. I don’t taste all the complexity the previous reviewer mentioned. At least not yet.