Eco-Cha Artisan Teas

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Recent Tasting Notes

Ayup, and it’s a sipdown!

#long time ago internet hiatus sipdown

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91

I thought I reviewed this one…oh well.

I had this one two years ago, plowing through half of the 75 grams. I saved the other half which has been untouched for two years, and I re-discovered I had it when I inventoried some of my tea.

I delayed reviewing because I had initially mixed feelings on the tea. I fell in love with it the first time around since it has the sweet cocoa flavor I look for with enough citrus, caramel, or sugar sweetness to balance out the incredible dry cocoa/hot chocolate powder and yammy notes, not to mention an incredible aroma like fresh medium roasted coffee, but the remaining sessions tended to yield a more drying tea when I went with Eco-Cha’s 7 grams instructions. It had the same flavors, but it tasted like stale chocolate bars, sesame seeds, and raw sweet potato skins. There were times where the tea bordered on vegetal on the squashy end, other times more sweet. While this tea is far from bitter, it could be a little bit tannic like coffee, which was interesting to taste in a black tea. I finished the half of this tea fast, but was let down by the dryness until I fell in love with it on the last session of it 2019.

I decided to open back up, and it’s still as fresh as it was nearly two years ago. I am going to finish it quick before it dries out too much like the other half did. It retains all the notes as I brewed up between 4-5 grams gong fu, and I brewed it 35, 25, 35, 40, and 55 so far. I changed the water ratio a few times from 4-3.5-3.5-3.0-and finally 2.0 oz to savor the flavor. The experiment actually worked and yielded some nice flavor, adding a little bit of vanilla and cherry hints in the later steeps. I am going to go at it one last time, but I think I’ve spent the tea at it’s height.

Of the Tea Club’s blacks, this one was my favorite because it’s a complex flavor pleaser that I’d rate between an 87-92. I was also more satisfied with this black tea because the club went through a phase of doing nothing but Jin Xuans, Bug Bitten, or GABA oxidized teas that started to taste the same after a while. Some of them were too fruity even for me which is saying something-a lot of them tasted like pluot or papaya with an intense caffeine dose bordering on the effect of some purple teas….which can give me bad headaches. This tea was a lot more easy going and flavorful, and while my main criticisms are the dryness and lack of staying power, I’m relieved that I saved this tea.

Flavors: Butternut Squash, Caramel, Cherry, Chocolate, Citrus, Cocoa, Coffee, Drying, Oats, Peanut, Savory, Sugar, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Tannin, Vanilla, Yams

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90

Gong fu 1g tea to 15 g water, 20s wash, 50seconds + 15 each steep

Received as a sample from eco-cha’s subscription service (twice, actually, but not complaining)

Everything I love in high mountain oolong is here: nice balance of savory/sweet, smooth buttery mouthfeel, intense aroma. Highly recommend!

Preparation
Boiling 10 g 150 OZ / 4436 ML

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99

Two very nice gongfu sessions, one with shorter steeping times and one with longer, closer to Leafhopper’s parameters. I’m finishing off this swap tea brewed 2g in a 100mL teacup and think I prefer it this way!

There are 2 layers of aroma in the dry leaf. The first layer is perfumey florals while a closer whiff presents sweet cream and fleeting peach and pine. With a deeper smelling of the leaf in my hand, these notes all sit on top of the second layer: a molasses ginger cookie. Warmed and rinsed leaf are similar to each other with daffodil, gardenia, spinach, walnut.

Intense, heady and sweet indolic daffodil, gardenia and orange blossom florals well integrated into a clean and soft mineral water broth. Body has notes of dewy grass, crisp lettuce, mild spinach, walnut, cooling fir and the light acidity of sweet lemon mixed with sugarcane. Spices are revealed as clove, sweet cinnamon and a hints of allspice and nutmeg when brewed longer. Light butter on the swallow gives way cleanly to an aftertaste of peach skin, grass, candied orange rind and orange blossom with intense sugarcane returning sweetness. Spiciness and warmth is felt in the throat and chest. Bottom of the cup smells like sugarcane, tarragon and cherry blossom.

Leafhopper, this tea is from 2017? It’s incredible and balanced despite the intense florality. This tea reaffirms how an expert light roast can take a high mountain oolong to a stratospheric experience for me. Thank you <3

Flavors: Butter, Cherry Blossom, Cinnamon, Clove, Cookie, Cream, Fir, Floral, Gardenias, Ginger, Grass, Herbs, Lemon, Lettuce, Mineral, Molasses, Narcissus, Nutmeg, Orange Blossom, Orange Zest, Peach, Perfume, Pine, Spices, Spicy, Spinach, Sugarcane, Sweet, Walnut

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C
Martin Bednář

Well, this tea sounds incredible! But I am not that sure I would be able to notice everything!

derk

You’d probably appreciate its general complexity :)

Martin Bednář

That’s true!

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74

Posting to see if Steepster is frozen again… Thank you SkySamurai – this was a while ago!  Even though I just received her half of a swap yesterday! I keep trying this one.  Even though it appears to be a green oolong in person (unlike the photo that is clearly roasted), I’m only really tasting the roast on this one… even though by appearance… there really shouldn’t be any roast flavor here at all.  My brew color certainly isn’t deep amber like the photo! My brew color is the usual pale yellow. I loved the fragrance of the leaves after the rinse though – it was like tamarind (from my remembrance of the Butiki blend anyway).  I wish the actual oolong had tasted like that.  But sadly only roasted flavor here.  It should be fine – I’m only steeping one teaspoon and not overdoing it.  Bigger bundles here!  Charcoal tasting oolongs just aren’t for me. It’s always a shame it’s so one-noted for me.
Steep #1  // 1 teaspoon for full mug // 26 minutes after boiling  // rinse // 1 minute steep
Steep #2  // 20 minutes after boiling //  2 minute steep
Steep #3 // 2 minutes after boiling // 2 min

tea-sipper

It looks like this note hasn’t posted to the dashboard…

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84

I received this back in 2017 when I was an Eco-Cha Tea Club member. Thank goodness it has some roast on it and can presumably survive a few years in storage! I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

Dry, these tightly rolled nuggets smell like a floral gingersnap. The first steep has notes of sweet pea, orchid, cookie, butter, nutmeg, grass, and light roast, with a floral and grassy aftertaste. The second steep adds nuts (maybe pecans?) and even more florals, though also, sadly, more of that grassy taste. Cookie, honey, mild spices, honeysuckle and sweet pea florals, nuts, and grass persist into the next couple steeps. I find the tea to be smooth and a little viscous. In the fifth steep, herbs and spinach peek through the cookie goodness. The session ends predictably with walnuts, butter, roast, spinach, and grass.

This is a pleasant, though perhaps not extraordinary oolong with some tasty spice cookie notes. (I’m getting those a lot with lightly roasted oolongs lately.) I’ll have no trouble finishing my 75 g package, though I won’t miss it terribly when it’s gone.

Flavors: Butter, Cookie, Floral, Grass, Herbaceous, Honey, Honeysuckle, Nutmeg, Nuts, Orchid, Pecan, Roasted, Spices, Spinach, Vegetal, Walnut

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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70

I ordered this tea in March of 2016, which means that it’s probably—gasp!—from 2015! Yes, I’m a bit embarrassed by this. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is typical Red Jade: menthol, cinnamon, raisins, malt, and stonefruit. The first steep has notes of sassafras, menthol, malt, cinnamon, cream, raisins, tannin, and wood. The next steep has more malt and menthol and not much fruit. There’s some astringency in the background and a drying aftertaste. Aside from a bit of raisin, the third and fourth steeps continue to be all about the malt, menthol, tannin, and sassafras. Later steeps emphasize malt, tannin, earth, wood, and minerals.

This tea has all the standard Red Jade flavours, though it’s on the maltier, more astringent side. I won’t have any trouble finishing the bag, but don’t need to buy more, as it isn’t anything new or spectacular.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Cream, Drying, Earth, Licorice, Malt, Menthol, Mineral, Raisins, Stonefruit, Tannin, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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88

I’m surprised I’ve never reviewed this tea before. It was the tea that initially attracted me to the Eco-Cha Tea Club, which I still regret leaving. It was made in the winter of 2015 and I’m down to my last couple sessions. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of charcoal, roast, honey, grains, and flowers. The first steep has notes of honey, roast, smoke, autumn leaf pile, wood, and grains, and is not as sweet as many bug-bitten oolongs. The second steep is woody, roasty, and drying in the mouth, with the honey mostly in the background. The third and fourth steeps develop a sharper woody and sappy character, although with a lovely honey and floral aftertaste. The honey, grain, wood, sap, roast, and autumn leaves persist through the next few steeps. As expected, the finish is woody and roasty.

When I first had this tea, I was blown away, but either the roast has grown more prominent with age or I’ve become used to drinking sweeter bug-bitten oolongs. Still, as perhaps the second bug-bitten oolong I ever drank, it holds a special place in my heart.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Char, Drying, Floral, Grain, Honey, Roasted, Sap, Smoke, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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81

Thanks very much, SkySamurai!  This was shipped here well before the teabox.  I’m still working on the pre-teabox package!  I steeped this a couple days ago but bungled purely everything in every steep so HAD to try it again.  Now it’s much better. I even forgot the rinse last time and I saw tiny particles in the rinse, which seems odd for this type of oolong.  I love a good Baozhong.  The dry leaves have a great sweet creamy scent which is also what it tastes like!  Though the brew is still VERY yellow in color which I guess is why I thought I had bungled it in the first place, but I guess this is the color it should be!  The flavors are tough to piece together, they seem very one note, which is surprising to me for a Wenshan Baozhong.  Mellow, sweet, minerals, creamy.  And very very consistent but not as complex as I’d wish for a Baozhong.
Steep #1  // 1 heaping teaspoon for full mug // rinse // 28 minutes after boiling  // 1 minute steep
Steep #2  // 16 minutes after boiling //  1 1/2 min
Steep #3 // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 min

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I have to say roasted oolongs are fantastic on rainy days.

- Dry, the tea smells to me of dark chocolate with fruit?
- First cup (okay, really more of a rinse) has a really light texture and dark, toasty flavor. It’s an interesting contrast.
- A couple cups in, the tea still feels really light and creamy but is pretty smoky and woodsy. I’m not a big fan of smoke + tea, but this is fairly mild. Tiny campfire in the woods, not a giant bonfire. Underneath the roast there’s a little sweetness I can’t quite place. Is it toffee? Is it apricot? I’ll have to think about it a bit more.
- The longer I drink it the more the smokiness mellows. The last cups I drank felt a bit more nutty and desert-like than at the start. Reminds me a lot of the Dong Ding Cui Yu oolong from a couple months ago, only more roasted.

It’s really a nice warm tea when it’s gloomy out. And could certainly last for several more cups.

Flavors: Apricot, Roasted, Roasted Nuts, Smoke, Toffee, Wood

derk

Yeah, I’ve been enjoying some roasted Wuyi oolong with our hopefully last rainy week of the season.

Dustrose

The rain can stay as far as I’m concerned, the only things I don’t dread about summer are summer vegetables. I’m realizing that outside of a couple Eco-cha teas I don’t seem to have much roasted anything these days. I’ve had pretty good luck with Wuyi oolongs, helped by the fact my inner geology nerd is a fan of anything that reminds me of rocks. Perhaps I should stock up on more.

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I was excited to see this one because I really liked the honey oolong Eco-Cha sent previously. Here, the honey is less strong, and balanced out by florals, which gives it a little more complexity, if making the overall effect a lot softer and less attention-grabbing. Will write more on this one next time I sit down to enjoy it, but note to self that I did, in fact, try this one.

Flavors: Flowers, Honey

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I just found the first blueberries of the season at the market the other day, and to celebrate the beginning of my favorite season of produce, I went for this tea to go with my breakfast for its berry-like flavor…

I’ve made it before and found it to be fairly tart and fruity (definitely berries, probably raspberry), but not unpleasantly so. I’m not a huge fan of the tartness that can go with fruit flavor in tea, so this wasn’t initially one of my favorites. Experimented a little with leaf/water ratio and times in my little gaiwan and was a lot happier with it today! First couple steeps were nice and light, sort of sweet and spicy (or herbal? something warm to tone down the berry, but it keeps shifting on me) with a little bit of a floral aroma. Later cups had a lot more tart/berry, but still retained the other interesting qualities. It’s nice, kind of like a trip to the farmer’s market in summer or a fresh pie. I guess this tea’s growing on me.

Flavors: Floral, Herbs, Raspberry, Spices, Sweet, Tart

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86

I’m slowly and regretfully drinking down my old tea club boxes. This is the first unroasted Wuyi varietal oolong I’ve had, and it seems to be very unusual, especially for something grown in Taiwan. It’s also an heirloom strain with a unique flavour profile, as borne out in this review. I steeped 6 g of tea in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

Prior to the first steep, the dry leaf smells like orchids, herbs, veggies, and cookies. The first steep has notes of orchids, peonies, spinach, herbs, and zucchini, and is not as sweet as the dry aroma promises. The mouthfeel and aftertaste are quite drying. The second steep has more vegetal sweetness, kind of like squash or bok choy. It’s an odd combination with all the florals.

The third and fourth steeps are less sweet and floral and more herbaceous, with some hints of coriander. The aftertaste is almost like a green tea. This green tea feeling continues in the next few steeps, with notes of spinach, squash, and bok choy predominating. The final steeps are almost entirely vegetal.

This tea starts off as a floral and herbaceous oolong, but quickly becomes vegetal and green tea-like. It’s unusual for sure, and while it’s fragrant and intriguing, there are too many veggies for me to love it. It’ll be interesting to compare it with the roasted version that’s also in my cupboard.

Flavors: Bok Choy, Cookie, Coriander, Drying, Floral, Herbaceous, Orchids, Spinach, Vegetal, Zucchini

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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Yesterday’s at-work tea, just the right amount of green for my tastes. It’s nicely balanced with the sweet cream/butter and floral and just a little bit of a savory green edge. I can’t quite decide which direction the greenness leans – the description says “vegetal/straw aroma,” or “savory scone,” but I’m not quite sure it falls neatly into any particular flavor for me. Whatever it is, it makes a good tea for work; it’s interesting enough to entice me to make another cup, but not distractingly complex. I’m glad I got to try this one in the tea club, as it’s probably not something I would have thought to pick up on my own.

Flavors: Cream, Dry Grass, Floral, Green, Vegetal

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90

Surprisingly nutty and rich, almost like a desert or candy? The best I could describe it to others was that it reminds me of Almond Roca.

Flavors: Butter, Nutty, Toffee

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95

January 2019 Club Batch #38, and it’s one of my favorites so far. The tea resembles their staple Shan Lin Xi, but more creamy and savory. The leaves are huge, and can handle long brews. One of the sessions on the blog had an initial rinse of 50 seconds for the first steep, and I’ve found that 3 grams is great for grandpa in a tumbler because this tea is smooth.

Their descriptors were vegetal, creamy, floral, with hints of a savory scone. This is on the savory end of oolongs, but has enough florals to keep it sweet and a creamy profile not dissimilar to macademia milk. The florals are noticeable, but generalized in the creaminess. I’d honestly miss them if I don’t pay attention. I get a faint hit of hyacinth, but more prominent violet flavor, honeysuckle hints, more pronounced vanilla, iris, a tiny bit of osmanthus, and a floral that reminds me of the aftertaste of a blossom tea. Again, they are otherwise negligible in the teas milkiness.

The rest of the tea has a smooth butter note and yields an oily body, and the herby vegetals are fresh and prominent, but they do not smack you in the face with spinach or vegetables. I’m not getting fruit notes yet, but I can maybe see some in the future. This tea is otherwise vegetal done right. Thank heavens for the more mature oxidation. I’ll write more about it in the future.

Flavors: Butter, Cream, Creamy, Floral, Herbs, Milk, Nuts, Olive Oil, Smooth, Sweet, Vanilla, Vegetal, Violet

Evol Ving Ness

And so you took the plunge! Yay you!

Happy with your decision? Have you signed up for the whole year?

Daylon R Thomas

Not quite. Been taking month by month

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I’m undecided about this one. It’s very woodsy, tangy, heady, and fruity. Sap, plumeria, figs, and mangoes are the notes I keep getting. The combo has been overwhelming so far. It also has the boldness of a black, but the florals and lighter body of an oolong…although it’s super thick and malty. So far, it’s a little bit too sweet for me. Further examination is needed.

Evol Ving Ness

Come on now, every time I see plumeria, I think this only exists in tea drinker’s imaginations. :)

Daylon R Thomas

LOL it might. I need to go back to Hawaii and have them again.

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91

I swore I wrote more about this. Anyway, it’s gained traction as one of my best teas, especially for work. Notes are nutty, earthy, and smoothly roasted with a mega buttery profile and texture amidst some char and roasted goodness. There was a little potatoe, some cocoa, perhaps maple, and definite hazelnut and chestnut notes. This was so good and so forgiving to steep. I highly recommend going to the rare teas page and picking some of this up.

Flavors: Bread, Butter, Butternut Squash, Butterscotch, Char, Chestnut, Coffee, Hazelnut, Roasted, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Sweet, Thick

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91

This is a nice one. They used nutty and peaty on the descriptor card, and those notes are accurate. It is smoky, earthy, and it does develop a little bit of a stone fruit note in the third brew gong fu, but it is incredibly smooth and very easy to drink. There were times that it reminded me of a smooth yancha. I liked their main Dong Ding on the website a little bit better because it is more caramelized, but this one is so easy to drink western, grandpa, or gong fu. This is earthy roast at its best.

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98

I’m so close to giving this one a hundred because it is doing insanely well with the cold. Melon pressed sweetness accented by viscous notes of violet, chard, nutmeg, and just a bare hint of toastiness akin to fresh scones. In short, the same tea with the same notes, but better this cold fall day by combining the green floral notes amidst the savory ones.

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