78

Winter 2017 harvest.

Forgettable is how I would describe this tea. I was excited by the flowery description on the website and positive reviews, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to the hype. It’s fairly vegetal throughout with some honeyed notes and a mouthfeel on the thin side. By playing with the brewing parameters, I did manage to coax out some florals and little buttery flavor. It peaked around the 3rd steep and then tasted like an average green oolong.

For a high mountain tea, it had little to no depth of flavor. I don’t know if something was lost with age or what, but overall it tasted mediocre and kinda bland to me.

Daylon R Thomas

I’ve honestly stayed away from the Taiwan Sourcing stuff because the better teas tend to be hidden, or carry a hefty price tag with hefty shipping.

Leafhopper

My last couple teas from Taiwan Sourcing have been kind of meh as well, and yes, their higher-end offerings are super expensive. What’s your current favourite vendor of consistently good Taiwanese oolongs?

LuckyMe

@Daylon, I haven’t been impressed with them so far either. The high price tags kept me from ordering from Taiwan Sourcing for a long time. I finally bit the bullet and 2 of the 3 teas I’ve tried were below par.

@Leafhopper, Taiwan Tea Crafts is my favorite vendor hands down. Huge selection and best value for the money.

Leafhopper

I’ve liked most of the few teas I’ve had from Taiwan Tea Crafts as well, although I worry that their large selection and lower prices mean that some teas are bound to be duds. The Eco-Cha Tea Club is also really good, though not exactly cheap.

Daylon R Thomas

Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin XI is fairly good. Berrylleb King Tea has consistently good Taiwaneese oolongs, and What-Cha’s Lishan is my go to.

Daylon R Thomas

Tillerman would also be on that list with Golden Tea Leaf company’s Dung Ting, but the two I just described before have always been consistent. Mountain Stream Teas is decent for budget, but nothing mind blowing. There is another company called Due East that I’m tempted to try.

Leafhopper

Thanks for the suggestions! I would never have thought of Berryleb for Taiwanese oolongs. Tillerman is on my to-buy list, as is Golden Tea Leaf, though I wish they had 25g packs of their Lishan.

Daylon R Thomas

The Golden Tea Leaf’s Lishan is finicky, so do not feel too bad about not having that one.

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Daylon R Thomas

I’ve honestly stayed away from the Taiwan Sourcing stuff because the better teas tend to be hidden, or carry a hefty price tag with hefty shipping.

Leafhopper

My last couple teas from Taiwan Sourcing have been kind of meh as well, and yes, their higher-end offerings are super expensive. What’s your current favourite vendor of consistently good Taiwanese oolongs?

LuckyMe

@Daylon, I haven’t been impressed with them so far either. The high price tags kept me from ordering from Taiwan Sourcing for a long time. I finally bit the bullet and 2 of the 3 teas I’ve tried were below par.

@Leafhopper, Taiwan Tea Crafts is my favorite vendor hands down. Huge selection and best value for the money.

Leafhopper

I’ve liked most of the few teas I’ve had from Taiwan Tea Crafts as well, although I worry that their large selection and lower prices mean that some teas are bound to be duds. The Eco-Cha Tea Club is also really good, though not exactly cheap.

Daylon R Thomas

Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin XI is fairly good. Berrylleb King Tea has consistently good Taiwaneese oolongs, and What-Cha’s Lishan is my go to.

Daylon R Thomas

Tillerman would also be on that list with Golden Tea Leaf company’s Dung Ting, but the two I just described before have always been consistent. Mountain Stream Teas is decent for budget, but nothing mind blowing. There is another company called Due East that I’m tempted to try.

Leafhopper

Thanks for the suggestions! I would never have thought of Berryleb for Taiwanese oolongs. Tillerman is on my to-buy list, as is Golden Tea Leaf, though I wish they had 25g packs of their Lishan.

Daylon R Thomas

The Golden Tea Leaf’s Lishan is finicky, so do not feel too bad about not having that one.

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Bio

My Rating Criteria:

95 to 100: Top shelf stuff. Loved this tea and highly recommend it

90 to 94: Excellent. Enjoyed this tea and would likely repurchase

80 to 89: Good but not great. I liked it though it may be lacking in some aspects. I’ll finish it but probably won’t buy again

70 to 79: Average at best. Not terrible but wouldn’t willingly drink again

60 to 69: Sub-par. Low quality tea, barely palatable

59 and below: Bleh

Fell into tea many years ago and for a long time my experience was limited to Japanese greens and flavored Teavana teas. My tea epiphany happened when I discovered jade oolongs. That was my gateway drug to the world of high quality tea and teaware.

For the most part, I drink straight tea but do appreciate a good flavored tea on occasion. I love fresh green and floral flavors and as such, green tea and Taiwanese oolongs will always have a place in my cupboard. After avoiding black tea forever, Chinese blacks have started to grow on me. I’m less enthusiastic about puerh though. I also enjoy white tea and tisanes but reach for them less frequently.

Other non-tea interests include: cooking, reading, nature, philosophy, MMA, traveling when I can, and of course putzing around on the interwebs.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/melucky

Location

around Chicago

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