1705 Tasting Notes
The smell is intoxicating. I almost got drunk off of it, seriously! I felt like I walked into a candy store right after they covered the cherries in steaming chocolate. Coffee beans are ground into fine espresso, filling the air with an aroma of liquor. I’m so glad this came so soon-three papers in the same week-yikes! The customer service is awesome, and it seems that I have some pretty similar tastes to Madhatter. Considering how much I love my coffee, stone fruits, chocolate, and oolongs, this should be no surprise.
Now the taste. I agree with Roswell-the liquid is pretty thin and could use a cleaner mouth feel. I drank the tea while it soaked to test out how it changes. The sweet spot for me might be closer to 2 min 45 or 3 min. I tasted the creaminess of the oolong more at 3 minutes with Hojicka dominating, but I tasted the cherry and the chocolate a little bit more at 2 min and 45. The cherry was natural and perfectly balanced. The chocolate could be a little bit stronger, and I am also pretty partial to cocoa nibs. I’ll have to see how they do in the Green Spumoni. I’m also glad that the coffee wasn’t too dominant and acted as a roasted background, but I wanted the oolong to shine a bit more since this type of yancha also normally has a roasted character.
I did taste more cherry and quilan after a 8-10 minute steep two, but it was still faint. Overall, I’m pretty impressed with this tea. Cream and rock sugar really bring out the other flavors and help balance them out, especially in steep one. I love the type of flavor, but again, I personally want more cocoa nibs and more Quilan to enjoy the tea at its purist. I also need to brew this a few more times to get a better balance of what I’m looking for.
Flavors: Cherry, Chocolate, Cocoa, Coffee, Roasted, Smoke
Preparation
Okay, tried the Keep Fit green blend from Tea Spot, and it was really bad. Green tea with green rooibos and lemongrass sounds good in theory, but when blended hot it was sour and medicinal tasting. It NEEDED honey. Then it was quite appreciated. Yet not a tea that I would ever recommend.
Oversteeped this one and for whatever reason it tasted like a Darjeeling instead of an oolong. I wouldn’t be surprised if the leaves were fermented slightly darker since Darjeeling is the bridge to black from oolong. Pleasant and more like a fresher Darjeeling, just not happy it was not oolong tasting. Looks like I’ll keep my eyes on this one and see how it changes, or how my mess ups change it.
Flavors: Astringent, Malt, Muscatel
Yet another favorite. So glad that the base was kept in tact- it is so floral with a distinctive pineapple nectar quality. The blueberry really goes well with it, bringing about a blueberry muffin with lemon and flower nasal quality. I’ve brewed it way too many different ways to count. The gist consists of a greener, blueberry quality the longer you steep it, but then a more floral, orchid, lilac, plumeria, and pineapple quality with blueberries following. I’m still biased to the pure version of the tea, but this one is really good. Either way, it brews over and over again. Please don’t ask me about the measurements- the stems are still with the leaves, so it is hard to pin point how much you are using. Still stunning to watch unfurl. One warning though: it is a powerful detox that will make you pea.
Flavors: Blueberry, Flowers, Green, Nectar, Orchid, Pineapple, Sweet
Sweet corn in the first steep that turns into honeydew in the later ones. It got sweeter and sweeter. A fairly typical silver needle, but representative example of a good one. I brewed it about 3-4 grams in 5 ounces-3 minutes, then 3, 4, 5, and 6. Pretty impressed. Good introductory white tea and good for delicate tea lovers. Some might be underwhelmed, some might be calmed and cheered up.
Flavors: Corn Husk, Honeydew, Hot Hay, Melon
Preparation
Sweet and grassy as described. Definitely has a sea mist air thing going on, but not nearly as sweet as a Sencha. Super green, super vegetal. Like green peas and grass. Enjoyable and one of the green ones that I like more. I just prefer the black Russian. For any green tea lover really-it has some of the better notes of one.
Flavors: Grass, Green, Peas, Salt, Sweet, Thick
The first time was wonderful. It was like drinking orchids with almonds and dried cherries. Of course, the session was Gong Fu with 4 grams in a little less than five ounces. The flavors got sweeter, smokier, nuttier, and better. Other times were disappointing and it tasted like a bland oolong with a little nuttiness, not much else. Sometimes it could be too roasty for longer steepings. That’s why 10-20-30 seconds is better.
Drinking it now in a giant tea ball, it opens more and opens up nicely. I change my mind on this one too much. I either love it or am too bored with it. There’s little in between. I’d recommend it to experienced drinkers for sure, but something too exotic for newbies. It really has to be brewed with precision.
Flavors: Almond, Cherry, Dried Fruit, Flowers, Honeysuckle, Nuts, Orchid, Osmanthus, Roasted
Does it develop nicely western style?
I could have sworn I replied. It does not hold up as well as the Shui Xian does Western, but even then, the first steep of the Shui Xian is best at a minute Western. This tea, however, is a lot more delicate in terms of notes. It only develops nicely in the few seconds from 10-30, but it should be left at 10, 20, and 30.
Its happened to me a few times when using my phone, posts dont show up.
Maybe im wording wrong, I mean letting the flavour develop in the cup as it cools (after you take out the leaves) – I like the change in some Oolongs, and particularly like them when they hit about 80 or 70 degrees, when sometimes sweetness starts coming through.
I have read somewhere that some Oolongs are best drank when they are this temperature.
You taste the smoother notes as it cools more like almond, cherry, and the sweetness. And I can totally see why oolongs are better at that temperature.
Sounds like my kind of tea – smoke with almond & cherry coming out over the course of the mug.. And the price is nice as well
Keep in mind that it is VERY subtle though, so don’t expect them to be obvious unless that is exactly what you are looking for.
i’ll have to try some of berylleb’s tea, I can see you are really on the fence with this one!
Now, I definitely recommend it. I got bigger leaves in the last cup and the yummy flavors in full.
haha, what weight & temps did you use, do you remember?
185 degrees Fahrenheit or 85 C at first, then I let it cool down a little bit as it steeps. I’m bad about measuring weight. I usually eyeball it by getting two to three generous hand pinches into a six and half ounces vessel, picking larger leaves if I can. I do know at least that it does not exceed 5 grams. 3-4 g is the best estimate especially Gong Fu. I prefer closer to 3 grams Western. Again, for me, it depends on the leaf sizes. I use less if I have bigger leaves, more if I have smaller leaves. Hopefully, this word soup helps.
yes, understood, im more or less exactly the same, 3g western and more gongfu, and temps around 90c
Had one of the old one, another of the new batch. The old ball was lucky-it had just the right amount of vanilla and the perfect caramel notes of the dian hong. I brewed it six times, leaving the ball in and drinking the changing taste of the tea. I was sweating as I downed the boiling water because it was so good. That one would be a hundred.
The newer one had a stronger vanilla flavor. Thank you Andrew for leaving the bean in the bag. Anyway, the vanilla lasted three steeps and became a ghost of the forth. The natural notes of the dianhong itself was faded, but that again might be due to water quality and brewing errors. However, there was a bread and maple syrup aftertaste making it more like French toast.
Remains as one of the best vanilla teas that I’ve had, not that I’m biased.
Flavors: Maple Syrup, Toast, Vanilla
I wonder why this got bad reviews. I get the flavors fine. But then again, there might be something I’m missing. I taste the sencha and dragon well mingling well and sweetly, which is an awesome thing since those are the only two green teas I’d constantly drink anyway. The rhubarb and strawberry sweeten this so nicely and make it incredibly natural and fresh. I’m so glad I picked up a sample. The flowers are also a visual delight. I was able to steep it up to three times. So classic, so enjoyable.
Flavors: Freshly Cut Grass, Green, Ocean Breeze, Rhubarb, Strawberry
