Tin Roof Teas

Let me start by saying that I am completely new to loose leaf tea. I was in Raleigh & wandered in to this tea shop. It smelled heavenly inside the shop. I was curious about the tea named milky oolong. The nice employee informed me it was her favorite of the lot. She pulled the tin down & let me smell it. Wow! I was sold. I immediately purchased a cup of this at the tea bar. I lived this tea from the first sip. To me, the aroma & the taste was an unbeatable combination. I purchased a 100 gram tin if this. I’ve been drinking it daily for almost 2 weeks now. I love this milky oolong. Sooooo good!

This tea smells soooo good. I just want to stick my face in it.

Tea: 5 grams
Water: 150 ml/5 oz each steep (green gaiwan)
Additive: none

Rinse
1: 25 seconds – light, lightly vegetal, more flowery towards the end of the cup
2: 35 seconds – quite vegetal, grassy even, floral tones as it lingers in the mouth, maybe a bit buttery, lightly bitter
3: 45 seconds – similar to the second steep, as the cup cooled it became more enjoyable
4: 55 seconds – same as third steeping still very strong
5: 65 seconds – floral notes, still strong flavor
6: 75 seconds – tasty
7: 160 seconds (oops) – delicious

While I enjoyed this, I think I like oolongs that lean more towards the darker oolongs. I like the base used for some of the flavored oolongs I have which has darker brown leaves and maybe look like some kind of Oriental Beauty type, more woody.

I wrote that previous bit earlier in the session, I like this more and more as I drank. I think I like the longer steep times, they taste less vegetal. I will have to try this again! I’m not the best at gong fu style brewing, but I’m getting better. If anyone has any steep time recommendations that’d be great.

This is a sample from Ashmanra. Thanks for the chance to try another moroccan mint!

This is a good example of a moroccan mint. It sweet from the mints. The base is exactly what I expected. I think this one may be heavier on the spearmint than I’m used to. I feel like this is a smoother version. Thanks again Ashmanra.

It’s a flavored oolong, but in the spectrum of milk oolongs out there (the ‘natural’ kind), this one was pretty affordable since I’m a poor college student with fancy taste buds. 50 grams for approx $10, and according to the sweet salesperson, I can get approximately 12 steeps out of this tea.

The initial sniff and I’m astounded that it smells EXACTLY like the Asian milk candies of my youth. It’s so bizarre, but hey, I’m totally down for milk-candy flavored teas. I steeped it for 2 minutes (and some change) and it was a pale yellow color, the pungent smell of sweet milk and nostalgia filling the room like a sweet song. I’m honestly excited for winter so I can sip this tea like the calorie-friendly version of hot milk and honey.

I’ve only tried three steeps out of this tea since I’m quite the busy bee at the moment.

1: It was quite creamy and a very rich tea. A touch of sugar and this will undoubtedly be my favorite afternoon pick me up tea.

2: Still creamy, less sweet, and I can taste an emerging vegetable flavor. Still pleasant though.

3: Definitely more vegetal, but at this point, I’m caring less about how hot the water is, and I’m pretty sure I wandered away for more than 5 minutes whilst dancing to a Taylor Swift song, but I happily drank it anyway.

Thank you ashmanra for sending some of this tea my way.

This tea is uncannily similar to the Fig Formosa from Teas Etc, from the name, to the appearance and aroma, right down to the color of the liquid. It’s been a while since I had the Fig Formosa from Teas Etc, so I can’t tell you without a doubt that they are the same tea … but, I suspect that they are.

Anyway, if this is the same tea, I’m happy to be drinking it again… and if it isn’t, well, that’s OK too. I’ll just talk about what I’m experiencing now and not try to hone in on my memories of the previous tasting.

Delicious fig flavor. I love fig, and this so reminds me of the flavor of the figs that I used to pick from the fig orchard belonging to the farm where I lived for a short while. One of my favorite things to do is walk through the orchard and pick the figs and eat them while they were still warm from the sun. Sweet and juicy and yummy!

This tea has a strong, delicious fig flavor. Very true to the fruit.

A big thanks to Ashmanra for sending me some of this tea!

This is splendid! It has a lovely flavor – tasting very much of Asian pear! Crisp, a little tart, and pleasantly sweet. I taste the floral tones from the orange blossom too. What I’m really digging, though, is how well the Asian Pear flavor shines through. So often, fruit flavors like this one tend to be added too lightly and are not tasted properly, or they’re overdone and taste artificial. Here, the flavor tastes authentic, It tastes like I’ve just bitten into a fresh, juicy Asian Pear! YUM!

-Dry leaves are small and wiry. Wet leaves open up to a good sized tea leaf.
-Dry leaves have a citrusy aroma. Tea liquor aroma is more faint.
-Tea liquor is a medium coppery color.
-Faint citrusy flavor with a brisk finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Flavor is less intense than expected. No tartness.

Very green tasting. Refreshing and strong. Almost a gyokuro, but not quite which is represented by the reduced price. A tea I can devote a special pot to.