411 Tasting Notes
Picked this tea up this weekend on a foodie shopping trip. I was at Dean and Deluca and another local high-end food store and kept seeing all this AWESOME looking tea that was all way too expensive. So when I saw a decent looking oolong at 888 Market and it was less than 5 bucks I had to jump on it.
The tea is fairly meh – as might be expected. The package says boiling water, but I liked it better at about 190-195. But it’s definitely drinkable, and I have a feeling that it would be decent iced. There aren’t any standout notes. It’s a little dusky, so I think it’s slightly roasted. The leaves are surprisingly large and unbroken for being so inexpensive.
Preparation
Smells good, lovely white wine color, but a little lacking in the flavor department for me – it’s too light. I can tell it’s a relative of the Ti Kuan Yi teas out there, but a little more of a wall flower. (Which doesn’t bother me at all, since it’s a little more expensive!)
I can taste a slight peach overtone, but not enough to make it an outstanding feature.
Preparation
Just curious – any connection between the name of the tea and the tea itself that you know of?
….that name is not even a little bit cute. D:
I know there’s something wrong with me cuz I’d really enjoy having this in my cupboard just for the name ;)
I’ve heard two stories – one that the whole leaf looks a little like a crab, and another that the physical location this is grown is famous for hairy crabs… I don’t know that either is true.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mitten_crab
Apparently so.
I will admit that I was a little hesitant to google ‘Chinese hairy crab’. The internet has taught me many lessons in my lifetime, but the one about googling suspect search terms is amongst the most well-learned.
Another sample from denisend, and again, I made it up into iced tea.
Wow, this is very, puckering-ly, lemon. Who needs taste-buds lemon. Their description notes that it is a sweet and sour brew – I mostly got sour. Even when I sweetened it, it was still very “sour-lemon”.
I think I want to try this blended with something else (I know that’s what denisend does) because I can see how it would blend well. But I don’t know I’ll be drinking it straight again.
Ouch. My tongue’s getting wrinkly after reading your description. Tea that causes pain just shouldn’t be.
That was my experience of it too, I used honeybush to sweeten it up.
You should keep some on hand to serve your enemies if they ever drop by :D
LOL! Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever done it straight! It’s very good with any breakfast blend for a sweet tea, and it’s also good with Teavana’s Raspberry Riot Mate. :-)
Not a bad pu-erh. However, I just gotta say that for the periods of my life where I qualified as a maiden, I doubt my ecstasy was much like this.
Warm, dark, earthy, and not fishtank-y. (Always a bonus). I am not getting the sweet that others are, but I’m enjoying my cup.
The depth of the color on this one is amazingly dark and wonderful.
Preparation
A sample from Meghann M that got stuck in the back of my sample box. The aroma from the unbrewed leaf is lovely. I brewed it up in my zarafina while I got ready this morning (black, loose, medium).
I really liked the floraly fruity flavors on this tea, but there was a flavor in the background that didn’t quite fit. I think it may have been the actual tea. Like maybe a different base tea would have been better. Overall, it’s a good tea. I’d drink it again.
A sample from denisend. The temperatures in Kansas City just jumped from 70’s to 90’s, so the last thing I can think about are hot teas – I made up a batch of this iced. I can taste ginger, creamy coconut, and a background fruitiness. Seeing all the giant cardamon pods in the mix just thrilled me, the spiciness is great. I’m looking forward to trying this hot!
