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I’m thinking that I used water that was too hot—at the forefront of the sip there’s a slightly astringent, bold fruitiness. It mellows out until I’m left with a sweet, smooth, malty caramel coating on my tongue. There’s a light floral undertone beneath the sweet that’s quite nice. I’ll lower my brew temp next time to see if I can lessen the acidity. (:

EDIT: Second steep was MUCH better, with the flavors described above, a bit sweeter, and no astringency/bitterness. This would make a wonderful evening tea!

Thank you BrewTEAlly Sweet for the sample. (: This one is pretty nice. It’s the first coconut-blended tea that I’ve enjoyed instead of wanting to spit out, haha. The light green, milky/buttery oolong pairs well with the mildly sweet flavor of the coconut. Neither one really overpowers the other. I’m not sure how some people are getting “oily sunscreen”; I think the addition of coconut is very smooth and natural. It doesn’t taste overwhelmingly artificial. (Even though there is artificial flavoring…what is a bummer.) Still, it tastes like the meat of a coconut, gentle and savory and slightly sweet. Nothing offensive about it at all. I’m a little tempted to add milk the next time around and see if it ups the creaminess. (:

Well, another Verdant Tieguanyin is a complete hit with me… (: I’m surprised there aren’t more reviews for this one.

(First steep, 1 minute)
This one was delightfully sweet with a kettle corn flavor. There’s a slight mineral taste. Very savory at the end; coats my mouth. Rich, full texture. Savory buttery sweetness. Mmmm. (The kettle corn reminds me of Mandala’s Alishan Oolong. The main differences I’m noticing here is that the Alishan is lighter, greener, and more floral, while this Tieguanyin is fuller and more savory.)

(Second steep, 1 minute 10 seconds)
A little less sweet, with a “greener” taste underscored with mineral. It’s lighter than the first steep; immediately after noticing this it takes a turn back to lingering savory- and nutty-ness. Then after THAT, the mineral taste returns. Like clean, refreshing spring water with a touch of sweetness. That was unexpected. I’m eager to see what happens next…

(Third steep, 1 minute 25 seconds)
Even more mineral. I begin to pick out pervading notes of cinnamon and roastiness. There’s a juicy, citrus-like undertone that wasn’t there before.

(Fourth steep, 1 minute 40 seconds)
The sweetness diminishes even more. It seems that the hints of cinnamon I was getting are now gone. (Aww.) There’s lingering, tart, fruity juiciness in the aftertaste.

(Fifth steep, 2 minutes)
Similar to the fourth steep. There’s VERY faint traces of sweet cinnamon and almond in the aftertaste, but overall it’s predominated by tartness and minerals.

High quality oolong. So complex and exciting. I love oolongs.
In conclusion: why haven’t you tried this yet?

Sample from teamore! Thank you kindly.
For starters, I’m not fond of astringency to tea. It’s a huge turn-off to me when I’m trying a new tea. I understand that yes, it doesn’t necessarily mean I steeped it too long, or used water that was too hot, or that there’s some fault in the tea itself. But personally, I don’t enjoy it. Anyway, moving on…
(first steep at three minutes)
The astringency in this cup is very distracting for me. I try to see past it. The more I drink the more I can pick out certain flavors: berry, citrus, floral. A slight creaminess and a vague sweetness. It tastes very green to me somehow. And the citrusy sweet aftertaste it leaves in my mouth is really pleasant, but as I said, it is VERY hard for me to pick it apart from the astringency, even if it is mild. I’m really sensitive to it. It could still be my fault; I didn’t wait very long after heating water to near-boiling….okay, I’m trying this again. Second steep here we go. I’m really hoping it was an error on my part.
(second steep at four minutes)
Astringency has stepped off a bit. It’s juicy and it dries my mouth a little. I’m getting more of the creamy-floral notes underscored by citrus. Still, this is not likely to be a tea that I find myself wanting more of in the future. I have enough to experiment a little more, thankfully, as I will. I just don’t think this is to my taste.
Thanks again teamore! I am still glad I had the chance to try this.

I’m not very sure how to describe this one. There’s a brightness to this tea in both color and aroma. I definitely taste rich, fruity olive notes. Honey, but sparkling and lively, rather than sweet. In that respect it reminds me of Butiki’s Mi Xian Black. Leafhopper taste. In the second steep, the olive and honey notes intensify and gain more resonance. It’s much more SAVORY and nutty, while still remaining a relatively light-bodied tea. At the end of the cup I’m left with an intriguing hint of spice and sweetness. VERY good. Third steep…the honey sweetness explodes across my tongue like fireworks, and the meaty coconut taste steps forward. WHOA. I keep burning myself trying to sip the too-hot liquid. (: Still relatively light, not heavy or filling. Very pleasant sweet fruity aftertaste. Fruity creamy nutty. Wow. I’m seriously regretting not adding more this to the order I placed not half an hour ago. Many thanks for the sample!! I’ll probably steep this until there’s no flavor left. It was the last of the 7g that I had. ):

This is freaking delicious. Slightly mineral oolong taste, with roasty cinnamon overtones and a touch of sweetness. The taste it leaves on my tongue is sweet, silky, and starting to verge on creamy. (This is on the second steep.) It makes me think of cinnamon raisin bread. SO good! It’s so hard to put the cup down. Absolutely getting this again!

Sipping on this one right now. I didn’t have any kind of instructions on how to brew, so I went with my standard for less oxidized oolongs. Pre-boil water, 5 second rinse, 45 second first steep. (Then a 1 minute steep, which I’m currently drinking.)
Hmmm. The smell of the wet leaves was very toasty and milky. It doesn’t carry over into taste so much, though. It’s sweet, nutty, vegetal, and slightly creamy. Kind of peachy-fruity. I’m getting more sweetness before I swallow and a lot more fruitiness in the aftertaste. The longer I wait between sips the more it leans toward a dry, white wine kind of fruitiness. That was unexpected. It’s not very “milky”, but that doesn’t make it any less appealing to me. I feel like I’m getting a hint of astringency—not very strong and certainly not unpleasant. Maybe I’ll use slightly cooler water next steep. Overall it makes a decent cup. Tastes better when it’s hotter! I might be getting some of this when it’s back in stock. (: I expect that I’ll be able to get at least 2-3 more infusions from the leaves. The third one will have to wait until I get back from a gallery opening! Grrr! I was so looking forward to it, but I’m out of time. Thanks QueenOfTarts for the lovely swap sample!

Many thanks to Little Red Cup for the sample!

I used about 1.5-2 tsp to 12 oz of water for a first infusion of 40 seconds. It’s surprisingly crisp and a touch sour upon first sip, like the peels of white grapes. A bit fruity…Vegetal, light, and ends on a slightly sweet note. It leaves faint traces of a sweet, buttery, flowery softness in my mouth that makes me want to drink more.

Second infusion, 55 seconds. The smell of the wet leaves reminds me a lot of Laoshan Green, but the taste is more light and springy than hearty and bean-y. The second steep isn’t quite as sharp as the first but it’s still bright and a little sweeter than before! The buttery/floral notes become less shy and make more of an appearance. MAN this is good.

Third infusion, 1 minute 10 seconds. Back to sharp and springy, not so much sweet but with a lingering smoothness and a slight honey aftertaste. The more the tea cools and the nearer I get to the bottom of the cup, the more honeyed and rich and caramelly the taste is. Coats my mouth a little. Interesting. Still, I kind of wish I’d let it steep a bit longer.

It’s late, so I’ll pay these leaves another visit in the morning. (: Loving it so far! Very nice, and very much appreciated!

The only way I can think to describe it: damp leaves, freshly picked berries still lightly coated with dirt, earth, and cream. I find it a bit hard to explain. Fruity, mellow, while still dark and earthy. Tastes faintly of sweet bread. Tends towards delicate. Not so much in-your-face. A lady pu-erh. Gosh, I realize I’ve been putting off writing a note because I didn’t think I would do it justice. I still don’t think I have. Probably my favorite from Mandala and my special occasion tea for sure.

I had a cup of this before and after work today. Used pre-boil water for the first and second steep, for about a minute each. It’s light and lovely with a floral undertone. Kind of sweet and buttery in a way that reminds me of kettle corn—which is strange because I don’t like kettle corn, but I love this! Not as creamy as the milk oolong but very smooth. The steeping continues…