Eco-Cha Artisan Teas

For 2014, this is a different tea, and I’m placing it here because the “High Mountain Concubine Oolong” description notes "This farm is located just across the valley and to the south of our Shan Lin Xi source, at about the same elevation. " It seems to be this year’s substitute offering. I was absolutely nutty over last year’s Shan Lin Xi version, and despite knowing full well that concubine tea is inherently a craps shoot year to year, I jumped in an ordered 150 grams (it worked out to about $60USD after discounts and shipping). I just have to say that was a mistake this year. I’ll certainly drink it, and not unhappily – it does have that character – but…the price is simply too much for something that doesn’t knock my socks off. It’s a pretty pale version of last year’s and not particularly special. I suppose it just adds to the suspense over next year’s batch, which I will absolutely still buy. No disrespect to Eco-Cha – I’d rather have a tea that really reflects the conditions on the ground than any sort of technologically standardized version. Not every year can be a winner.

My first Eco-Cha! I got the oolong sample set, and if it all lives up to this first cup, I’ll be moving to Taiwan. It reminds me of eating carrots I’d just pulled from the garden when I was little, complete with just a touch of dirt and that crazy freshness and vegetal tang, with a touch of sweetness. When my tea collection finally arrives where it appears to be heading (toward an exclusive, oolong-only club), this tea will be there.

I got this from the January Steepster Select package, and it was definitely one of my favorites. I haven’t had a ton of experience with oolongs, but this one reminded me lot of a Taiwanese Pouchong I got from a tea room in Colorado – one of my favorite teas I’ve ever tried.

It has what I assume to be the characteristic flavor of a lighter oolong – very smooth and almost buttery. It takes extremely well to multiple steepings, so it can last you a while.

Here I am: so excited for tea-time (always a big occasion in our house) and I brew Red Jade. I take a sip, and do a double-take. What is that flavor? Is it the cinnamon, clove, or mint that the package speaks of? No. I freely associate the flavor and come up with: meat. Specifically, raw tuna fish. Yet, I love raw tuna fish. This tea? not so much.

This is a light, airy tea. I can imagine that it would be a great tea for meditating, so that one would have time to puzzle out its subtle flavors. However, with a long day ahead of me and a slight cold, I was hoping for a strong tea to wake me up.

Backlog:

Looks like an Oolong. Even the name made me think that this was an Oolong (until I got to the “black tea” part!)

This brews to a lighter color than a typical black tea. It’s more like a golden amber color rather than a chocolate-y color or coppery or red color. There is a slightly earthy and woodsy aroma to the liquid, with sweet notes of fruit and flower.

This is really deliciously sweet. Vanilla notes! Minty tones reveal themselves as the tea begins to cool slightly. The minty flavor is especially noticeable when I slurp the tea. Notes of flower, fruit and wood are also present.

A delightfully complex cuppa. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/11/22/shan-lin-xi-high-mountain-black-tea-eco-cha/

So 1/2 of December’s Steepster box is still sitting in my cupboard. I have not written a single review on them. Every tea in that box just hit me wrong. This months box, January 2014, is rocking my world so far. Okay so this is only my second tea from the box but so far so good.

This tea is thinner bodied. When I sip I get a bread/potato taste followed by a sweet cool (minty ?) taste. I don’t pick out as much cinnamon as I have tasted in other teas from Taiwan, but I do get a sweet spice taste at the end of the sip. I really like this tea.

EDIT: My second cup of this was a completely different aninmal from the first. I don’t know if I steeped it differently or what, but I dumped out the second cup. It was so bitter. I didn’t get any of the nice qualities I enjoyed from the first packet. Yikes!

I didn’t read the description on this tea before trying it, so I was impressed with myself for being able to tell the style (lightly oxidized rolled oolong) just from smelling the dry leaf after tearing the packet open, before looking :D

Brewed, it smells very much like a Tie Guan yin, floral and creamy and sweet, but the flavor is more buttery, reminiscent of Samovar’s Four Seasons (also a lightly-oxidized Taiwanese oolong, that one is actually cultivated from a Tie Guan Yin varietal). I’m also getting a bit of vegetal green flavor on the front now, on my 3rd steep, though the back-end and aftertaste are still very floral. Think water lilies.

This is lovely, I was going to say it’s a bit weak, but the 3rd steep actually has a lot of character – maybe my 2nd was just a bit short. I’m still planning to do the other sample gong-fu style, for comparison’s sake.

1 sample pack, 8oz water, 3 steeps so far

Wow this was one of my favorite teas so far that Steepster has done. Minty, cinnamon sweetness. Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want more, I did 10 sec steeps and it kept going and going.

ahhhh time for an afternoon oolong. i JUST got this in the mail, totes ordered it after the steepster january sample (way to sell, guys!) – it is just as good as remembered. i think i’m in love with oolongs, and this might just be fighting for top spot against the comparable Tea at Sea high mountain oolong (theirs is indonesian, however). piney fresh damp mountain woods, right after a rain. cannot say enough how amazing this stuff is!

oh yum. this is a nice oolong – not too floral, but just floral enough. the underlying vegetation is, as someone else mentioned, reminding me of a pine forest – specifically the pine forest i grew up in, just after the rain. very lush experience, this tea.

once again, in my top 5 black teas, this is such a wonderful brew! just yum.

had two steepings of this this morning, was wonderful – a black tea that doesn’t make me want to add milk and/or sugar! yay! better notes next time.

Not a big fan of this tea. I did not sense the notes of “cinnamon, clove, and mint” that were promised. Instead, I smelled, and tasted, an overwhelming flavor of spinach. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of spinach either. No better luck on the second tasting either. I hope the other teas I received in this month’s shipment are better.

This is an interesting black tea. Today the first thing I noticed about it was a minty freshness, that made my mouth feel a little like toothpaste. It is also a tart & tangy cup. I had planned to go with a gongfu preparation, but I’m just not in the mood to mess with that today. Tony & I have been watching Hitchcock. We spent all of breakfast time talking about how much we both love Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I’m not sure how we got on that topic, but we both agreed that he is an amazing actor. Then a few minutes ago Tony got on FB & discovered that he died this morning. At first I thought it was one of those scams, but sadly, it is true. The bright & wonderful future we had imagined for that actor, gone. What a bummer (;_;)

This tea is tangy, spicy, & good, & my first review stands.
3min/5min
Sipdown #2 for the day, # 7 for my Extravaganza.

I tend to enjoy black teas from the Sun Moon Lake area, in part due to their stone-fruit qualities.
I started this session off by preheating my cup, & then letting the leaf warm up in there for a few breaths. It was worth it! The aroma of the warmed leaf was beautiful, rich, & fruity apricot!
Otherwise I followed the suggested steeping parameters. It’s an interesting cup of tea, spicy, tart, & a little on the astringent side. There is a faint minty fresh sensation. The re-steep was even tangier like dried apricot, slightly bitter like clove, & a little sour like rye bread. Not a tea I’d probably keep in my collection, but an interesting one to try. I’ll probably go with gongfu parameters next time.

We’ve been drinking tea & watching ‘Captain Phillips’.
I’ve been sharing steepings of this, & the previous oolong with Tony. The 4 Seasons was much more floral, this one is sweet, creamy, & starchy in comparison. Tony likes this one better, he described it as, “More flavorful”. I’ve enjoyed them both. :)

I drank this yesterday evening, so I’m piecing this together from my notes (written on the envelope the tea was in).

The dry aroma of the leaf brought creamy tapioca pudding to mind, & with the first sip I saw the color of butterscotch (not the taste). Where do these images come from & why? Who knows, but I do enjoy being like this, so onward…

I brewed this one in glass, so I could watch the nuggets bloom & then dreamily unroll themselves like sacred scrolls. Most of the leaf tips are red-tinged.

The texture was buttery, sweet, a little starchy.
It made me think of a dessert I used to enjoy often: sticky rice topped with mango & drizzled with coconut milk. Again, it doesn’t really taste like it, although the fruitiness was a little like under-ripe mango, slightly tart. Subsequent steepings brought out more florals.

Origin: Nantou, Taiwan
Leaf Appearance: Rolled brownish green balls with scents of butter cookie
Method: Western style – one cup – 200F 2.5 minutes
Liquor: Floral scent
Flavor: Bitter, floral

I’m not going to follow Eco-Cha’s directions anymore and lower the temp on their teas so they don’t turn out bitter

The dry leaves are tightly rolled into a ball with stem so they look like tiny crabapples. They have the distinctive oolong scent with a hint of pineapple and a tiny bit of strawberry blossom.
The wet leaves unfurl into little green branches with 3 leaves and stay a pretty deep green.
The liquor is a beautiful clear forest green color. I love this color bc I also love green tea and its beauty. The wet leaves smell like flowers and cooked lentils. The liquor has those same notes.
I am very excited to try this tea.
The flavors are very floral. I took my cup outside in the garden to listen to the birds. The aroma and flavor is nasturtium and a hint of pineapple. I am catching a bit of astringency in the end.
This is a very cleansing tea. Could be a great one served after a dessert at the end of a meal.

**My second steeping, I added way less water. I feel that I might have added a touch too much water with the first one. Now the liquor is a deep golden color and the liquor has a very distinctive pine essence. There is astringency and it is very cleansing. Very interesting and expands my knowledge of oolongs because I have never tasted one like this!!

From the Steepster Select Box, January 2014

I am glad that the Steepster Select club gives us a couple servings of the same tea to try because I think I gave this one too much water the first time by accident and didn’t get to experience it correctly.
Today was much different and I really got some great notes from this and upped my rating as a result.
The dry leaves have a nutty, creamy aroma and it is great to brew this tea in a vessel that allows you to watch the tiny little " crabapples" open up. As it brews, the floral aromas awaken and give off a creamy, flowery, fruit candy scent.
The liquor has a beautiful golden jewel color and the flavor tastes like pineapple cream cake with creamy flower notes. Very Hawaiian in essences. This is very beautiful tea!!!